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Distance Offshore

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by bluemaxbubba, Jun 5, 2009.

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  1. bluemaxbubba, Jun 5, 2009
    #1
    bluemaxbubba

    bluemaxbubba New Member

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    Charleston
    How safe would you feel taking an older Hatteras 43 offshore? This is a 1974 w/ twin 8v53s that ran well during an 800 mile ICW trip. However, the shoreline remained in sight at all times. Would you feel the need to perform an engine survey prior to going offshore after a trouble free 800 mile run? She does not currently have radar.. & a sudden storm is my main concern. The first trip would be Atlantic off the coast of SC.. maybe 20 miles out & back. My other concern would be ocean currents in a boat that prefers to cruise at 11 knots. I don't want to find myself having to push the old engines much harder than 2K if I can avoid it. Any thoughts?
  2. NYCAP123, Jun 5, 2009
    #2
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    As I first started reading your post I was expecting a run to St. Augustine or St. Simon. 20 miles is barely out to Charleston's A buoy. Try a trip to Hilton Head or Savannah instead. It's more interesting. You can always come back on the inside. A '74 43 Hat is a good boat and if it just made an 800 mile run it must be running pretty well. Of course check the weather before going offshore and don't go if storms, wind or fog are forecast. Also, make sure you have the proper safety equipment. If the weather is clear no radar is needed, and a handheld GPS will take you home. Ocean currents are no real concern with an 11 kt. boat. However the inlet could be a concern. Charleston has a long entrance and the waves often roll in there pretty tall. Remember to try to ride on the top, back of the wave and not go over the top not slide back down in front of the following wave. Again, pick your weather. Early AM tends to be calmest. Run out the inlet and back to get a feel for how the boat handles going into and with a following sea.
  3. bluemaxbubba, Jun 6, 2009
    #3
    bluemaxbubba

    bluemaxbubba New Member

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    I’m going to take your advice & run the inlet a few times. It sounds as though the inlet could be a limiting factor. If so, I could explore a few others. The idea of a run to Hilton Head also sounds like a good starter trip for open water. I like to imagine a trip to Bimini could be realistic at some point next year. What would you feel confidant as a maximum offshore range?? Assume 400 gallons of fuel and roughly 1.2 gallons per mile while cruising the smooth ICW.
  4. NYCAP123, Jun 6, 2009
    #4
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    1/3 out, 1/3 back and 1/3 for emergency. Also, if that 1.2 was figured while cruising the ICW I'd guess it reflects statute miles not nautical miles (1.15sm).
  5. Pascal, Jun 6, 2009
    #5
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    not sure what you mean by ocean current... heck on the ICW a 2kt current is not unusual so your ground speed drops a little, no big deal. except for the gulf stream, there isn't much significant current off SC.

    indeed, the bigger concern are the inlets, except of course for the big ones. Running an inlet with the tide opposing the wind can be dangerous, especially on an underpowered boat. When i run offshore, i always review the charts first to know which inlet i can use and which one i woudnt' try without local knowledge and/or good conditions.

    why woudl you want to go 20 miles out in the ocean jsut for the fun of it, not fishing with a 43...

    that said, with the proper safety and back up equipemnt (EPIRB, back up GPS, radar in places where fog is an issue, a life raft, handheld VHF) i woudlnt' have a problem taking a well maintained old hatt to across the 50 miles to the bahamas for instance or do a run along the coast out of sight.

    The other big issue are your fuel tanks and filters. 800NM on the ICW barely stirred the bottom of the tanks, so you dont' really know what's in there. Most diesel engine problems come down to fuel. once you get out inthe ocean and start stirring the fuel, you may get some stuff coming out and clogging yoru filter.

    I'd go for a few short runs first, stir the stuff, come back, check the racors (and check the vac gauge too). Ideally, for offshore cruising you want the dual racors to be able to switch on the fly.

    also, with DD, even though they are "self bleeding", you really want to have a priming pump installed so that you dont run the batteries down trying to re prime with the starter. Easy and cheap to do, if you don't have priming pumps, check out the hatteras owners site, there is a FAQ on that.

    and obvously have some spare racors on board and know how to replace them.