Range of my rig.

Fishery Pokery · 01 July 2009, 20:03

Hi Guys,
I have a S3.40 Avon with a 9.8hp two stroke. I use it for fishing, and it does 17 knots ish, maybe 12 comfortably. I slip at a slipway in a port that is well sheltered. I only go out in good conditions, and when they have turned snotty I head back in nice and slow and the boat copes fine. I fish in the North East, in the North Sea.
I have all the safety gear and at the moment I use it to fish about a mile and half from shore, but was wondering what kind of range, both from shore and my launch point, you would put on my rig? And if I went a for a little longer sib, would that increase my range , or just make things more comfortable?
Cheers,
Geoff

chewy · 01 July 2009, 20:17

Hmmm, tell us the size of your fuel tank then and we might have a chance.

I think as a rough rule of thumb at WOT 10hp burns 1 US gallon an hour, a 20hp 2 US gallons an hour, you get the picture.
Working on that you've got a 25 litre tank you'll have 6hrs at WOT, you need some in reserve too though!

6hrs seems a long range, I'm sure someone will put me right if I've bollocksed up?

Fishery Pokery · 01 July 2009, 20:42

Thanks for taking the time Chewy.
I haven't worded my question quite right. I am not so worried about the distance I get from my fuel, as I have a couple of tanks, more what you thought was a sensible distance out for me to go out.
I read of people on here going to the Isle of Wight and back. I would never go anything like that far, and I know it is down to me and what I feel comfortable doing, but was wondering others thoughts on the limitations of this size of boat. At the moment I limit myself to 1 1/2 miles.

Nos4r2 · 01 July 2009, 20:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff_Jubb

Thanks for taking the time Chewy.
I haven't worded my question quite right. I am not so worried about the distance I get from my fuel, as I have a couple of tanks, more what you thought was a sensible distance out for me to go out.
I read of people on here going to the Isle of Wight and back. I would never go anything like that far, and I know it is down to me and what I feel comfortable doing, but was wondering others thoughts on the limitations of this size of boat. At the moment I limit myself to 1 1/2 miles.

If you go to the IOW you're almost never more than 1.5 miles away from the shore and there's almost always huge amounts of boats around-you're usually in more danger of getting run down than anything else.

It's all down to location and local conditions. If 1.5 miles is what you're happy with, then stick to it. If you decide to go further, do it.

Fishery Pokery · 01 July 2009, 21:11

I have just looked at a chart, I had no idea Wight was so close to the mainland! Thanks Nos4r2.
There are some wrecks 3 to 4 miles out up here,do you think this is to far? I won't sue you, I promise!

Nos4r2 · 01 July 2009, 21:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff_Jubb

I have just looked at a chart, I had no idea Wight was so close to the mainland! Thanks Nos4r2.
There are some wrecks 3 to 4 miles out up here,do you think this is to far? I won't sue you, I promise!

Well... I've been 4 miles out before escorting an inflatable-but as I said, it depends on local conditions and hazards. If it gets rough, you won't have fun getting back in so if I was personally going to do it, I'd have to be pretty darn certain of the tides and weather. I'd certainly be looking at coming in before it became snotty as an hour of displacement speeds won't be much fun at all.

thornbackflound · 01 July 2009, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Well... I've been 4 miles out before escorting an inflatable-but as I said, it depends on local conditions and hazards. If it gets rough, you won't have fun getting back in so if I was personally going to do it, I'd have to be pretty darn certain of the tides and weather. I'd certainly be looking at coming in before it became snotty as an hour of displacement speeds won't be much fun at all.

Fantstic Advice Nos4r2 and a very good advice to follow,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Er don t forget to JOUN THE SIB CLUB ON wsf ,lol

Fishery Pokery · 01 July 2009, 21:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Well... I've been 4 miles out before escorting an inflatable-but as I said, it depends on local conditions and hazards. If it gets rough, you won't have fun getting back in so if I was personally going to do it, I'd have to be pretty darn certain of the tides and weather. I'd certainly be looking at coming in before it became snotty as an hour of displacement speeds won't be much fun at all.

