Offshore boats..... tell me the pros and the cons

[jhunter77]

I keep getting the itch to get an offshore boat. I love it out there, and this last week was great conditions. Tell me the pros and cons, and what to look for in a used boat. I see lots of boats in the 10 to 15k range that appear sea worthy/reliable. Is that realistic? I would want to be able to run out around 60miles.

[warrington]

Cost a lot
Lot of upkeep
Need two + engines to be safe
Not good for skiiing etc


Positive
Offshore fishing is fun

[panhandlehunter]

I’m not sure what kind of boats you’re looking at for 10-15k. You can take whatever you want offshore when it’s calm.

[kingfisher_jr]

Realistically, you would be extremely lucky to find anything seaworthy to 60 miles for 15K. Probably looking more like at least 4X that (if lucky) for a decent offshore boat that is steadily realizably for 60 mile trips. In my opinion reliability is the number 1 concern in a offshore boat and that means twin outboards. I have made many trips in single outboard bay boats, and still do, but the conditions have to be perfect and I try not to go past ~30 miles on a perfect day. That's with a nice bay boat, VHF radios, and a EBIRB. Even on our offshore boat with twin outboards, things still happen. I have lost an outboard for various reasons about 5 times. That's in a hundred+ trips, but things do happen. It is extremely nice to have that other motor when things go south. Even with quality machinery and regular maintenance, things happen. In my opinion all that you can do is minimize the amount of times things do happen and be prepared when they do.

To simply answer the question, in all honesty and my own personal opinion.

The Pro's are: It's fun. You get to make great memories. Deep water fish fight more, get bigger, and taste better. (Plus you never know what your gonna catch out there.)

The Con's: It's expensive if you do it right, but can be much more costly if you don't do it right.

It is not realistic to get a decent offshore boat for under 15K. You could probably get something for that, but it isn't going to be reliable. If you get serious about it and decide to purchase a boat that is dedicated for offshore, I would highly recommend twin motors. You can get a single outboard engine, still go, and have a lot of fun. You just have to pick your days. A good VHF and EBIRB is a must have because if you go enough something will eventually break.

I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer, just giving my honest thoughts on the subject.

[jhunter77]

All good info. Thanks

[S-3 Ranch]

I ran a 23 ft Boston whaler single engine outrage for about 10 years, fuel was my main concern, so I replaced the fuel tank to 150 gallon and repowered with a 250 Yamaha
It was a very steady workhorse, $15000 is cutting it thin, I concentrated on superb electronics and redundancy, 2 gps , 2 vhf , 2 different frequency depth finders
Don’t be afraid to search for boats out of state ( Florida, Alabama, North Carolina) good luck
With your search twinvee cat makes a great boat if you want to run smaller twin engine boat, speed = higher budget and maintenance, trip cost

[TX CHICKEN]

You can easily get a seaworthy offshore boat for $25-30k with twins but it won’t be fast or fancy but they all catch fish if you know what you are doing. For many years a single outboard was all anyone used for 20-30 mile trips. I would also look into seatow or towboat USA if you go that route. Get a solid marine radio and antenna or satellite phone and you are good.


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[Killer]

Good advice
I always wanted to get one when I retire but I would need to move to Venice or south Florida to justify using it. You don’t have enough good weather days in Texas to justify spending that much money. My opinion now is to buy a bay boat and move to the coast after I retire and get a lot more use out of it.
You could pay for an offshore trip several times a year and still catch your fish and have lots of fun and fill the freezer. You would get 10 times the use out of a bay boat here in Texas

In Florida or Venice you make a 20 or 40 mile trip. Texas it’s 60 to a 100+.

[Kingfisher789]

Man for 5k you can make some trips “ off shore” fish and make sure that’s what you want to do. The sea ain’t allways kind.

[Jkennedy26]

I have a 31’ mako I’d make you a heck of a deal on. Needs a little tlc
361-215-3690
Shoot me a text if interested

[RedBear78]

I’ve broken down out there 3 times with single engine boats things do happen.I’ve got a 24 ft dusky at moment with single engine but 2 trolling motors mounted on foot.It’s kinda a sick feeling being in the middle of no where and just drifting.If I stay in offshore game I’ll be getting a twin engine boat I’m getting to old and sick for the adventures. Things can get ugly fast out there passed a kidney stone 30 miles out I thought I was going to die.60 miles is a long way out I’d plan on spending a lot more than 15 to go out that far.

[panhandlehunter]

I have a 31’ mako I’d make you a heck of a deal on. Needs a little tlc
361-215-3690
Shoot me a text if interested

Not to steal it from the OP but if he’s not interested I may be.

[S-3 Ranch]

Good advice
I always wanted to get one when I retire but I would need to move to Venice or south Florida to justify using it. You don’t have enough good weather days in Texas to justify spending that much money. My opinion now is to buy a bay boat and move to the coast after I retire and get a lot more use out of it.
You could pay for an offshore trip several times a year and still catch your fish and have lots of fun and fill the freezer. You would get 10 times the use out of a bay boat here in Texas

In Florida or Venice you make a 20 or 40 mile trip. Texas it’s 60 to a 100+.

Yep a 20ft center console with a large fuel tank or removable 25 gallon spare tank can be used in both bay and gulf ,

[rvd]

I have a 26 Andros I take offshore often but I pick my days and there honestly aren’t that many each year that I’d go in a 42 Freeman I wouldn’t go in my Andros. I don’t enjoy 2.5+ in any boat.

Really all depends on how often you can go when it’s right and how much you can tolerate on cost. I figure a minimum of $300 every time I go and my boat lives on a lift, be more if you’re trailering. This week was prime but I couldn’t get away, weather holds we’ll make a run sat. It gets in your blood, I’m straight addicted to blue water and flyfishing, luckily my bride and grown kids are too.

[Eat’em Up]

It seems to be rough most of the year. July-September is generally pretty good weather but there are no guarantees. I run a 33’ that will handle some pretty rough conditions but fuel consumption goes way up and range goes way down. My next boat will be 40+. If you can’t fix it don’t buy it because something is always broken. If you have to take it to a shop you have at least a one month wait. If that month starts mid July you miss a big portion of your best weather. With that said when you have weather like this week you can have some epic trips. I spend probably 3 days on maintenance for everyday I fish between the boat and trailer. It keeps the boat ready and in top condition.