Suitable conditions for 23 CC
 

I've been trying to get offshore since I bought my seacraft back in June. Work, weekend plans, and rough weather have held me back from getting out much.

So I pose the question to you, under what type of forecast would you consider taking a 23 CC out roughly 15-20 miles? I wanted to go sharking on Sunday but this is the forecast... Would anyone do it?

SUN
N WINDS 15 TO 20 KT...BECOMING NW 10 TO 15 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT.

SUN NIGHT
N WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS AROUND 2 FT.

I'm on the south shore of Long Island, so I generally feel like a north wind would be favorable.

Ability and comfort are two very different issues. I'd go as the forecast seems to be deminishing throughout the day

Sounds like ideal conditions for the SeaCraft...;)

Trust me, the boat can take more then you can !

Very TRUE !

Thanks for the vote of confidence guys. Here's another look from another site, this one scares me a little with the short period and advisory in the morning. Maybe I'll just plan on an afternoon trip. Sharks eat in the afternoon, right?

Sunday 9/14

Morning
Windy conditions with choppy seas. Small craft advisory. Small short period wind waves.
Winds: N 15 to 21 knots.
Seas: NNE 4 feet at 4 seconds.

Afternoon
Light winds with a slight chop. Small short period wind waves.
Winds: N 9 to 12 knots.
Seas: NE 2 feet at 4 seconds.

It can handle way more than you! Enjoy.

I'm assuming you will be running out, basically south, away from the wind. 4 ft is no problem in those conditions, even shorter than 4 sec. By 15 miles, it may look like 6 ft, but still no real problem. How deep is it where you plan to fish? Shallow could be pretty uncomfortable on a drift. Think about what happens if it keeps blowing. Can you come back running 45 degrees off the wind? The boat will handle running straight into short 4 fters+, but you won't like it.

Yeah, I'm thinking about heading S/SE so I can quarter it on the way back.

The area is roughly 120' deep.

The way back should only be 2' according to the forecast but I realize I should be prepared for that to be wrong.

Thanks!

Much like surfers, sharks are opportunistic creatures.

NOAA is run by the govt.
magicseaweed.com is run by surfers.

If surfers listened to the govt., there would be no surfers.

I surfed at night when I was young. Sharks surf at night.
I really miss surfing, but at least I can dive on my hookah now.

Chuck and Bones chose to go out late with 15-20 kts and horizontal flags. The boats came back. Patti was in the crow`s nest taking pictures. Lil was smiling.

Get some time with her. She will amaze you.

Cheers,
GFS

Here is a short video running offshore in some snotty 5 foot slop during the last fall gathering. Your CC should ride a little better driving from midship. Set your speed at a comfortable pace and keep you eyes open.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bqDlkqjcEjs

These hulls really shine in 3-5s where others can beat the filling out of your teeth. Keep your bow down and Enjoy your day building confidence in your sled and let us know how it goes.

It's doable. It's a question of what you're comfortable with. I always try to consider the drift so that I'll have a good angle of attack on the return trip (hopefully). And yes, weather reports are often wrong, sometimes you just have to go and find out.

I'm with Tiny on this one........

Do what feels right for you, when in doubt be extra careful.
Forecast is to calm during the day Sunday, so that's good.

I may delay my trip till mid day Sunday for the same reason, but will check conditions Saturday night and Sunday early via bouy reports etc....

Nothing to prove, safe boating.

Beware the sharknados when yer out there!
:D

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...psbe70be57.png

My goodness...not the sharknados! Great vid moose! Thats inspiring.

4ft with 4second period. I'd stay home and rake leaves. I like fishing, but not in those conditions.

When it comes to yard work or 4 footers I'll just drop them big tabs, take a seat midship and let the autopilot grind them out. I've been landlocked for three weeks now and I'm getting itchy. :D

[QUOTE=kmoose;230898 I've been landlocked for three weeks now and I'm getting itchy. :D[/QUOTE]

Your dang gills are getting dried out Kenny !!!
What about thhe church fish fry, Brother? Did you show up with the "goods" like a disciple would? I know you were putt'in some up all summer.

Thanks for all the info guys. I went out yesterday morning with my brother and headed south with a 20-25kt wind at our backs. Conditions deteriorated the further we went but we arrived safely. The ride was not all that bad until the last few miles, and even then we never felt unsafe. I think we were both amazed at how well the boat handled it.

Drifting around in 4-footers isn't all that much fun, but around 1pm the wind dropped and shortly after we released a ~80lb mako. After that the wind went to zero and we lost the drift.

We cruised home in absolute glass conditions. It's amazing how quickly conditions can change.

Glad you had a good time and a chance to break her in.

Just remember, it's a little boat, a good little boat. The ocean can be very mean and unforgiving.

I wouldn't go out in a 23 foot boat in anything over 15 kts of wind, and i would try to keep that under 10 if I could. there is a huge difference between 10 kts and 15 kts.

If your looking at 10-15 kts add them together and that's what it will feel like!

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...345_Medium.jpg

Nothing like having a problem in bigs seas after chumming up a bunch of sharks :) be safe

I watched that video...i'm sure you're a real good dude...but.....
no way was that a 5' head sea ! no way !! 2-3' max,that's it...

boat owners have a common mistake:

speed and ride quality,are often exaggerated !

