bajaden
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boats
Well, I've taken your advice and I've been doing a lot of reading, and checking out web-sites. On boats there seems to be two school of thoughts. Some
people seem to prefer a fairly large boat, 20ft or better with a lot of power. Others seem to like smaller boats, 12 to 14ft with smaller engines for
working closer to shore and the reefs. So, my question is, as I try to soak up the vast wisdom available on this board, if one has to have just one
boat, which would be prefered as the all around boat?
Den
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PacO
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I like my small, 14' boat. But that's just because it's all I can afford. If I could swing it I'd go around 19'-20' with some power.
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Bruce R Leech
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with a 22 foot or larger panga you can do any kind of fishing here safely. you don't need to have a large motor on it only if you are in a hurry and
have a lot of money to spend on gas. my favorite boat was a 28 foot Tiburon panga with a 10 hp 4 stroke it would make 10 knots at 3/4 throttle and use
less than a gallon per hour. I paid 400 dollars for it plus the motor and upgrades.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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bajaden
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Thanks for the info guys. Hey Bruce, are there any of those $400.00 pangas still around?
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Hook
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You buy the kind of boat
for the area you plan to fish regularly. This is how so many types of boats have been created over the centuries.
Where (SPECIFICALLY) do you plan on fishing? Just saying "Baja" is not specific enough.
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Skipjack Joe
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I want a bigger fish
A lot of guys start out small and keep upgrading to larger and larger boats. They start out with a 14' aluminum boat. Then they feel they're missing
on many opportunities to get dorado and yellowtail at the islands. So they get a 16' foot boat. Then they want to get to the better sailfish and
marline grounds. They want to go 25 miles out to sea or go out to those banks 20 miles out of Mag Bay for the wahoo. So they upgrade to a 20' boat.
It's like the Zane Grey syndrome. He started out fishing for smallmouths on the Delaware River and ended up pursuing for black marlin off Tahiti.
For me personally, I like to explore remote baja destinations while pursuing fish. You know, a bit of fishing, a bit of diving, a bit of clamming, a
bit of shore exploration. It all adds up to the total experience. I would prefer driving down some dirt road and beach launching then launching at,
say, the Pt Escondido ramp, going out 20 miles and trolling for the big ones. A fourteen footer with a 15hp four stroke suits my kind of fishing
perfectly.
Like the guys said - it's about your value system. Unfortunately, sometimes you don't know what you want or don't want until you try it.
Actually, I don't agree with everything I've said here, but it's partly right.
[Edited on 5-24-2005 by Skipjack Joe]
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bajaden
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Well now that Im more confused than ever. NO, not seriously. I think Pompano is right with his quote. Having read my share of self help books,I know
what he means. I think for starters I'll start small and see where that leads me. Either that, or I'll buddy up to Pompano who seems to collect boats
and has one for every occasion. Anyway, thanks for all the advice. It was well received and appreciated.
Den....
Sailing through life in search of a dream.......
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Skipjack Joe
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bajaden
For your first boat you can't go wrong with either:
(a) 14' gregor with 15hp Honda four stroke
or
(b) 15' gregor with 25hp honda four stroke
Sorry for the confusion.
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Hook
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Still think it's mostly determined by the real estate mantra....
....location, location, location.
Joe's choices are good starters but both of those boats will be difficult to launch, alone, without a ramp or the perfect hard packed slope and a
trailer. Certainly they are doable over the beach, but not as easy as a trailer and ramp. The launching wheel manufacturers make it sound much easier
and quicker than it is. And they will be difficult to transport w/o a trailer unless you want to get an Eide Loader or something similar. It is also
very nice having a trailered boat for transporting stuff down to your location.
I'm not necessarily disagreeing with Joe. It's just that if you are committed to a size that pretty much forces you into a trailer, then why not step
up to the 17-19 foot range. A 19 foot boat can go just about anywhere. People fish them safely 50 miles out in the Pacific or the Cortez. Much better
ride, much more room and usually an internal gas tank, which is a big plus. You can also get a center console in this size which is a big plus for
distributing weight and staying dry in chop. A 14-15 foot boat that you steer from the rear can get squirrely in chop and swell if you're alone.
If you do decide you want just go with a cartopper, then look at 13 feet or under. The 15s can be a b-tch to muscle down to the shore w/o 4wd and a
15 horse 4 stroke is not light either.
So, whether your desired locations have a ramp or not can be important.
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bajaden
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Thanks Joe and Hook. I think I have a enough information to make a reasonable decision. Now all I have to do is find the money. Any advice on that
one.
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Skipjack Joe
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Hook,
I have just completed building my balanced wheel boat launcher which I purchased as a kit. Some of the guys at SLC have them and, if it works as well
in the field as it does in my garage, I am home free. My nine year old can lift the boat and motor with one hand and the wheels are so wide that it
should be fine for launching just about anywhere. I plan to use it on the Pacific beaches (protected coves) and at San Francisquito this summer.
I agree with all your stated reservations but I really think and hope that this is the solution. The only gotcha so far is that the wheels aren't
useful until the boat has been slid partly off the trailer. I have a 13'8" gregor, which I call a 14 footer, and it's doable with the motor still on
the transom. A 15 footer would be more difficult. A lot of guys like those 15 footers and the launcher works fine for them except for this one
problem.
The weight of the motor for a 15 footer (25hp) is definitely a problem. You just don't take that off the transom. My 15hp weighs 92 pounds and I have
cracked my transom brackets with it by driving on washboard roads. I now carry it inside the boat when traveling on dirt roads. Kira tells me if you
put huge tires on your trailer, deflate them, and drive real slowly you can take almost all bounce out of the ride, but I am not ready for the upgrade
in tires, yet. So handling the motor is an issue and I am maxed out on what I can lift. The only lifting I do is from the boat to the transom, after
that no more. I sometimes pay a younger local to help me with that if he's around.
For me, all of this is worth the effort for the opportunity to fish off the beaten track. Because that's what going to baja is all about.
I will give a report on this whole thing in a few weeks if all goes according to plan.
Bajaden:
There are other restrictions that a small boat has that have not been mentioned. The best fishing is still with live bait and creating a bait tank in
a small boat hasn't worked out real well for me so far. There just isn't room for the battery, wires, pump, etc. The other thing is safety in terms of
radio. The larger boats have mounted radios with antennas that can reach 25 miles. In a small boat you use a hand held job that has a range of 2-3
miles, which is almost useless.
Skipjack
[Edited on 5-26-2005 by Skipjack Joe]
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bajaden
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Thanks for the info Joe. If your around Mulege this summer, Let me know, Im good for a Danny's taco and a cervesa.
Den....
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Skipjack Joe
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Sounds good, Den.
I am looking forward to going to all those Mulege restaurants that Pompano and Bruce Leech have been talking about these last 2-3 months.
skipjack
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Hook
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Joe,
you are definitely headed in the right direction with your boat for the areas you want to visit. Keep us posted with good detail.
Heck, with Pompano headed north, maybe you can be the Mulege fish reporter for the time you're there.
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Skipjack Joe
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There's no replacing Pompano. He's one of a kind. That guy brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the board. I think he encouraged a lot of us to
post more than before. I know I did.
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Bruce R Leech
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Den be sure to get a good GPS.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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bajaden
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On my list Bruce. Now if I can just figure out where I'am, then I'll know where I have to come back to. In the meantime I'll be waiting for Joe's
reports. Adios Pompano.......
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Bruce R Leech
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when you get here you can do the reports.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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