Anyone running a 17 FT - Whaler Montauk to Catalina?

[grahams98]

I'm coming down to fish SoCal in late June and was hoping to fish Catalina. I've got a 17FT Boston Whaler Montauk with GPS, VHF, Compass, SeaTow, 100HP outboard, 20 gallons of fuel, 8HP kicker and all the coast guard required safety gear. I've done this run when I was young in similar a size boat and remember some 'kidney buster' runs back to Balboa. This time I'm going to have a couple teenagers with me and want to be certain it's a good idea before I go.

Oh yeah...I will definitely check the weather before going and monitor the weather band.

I'd appreciate some advice,

Steve

[Kalicos]

i have a 17.5 foot boston whaler outrage and i'm wondering the same thing.

[GeordyBass]

my friend has the same boat and told me that in a good day it's possible but you always have to be careful and concentrated while driving...

[teamgracza]

We ran our 18ft wellcraft CC over there.It had a 140 two stroke and 30 gallons fuel.Good luck and pick a safe day.

[Fish Dog]

You probably could but you really gotta watch the weather, especially the wind. I used to take my 19 foot Bayrunner Center Console over there but I won't do it any more. Got my butt beat too many times coming back and I never really did any better over there then I did local anyway. I know the potential is there, (to do better then local), but it's just never paid off for me.

[dixoncider]

Maybe more fuel. You will get your *** kicked but you must know that if you own that boat. Bring your slicker gear.

[grahams98]

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably keep it close to home. I made this run 25 years ago in basically same boat but I had the advantage of being a skinny, ignorant kid. Now I'd likely just be a stupid old fat guy they'd find floating in the channel. :)

Steve

[Z-TUNAKILLER]

hey g, yeah you can fish Catalina on your boat, ( you could do some Great fishing in that little boat ) like everyone said, wait for good weather, you can refuel at Avalon, if needed and if the winds pick up just stay or you can get behind a day sport fishing boat, to get back across if you don't mind cruising 11 knots or less ? I've fished the Pursuit out of 22nd St. landing many times and have seen smaller boats following us back across...

Good Luck... Be Safe !



ToonZilla

FISH ON !

[GeordyBass]

[quote=grahams98;176959]Now I'd likely just be a stupid old fat guy they'd find floating in the channel. :)
/quote]

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[pukahd]

I use to own 2 different Montauks both with 90 hp Yami's, 24 gallons fuel, 32 gallon Kodiaks and it is do able but make sure you have the biggest bilge pump that can fit in the trough next to the boat plug. I hope you have the plug fitting on the inside of the trough. In case you take in water just pull the plug while running and the boat will drain.

Life jackets on, hand held radio as a back up. It is pretty easy to fill a Montauk with a bad swell over the bow.

I had 1000gph rule pump and it came in handy many times.

Back about 15 years ago we use to run to Cat at 2am with just a GPS. We just picked a day and off we went and never looked at the weather reports.

Nowdays, a little smarter I rely on NOAA weather report and bouyweather.com and compare both sites to get a accurate weather prediction.

I made sure the winds were 10 knots or less with a swell period OVER 13 seconds. Winds blowing on shore are the best. With Santa Ana winds blowing off shore the water would look beautiful and flat like a lake. This is a dangerous senario as I have seen these conditions go from lake flat to 30 knots in minutes. It is especially dangerous as you are running back from the mainland.

Here is a good senario.

Tuesday 4/22/08
Morning
Light winds with a slight chop. Small long period swell.
Winds: WSW 6 to 8 knots
Seas: SSW 2 feet at 14 sec.

Im sure as you know when you see short period swells say between 5-8 seconds it is very dangerous. 5 seconds and you can get beat up or swamped with a swell over the bow.

Best conditions are swell 15 seconds, wind 2 knots.....

Bad senario Afternoon 4/22/08 :
Breezy whitecaping conditions with moderate choppy seas. Small short period wind waves.
Winds: W 13 to 17 knots
Seas: W 2 feet at 4 sec.

Worst case senario 4/23/08 afternoon :
Windy conditions with choppy seas. Small craft advisory. Small short period wind waves.
Winds: W 18 to 24 knots
Seas: W 4 feet at 5 sec.

These are the actual condition Tues am / Tues pm / Wed pm

Pick your day right and you'll have a lot of fun. By the way use to make the crossing back from the west end to Marineland in 35 mins hauling B@LL$ out.

Brian

[grahams98]

Wow, great very specific info! I made that run a lot as a kid pre-GPS with only a compass, radio (slept on the beach at Catalina a few times) . A couple times when the fog came in our way home we had to listen for the sounds of the waves breaking on beach, look at the lifeguard tower number to figure out where we were....like I said I've done young & dumb. I probably wouldn't have gone to the website or checked the swell timing at the level you suggest so I appreciate the detail. My bilge pump is only 500GPH but that's an easy fix.

Thanks Again,

Steve

[IslandBoi]

Just make sure you got some xtra cash, so just in case the weather turns bad, you can always bunk up there and run back early in the am the next day. Since most of the time the good weather is in the am.....