the butcher
Well-Known Member
Have owned my boat for 2 years and I am ashamed to say I haven't done any overnight trips.... main reason is due to lack of time and not making an active effort to plan it out... In a few weeks will be taking the 19ft boat out for 3-4 days. Very nervous and anxious about it to be honest. Have a couple of questions I hope you seasoned veterans can help me to make the first overnight trip with my kids more to be enjoyable..
1) When anchoring in a bay overnight, do I need to set 2 anchors? One in the bow and one at the stern or does 1 well set anchor with enough rode and chain suffice?
2) Should I leave my outboard motor hanging in the water overnight and when not in use or should I raise prop out of the water? Have heard both sides.. one where they say trim prop and lower unit out of water to keep away from saltwater... other side says that when you do that it now exposes your leg and lower unit to more oxygen which speeds up any buildup in your passages. I accustomed to rinsing my motor off on muffs each and every time I am done fishing so what to do when you are on the salt for a few days in completely new to me.
3) I have a lowrance HDS carbon... I know there is a anchor drag alarm on it. Would having the anchor drag alarm set overnight drain a lot of the battery?
4) When in bays, if I see a mooring buoy that isn't in use, is it OK for me to use it or is it a NO NO to use an unused mooring buoy because it does not belong to me. Like I said, never did overnight stays in bays so don't know what the rules of the road are on this topic.
5) We were planning a trip to the gulf islands.. when anchored overnight in the bays, are you usually eaten alive by mosquitos in the evening? Trying to figure out whether we need to rig up a mosquito net or bring tons of repellent..
6) If you have any other suggestions or advice I would appreciate it.
Thanks
1) When anchoring in a bay overnight, do I need to set 2 anchors? One in the bow and one at the stern or does 1 well set anchor with enough rode and chain suffice?
2) Should I leave my outboard motor hanging in the water overnight and when not in use or should I raise prop out of the water? Have heard both sides.. one where they say trim prop and lower unit out of water to keep away from saltwater... other side says that when you do that it now exposes your leg and lower unit to more oxygen which speeds up any buildup in your passages. I accustomed to rinsing my motor off on muffs each and every time I am done fishing so what to do when you are on the salt for a few days in completely new to me.
3) I have a lowrance HDS carbon... I know there is a anchor drag alarm on it. Would having the anchor drag alarm set overnight drain a lot of the battery?
4) When in bays, if I see a mooring buoy that isn't in use, is it OK for me to use it or is it a NO NO to use an unused mooring buoy because it does not belong to me. Like I said, never did overnight stays in bays so don't know what the rules of the road are on this topic.
5) We were planning a trip to the gulf islands.. when anchored overnight in the bays, are you usually eaten alive by mosquitos in the evening? Trying to figure out whether we need to rig up a mosquito net or bring tons of repellent..
6) If you have any other suggestions or advice I would appreciate it.
Thanks