18.5 foot bay boat…
If at first you don’t succeed, fish and fish again…
I think Cracker Larry, may he rest in peace, made the trip from Savannah to Charleston, on the outside, in a 17 foot boat. Cracker had some serious skills though.
Pioneer 222 Sportfish
Yamaha 250
When I was a whole lot younger, I made the trip from Boynton Beach to West End several times in an 18 ft boat with an 85 hp Chrysler. We would gang up three or four boats and pick our days very carefully. In those days communications was by crystal controlled five channel CB radio. The only navigational aide was a K Mart compass and a speed wand I would stick over the side. I/we had calculations written in our hats showing the compass heading for various speeds. That way we could adjust our compass heading on a real time basis for changes in wind and wave conditions. Our navigation was always spot on.
All that being said, if I could go back in time and meet myself I would tell myself “man you are crazy”. Amazing how much smarter you get as you get older.
ZX
The ocean is never a safe place for any boat. No forecast is ever 100% dependable. I have seen calm winds and flat seas turn into 50 mph and 4-6 feet very quickly. I recommend you always have a buddy boat and all the safety gear you can carry if you go out very far, not saying you can’t die in the harbor some days. The first job of a captain is the safety of his crew. You make and live with your decisions.
Olde Man Charters
843-478-1538
Oldemancharters@gmail.com
286 Seafox/Twin 300’s
I had a 18ft Grady White that I used to go to the Edisto 60 on from time to time.I tried to be sensible about the weather as I have no desire to be beat to death trying to catch an undersized BSB.However,on 1 occasion I was very lucky to make it back in one piece and alive.And that’s all it takes is 1 bad decision or a popup storm for something tragic to happen.I would never go it again without a buddy boat.
Get yourself a buddy boat and pick the right days. Even on a good day you will have to drive your boat. 2 footers means you will like see a couple rogue sets of 4 footers that can be catastrophic. I ran to the Charleston 60 and Comanche (35 miles from Jetties) recently in my Keywest Bay Reef 196. I have tabs and a decent set back on the jack plate, so I ride like a slightly longer boat. I averaged 30mph in 2 footers at 7second intervals, but found myself having to constantly be aware of those rogue sets and star and throttle to avoid beating myself and the boat. Didn’t spear any waves, but if you take your eyes off the water for a second I could see how you could quickly find yourself swamped. Again, the best thing you can do if you are dead set on going, in my humble opinion, is take a larger buddy boat. Good luck.
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It’s alright to be crazy, but don’t be stupid!
Old Keywest BR 196, New ProXS 175 
quote:
Originally posted by Long EnuffI think Cracker Larry, may he rest in peace, made the trip from Savannah to Charleston, on the outside, in a 17 foot boat. Cracker had some serious skills though.
Pioneer 222 Sportfish
Yamaha 250
Yep! God rest his soul!
The portuguese went many thousands of miles in open water with no weather maps and just canoes. 
Man’s spirit of adventure has been neutered with the lack of testosterone and the new “safety” culture. Just think when was the last time you saw a carpenter missing a finger? That used to be how you knew a man was one. 
They say man’s testosterone levels have dropped on average a Half in just the last 100 years.
All the above said, I’ll bet there have been just as many 18 footers get rolled over or swamped as 26-36’ers.
Christopher Columbus came all the way across the Atlantic in a 14 ft. jon boat. But it was welded, not riveted.
quote:
Originally posted by FishForLifeWas wanting some advice on heading to edisto offshore reef this saturday running an 18.5 key largo bay with a 115 yamaha.
Eric hager
“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” - C.S. Lewis
Not all changes. My cousin is a one handed carpenter, and certainly not by choice.
“No… it’s okay, I know the way out…”
Couple of weeks ago I went 14 miles out of Murrells in my 21 Cobia Bay, which is basically a Pathfinder 22 with a foot chopped off the stern. It’s a nice riding boat for it’s size. Forecast was for less than 2 feet. Didn’t think twice and had a great time catching 13 inch BSBs with my daughter. Plenty of other boats out there, including a 14 foot flat bottom jon boat with 4 people in it. Doing that is crazy. 20 miles on a nice day in a 19 foot bay boat is not. When I was in college, we would run 30 miles out of Georgetown in my friend’s Scout 185. We felt invincible with that T top to hang on to. Wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but we survived. Triple check the weather and the wave forecast, leave early and return before lunch, watch the sky, and have fun.
Ive been hitting capers in my 20’ Pathfinder. Ive learned quite a bit about the handling characteristics and how to use the tabs.
Was heading out into a pretty decent swell a week or so ago and was taking the odd wave over the front. Trimmed up and was a lot better, coming back it was the opposite, keeping bow down was better and could stay on plane at low speed. I kinda like figuring it out, but as others have said i do watch the weather/sailflow pretty closely and try and be back early to beat the PM storms that usually show up. My biggest issue is the way the boat rolls when fishing over a spot, that gets old pretty quickly and i find that my body feels like its still rolling when im enjoying a bourbon at 10 pm. My first bourbon btw before someone says its the Bourbon causing it
I’m not a Dr, those are my initials and I cant edit my user name. Please do not contact me regarding medical issues
Dr Terry, I have this pain…sorry couldn’t resist. It has been a while since I have been on site, on in the salt for that matter. Glad to see that not much has changed here.
I did a lot of things when I was a younger man, things I know better than to do now. Can you, on the right day, make it out to the Edisto Offshore? Sure. Should you in an 18.5 Bay? Probably not. There’s a reason they are called “Bay Boats”. Nearshore is fine in those things, but 25+ miles is hardly nearshore. Still, I did see the pontoon last year (think it was actually at Comanche).
ColumbiaDawgfan
Sea Hunt Triton 220