What's in your Offshore boat?

Pilar · 01-09-2003, 03:09 PM

We've done alot of describing 'ideal' equipment load for a boat. Many of us fish with alot less than 'ideal'. There is more to it than equipment.

What do you consider to be the minimum? I'll go first.

1) The boat must be happy in every way. A deep vee hull is ideal with a windshield and top. BTW flat bottom sleds beat the crap out of you. Reliable main motor and a secondary, all problem items repaired, recent lengthy trips with flawless performance.

2) 2 of every essential item. Compass and GPS (2 navigation systems). 2 signalling systems, VHF radio (handheld and dashmount), cellphone (limited range), parachute flares. 2 fuel supplies, 2 storage batteries, 2 bilge pumps, 2 people on board .... etc, etc....

3) 50% surplus of fuel. Rule of thirds, one third for the trip out, one third for the return and one third for oh ****. If you have to bring extra gas, avoid the 6 gallon can nightmare. Refueling at sea is best left to the Navy. Spilled fuel can lead to a smoking hole in the water where your boat used to be. Use an auxilliary tank and plumb it in or use outboard motor connectors for a quick disconnect.

4) Awesome flat ocean conditions. If it adds up to 10, I will hesitate to go. That is add the NOAA predicted sea and swell and get a total of less than 10 or stay home and organize the sock drawer. For Tuna fishing I recommend minimal wind (<10) and swells less than 6'. The period of the swell should be >8 seconds. The shorter the period, the rougher the ride. You must never forget that a 90 minute transit to the fishing grounds on step will take 3 or 4 times as long if you are forced to plow through rough ocean at 8 knots. Think ahead 4 hours or more. If you do not like the weather predicted 4 hours from now then do not go 30 miles offshore. The trend is the most important thing. It is foolhardy to use the calm of an approaching storm to make a long open water trip. An improving trend is good and so is a long term stable situation. This is the hardest part of the whole deal, exercise judgement when considering a trip.

5) A float plan and of course someone who cares to make the 'missing' phone call when you fail to report in on time.

6) A few of your buddies in other proven boats. The wolfpack is an effective tool to minimize the disadvantages of fishing in a small boat. It also increases your chances for finding the schooled fish. I would not hesitate to help anyone I fish with here at 'Salty Dogs' and I know my brothers and sisters feel the same way. Matter of fact, I have found very few 'bad' people in all that I have encountered on big blue. The bar weeds them out.

7) Food, water, extra clothing and other possibles for more than the time you plan to be out. Toilet paper, sun block, a warm coat, drinking water and cigarettes are hard to come by offshore.

8) Experience, curiosity, judgement and recognition of the Ocean for what it is. The largest indifferent living thing on the planet. It even makes it's own weather. You have to approach this whole boating offshore thing with a great deal of respect. You should know how to use your compass and a watch like you know how to drive your car. Dead reckoning is all you have if the plastic Jesus on the dashboard goes on Vacation. You should know how to use your GPS to save a waypoint, tell someone where you are and to follow it home. And never stop learning while you are out there.

You never know what you will see ... or learn.

My requirements are pretty simple. I fish in a small boat and I push it to the limit. But if I feel unsafe I turn around and go home or don't launch at all. I gave up 2 halibut days last summer to a boat going sour. Several nights were spent in the Depoe Bay parking lot and no fishing the next day.

It is always OK to cancel a trip at any time for any reason.

Radar, liferaft, EPIRB, Survival suits and all that sound good but not really practical for me. The Survival suit would probably be my next thing to get. For the rest of it I will need a bigger boat.

