Nautical Miles/ 228 Seafarer

[luckydude]

I was wondering about that. I looked at them but, I was also sent a site that does make them. It’s an interesting concept worth investigating. Thanks for the heads up.

If you find ones that look like they would work as well as Alan's please post. I originally thought Alan's would take up space in the cockpit but they seem fine.

There is a really good crew of kayakers in our waters, I've been watching Die Hard Fishing, Outdoor Chef Life, and others for a while. If I could schlep them down to some good fishing, that would be cool.

 

[wrxhoon]

I'm jealous that you can trim your bow up, that's super rare in our waters.

Most of the time I come back in following sea, I wouldn't dare trim in, risking diving in the wave in front of me. I trim in on a head sea .
We are in the same Pacific ocean, it is similar here , east coast NZ is the same too.

Weather for this week, only Saturday and Sunday we have 4 footers and 6-7 second periods and under 15 knt wind

 

[wrxhoon]

No one has answered this yet, but his question was the Nautical Mile Range of a Seafarer.

Assuming he chooses 50 miles as his safe trip range, the Nautical Mile Equivalent is 43.4.

I use statute miles too, but I thought I'd answer the question as written.

A nautical mile is one minute (160 of a degree) of latitude along any line of longitude. A statute mile times 15% will give you knt mile. (Approximate).
I nautical mile is 1852 mtrs, a statute mile is 1760 yards.

 

[luckydude]

Most of the time I come back in following sea, I wouldn't dare trim in, risking diving in the wave in front of me. I trim in on a head sea .
We are in the same Pacific ocean, it is similar here , east coast NZ is the same too.

Weather for this week, only Saturday and Sunday we have 4 footers and 6-7 second periods and under 15 knt wind

Wow, that's not ideal. And the rest of the week looks crazy. Is that normal?

I looked at windy.com and that big bay east of Auckland looks super flat. Any idea how the fishing is in there?

 

[seasick]

A nautical mile is one minute (160 of a degree) of latitude along any line of longitude. A statute mile times 15% will give you knt mile. (Approximate).
I nautical mile is 1852 mtrs, a statute mile is 1760 yards.

To be a tad more exact, The factor is 115% not 15%

A nautical mile is a bit over 6,000 feet (6072 approx)
As Wrxhoon noted, just use the 15% factor. For knots to MPH, multiply by 1.15. For example, 20 knots is close o 23 miles per hour.

 

[luckydude]

To be a tad more exact, The factor is 115% not 15%

A nautical mile is a bit over 6,000 feet (6072 approx)
As Wrxhoon noted, just use the 15% factor. For knots to MPH, multiply by 1.15. For example, 20 knots is close o 23 miles per hour.

Is there any point in using knots over mph? We're all sort of tuned in to mph or kmp, what does knots buy you other than being in the boating club?

 

[Doc Stressor]

Nautical miles were useful for chart based navigation because of the relationship to latitude. Now a day, using knots instead of miles or kilometers is largely historical. You sound like a real mariner when you use knots.

 

[Doc Stressor]

BTW, you guys are getting crappy fuel economy with those Yamahas. This was in a 1-2 ft chop.

 

[luckydude]

BTW, you guys are getting crappy fuel economy with those Yamahas. This was in a 1-2 ft chop.

What was the engine trim?

 

[Doc Stressor]

Looking at the gauge, about 65% up. I'll run at 70% when it's flat and get a little better economy. I can get 3.5 mpg at 3800 rpm when it's flat. If I trim the bow down below 50% the mileage goes to crap.

 

[luckydude]

Looking at the gauge, about 65% up. I'll run at 70% when it's flat and get a little better economy. I can get 3.5 mpg at 3800 rpm when it's flat. If I trim the bow down below 50% the mileage goes to crap.

Yeah, so I don't think it is the Yamaha's fault, I suppose it could be slightly different than Honda but not dramatically so. I run trimmed 100% forward almost 100% of the time, it's the only way I've found to have any sort of decent ride, trimming it back just makes the boat pound. I do tend to go faster than I should though

I'll have to wait for a flat day and see what I can get. I'll be super surprised if the Yamaha's were very different than Honda. I've heard good things about Honda but my engine has all of 20 hours on it, not about to switch it.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I previously had a 3.3L F250, which gets maybe 15% better mileage at cruise than the current 4.2 L version. I could get 3 mpg at 4000 rpm or below. But it would start to suck fuel as I went faster. This Honda has been amazing. The ECU seems to adapt to the boat or sea conditions over time. I never got over 2.5 mpg until I put over 20 hr on the engine. Maybe it is just a matter of break-in. But what I've observed is that the Variable Valve timing system (or whatever Honda calls it) doesn't kick in until almost 5000 rpm now. Earlier it would start at 4200 rpm and kick in and out causing the rpm to fluctuate. Now it stays in what the gauge calls ECO mode up to almost 5000 and gets much better mileage.

