On Jun 15, 8:35 pm, wrote:
I've been wanting to sail to teh Bahamas from NW FL (near Carabelle)
but I realize that maybe a power boat would be better. I could
trailer my 20' Tolman Standard to Miami and then take her across to
Bimini. The Tolman would give better access to the cool places with
shallow water than the sailboat. I have outfitted the Tolman with a
full enclosure (removable) for camping. I have a 90 hp Yamaha and 9.9
hp backup.
However, the Tolman has only a 12.5 degree deadrise so she does pound
in any chop. The advice I see on the web is to go in Summer due to
low seas but being a FL native I know Summer is miserably hot and
would prefer Spring.
Bimini is only 48 nm from Miami and from there most runs are short.
It is the 48 nm run across the Gulf Stream that concerns me in the
Tolman. What do y'all think?

For those who think the 90 hp is too small for the 20' Tolman need to
realize that she weighs about half of what a normal glass boat weighs
(and gets amazing fuel economy). However, this means she gets shoved
around by seas too. The 90 hp with 9.9 kicker is actually more than
the designer (Renn Tolman) specified for transom weight but I balanced
it by putting the batteries in front of the console (with expensive 00
gage tinned battery wire).