[ 01-09-2003, 04:40 PM: Message edited by: Pilar ]

Miss B Haven · 01-09-2003, 03:53 PM

Ok - Let see.. first whats on board (that's my minimum- some of this stuff I got before I would even go out on the TUNA trips):

Two VHF radios on separate antennas.
Two helms with electronics (GPS/Radar/Chart/Depth) and compass on each helm
Two Diesel Engines with separate fuel tanks and dual filtration
full fuel for offshore trips (300 gal)
15 life jackets, 4 TypeI with whistles and reflectors, 2 kids, two vests for those folks who don't bring there own wearable and my own self inflating. The rest are cheap crap for dock party CG requirement.
Float coat
Storm suit (will work as non flotation suit to keep you warmer in the water)
A whole drawer full of flares/signal devices/smoke/day markers etc (one set always within legal date)
Full Engine compartment auto fire extinguisher (Halon- YES!)
3 portable fire extinguishers (cheap crap variety) placed around the boat
3 throw cushions
1 weighted throw rope (man OB)
Cell phone (usually 2 or 3 with crew on off shore trips)
Company (other similar equip'd boats that could take on 5-6 added crew safely)
Anchor with 200 feet all chain rode
Additional spare anchor/chain and rope rode
Someone on the dock has our float plan (as well as at home)
Spare parts (Fuel filters-bout a dozen, full raw water pump replacement, belts, engine relays, fuses, wire, connectors)
Two tubes of caulk that can be applied under water if need be (can make a patch out of fabric and caulk)
Plug kit (for holes in the hull or broken lines etc
3 bilge pumps
Full tool kit
Manuals for everything on board (ever have your radar go out in the fog cause you blew a dang fuse after you wrapped a fishing pole in it?)
6 kw Generator (can keep bats charged if mains are down)
Two full set of Bats (starting and house) that can both run each other
Dedicated electronic bat and gen set bat
Good (not top of the line) first aid kit
Log Book (Fuel log/Maintainance/Spares etc)
Flashlights/Storm Oil lamps (when all other light fails)
Charts
Chapmans (Piloting)
Bowditch (American Practical Navigator)

Pheww- I gotta finish this later too! I'm sure there's more but I'm brain dead. I need one of these lists in the boat anyway

Next installment is what I don't have but want. :depressed:

[ 01-10-2003, 06:03 PM: Message edited by: Miss B Haven ]

Pilar · 01-09-2003, 03:55 PM

Good Mel, I forgot the fire extinguishers, tools, spare parts and filters and first aid kit and we did not touch fishing gear.

Hey, how big is that dang MissBhavin anyway?

[ 01-09-2003, 04:56 PM: Message edited by: Pilar ]

Miss B Haven · 01-09-2003, 04:06 PM

Pilar- if you'd quit getting the fishing and skiing plans all screwed up you'd know how big she is. :grin: You'll just have to come aboard and see!

PS - That was a really crappy day on the water, glad we didn't go. It was blowin about 20-30 all morning in the 2nd. Oh- and that was up in the Channel at Scappoose. Wind quit just before the torential downpour started in the afternoon. :shocked:

Sensei-san · 01-09-2003, 05:44 PM

I would add a pair of small double action bolt cutters. I found one at FRY'S Electronics. It is about 12" long. When that hook flies out of a tuna and hits you near the eye or in the hand pulling up a ling cod, you will know how valuable they are. Ordinary dikes don't have the power to cut through tempered stainless steel. Another good item is the wire leader cutters that they sell on the heavy duty tuna webpages. Although a good twine cutter will do also and a lot cheaper. Not nice to have a beating tuna on a handline with your hand caught in the middle of the handline.

fish assassin · 01-10-2003, 06:49 AM

Sensei-san,

... or worse yet, have a beating tuna on one barb of a trebble hook and
another barb shoved THRU your middle finger! THAT'S always fun!!

-assAssin-

OceanBlue · 01-10-2003, 07:00 AM

Mel - just to set the record straight - the FUBAR on the 2nd was my fault all the way... [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img] but feel free to rib John about it as I hate being wro - wrrrooo - wrrrroooon - Gosh durn it! Wrong!

items to add to the list:

bucket(s) for washing down the decks & doubles as porta-potty for those of us too small to have one aboard.

non-skid shoes or boots (tuna & halibut leave oil/slime on the deck)

Camera - for those elk-12-miles-off-shore moments :grin:

Wool blanket - if you have room, this could be a life-saver in the event of an overboard incident & don't have a mustang suit.