You shouldn't run your boat with the engine tucked all the way in. That is going to cause premature wear on your engine as well as poor fuel economy. The minimum amount of trim you should be using is the point where you just feel the engine torque pull go away at the steering wheel. That's assuming that you have the torque tab behind the prop adjusted properly. The best fuel economy will almost always be with the engine trimmed up just below the point where the propeller begins to ventilate. That won't give you a good ride in a chop, so you should adjust your trim within the range between ventilation and where the steering torque can be felt at the wheel. Sometimes you need to use the tabs to bring the bow down if it needs to go lower than you can get within the optimal engine trim range.

I have a bunch of friends with big bay boats that love to run fast with the tabs fully down in a chop. They keep the engine trimmed in the mid-range so that steering is easy. But I hate that ride because it's inefficient. I keep the trim range such that the prop doesn't ventilate under the given conditions and use 1 tab to keep the bow slightly higher on the windward side. I adjust my speed to give the best ride. I do something with the wheel as I go over waves to keep the boat from launching between waves. If I try to describe what I do I'll probably get it wrong. But I know that I can ride more comfortably when I'm steering than on autopilot in a sloppy sea.

As you gain more experience running your boat, you'll figure this stuff out and be able to get the best possible ride in any sea condition. There is no ideal engine trim, trim tab, speed, and steering action that works over all of the different conditions.

 

[glacierbaze]

edit: Doc types faster than I.

I don't know what, "I run trimmed 100% forward almost 100% of the time" means, but I assume it is 100% bow down, since you can't run 100% bow up without the props blowing out. That's a terrible way to run a boat, unless you're fighting a chop, at relatively slow speeds.
Trim the engine down to get on plane, and as soon as you're up,start trimming the engine up until the bow wave is breaking somewhere under your windshield, and experiment from there. You would be better off trimming up until the engine starts to ventilate, and then trim down until you get a good hook up, than to be riding around with the engine all the way down. That's a wet ride, bow steer, and terrible economy.
And if you use trim tabs to get on plane quicker, raise those back up, and then down only if you need them. Trim tabs are water resistance, so whenever I need one down, I always see if I can get the same result by bringing the other one up instead, resulting in less running resistance.

 

[luckydude]

edit: Doc types faster than I.

I don't know what, "I run trimmed 100% forward almost 100% of the time" means, but I assume it is 100% bow down, since you can't run 100% bow up without the props blowing out. That's a terrible way to run a boat, unless you're fighting a chop, at relatively slow speeds.
Trim the engine down to get on plane, and as soon as you're up,start trimming the engine up until the bow wave is breaking somewhere under your windshield, and experiment from there. You would be better off trimming up until the engine starts to ventilate, and then trim down until you get a good hook up, than to be riding around with the engine all the way down. That's a wet ride, bow steer, and terrible economy.
And if you use trim tabs to get on plane quicker, raise those back up, and then down only if you need them. Trim tabs are water resistance, so whenever I need one down, I always see if I can get the same result by bringing the other one up instead, resulting in less running resistance.

Are you guys going out on flat water? Because what you are saying works then. I'm usually 4-5' @8s, if I push the bow up I'm just smacking into the next swell over and over. I've tried and the ride goes to crap. Maybe there is some sweet spot I'm missing.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I wish I was there to show you how I do it. I ran the Pacific for many years. It's a very different sea condition than either Gulf or the Atlantic. You just can't run fast except during the rare days when it's pretty flat. The engine needs to be trimmed so that the prop is well hooked up. In a 4 X 8 sea, I would not try to run faster than maybe 20-22 mph. I never take the swells head on. Running up hill, I try to quarter the swells so the boat takes longer before you reach the next crest. That keeps the boat from pounding. I turn slightly toward the down wind side of each crest and back up wind as I get off the crest. This is more of a subtle motion than a turn, but it really smooths out the ride. With a 10 sec or longer period, this would be an easy run.

The problem with near shore California seas is that the sea floor is irregular and the waves can come together and form bigger ones on occasion. There are a lot of days when you just can't go out there with a 22' boat.

