WHAT KIND OF CONDITIONS ARE SAFE FOR A 20 CC?

[Jon G]

The boat will handle more then I can whats safe and what the boat can do are two differant things. Worst I have had is from Nantucket to Allen harbor about 22 miles in November in 20knt. Winds right in my face the whole way. Took me 40 minutes to get there in near flat conditions in the morning and two hours later the afternoon forcast turned on me bad! wind never shifted and picked up fast. It took me an hour and forty minutes to get back making about 15-16knts. Honest six footers steep close together, worst(best) ride I have ever taken. Puking up saltwater at the dock was a sure sign of a good ride! My hands never left the wheel or throttle the for the first hour till I got a little closer back to home. I would rather be out in the Ocean in ten foot swells than the tight crap that comes up in Nantucket sound and Buzzards bay when the wind is up and and the tide is wrong. Been fishing in Cape Cod bay before and the smallest boat besides me fishing is a 30 footer I though it was a little rough but not bad where were all the small boats I wondered? I met my nieghbor at the dock one day after he and his buddy both in 23 Seacraft I/O's came back from a mid week tuna trip in 25knt winds and a 77 mile one way ride right in to it, There were only two trailers in the parking lot that day both belonged to Seacrafts. I think Safe has more to do with the level of comfort the operator has running the boat in adverse conditions. These boats are very capable in bad conditions if run accordingly. Another windy saturday morning I put my boat in at the ramp and made my way out through Chatham inlet in really nasty breakers and realized that the fishing would be no fun so I snuck back in and at the ramp is a guy with a Bayliner and his fishing rods and he says "how is it out there" I told him "might as well not even put his boat in the water its rough out" he says "but you made it out and back?" and before I could say anything an old timer that was working one his boat at the dock says "Yeah but thats a SeaCraft" I tried not to laugh when the guy didn't understand but it was tough. When I bought my engine the guy that owned the marina summed it up best as he looked at my boat "these things are legendary"