Re: Hawaiian SeaCraft
 

Thanks for the info. BayouBoy. How far are the Canyons? We have alot of local boat builders in Hawaii as fishing is a huge part of growing up in the islands. We have a 30 footer called "Knife" thats supposed to be based off a cigarette hull and another boat refered to as an Islander. My friend has one and his registration say Boston Yankee Voyager. So I can attest to the singel hull deep v Yankee Voyager existing and not just being a nautical myth.

It may be called and Islander due to the fact that I heard the Yankee Voyager was taken over by Nauset Marine. The boat is an excellent rough water boat. My friends boat is powered by a VP AD41B 200 hP diesel and a 290 Duoprop sterndrive. We refer to sterndrives as "leg" boats and direct drives would be "straight shafts." My friend with the Yankee Voyager has it built as a command bridge. I think it refered to as a sport bridge in the states.

He has frequently come back with his in hull fishbox stuffed with a half ton of Dolphin in the 20+ to 30+ lb. range. He is a commercial fisherman and "baits" them with a local fish called opelu (Oh-peh-loo) similar to a mackeral and shaped like a fat cigar. He has also caught over a half ton of Otaru (Bonito over 20 lbs.) which comes to about 50 pieces depending on the size. Thanks for the info. I hope to get more replys and learn alot more.

I'd love to go on a party style long range tuna boat with my wife, dad and brother in the near future. Not sure how the back will hold out using stand up gear. We usually fight our fish from the rod holder. If you look at the pics of my dad's boat you can see the rods are set at about a 40 degree angle. We put a pipe into the rod holder that pivots, allowing us to keep the rod tip in line with the fish's trajectory. We refer to is as a "Shotgun." Seems like most fishermen in the states use stand up gear or a fighting chair and gimble. Aloha, Greg

Re: Hawaiian SeaCraft
 

BTW how big do Blackfinn Tuna get? Are they similar in size to the Giant Bluefin? Do they have the same "beef like" marbling as the Bluefins? Thanks, Greg

Re: Hawaiian SeaCraft
 

I think they get huge off the NC coast....like 400lbs.
The Canyons up north can be very long runs to get to...
as far or farther than we go from SC.

Re: Hawaiian SeaCraft
 

My mistake those ARE Bluefin Tuna off the NC coast in January....

Re: Hawaiian SeaCraft
 

Greg,
Here in the Northeast (MA to NJ), you typically have to run to the canyons (100+ fathoms) for pelagics, but they can be caught up on the shelf (50-100 fathoms) when conditions are right. The Gulf Stream dictates how good this fishery can be year to year. Depending on where you're running from, it could be a 50-100 mile trip one way. For tuna, we catch yellowfin (50-70lbs typical, 100lbs is big), bluefin (anywhere from 30-1,000lbs in cooler water) and bigeye (150-300lbs). Blue, white and striped marlin can also be had, along with mahi and wahoo. Swordfish have been making a comeback with all the longline restrictions, but that is a nightime chunking affair.

Re: Hawaiian SeaCraft
 

Nice writep Scott.

In New Jersey (pronounced "Joisey") we also have a pretty good bluefin bite in specific areas that are 20 fathoms or more. Generally speakng these spots are 20 to 40 miles off shore (perfect distance for a well equipped SeaCraft).