 

[luckydude]

I wish I was there to show you how I do it. I ran the Pacific for many years. It's a very different sea condition than either Gulf or the Atlantic. You just can't run fast except during the rare days when it's pretty flat. The engine needs to be trimmed so that the prop is well hooked up. In a 4 X 8 sea, I would not try to run faster than maybe 20-22 mph. I never take the swells head on. Running up hill, I try to quarter the swells so the boat takes longer before you reach the next crest. That keeps the boat from pounding. I turn slightly toward the down wind side of each crest and back up wind as I get off the crest. This is more of a subtle motion than a turn, but it really smooths out the ride. With a 10 sec or longer period, this would be an easy run.

The problem with near shore California seas is that the sea floor is irregular and the waves can come together and form bigger ones on occasion. There are a lot of days when you just can't go out there with a 22' boat.

I've repropped with a 4 blade prop, the 3 blade would not keep me on plane at 20-22, supposedly the 4 blade will do it.

But I have to say, gas mileage aside, the boat runs fine in 4x8 if you push the bow down.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Anybody mentioned weight yet? I trailer boat and usually keep my 92g tank around half full. I see a massive difference in fuel milage due to weight. I can get 3.5 mpg on the fuel management gauge if I'm light on gas, 1/4 tank with family. If I fill it up and am camping/fishing with 4 guys. I get below 2 mpg.

At a half tank with 2 people and fishing I can count on 2.9 mpg trimmed well. That's where I like to keep it if I can for short fishing trips in Puget Sound. Gas is heavy! (any liquid really ) Added bonus is I'm burning most of my gas, not storing old gas then topping off.

 

[leeccoll]

Yes Drifter you are correct in that assumption. Gas is a hair over 6 pounds per gallon depending on the octane level. So keeping it simple:

Grady with 150 gallons fuel = 900 pounds extra weight

Grady with 100 gallons fuel = 600 pounds extra weight

Grady with 50 gallons fuel = 300 pounds extra weight

Water is heavier than gas, so we humans make the weight as a percentage higher.

 

[leeccoll]

I wish I was there to show you how I do it. I ran the Pacific for many years. It's a very different sea condition than either Gulf or the Atlantic. You just can't run fast except during the rare days when it's pretty flat. The engine needs to be trimmed so that the prop is well hooked up. In a 4 X 8 sea, I would not try to run faster than maybe 20-22 mph. I never take the swells head on. Running up hill, I try to quarter the swells so the boat takes longer before you reach the next crest. That keeps the boat from pounding. I turn slightly toward the down wind side of each crest and back up wind as I get off the crest. This is more of a subtle motion than a turn, but it really smooths out the ride. With a 10 sec or longer period, this would be an easy run.

The problem with near shore California seas is that the sea floor is irregular and the waves can come together and form bigger ones on occasion. There are a lot of days when you just can't go out there with a 22' boat.

Yes Doc,

It is all about the steep rise of the Continental Shelf.

Makes things more problematic for sure.

But you explained things spot on. Relates to my experiences too~

 

[wrxhoon]

Wow, that's not ideal. And the rest of the week looks crazy. Is that normal?

I looked at windy.com and that big bay east of Auckland looks super flat. Any idea how the fishing is in there?

On rare occasions it does, I don't really care much about the waves even 6 footers are fine as long as periods are 10 seconds and wind bellow 10 knts .
Around Aucland it's quiet, if you look at the map you can see it is protected by the coromandel peninsula . I go fishing at Tairua or whitianga, you get huge yellow tail kingfish there.

Epic Adventures

Epic Adventures, Whitianga. 32,110 likes · 149 talking about this · 196 were here. Epic's talented skippers operate sustainably & professionally chasing the biggest NZ kingfish

www.facebook.com

Epic Adventures - Bay of Islands

Welcome to Morepork Riverside Lodge. We offer high quality B&B accommodation with friendly homestay hospitality. Set in 1.6ha/4acres of native bush and gardens on the Waitangi River, we are conveniently located just outside Paihia township on the way to Kerikeri - a great base from which to...

www.visitboi.co.nz

Sure good fishing in Aucland as well but the kingfish are smaller.

Wow, that's not ideal. And the rest of the week looks crazy. Is that normal?

I looked at windy.com and that big bay east of Auckland looks super flat. Any idea how the fishing is in there?

We get better weather at times . The wave height is not my problem , 6 footers and 10 seconds are fine as long as the wind is 10 knts or under.
Aucland is sheltered by the coromandel peninsula, fishing there is good too. The coromandel offers much better and bigger fish. I fish off Tairua and Whitianga you can get huge yellowtail kingfish there. About 100 miles for Auckland (2 hours drive).

Epic Adventures : New Zealand Fishing Charters

Epic Adventures, providing customers with the best skippers at the best fishing locations in New Zealand. Epic is synonymous with the New Zealand Yellow tail...

www.youtube.com