Spending the night on the ocean

[tuffr2]

In 6 weeks I will be moving to the east coast of north Florida. I will be getting a 25' to 29' boat to fish and maybe scuba from.

I am seeing boats like the 2950 Pro-Line and Aqua Sport 275 Explorer. These boats have a center cabin that would allow over night stays on the water.

Today I looked at a 28' Triton center console without a cabin. This makes a better pure fishing boat but I am thinking I would want to spend a night or two on the water. Especially if I trailer down to the keys.

Is wanting to spend a few nights on the ocean an ok idea or not? And why?

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[ozskipper]

There is no problem spending nights at sea as long as you maintain a good watch schedule and have someone awake the entire time. In coastal areas, it would be foolish if everyone went to bed at the same time, as you would have no one on collision watch.

[tuffr2]

What percent of boats have AIS Tracking? And what percent of boaters are drunk?

I have meet two couples that stayed on boats. Both couples drank like fish and spent a lot of time drinking.

I was thinking my worst fear would be storms at night. Not Yahoo's running into me at night.

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[skipmac]

Not sure of the cutoff point but all large ships are required to have AIS so probably 99% of the big freighters. Yachts and power boats, maybe 10-20%. Smaller boats maybe 1%.

So the odds of a 40' sport fisherman barreling along at 20-30 kts having AIS is very small. Getting run over by one would be just as bad as getting hit by a 400' freighter.

Anywhere close to the coast it would be very foolish to not have someone on watch 24/7. If you are anchored in a harbor with good anchor lights and away from channels then that's a different story.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

What percent of boats have AIS Tracking? And what percent of boaters are drunk?

Around here, less than 1% of boats have AIS...just the ferries and CG boats.

Around here, at least 50% of boaters are drunk...the other 50% are getting drunk, but not drunk yet. Apparently, drinking is what you do on boats.

[Mahayana]

AIS is inexpensive. Buy and install a Class B Transceiver so you can be seen as well as see those who do have AIS. The numbers of recreational boats using it is increasing. Personally, I wouldn't go 5 miles without it. If you don't want others to know where your favorite fishing hole is and you can keep a good watch you can turn it on "silent" mode. There really is no reason not to have one. Unless you are an anti-gubmint, conspiracy theorist thinking your every move is being watched. Then, by all means, drive blind.

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[akprb]

How did we survive 100 years ago :-)

[a64pilot]

I have been down the exact road you intend, I have had a boat with a cuddy cabin and pure CC boats, if you want to fish, forget the cuddy cabin.
In Florida for a whole lot of the year a cabin is nothing more than a sweat box, unless you get a boat big enough for a generator and an airconditioner.
Now a lot of my sailing brothers will vehemently disagree, but I grew up fishing the Gulf of Mexico.

A good CC is fast, you don't have to spend the night, if you want to spend nights and or weekends, then get a Sportfish with a generator and an airconditioner

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by akprb

How did we survive 100 years ago :-)

Far fewer boats, and I believe almost nobody went South of Jekyll Island in GA. certainly avoided the Malaria infested swamps that were call Florida

[Dave22q]

As others have noted the threat is no so much surprise storms, it is other boats. Unless you stay well off shore and have a super bright anchor light sleeping is reckless. An alert watch is your best protection from careless boaters, many boats have weak radar signatures so radar is helpful but not a real solution. AIS is worse. Few small boats have it. So my thought is that a few days at sea can still be nice. Just fish at night and sleep in the day.

[OS2Dude]

AIS is two flavors: Sending and Receiving. A LOT of VHF radios can receive AIS now, they just don't transmit. In your case, if you spend the $600+ it takes for a transmitter you may be better off. It would depend on if the other boat bothered to hook up the AIS from the VHF to a plotter or other display...

[lesterbutch]

I don't know but it seems like your all assuming every body has advanced electronics on their boats. Maybe, but many people I know have one piece of electronics, and that would be a two way radio or radiotelephone, and unfortunately many could care less about the rest of us. Alway keep a careful watch, both physically and a radio watch. Take responsibilty for yourself, do not, rely on them to watch out for you!

[tuffr2]

If I am stationary with coast guard approve anchor lites on all night to me that should be enough.

I you want me to really rely on myself I need a deck mounted machine gun. If anyone comes close to me at night I just blow the drunk idiot away.

How do you guys put up with the idiots?

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[Cadence]

I would not over think it. Spending a couple of nights on the ocean? Most likely inshore I would worry about dragging more than getting hit if out of the channel, and it sounds like Hawk Channel you are speaking of. Ever a cheap depth finder can be had with an anchor alarm and chances are if you are diving and fishing you will have a top of the line. I feel the new low power radars have an intrusion alarm zone. AIS is great but depends on the other boat being equipped. Nothing can protect you from the idiot.

[Comix Bay]

[QUOTE=tuffr2;2102755]If I am stationary with coast guard approve anchor lites on all night to me that should be enough.

You gotta be joking, not even in the day light hours is it safe out on the water. You have to be aware of your surroundings, and keep a watch out, you have drunks, other boats, other ships and very large mammals to contend with. Not everyone has a complete array of electronics on board. And even those that do, some don't watch them. Look up and read (about 5-10 yrs ago) when a Chilean Navy submarine rammed and sank a sailboat in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Never stopped, "Not US" they claimed!