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Dan

wrote:
Hello,
I have a 24 foot I/O and I am wondering if this would be capable
of travelling from Miami to the Bahamas. The boat holds 68 gallons of
gas which should be enough, but I am thinking it might just be too
small to handle the voyage.

Anybody with experience or opinions about making the voyage on a 24
footer?

thanks,
daniel

I've read some good responses but you didn't say which island you want
to visit. Bimini IS the closest to Miami and I have been there with my
20' center console - once. We were fishing out of Port Everglades and
not finding any dolphin. I found Bimini on my GPS and we were about 45
miles away and the seas were flat. I have two VHF radios and an EPIRB
so we decided to go. We made it in less than two hours but didn't check
in since the fees are so high and we weren't staying, or fishing, in
Bahamian waters. We were prepared to leave the boat and fly back if the
weather changed but we were lucky and made it back without a problem.

I have a four stroke OB and used about 30 gallons for the round trip
including the fishing/trolling time out of Ft. Lauderdale. Your boat
will likely use more since it's larger and heavier.

Most people in smaller boats make the trip with another boat. This has
also been a tough winter on the Atlantic. 8'-10's in the gulfstream has
been the norm with all of the fronts we've had in the last three months.
You can't plan a trip like that with a small boat. You can only go on
a "perfect" day.

If you were considering Grand Bahama (Freeport) or New Providence
(Nassau), forget it. They are too far from Miami with your rig or
anything under about 40'.

Dan