A good recording of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkaries" or Rossini's "William Tell Overture" to play as you pass under the Depoe Bay bridge, victorious, with 36 tuna packed in every available space on the boat.

Master Baiter · 01-10-2003, 08:31 AM

This is a great thread since I have just got my vessel and it was stripped of most gear. After every trip I add a little more gear as I learn. By the looks of your lists, I am on the right track!

Previous owner gave me lots of spare parts, I have main diesel and kicker. When I get my GPS I will relocate the Loran for back-up. I' ve got a 250' rode with 15 -20 feet of chain and a 100' with 6 feet and Bruce anchor for larger size boat. I always carry my hand held FRS radios w/ weather channel. Charts, extinguisher, still need more vests but I am getting there slowly. Man it is expensive to gear up. Lots of warm items like blanket, jackets, sleeping bag. Non-perishable food items and water.

MB

[ 01-10-2003, 09:33 AM: Message edited by: Master Baiter ]

id. painter · 01-10-2003, 09:14 AM

Great lists. Just what i need.
Now i need to get rich. Then i can have all of these cool life saving items.Ill have to do it little at a time. But , i will have the essentials. Mostly. id. painter

OceanBlue · 01-10-2003, 09:25 AM

Oh yeah - not for safety, but for fishing pleasure, you'll need to find yourself a "fish whisperer"

Short of that, make sure you're within radio contact of Ugly Green. :grin:

DriftR · 01-10-2003, 09:42 AM

Always a good idea to have a big flashlight or one of those Q-beams and all charged up.
About those small bolt cutters-gr8 idea. I personally along with my buddy always use barbless albie double hooks. When those babies are jumping and thumping on the deck and action is hot an heavy those tuna hooks are real meat catchers on the fly. Never want to be on the receiving end at any time. I always have a small flashing beacon that I keep on me just incase I go overboard. I use a Mustang float coat also.

id. painter · 01-10-2003, 10:04 AM

I want a Mustang suit for sure. Probably two.
I started talking to my wife last night about all teh stuff i need for my boat, she felt her anxiety start to rise($$$$) so she went and pulled out a good book to get her mind off the expense. id. painter

rojo · 01-10-2003, 10:25 AM

good info. couple other things I carry are duct tape, tie wraps, diff sizes of clear tubing, hose clamps, plastic tarp..have used all except the tarps at diff times in emergencies. the duct tape and clear tubing is a good temp repair of none pressure lines i.e. fuel return etc..the tarp can be used to slow down a hull breach, worked on a boat where the sea chest went at dock side a diver just put a tarp over it till it goit repaired...Roger

Pilar · 01-10-2003, 10:49 AM

IDP, you're gonna lose her soon. I recommend you take her on a 'no worries' ocean trip soon and get her totally hooked.

That's how I landed my mate. A trip to 3 arch rock on a picture perfect day last March. The fishing was pretty good but the ocean behaved like a perfect, well mannered lady. I knew my mate was hooked when she could not manage to speak and had the teary eyed thing going on.

We then moved on to other adventures but I think that first trip stiil haunts her. It sure made taking a beating during May Halibut trips easier to take for her.

Take her fishing bro, and then it will make sense to her that you need to buy stuff for the boat.

Otherwise name the boat 'Gonna miss her', cause she'll never understand the addiction you are sure to develop.

