I just got rid of a 26 foot sailboat. Since I had it in my backyard on a lift I'd only use it when the weather was good. I can only remember being rained on a couple of times. And in local use I never ever encountered what I would have considered to be scary weather.

So that is the _base_line upon which I made the decision to buy this boat. For local use it will be great.... I'm pretty sure.

In spite of my logic above and in previous posts I am not 100% confident of my choice to run this boat down here on its hull - especially in the wake of the general tide of opinion here. But - I'm still going to do it - only with maybe just a little more caution.

Since I've been checking the weather in the Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and Allbemarle sound - and it seems that it is generally about a foot of chop. That is at this point going to be my pre-condition for a crossing. The water has to be 1 foot or less.

Albemarle is a 90 minute run, the Chesapeake has a billion harbors and marinas in which to take refuge, it is the Delaware that scares me. It is pretty much a 50 mile run so I need a entire day (5 hours) of good weather to make it. There are very few anchorages, and even fewer marinas to refuel or seek refuge in. The mouth of the Delaware is open to the Atlanta ocean. I figure once I am past the Delaware it is home free.

And of course the delaware I take on the second day from the dock.

Here's a question on a similar topic:



My sweetie and I are in the San Francisco Bay Area. We're considering
buying a 35' Stardust Silver Queen houseboat up in the Sacramento
Delta, and bringing it down to South San Francisco. The trip would
involve crossing the SF and San Pablo bays. We're thinking in terms of
making the crossing in the morning when winds are light. The longest
unprotected stretch of water would be about 10-15 miles. The total distance would be about 90 miles.



Is this a dumb idea? We'd be aiming for relatively calm water, up to
maybe 1 ft. chop. Beyond that, we would stay in a protected place.



The boat has a 225hp Mercruiser I/O.



Opinions?



Thanks a lot...

Check weather, do not idle along, push her up to 3300 rpm and go. That bay gets pretty rough but at times it is calm.

Note to self: Don't buy a Carver or Silverton - they sink in the intracoastal.

Note: Leaving early in the morning when conditions are calm can lead to big trouble as the day progresses and conditions worsen.

Better to leave later in calm conditions that you know aren't going to change.

Whew what a thread! Great stuff.

Closer I hope that your statement about being 'home free' when the Del Bay is aft you is tongue in cheek. Considering the waters you'll encounter along the way you won't be home free until you throw your last dock line.

One of the reasons Bluebeard (the pirate) loved NC waters was because they were (and still are so) treacherous. Often times his victims had nowhere to run and if they did run they ran aground.

There are several islands on the NC coast that are full of free range cattle that are descendants of the cattle that made it ashore off the Spanish wrecks that lost their way in those waters. Downbursts and waterspouts are hard to predict and fairly common around the Albemarle Sound.

I agree with OH that you're better shoving off late when the weather calms down and can be accurately predicted for several hours.

Godspeed mate.

The airline Capt will get his feet wet the way things were before wings. He may come out of it as a sea Captain. Good luck Capt.

Wow, when I started this thread by sharing my little adventure, I did so purely for informational purposes. I never thought it would set off all this discussion. Certainly I believe that you can cross the Atlantic in a pontoon boat if you get lucky with the weather every day and can carry enough fuel. You often read stories of those who do such daring deeds and live to tell about them. But my original point remains valid for those who keep safety of their crew and vessel uppermost in their minds. That is that you should always try to match your equipment to your task and conditions then existing. Not all boats are equal and certainly not all skippers are equal. Today I would opt for a good trawler to do the Great Loop. Slower speed but stable platform with better fuel economy. But if you want to try it on a jet-ski you can rest easy knowing that some fool has already done it.