Taking 17 ft boat offshore question

[Walleyed]

Originally Posted by klark2008

Recently got a 1994 17 ft proline center console. Has a 115 2 stroke johnson. My question is hiw far offshore do you think is managable on the average day. Have a 30 gallon gas tank. Im interested in all opinions

You haven't stated your starting point. If you're coming from Keyport, Sandy Hook Reef maybe as far as you want to go, given your relatively small gas tank.

As Capt. Frank stated, you really need to find out what your fuel consumption rates are, then you'll have some idea how far you want to travel. There's plenty of great fishing within 5 miles of the Jersey Shore, so don't be feeling that you're missing out because you can't reach the canyons.

Don't forget safety equipment...VHF marine radio, flares, PFD's.

And get towing insurance....you'll only need it once to be glad you spent the money.

[klark2008]

Originally Posted by Walleyed

You haven't stated your starting point. If you're coming from Keyport, Sandy Hook Reef maybe as far as you want to go, given your relatively small gas tank.

As Capt. Frank stated, you really need to find out what your fuel consumption rates are, then you'll have some idea how far you want to travel. There's plenty of great fishing within 5 miles of the Jersey Shore, so don't be feeling that you're missing out because you can't reach the canyons.

Don't forget safety equipment...VHF marine radio, flares, PFD's.

And get towing insurance....you'll only need it once to be glad you spent the money.

thanks for the info. honestly I would probably be either the atlantic highlands or shark river. maybe barnegat. most likely highlands or shark river as the fishing at barnegat seems to not be producing much lately for us.

[klark2008]

I appreciate every ones help I will certainly keep it in my mind. I am definitely going to learn the boat and get a feel for it before I leave the bay. We fished highlands and shark river a lot past 2 years but we never went through inlet. how good is fishing out side of shark river inlet?

[shrimpman steve]

Must be careful at the inlet. It can be fine when you leave and QUITE NASTY by the time you get back. I mean real nasty.

[Man Workin]

Steve and all above are right, if you are out there and get in trouble you can also follow a larger vessel in by traveling behind them. You would have to get ok with captain but most wouldn't mind if you were in a bad spot. Just something you can do in jam.

[jimmythegreek]

all the above advice is very good, the other thing you must consider is the main engine. definitely put some hours on it in the bay or in close and see how it runs, starts, etc. Keep some basic tools onboard and get an extra set of plugs and the right socket for them in case you foul. Keep an extra spark plug wire, and any other basic hand tools and clamps for an emergency repair on the water. also keep an extra length of rope for your anchor in case you break down and are in deeper water than usual so you dont drift into no mans land while waiting for a tow. as capt frank said learn your sweet spot cruising wise and what the boat will do in some snot. I would actually purposely take it out one day when you know it will be snotty so you are comfortable with the ride/trim and what angle to hit rollers for least amount of wetness, you dont rly wanna learn that being caught out in it. you can always use a small portable tank for emergency, a 5 gallon can get you back, alot of the bigger boats that go offshore use bladder and saddle tanks but you wont have the room for that. theres plenty of good fishing close to shore, you can even get bluefins in the fall everything is available when timed right

[Walleyed]

Originally Posted by jimmythegreek

...the other thing you must consider is the main engine. definitely put some hours on it in the bay or in close and see how it runs, starts, etc. Keep some basic tools onboard and get an extra set of plugs and the right socket for them in case you foul. Keep an extra spark plug wire, and any other basic hand tools and clamps for an emergency repair on the water.

Jimmy's statement made me think of what I carry, other than USCG mandated items...

I have my "bitch bag" filled with a full set of metric and SAE sockets, end wrenches and hex keys, screwdrivers, torx drivers, various pliers, vice grips, multimeter, sparkplug socket, wire crimps, butt connectors, terminal connects - spade & ring. A spare impeller for the sea water pump, sparkplugs, spare prop, extra Racor fuel filter element, extra quart of motor oil, a gallon of pre-mix antifreeze, full assortment of buss fuses and last, but not least, a spare bilge pump.

2 VHF (one DSC, w/ built-in GPS) radios, with separate antennas. 4 discrete GPS devices: (2 combo chartplotter/sonar, plus my iPad running Navionics and iNavx and my iPhone).

I'm sure there's other stuff packed away too. I've had some bad luck in the past and I've found out that parts and supplies that are sitting at home in my garage don't help when I'm drifting in a channel, there's a barge coming my way and the engine won't start. (happened last year, lug on the engine ground cable decided to get flaky while sitting in Sandy Hook channel).

Call me paranoid, but short of some sort of catastrophic failure, I can fix most things that can go wrong on my boat while I'm still floating.

And this is all for a guy who is rarely more than 10 miles out and never more than 20. And yes...I do have towing insurance too.

Key take-away: Think ahead to what you might need. Having a 6" piece of wire and 2 butt connectors in your garage at home doesn't help when you need it right now.