Just my $0.02

Miss B Haven · 01-10-2003, 10:56 AM

Barring Pilars plan getting her hooked on it Id, try NOT telling her and separate checking accounts! What she doesn't know won't hurt you! :grin:

id. painter · 01-10-2003, 01:34 PM

Thanks for the help with the wife thing. I tried to get her excited about your up comming A.A. meeting. hiHo. Didnt work though. Ill make one and meet all you great people (someday). This is so fun for me . Im learning so much and getting some wonderful( Free) advice.
This is all completely non replaceable . It is awsome.
The wife likes going for boat rides, short, good weather rides.She is very social and im sure that if she could meet some of you she would loosen up a little.I think meeting all of you will help her see how" normal" i really am. Hi Ho id. painter

Jsail · 01-10-2003, 02:26 PM

did I read this right:

Quote:

I think meeting all of you will help her see how" normal" i really am.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">:shocked: Normal

addicted, afflicted,

obsessed I think, but normal .......

Picture Pilar and crew stugeon fishing, the "William Tell Overture" is blasting, a huge flag waving and these folks with a big grin

cranking in fish. I can only imagine the site with Tuna blood flowing.

Sane maybe, wise ... I think so, normal ....... maybe on a stormy day in Febraury

and the day I saw them things were kinda slow

OceanBlue · 01-10-2003, 02:44 PM

ID: Once you've been on a tuna kill, you'll know how "normal" we really are. No way you can experience the train wreck and see things the way you did before. Normal. :whazzup: Haha!

Jsail: Was that the day we had Shree-imp (my daughter) with us? In about 6 years, she'll be able to respond to your "WANTED" ad!

[ 01-10-2003, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: Pilar's Mate ]

Jsail · 01-10-2003, 02:49 PM

Jen,

That was the day
She is a cutie.
Does she have her eye on a boat yet?

Miss B Haven · 01-10-2003, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by id. painter:
The wife likes going for boat rides, short, good weather rides.She is very social and im sure that if she could meet some of you she would loosen up a little.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">id - This is gunna all work out. This sounds like my wife too, soooo..... what we do is... when you come down on vaca just bring your boat for the girls to putz around in, subath, read the books whatever and we can go TUNA fishin on Miss B. That'll keep both the wives busy and happy.

Miss B Haven · 01-10-2003, 05:18 PM

Hmm... Rereading this and noticed the buckets under Jens post. They're not just for washing, garbage cans and using for a porta potti (all of which they do a fine job of- not to mention use as sea anchors in a pinch)
No small boat should be without 5 gallon buckets. There is no pump available for a small boat that can bail as fast as a scared (pumped up on adrenaline) person with a 5 gallon bucket. Won't get the dead shrimp out of the corners, but man if you ever get pooped your going to grab that bucket before you even have time to get scared. Use them for storage (great for putting anchor line/chain in) until you need them then dump the stuff and bail!
Works for throwing on a fire too! (not much help on Fuel Fires but oh well)

OceanBlue · 01-10-2003, 11:17 PM

Naw! Miss B and Pilar both have it wrong. I suspect that if she were to be bitten by the fishing bug, it would have happened already. Miss B - now isn't that rather underhanded?

ID - what you gotta do is make sure that she's got that new car, dining room table, patio set, vacation or whatever "major" purchase she desires out of the way. THEN you are free to spend $$ outfitting your boat.

If that doesn't work, throw her back and find one that will join you in your affliction. :grin:

OceanBlue · 01-11-2003, 07:58 PM

Mel - Nuthin so versitile as a 5-gallon bucket, eh?

ID. - Yeah... bring the boat for the girls. You guys can go to the coast for a "marginal" day on the ocean and us girls will have a blast "awaiting" your return. Muuuaaaaaahhhh! (sorry, that must have come from all the marginal hali & tuna days - I don't deal well with disappointment)

Jsail - She's my First Mate for sure. She's the first to pitch in to help and the last to tire when the job goes on... After that day, we were all exhausted (we were on the river before sun-up and after sundown) but she INSISTED on scrubbing the "Pilar" - soap and water, bow to stern, until she was sparkling. She said she had to "do her part." What an Angel. Wouldn't trade her for the world.

