Planning 30 mile offshore trip any tips appreciated

[capt]

I am currently planning to trailer down to Port O'Connor in Texas about 7 hours away. I am wanting to go out about 30 miles offshore then do it again the next day. I have a few questions for the more experienced saltwater guys on here.

1. Fuel consumption. I am wanting to know if there is a target rpm or mph I should be shooting for to get the best fuel consumption. Is it unrealistic to get 2 mpg? What is a more realistic number. I plan on bringing an extra 18 gals of fuel in gas cans on the swim platform.

2. Flushing the boat. I am planning on fishing all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Do I need to flush the boat between days or is it ok for me to just flush it on Monday before I head back home.

3. Any recommended tools or equipment to have onboard? Planning on having a vhf, regular safety gear, socket set, spare plugs, 1 qt of oil

Just to let you know there are going to be 4 adult men and all of our gear. Also planning on taking my tower off.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments

 

[Dean P]

I am currently planning to trailer down to Port O'Connor in Texas about 7 hours away. I am wanting to go out about 30 miles offshore then do it again the next day. I have a few questions for the more experienced saltwater guys on here.

1. Fuel consumption. I am wanting to know if there is a target rpm or mph I should be shooting for to get the best fuel consumption. Is it unrealistic to get 2 mpg? What is a more realistic number. I plan on bringing an extra 18 gals of fuel in gas cans on the swim platform.

2. Flushing the boat. I am planning on fishing all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Do I need to flush the boat between days or is it ok for me to just flush it on Monday before I head back home.

3. Any recommended tools or equipment to have onboard? Planning on having a vhf, regular safety gear, socket set, spare plugs, 1 qt of oil

Just to let you know there are going to be 4 adult men and all of our gear. Also planning on taking my tower off.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments

Comments: I'm sure others will chime in.
VHS radio (mounted) Your cell phones will not work out there.
Epirb
Trim Tabs
Extra Gas
You should flush whenever you take the boat out of the water. If you can't don't worry about it.
if you're diving you'll need the appropriate flag displayed
2 mpg is realistic although I'm not sure where that would be on your boat. I would assume around 5000 RPMs.

 

[Julian]

I wouldn't take the tower off.....I'd use it to mount your 8' marine radio antenna. The higher the antenna, the better your range will be.

 

[VaMarine]

If this article is accurate on the numbers. Best Speed is 28.4 mph and should get you to 3 mpg at 7000 rpm. Not sure you'd be able to make that on the Gulf, but you should be able to do better than 5000 rpm which gives you 8mph (2.1 mpg). If you have fuel available to be purchased, I'm not sure bringing 18g with you on the water is worth the extra weight. Unless you are trying not to refuel while down there.

As for cleaning it out, I live on the Chesapeake Bay the boat sits in the water all weekend with out any issues, and then gets pulled out and sprayed out on sunday. The only concern would be the painted trailer if you have it and making sure you get it cleaned well.

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[swatski]

My 0.02

Assuming you are going out 30 mile and then coming strait back, no trolling or burning gas not clocking miles - I would plan to burn no more than a third going out, so you have 2/3 to get back. Extra fuel is a very good idea.

Does your boat show burn rates? Do you trust your gauge, had it been working reliably - when you refuel.

Track weather like crazy. That’s the most important factor by 1000 fold.

—

 

[Wisefam22]

Idk what boat you have.. mine is 06 sx230 most fuel efficient for me is 7700rpm ends up being a out 28mph on calm flat water... in chop it runs down to about 20mph and burns 10.5gph.

In chop I had to throttle up to a out 8300rpm to keep it at 23-24mph and burned close to 13gph.

Bring extra you should be fine going 60 miles total but conditions will dictate how much you use.

 

[Liveto99]

Take this and relax you can be out there in 30 min at 60mph and troll all day.

 

[Beachbummer]

I think the numbers from the speed test were taken downhill on a glass day... My boat does absolutely not do 28mph at 7000. (i have an 08 SX230) Maybe 7500-7700 as reported by @Wisefam22 to hit 28. A bit faster than minimum planning is a pretty good economical speed for me. When I go from Clear Lake to find Blue water in Galveston Bay, because the blue water is close, it's about a 70 mile round trip. I have returned from almost 1/2 to a little over 1/4 remaining, but I'm really close to land the entire time, and I only go when the seas are very nice (and if the blue/clear water is near), so I don't have a need for extra fuel. If the sea is flat and comfortable you should be more than OK, and can go to 35 mph to speed up your trip without ill effects. If the seas are horrendous you may want to rethink the trip on a comfort and fuel level, but keeping at above planning speed will ensure you get the best reasonable mileage.

 

[capt]

UPDATE: The trip went very well! Boat preformed great! I got a little over 2 mpg avg. This consisted of cruising 40 miles offshore at about 28 mph, and trolling for a couple hours and then cruising in around 33 mph. I brought an extra 15 gallons of fuel with me just in case. I ended up adding 10 gallons when we arrived at our fishing spot to get the gas cans off the deck. We caught tons of Kingfish trolling, some redsnapper, a bonnethead shark and I also hooked into a HUGE stingray. It was really fun to fight that fish! It was so powerful.

After my first season with my boat I am so pleased with all the things it can do. I cannot think of another boat that would be able to do what I did with my boat this past season. Tons of tubing, wake boarding, knee boarding, freshwater fishing, trolling at extremely slow speeds (2.5 MPH) for striper fish, going fishing 40 miles offshore, and on top off all of that I was surfing behind it at the end of the season! Truly a great season and tons of fun this past year! Cant wait till water warms up again to get back on the surfboard.

 

[Wisefam22]

@capt what speed do you troll for kingfish and what is that setup? Want to learn more for next trip to the keys

 

[capt]

We were trolling around 5mph and trolling these.

 

[4x15mph]

Need some fish pics! Great thread and like reading about efficiency/cruising

 

[capt]

I don't have many pics from this trip. It's hard to be the captain and photographer.

 

[pmustico]

We were trolling around 5mph and trolling these.View attachment 108384View attachment 108385

Thanks for the info!

 

[OverlandingGoat]

Just thinking about going out 40 miles gives me pause. I hope to get off the beach by a mile or so this year, baby steps. That ray looked huge, I know the skates I get from the surf are strong, that thig must have been amazing.

 

[washipdog]

Just thinking about going out 40 miles gives me pause. I hope to get off the beach by a mile or so this year, baby steps. That ray looked huge, I know the skates I get from the surf are strong, that thig must have been amazing.

I felt the same way when I bought my boat, but now we have been offshore up to 10 miles. Fortunately, we fish in a high traffic area so we always see other boats and at 10 miles we can still see the shore. Now I'm planning a 30 mile trip as soon as the weather settles down a bit. I was out 3 miles last weekend trolling for Kings.

 

[jtwrace]

How about 25+ miles on a PWC?

 

[capt]

I'm planning on going fishing again out of Sabine Pass this weekend. Plan on fishing between 30 to 40 miles offshore. Looking to limit out on Red Snapper then do some trolling. I'll report how things go when I get back.

 

[anmut]

How about 25+ miles on a PWC?

That's insane...

 

[jtwrace]

That's insane...

Hardest part was landing the drone in open waters, ironically the weather report was way off; forecast said 2-3' rollers. Instead we got 3-5' rollers. As you probably saw....a lot of time in the air. Of course we do this with the proper equipment too which is very important regardless of the vessel.