What would you do to prepare for an open ocean trip?
 

I'm thinking about going from Miami -> Bimini -> Bahamas in my little outlaw. The trip would be in the day during calm weather. Aside from GPS what would you do to prepare for something like this? Radios? Charts? Preventative maintenance? I know a lot of you guys have probably done this before, tips on navigating reefs or just ocean boating in general?

Minimum of two (2) engine or at least three other boat. 24 is little to small for my comfort.

x2 at least have 2 motor's or another boat going .if you get stock in the gulf stream it will pull you north with a strong current anywhere from 10 to 20 mph at time's :(

Buy a bigger boat with twins.

How many miles is it??

There's talk of people taking jetski's too

It's not in the budget

Miami to Bimini is 50
Bimini to The Bahamas is about 80

The distance from where I put in to where I hang out on the lake is about 30 miles. I've run up there, turned around and run back absolutely as hard as she'll go numerous times. I know that the ocean is a totally different ballgame than a lake, but the distance alone doesn't seem to be that big of an issue.

I have made that trip in a 20' Seacraft (solo boat) with a single 175 Johnson more times than most here are years old, it's only 40 miles to the flats - is it smart looking back, probably not the smartest.

Always better with another boat but single engine is fine here's my advice:

- have a sat phone - you can call someone along the way and just say "hey we're doing good and we're here, call you in 2 hours" if they don't here from you they know where you were and the Coast Gaurd can figure out where you could be?

- always have plenty of drinking water

- spare set of belts

- oil filter, fuel filter and enough oil for 1 oil change

- spare prop

- sea anchor

- a chart is good and make a little list of compass headings before hand so you know without GPS what direction you should be heading to get to your next waypoint and so forth

- most important drive the boat easy and flat so it never leaves the water!!!

Do all that and you'll be fine, that's what we did for many years and of course another boat tagging along is great to have.

+1 did it many times in a 25' Donzi

Have done it in 21 Mako , friends did it in 21 Donzi... Way before gps OR cellphones..
Hell I used to go 10-15 miles offshore in a 17ft Formula..

Obviously dont go time of year when weather is rough and be prepared to stay a couple extra days if weather turns once you get there. Like everything else taking your time and using your brain wins over just having a bigger boat every time..

Water, sunscreen, EPIRB and cyanide tabletes

there is never 10-20 mph current in the gulfstream, maybe 4-5 tops.

Its is an easy crossing if the seas are calm, at 40mph it takes me 90 min from the key biscayne lighthouse to bimini sands resort. You have about 1 month left of calm seas before the cold fronts start and it will be to rough to go until april. Bring a spare handheld GPS & VHF, life jackets and water and make sure your sea tow or boat us is up to date, there are always enough ships passing by that you could get help if you needed it, and in the summer plenty of boaters. Assuming you can contact them and relay your position and problem. I assume you can cruise faster than 40 so on a flat day it would be an easy trip and Bimini is awesome.

That was going to be my suggestion. Definitely an EPIRB.

You should talk to Stu at Florida Power Boat Club about how the last few years of that run went and stay far away with your boat. It sounds like a 45 min walk in the park but it can take down guys twice as big as you with ocean going boats. Ask him about the guy who tore up his boat and cut his face apart on his windshield :poopoo:

you are correct , I just researched online

sorry this just what I herd bad info ,
mike

I was wondering how the Hatians paddled through a 20 mph current :lolhit:

They run fast and on a schedule. Both make for less than ideal conditions.

The biggest thing you can do is have a very flexible schedule. Monitor the hell out of the weather. If the weather sucks, don't make the crossing. If the weather is great when you are over there leave a day early to cross when it's nice.

You should be idling out as the sun comes up. Have a regular GPS, handheld GPS, and if you have a smart phone... Navionics as backup. Handheld VHF and a dump bag if the crap hits the fan... with water in it, the handheld VHF and the handheld GPS. This is in addition to the above parts that were mentioned... Except I suggest 2 fuel filters in case you get a bad run of fuel.

With a single... go with other boats and one of the boats should have a tow rope. There are plenty of groups / clubs that do runs and the Bahamas even does boat flings that are designed for this very thing.

http://www.bahamas.com/webform/9029/boating-flings

Ditch bag.