Thanks again Nos4r2. From the sound of your reply you don't think it is a great idea, which is good enough for me. I do ok of the close in wrecks anyway.
Thanks for taking the time!

m chappelow · 01 July 2009, 22:33

think your about on your safe limit in your area ,any more further out in a small boat and if the weather turns it can be a daunting place .you also have to remember that each area can differ ,a few miles along the coast where there are plenty of harbours ,safe havens to get out if something goes wrong or the weather turns nasty, you could go with the basic of equipment ,fuel ,ect ,then theres going the same distance along a coast with high sheer cliffs to the waters edge or with no safe haven, so you
need to be equiped and enough fuel as if you were going 5 miles out to sea. i have had a couple of runs in my sib from teesmouth up nearly as far as peterlee
and south as far as skiningrove staying about a mile or closer off shore but only in settled weather conditions .

codprawn · 01 July 2009, 23:26

I have a 3.1m with a 15hp 4 stroke - we have crossed the Bristol Channel in it - about 26 miles each way. It was a nice day and there was a typical Atlantic swell - nice long rollers.

We have often coast hopped about 15 miles each way.

My boat has a top speed of about 23-25mph so we should be able to get out of trouble fairly quickly.

Just do what you feel comfortable with.

m chappelow · 01 July 2009, 23:43

read a rescue report few years back that a lifeboat crew in wales had come across a 12 foot s.i.b during an excersie ,transpired that the 2 lads had set off from ireland with the intentions of going to the isle of man for the weekend but they missed the i.o.m in bad viz and kept on going until they ran out of fuel and drifted towards wales .

codprawn · 02 July 2009, 00:37

Mad - I make sure I take a hand held GPS and now I have charts on my mobile phone/pda as well - in a freezer bag of course!!!

thornbackflound · 02 July 2009, 08:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff_Jubb

I have just looked at a chart, I had no idea Wight was so close to the mainland! Thanks Nos4r2.
There are some wrecks 3 to 4 miles out up here,do you think this is to far? I won't sue you, I promise!

Geoff if you are fishing the solent,hill head is a cracking place to fish inshore from,,,,,,,,,smuts and small tope to be had ,don have to be far out either ,im hoping to get my rig down that way one of these days

Flyguy · 02 July 2009, 09:33

If you are planning an IOW trip then don't go on spring tides as they are fierce around there. You can get 4 foot standing waves around the back of the island and youll need more than 10hp to be safe.

chewy · 02 July 2009, 10:19

He's in Sunderland not the Solent!

Fishery Pokery · 04 July 2009, 20:43

Thanks guys! One last set of questions!
What restricts range? Is it size or power?
For instance if I had a 5m sib, would my safe range increase?
Or if I had a 25hp engine instead of a 10?
Or is it a combination of the two?
Just interested....
Geoff

chewy · 04 July 2009, 21:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff_Jubb

Thanks guys! One last set of questions!
What restricts range? Is it size or power?
For instance if I had a 5m sib, would my safe range increase?
Or if I had a 25hp engine instead of a 10?
Or is it a combination of the two?
Just interested....
Geoff

Nope all depends on how you handle your SIB, the power will help ie you can dodge waves quicker.

codprawn · 04 July 2009, 21:14

Power is pretty important when it comes to tides!!!

Also the more speed you have the easier you can outrun bad weather IF the waves will let you..........

prairie tuber · 06 July 2009, 14:50

What restricts range?

The amount of fuel you carry! On most of my outings, I'll bring 4 x 20 liter fuel cans. This will get me a range a bit over 200 km which is fairly typical for most of my weekend outings (1 or 2 nights out). If I'm just out for a full day, I might put on about 180 Km or so (round trip).

Always bring the appropriate charts & compass in addition to you handheld GPS (never depend exclusively on an electronic navigation device). Since I started travelling on large lakes (L. Winnipeg), where you can be 20-25 km from the nearest shore, I now also bring a handheld VHF radio with me.

Start off with short trips and gradually go further as you get a feel for your range and what your boat can handle. Always, always, always, bring an auxillary fuel tank and and extra fuel line!

jyasaki · 06 July 2009, 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

What restricts range?

The amount of fuel you carry!

Well, perhaps the amount of fuel you carry and how efficeiently (or not) your boat burns it.

On my Achilles 14 I ran a 6 gallon (US) fuel tank; would run a couple of weekends easily at double the ranges the OP was asking about (figure, I don't know; maybe 8 trips of three to four miles?)

Quote:

Start off with short trips and gradually go further as you get a feel for your range and what your boat can handle. Always, always, always, bring an auxillary fuel tank and and extra fuel line!

Sound advice.

If you can see the fuel remaining in your tank, you can also do a rule of thirds thing: 1/3 of the tank for the trip out, 1/3 for the return, and 1/3 for contingencies. Hopefully you'll never need the last third.

On a small boat with a smallish engine, you might be surprised at how far you can go on a couple of gallons. (Then again, I suppose, you might not.

)

jky