Is my boat tuna ready?

trickydogshow · Dec-20-2008, 09:46 AM

All this tuna talk has me fires up to get out there next summer but not sure about my boat... 2008 20ft northriver Seahawk 115 yamaha and a T8 kicker - Tr1 - VHF - GPS Etc... Its not a speed demon or anything but it will cruise at 28 mph just fine. question is... is this a safe enough boat to take tuna fishing? assuming good weather and possibly following a couple of you guys out next summer?

Chasin' Tail · Dec-20-2008, 10:05 AM

lets talk about you. What skills/experience do you have fishing offshore?
Then, we can go back and examine the boats capabilities or lack there of...

Oh, and welcome to BD

Keta · Dec-20-2008, 10:26 AM

The boat will do it but it's marginal.

How much open ocean experiance do you have?
What's your range at cruse speed?
Have you upgraded your flare kit to something that works?
Do you have offshore live jackets?

WaveDancer · Dec-20-2008, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trickydogshow

All this tuna talk has me fires up to get out there next summer but not sure about my boat... 2008 20ft northriver Seahawk 115 yamaha and a T8 kicker - Tr1 - VHF - GPS Etc... Its not a speed demon or anything but it will cruise at 28 mph just fine. question is... is this a safe enough boat to take tuna fishing? assuming good weather and possibly following a couple of you guys out next summer?

TDS,

First, Welcome to BloodyDecks!

Second, as some have already said, we need to know a little more about you and your ride.

I'll start with a few of my questions.

1- How much fuel do you carry and do you have any idea what your cruising range is in ocean conditions?

2- Are you planning on fishing with live bait or just gear?

3- What safety equipment do you carry?

That's a start, I am sure there will be many more.

Again, welcome to BloodyDecks.

WD.

trickydogshow · Dec-20-2008, 12:12 PM

1, I carry 50 Gallons. and as far as range goes I have no Idea right now. its a new boat and haven't figured out its fuel consumption.

2, Havent decided.. probably gear

3, I will buy any saftey gear needed.

4. I have NO open ocean experience, Actually I've only been boating for a year now and just in the puget sound. So technically I'm new to boating.. sounds like I'M better off chartering or hitching a ride my fist couple of times.. yes?

and thanks for the welcome, I've been watching the forum for a while.. looks like a good group

Keta · Dec-20-2008, 12:26 PM

D'oh!!! Welcome aboard.

"I have NO open ocean experience"

Hook up with experienced captains and learn before you learn the hard way, returning to port with your entire crew in one piece is a good thing.

"I carry 50 Gallons"

Just a guesstimate but you probably can run 50 miles out, fish and return with a 1/3 safety margin. You need to find out though. A tool that you can put on your boat to optimize fuel consumption is a Flow Scan flow meeter.

"I will buy any saftey gear needed."

Good

Green Wasabi · Dec-20-2008, 12:34 PM

You may have the range but adequate power with a single 115 may be questionable once you are loaded down for a tuna run. You'll be surprised how heavy your boat will get once you're loaded up for a tuna run.

Chasin' Tail has done it when he had a 20' Thunderjet with a 140 on the back. He now has a 24 Hewes with a big 250. Jason S also ran a 20 NR with a 150 (i think) on the back.

WaveDancer · Dec-20-2008, 12:47 PM

TDS,

With only 50 gallons of fuel, that's going to limit your range pretty significantly depending on the weather, IMO.

I think that you need to get some experience on the ocean as the operator of your boat before going what is normally a 100+ mile round trip on the big blue when chasing tuna.

Some good training for you would be to run to one of the coastal ports and follow the halibut fleet out when the season is open. This can be a good way to get your feet wet and learn a lot in a short time. Finding a number of buddy boats can be pretty easy in these fisheries and can help you if you don't have radar in case the fog rolls in.

Once you learn some of the coastal ports you now have access to some of the best bottom fishing you can imagine. More learning curve here as you will need to learn all about tides and bar conditions. Some bars are much more important to pay attention to than others.

Is your boat a hardtop or canvas model?

Radar? Getting stuck out on the ocean in heavy fog would be downright scary without radar, not to mention irresponsible to your passengers.

If you really want to learn tuna, crewing for someone or just bucking up and getting on a good charter boat is worth the cost easily, IMO. If you are not going to fish with live bait, crewing is the better option as most of the charter boats out of Westport are primarily live-bait fishers.

If live-bait fishing is going to be your thing, you can learn so much on a good tuna charter, I highly recommend it.

A good place to start with the safety items is to attend some of the seminars that they have at the boat show every year. You can pick up some good information here and you then have the ability to go see some of the vendors and ask very specific questions. Take a note pad and take lots of notes so you can refer back later. It really can be an information overload.

I hope this helps and I am sure many more will offer help of their own.

WD.

tuna head · Dec-20-2008, 12:51 PM

run with a running partner and go for it get your feet wet

Keta · Dec-20-2008, 01:22 PM

Quote:

run with a running partner and go for it get your feet wet

BS like this gets inexperienced captains killed.

bajadan2000 · Dec-20-2008, 01:38 PM

Sorry Dean, the truthful answer is no, because you are not ready. That does not mean you "might" be able to take a stab at tuna fishing after several trips out. Tuna should not be the main focus of your learning curve at this point.

With only one year of bay boating and no ocean experience, I highly recommend you crew with an experience offshore skipper before even taking your boat out of any NW ocean port. Then the next step would be to go out of the same port in your boat, but stay within 5-10 miles of the entrance. As your skill builds, so can your distance from a safe harbor build. Learn to walk before trying to fly.

One of the best fishermen and skippers I have seen on big blue runs a 19' boat. He fishes way offshore for Tuna and much more. I would rather go out with someone with his skills in his small boat over an inexperience skipper in a much larger boat. So your boat can do it, when you are ready. Oh by the way, the skipper is new to BD and goes by Retaliate on the OR. forum.. Go with someone of his ability and you will get a good education.

trickydogshow · Dec-20-2008, 03:26 PM

I appreciate everyones time responding to my post. This is exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for. I will definitely crew a few times and maybe take a charter or two before I attempt it on my own. Going out that far and fishing or tuna just sounds like a lot of fun... I was at the boat show last year, attended a few seminars and have done the salmon university thing.. I'll stick to the Puget Sound for now and look forward to venturing out a little for a few bottom fish when the season arrives.

Thanks Again!!!