You're gonna need a bigger boat
 

Twins! or more. Less than 30 feet when the gulf stream kicks up in the afternoon and its trouble. Epirb and plenty of spares. If I knew then I would have been more cautious. I've had my butt thrown across the bridge on a 58 Hatteras coming home close to Miami :helmet:

youll be fine, September is a great month for crossing, no cold fronts yet! rent a epirb and sat phone,have all flares, a gps or 2 a vhf or 2. Pay very very close attention to the weather, even though it 40-60 nm depending on where you depart, things change real quickly. These arent words to deter you, just to take it seriously

And I know of plenty of people that have hurt themselves seriously on an inland lake on those "dangerous" cruiser wakes.....

Smaller and slower boats many times fare better on the crossing because they ride the swells up and down
instead of trying to fly thru them as the big fast boats try to do..
Again using your brains can make all the difference in the world ..

Do a search online "miami to bimini" and you would be suprised the amount of 20ft-26ft center consoles that cross
on a regular basis to go fishing over there.. I would imagine a big bad go-fast could do what a little fishing boat can do?

Here is my offshore safety equipment list:

1) Boat with VHF radio

2) Fully charged backup Icom handheld VHF Radio in case boat VHF fails or total electrical failure

3) Boat with GPS

4) Garmin handheld GPS with spare batteries in case boat GPS fails or total electrical system failure

5) Compass

6) Charts reviewed for bearings prior to trip.

7) Weather reports reviewed prior to trip.

8) Lifevests on.

9) Flare gun with minimum of four flares (check expiration dates)

10) Four handheld day/night flares (check expiration dates)

11) Signal mirror for signaling other boats and aircraft

12) International Orange Distress flag

13) FastFind Personal Locator Beacon attached to lifevest with lanyard

14) MAG ML100 Flashlight that is programmed to signal SOS with spare batteries.

There was a guy going from Long Beach, CA to Catalina Island (27 miles) a few years back on a sailboat. The sail tore. The engine wouldn't start. His electrical system failed, so he could not radio anyone. The found him several months later off the coast of South America. He was still alive, barely, after catching some fish, and collecting rain water with his sail. I don't want to be that guy.

Michael

...

A must

He ate sea birds! Amazing story, thanks for sharing

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=41831

small inflatable life raft.

How long does it take for barnacles to start attaching themselves to things? What type of growth would I see on the hull after leaving it in the water for ~5 days?

You're not leaving it in the water docked, you're using it for 5 or so days and not taking it out of the water - correct? Nothing will grow on it that won't wash off.

It wouldn't be docked for 5 days straight, no. I don't know what our itinerary is yet, but there's a possibility it would be docked for a day or two (I wouldn't imagine we'd stay in one place longer than that), and then every night.

I stayed in the Keys for 5 nights this summer with my boat docked at my rental house. Nothing on the boat at all.

Goodluck on your run!

What I do (or I should say used to do because it's been more than 10 years now, sad to say!), is run the boat to a nearby sand bar if you can find one (Treasure cay has a great spot). If there isn't a nearby one that will work I run out and anchor off a reef and do a combo of catching lobster and cleaning the bottom with snorkel / mask / fins.

not much will grow so a quickie wipe down is all it takes, mainly on the transom and sides where the water doesn't rush over while running.

BTW, it's legal (or at least used to be so check) to Pole spear lobster in the bahamas so they are easy as hell to catch. We'd take a portable grill with us and cook on the dock when we got back.

Here is a link to my Naples to Key West trip. It was the biggest ocean trip we have done, and it was a blast.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...-key-west.html

I keep a ton of spares on the boat, and we planned for every possibility we could think of. I had a dry-bag with abandon ship supplies ready to go (waterproof radio, EPIRB, first aid kit, water, etc.) Wear your lanyard, watch the weather, and make sure your boat is in tip top shape and you should be fine.

I love making trips like these :)

Here is a good thread on spares and equipment.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/b...-bring-me.html

I've always been a proponent of dual batteries for each engine. If you have dual batteries your battery switch and electrical charging system should allow for the charging of both batteries at the same time when the engine is running. I prefer that my electronics are connected to a deep cycle battery and tied into the charging system.

I'm dying to hear this one......

As I tell my kid when loading his Quad and Dirt Bikes, "Load for the crash........not for the ride"

Just be prepared for the worst and have a ball.

You will never regret doing it.....but you will always regret "Not" doing it.

I have a ditch bag ready to go, and most of the things others mentioned. Remember, cell phones don't work very far off shore. Paper charts and a compass and knowing how to use them is all you need for a back-up GPS. You can rent a EPIRB....cheap insurance.

We go to Catalina Island for as long as 10 days in the water. Nothing that won't just wipe off.

Do keep your eyes open. There can be big junk in the water like logs and shipping containers that will ruin your day.