Smallest Boat for Albacore Tuna

I did it this year in my 22' (24 with pod) 28 overall... however you want to measure. Had lots of room for up to about 25 fish which is plenty enough for me! Fuel burn for the day was 52 gallons. That's running out about 40 miles, trolling for 8 hours at 8mph and running in from 55 miles. I only have a 70 gallon tank but had another 25 gal in Jerry Cans for just in case. The bigger boats certainly can pack on more fish and ice and crew, but safety wise I'm not sure there's all that much of a difference if you have a seaworthy boat. Self bailing deck, epirb, liferaft are all big safety factors that you should consider.
 
kaelc said:
Weight carrying capacity has to be a consideration. Think of the rouge wave that capsized the whale watching boat out of Tofino, I didn’t follow the transport Canada report but I bet extra weight from modifications contributed to the sinking. Boats under 20 feet require a weight capacity plate but over do not, but a good manufacturer will have worked with an engineer to calculate this capacity for any size boat?

If you have 50 tuna/ice, 3 guys and half a tank of fuel and a few beers left, will the boat survive a broadside wave of following seas that you may need to go home in? I’ve fished Tuna in 40 foot commercial but haven’t done enough offshore with my 25 footer to feel confident, yet I see guys down in WA hammering tuna in their 22 footers all the time. They also go in August when the water and weather is likely a little more predictable.

f

Book a charter once or twice and see how comfortable you feel in their boats?
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I'm really comfortable in my boat as i know what I can do and not do in my Grady .. as for rouge waves they can happen.. in 40 years I have run across a couple and been able to get thru them... that being said boat and boating knowledge is everything anytime you are on the water.... rouge waves can and will happen from time time..... For my Grady I can only ice off about 35 fish.... I do carry spare gas and a 4 man life raft & in most cases have buddy boats near by... Like i said The bamfield shootout everyone does look after each other...
 
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Falcon said:
Thanks for all the input guys, next year I’m going to try it for sure. I’m in the market for a boat but they’re soooo expensive to get what I want and be able to fish for tuna.

Aluminum boats are crazy expensive but I have found a few Grady’s for sale, missed out on both, gotta be quick. I might have to settle for a Striper, they have good hulls but their fit and finish isn’t what I’d like.

Beggars can’t be choosers I guess
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I would say buy what you want even if it takes sometime :)
 
Definitely wait for the right boat! Bet that 22 Grady that sold in Vancouver on Monday was one of them, was a great deal. Tax and cost of getting any even well kept boat up to speed, even maintaining it until you get the right boat is too high for 2 footitis, and drooling over what you should have bought. That Kingfisher with new twin 150 yamis looks like a screaming deal. Negotiate a little but until the next recession boat like that that are 1/2 the price of new will sell pretty quick.
 
If you are planning to fish a lot off shore, and you are looking seriously at a Kingfisher, my advice would be to take one out offshore in rough water and find out what they ride like compared to a heavier fiberglass tub. Those Kingfishers have a rough ride in heavy seas. Not a shot at the KF drivers who love them, just passing along my experience having been out in both rides. The advantage of a KF is its cheaper to run - less fuel to move less weight, but you do sacrifice the rough seas ride.
 
Take a peak at Tofino Ospray's boat for sale, nice and smooth in crap weather and plenty of trips offshore for tuna so you know it can handle it.
 
getbent said:
past winner of BTS fished out of a 21 foot boat for a couple of years...not something I would like to do personally...it limits so much...
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You still have the 2601? I've got a line on a couple, 2012 & 2013, that are sweet looking rigs. Any feedback?
 
Falcon said:
Got a line on a Striper 2301 WA, I hope that’s big enough
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Borderline, I suspect. There's not a lot of room on the dance floor, so you're going to have to store your ice etc in the cabin. The 2601 would be a far better choice for offshore tuna. I have a 2101 WA and wouldn't dream about taking it that far out for tuna. The 2301 is 2' longer, but the extra length is split between the fishing platform and the cabin.
 
Buddy did it in his 19 whaler this year.....solo but its a pretty kitted out whaler with more saftey gear than most 25' boats. I'm not really interested in getting pounded so a 228 grady sized boat would be the minimum I would want to head out on.
 
@bigbruce is the dance floor really that tight on the Striper's? I was thinking that the 2301 might be the route that we go in a year or two. It's no Grady or Pursuit but it does offer a lot of boat for the buck. Does your 2101 have the integrated bait tank on the transom? Would how many 15lb tuna do you think it could hold in an ice slurry there? Then one igloo cooler on the deck and one in the cuddy. It's a squeeze but should be doable.

I think guys over think the whole tuna thing a little. Obviously you need to take safety seriously but we can't all afford 28' Grady's. We did just fine in our 20'DE. The limiting factor with a small boat will be ice. If you don't have the ice you can't keep the fish. It's that simple. The other factor will be weather. The weather will dictate weather you go out or not but to be honest I seriously doubt that the bigger boats are heading out 50-70 miles on a snotty day just because they can. It just wouldn't be that enjoyable.

Our experience in a smallish boat was great and so it's easy for me to be positive about it. The one mistake we made was not holding out for a buddy boat. If I were to go again I would make a better effort to find another boat to run with. Each extra boat that comes out exponentially increases the likelihood that everyone comes home safe.
 
CIVANO said:
Can't you remove the loin while out there and put it in bags and on salt ice to save room?
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you ever tried carking in the swell at night? I have... not fun in any way. definitely a space saver though!

usually we will head and gut.. this alone saves up to a 1/4 of room. another 20 tunas!!
 
Brian Reiber said:
@bigbruce is the dance floor really that tight on the Striper's? I was thinking that the 2301 might be the route that we go in a year or two. It's no Grady or Pursuit but it does offer a lot of boat for the buck. Does your 2101 have the integrated bait tank on the transom? Would how many 15lb tuna do you think it could hold in an ice slurry there? Then one igloo cooler on the deck and one in the cuddy. It's a squeeze but should be doable.

I think guys over think the whole tuna thing a little. Obviously you need to take safety seriously but we can't all afford 28' Grady's. We did just fine in our 20'DE. The limiting factor with a small boat will be ice. If you don't have the ice you can't keep the fish. It's that simple. The other factor will be weather. The weather will dictate weather you go out or not but to be honest I seriously doubt that the bigger boats are heading out 50-70 miles on a snotty day just because they can. It just wouldn't be that enjoyable.

Our experience in a smallish boat was great and so it's easy for me to be positive about it. The one mistake we made was not holding out for a buddy boat. If I were to go again I would make a better effort to find another boat to run with. Each extra boat that comes out exponentially increases the likelihood that everyone comes home safe.
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Under most circumstances, the dance floor on the Striper is just fine. My 2101 probably has more room than your DE. I have never gone Tuna Fishing, so it's tough for me to comment which is why I used the term "borderline" primarily because of what I've read about the amount of ice that you has to be carried to handle the fish. Yes, I do have the integrated bait tank on my 2101 and I would guesstimate that you could get a half a dozen fish in a slurry in it. If you're only dealing with that and a couple of coolers, you would probably do fine in a 2301.... even better with a 2601. But, as you say, you're not going to have the capacity of a bigger Grady or Pursuit.
 
Derby said:
IMO .. the tuna need to be really iced down to loin.. if not its like cutting a pound of butter... heads off guts out is a good route to go.. :)
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yes!!! the fish must chilled right down before carking!!! carking always works better the next day, after the tuners have been packed on ice for over 12 hrs.
 
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