I have a 23 center console - had a 31 Bertram.i can honestly state,the seacraft rode better !
my seacraft - it would NOT run well in a true 5' tight head sea - ANYONE stating anything different is exaggerating -end of story.
a tight 3'-5' sea - with a wave period of 3 - 4 seconds is a tight chop,a long period 3-5' sea,no problem...again,tighten that up,and you've got problems...

Well I was there and I CAN tell you it was very snotty and kudos to Moose, Melissa and Conner going out in that crap and getting us grouper and hog fish for dinner!! They were the only ones "brave" enough to try it. I must have missed you at that gathering.

The rule of thumb for wave to sea height is 5/9 or 9/5. In other words, if the waves are 9' feet from trough to crest, the sea height is 5'.

So if the WAVES are between 3' and 5' high, the SEAS are between 1.6' and 2.7 feet.

If the SEAS are 3' to 5', then the WAVES are 5.4' to 9' high from trough to crest.
Similarly, 4'-7' seas have waves that are from 7' - 12' high.

Most people think Wave height and Seas are the same thing, they are not. The problem is also that many TV "meteorologists" don't know the difference, either. I've listened to a TV forecast for "waves" to be 2'-4', and gone out only to find out the waves were 4'-7', because the talking head on TV didn't know the difference. I'll go out in a 20' Seafari if the seas are LESS than 3'-5'.

I've been stupid and got caught out off the Juno Ball in a 25' Robalo when the seas were 4'-6', (waves 7'-10') and forecast to fall to 2'-4', (waves 3.6'-7') and instead they INCREASED to 6'-9', (waves 10'-16') and we could no longer safely run back in Jupiter Inlet. We first ran south to Lake Worth Inlet, and then sat offshore for over 4 hours riding into the seas waiting for them to die down before shooting the inlet behind a small freighter.

If NOAA says the SEAS are 3'-5', you need to be aware that the WAVES are significantly higher than that.

In 5' seas, the wave crest is 9' high - usually higher than the the top of your T-top when you're in the bottom of the trough.

Multiply wave height by 5/9 to get seas. Multiply seas by 9/5 to get wave height.

And here is where I get confused with NOAA. I understand the difference in seas and waves, plus there is and additional hooker. NOAA predicts something like the predominate waves, meaning that there are a significant number significantly larger than the height forecast.

Trouble is, it sure doesn't look like it when I get offshore. NOAA 2-3 seas almost never looks like 3-5 foot waves, unless the wind speed is a bunch higher than forecast. As the wind rises over 15 and stays there, NOAA starts to look more reasonable, but still more like wave height than sea height.

How do I measure? My eye level is about 6 ft above water(maybe a bit more) when I'm standing at the wheel. When the boat is in a trough and many of the seas in the distance are just getting over the horizon line, its 6 foot waves. How do the rest of you guys measure?

little sporty yes...5' ?? no way....

"I must have missed you at that gathering." ??? don't recall stating I was there -you recall me making that claim ???

I watched a video - expecting to see a tight 3'-5' head sea - that's not what was on the video...

you were on that boat in the video ?? you tell me,you believe that was a 5' head sea ???


you guys need to get "eye o meter" calibrated,or,ease up on the boasting...

Seas?, Waves? I was there and, at that point in the trip, it was a good 3-5 waves, bigger later on, smaller and a lot shorter earlier. I did not think it was extremely close together, but it sure wasn't a long period swell. Remember, the boat is only going about 14 knots.

I think Pelican has seen some better videos than I have. Videos down here never give a realistic view of the actual conditions, Photos either. Two cases in point, (1) when that video was taken the ocean was one big white cap, wind was really picking up. See any whitecaps in the video? (2) a couple of years ago at the east coast gathering, Blue Heron and I went offshore and our passengers took a bunch of pics, shown on this forum. The forecast was 4-6 ft seas. By my measure, it was a confused but honest (4-6 ft waves), maybe a bit more. The pics don't look even close to that.

I used to be a surfer. 3-5 to means an 8 ft. face to me. Add the two numbers up.
Munchkins will beat your ankles if you let them.
Careful with munchkins.

So what is it when I am *on plane* between waves and I can't see over the tops fore or aft? I am 6'1" tall, so my eyeballs are at least 6' above water on plane. Sounds like that's 3-5 foot seas?

I call it spooky in a 20 foot boat.

Did I mention they were breaking? I don't recommend trying it.

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/waves.htm

http://www.boatingmag.com/how-to/measuring-wave-height

Overhead today, if yer real short. :D

As the Mayor Of Munchkin City, surfs up.

Epic toobs on the yellow brick road.

I get tube in puddles.

Max wave height on that day at the nearest noaa buoy was 6.4 with a max sustaind wind speed of 23 knots gusting to 29 max. Was it that during the video... Of course not but that was the earliest on the way in that I could hold the camera and still drive. Please excuse me for not being able to capture more compelling footage at the time as filming when the seas where at their worst didn't seem like a smart idea while I was manning the helm.