When she caught her 27" rainbow trout last summer, she was talking about adding a pond and boat to her "farm" when she grows up. But listening to all our tuna talk - and being a lover of halibut - she's starting to think of big blue... although she gets seasick. I think that her mind will help her overcome that, though. I've seen amazing things in that child. Don't EVEN get me started on the time when she insisted on windsurfing a rig that neither my dad nor brother could handle. She did it somehow. At the age of 8.... lifting what amounted to 200 lbs of sail, mast, boom and water... incredible. You had to be there to believe it.

Okay, so enough of the proud mama-talk. Just watch for Shree-imp. She'll be online when she turns 13 (requirement for membership on the board).

PM out.

[ 01-11-2003, 09:02 PM: Message edited by: Pilar's Mate ]

Deepslayer · 01-11-2003, 11:33 PM

I could probably swing the cost of the offshore boat, but I don't think I can handle all the accessories you people are talking about. Not to mention maintenance and insurance costs! I am glad I am a ride along. Besides I am getting too old to start investing in boats!

fish assassin · 01-13-2003, 05:25 AM

Deepslayer:

Never too old to "rock 'n roll"!

-assAssin-

Deepslayer · 01-13-2003, 04:28 PM

That may be true assAssin, but I have an addictive personality! I am sure I would soon be in the bigger is better syndrome.

id. painter · 01-14-2003, 09:23 AM

Good idea, bring my boat and let the ladies run it while im after tuna, w/ Miss B.
My wife has never been out on big blue, except for a ferry. Not much of a boating experience.
If i could get her out in a boat like Miss B. (a big boat ?????) it may start the process of getting her hooked on the ocean (like myself).
My wife is a bit nervous about being at sea, it may be a good idea to start her on a (big boat). Ill get her hooked and then going in my baby boat wont be just a worry, but a FIX. id. p.

OceanBlue · 01-14-2003, 09:42 AM

Ah... Pilar can probably tell you the best way to get your wife hooked on the ocean.

Me, I grew up near the beach and played in and on the water as much as I could. Ventured across the bar only a handful of times before I met John, though. So when I finally convinced him I would be fine out on the open water, I was thrilled to further the adventure.

I'm smart enough to feel fear, but too stupid to heed it... or maybe that's too smart to let it get in my way? Dunno, but Pilar can definitely give you pointers on breaking in a newbie to the ocean.

id. painter · 01-14-2003, 10:56 AM

I have a good idea on how ill get my wife to love boating.

She really loves to swim. I take her out on hot summer days and let the family play. They love it.We live very close to lots of lakes and res. good prep -work.
No pressure about fishing ... Just fun... id. p.

BlindSquirrel · 01-14-2003, 12:03 PM

This thread is starting to sound like CarTalk -- it starts out about cars (or boats), but gets more interesting and funny when the topics go domestic...

Back to the tools/equipment -- I don't own a boat, but a small quality multi-meter (with AC/DC volts, ohms, continuity, and amps) is handy for troubleshooting. I've also seen a friend take a portable drill.

The other thing that helps too -- once you know the equipment you always take -- make an Excel/Access database/checklist that you keep up to date. Double check to make sure you have extra batteries for all the small stuff, etc. From what I see from you guys -- I would guess you already have it.

Blind Squirrel

Miss B Haven · 01-14-2003, 02:32 PM

Blind squirrel - good point (about the thread and the multimeter and drill). Not sure why I would ever need a portable drill for an offshore repair, but it is part of the tools on board (so's the multimeter). Spare small bats for flashlights/meters etc too. I actually consider a multimeter to be one of my pieces of safety equipment. Kinda like a first aid kit but for the boat!
But then again I've got too much cabin storage and not enough cockpit (FISH) storage. :depressed:
Hmmm...I wonder many TUNA I could get under the berth?1

Popeye · 01-15-2003, 07:00 AM

This is my offshore boat

And these guys made sure I had everything! :grin: