how far out?

[Sid Little]

Hi

I have bought a dory 14 ft boat with a 25hp engine

I have only been using it on the Thames at the moment but was wondering if it was suitable to take on the sea? I am obviously not going to get to France in it but is it suitable for some marks? I was thinking Poole area but could go anywhere from Bogner to Plymouth give or take.

I would be interested in a few mackeral or bass or anything really.

I dont have a set up for the sea yet but was wondering before splashing out

Cheers

 

[mikench]

Be very wary about going to sea Supersonic!

Eddy

 

[peter crabtree]

I agree with Mike, the sea is a lot different to the Thames ( which can be quite dodgy anyway). As an ex-professional seafarer I advise you think hard before venturing out alone. Things happen very quickly!

 

[barbelboi]

During my younger days we used to take our 14' Enterprise dingy to Bosham harbour, Chichester, for a bit of mackerel feathering without any problems..there were generally two or three of us though.

 

[theartist]

Having done a lot of river estuary fishing lately I can tell you the local sea faring folk will go out in just about anything but the difference is they know the waters very well, one would hope so anyway. You mention Bognor for example the River Arun down the road has the 2nd fastest tide in the country and you got Selsey too which is known for fast tides and heavy drifting weed at times. Poole could be a better bet but it can be inches deep at low tide so investing in navigation maps may help.

 

[Steve Arnold]

Plenty of dangers in coastal waters, very often more dangerous than the open sea!

I have had many small boats from 10' to 17' and had some good sea fishing in suitable areas around our coast. That was after doing a great deal of shore angling and getting to understand how the sea behaves - or NOT!

Very late on in my boating days, and after spending a decade in the Royal Navy, I still felt I was not totally comfortable with my boating skills. So I booked a RYA level 2 power boat course, best money you can spend IMHO!

RYA Powerboat Courses | Powerboat | Courses | Learning | Courses & Training | RYA

A year after that I did my advanced power boat course and somewhere between those a marine VHF course.

As well as giving you experience and expert tuition these courses can be great fun. Find the right school and they are not too expensive either!

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Years ago we used to rent day boats from Christchurch Harbour to fish for the Mullet there.

On one occasion my fishing buddy asked the operator "How far can we go out"

His reply was classic . . . it was:














"How far can you swim?"

 

[reeltime]

reliable engine and an extended good weather lets me take my small boat 30-40 miles offshore , but a long ride home if it blows up

 

[Chevin]

reliable engine and an extended good weather lets me take my small boat 30-40 miles offshore , but a long ride home if it blows up

30-40 miles off shore - in a small boat? I don't know what you mean when you say small but I used to skipper a 23 footer with two 70hp Yamahas on it and I would never consider anything like that kind of distance. Even just a light breeze against the tide can make things nasty very quickly.