I want to take my SeaRay 185 Sport to Two Harbors at Catalina Island
departing from Marina Del Rey or Long Beach.

I've made the trip countless times in my 32 foot sailboat. I'm very
comfortable with the trip and the conditions that I've encountered. I would
take the sailboat even in heavy weather, but would only take the SeaRay 185
in fair weather conditions. I would certainly back off in any summer
conditions that felt uncomfortable to me or my guests.

What I would like to know is have you ever made the crossing in a small boat
and can you tell me that it's a safe passage?

Thanks

"Marty" wrote in
:

I want to take my SeaRay 185 Sport to Two Harbors at Catalina Island
departing from Marina Del Rey or Long Beach.



I'm not sure I'd want to be more than a hundred yards offshore in a Sea
Ray.....and I had one!

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Fiberglass_Boats.htm
Imagine hitting a big ol' wave in a boat with ONE layer of fiberglass over
PUTTY!

--
Larry

You know you've had a rough night when you wake up and your outlined in
chalk.

Marty wrote:

I want to take my SeaRay 185 Sport to Two Harbors at Catalina Island
departing from Marina Del Rey or Long Beach.

I've made the trip countless times in my 32 foot sailboat. I'm very
comfortable with the trip and the conditions that I've encountered.
I would take the sailboat even in heavy weather, but would only take
the SeaRay 185 in fair weather conditions. I would certainly back
off in any summer conditions that felt uncomfortable to me or my
guests.

What I would like to know is have you ever made the crossing in a
small boat and can you tell me that it's a safe passage?

Sure, many of us have. Especially in mid-summer, if you go early in the day
before the wind comes up, you can probably expect smooth water the whole way.
Plus a small powerboat can make the trip in well under 2 hours. Once the wind
comes up, the chop can make the trip very uncomfortable, slow, and possibly
dangerous. You've been out there, so you've seen what it's like.

Matt O.

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
...
Marty wrote:

I want to take my SeaRay 185 Sport to Two Harbors at Catalina Island
departing from Marina Del Rey or Long Beach.

I've made the trip countless times in my 32 foot sailboat. I'm very
comfortable with the trip and the conditions that I've encountered.
I would take the sailboat even in heavy weather, but would only take
the SeaRay 185 in fair weather conditions. I would certainly back
off in any summer conditions that felt uncomfortable to me or my
guests.

What I would like to know is have you ever made the crossing in a
small boat and can you tell me that it's a safe passage?

Sure, many of us have. Especially in mid-summer, if you go early in the
day
before the wind comes up, you can probably expect smooth water the whole
way.
Plus a small powerboat can make the trip in well under 2 hours. Once the
wind
comes up, the chop can make the trip very uncomfortable, slow, and
possibly
dangerous. You've been out there, so you've seen what it's like.

Matt O.



Matt,
Being from Northern California I do all my sailing in San Francisco Bay and
my sailing vacations are from Long Beach or Marina Del Rey to Catalina.
And, again, this is in a 32 foot sailboat that is fully competent for all
coastal cruising. I do know the summer sailing conditions and always look
forward to the wind coming up so that I can stop motoring and begin sailing.
I've never looked at the crossing from a small boat perspective and I know
my kids would get a kick out of a 2 hour crossing instead of a 5 to 8 hour
crossing. I just don't know enough about small boats with respect to that
crossing. Being comfortable with San Francisco winds, tides, currents, and
ebb tide/afternoon wind chop I don't want to make the mistake of
underestimating the Catalina channel in a small boat. After all, my family
is worth more than the crossing. Still, I know that there's got to be a ton
of folks crossing in small boats. After all, what about the paddle board
races, the jet ski races, the kayak races, the Catalina 22 races, ....?

"Marty" wrote in message
...

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
...
Marty wrote:

I want to take my SeaRay 185 Sport to Two Harbors at Catalina Island
departing from Marina Del Rey or Long Beach.

I've made the trip countless times in my 32 foot sailboat. I'm very
comfortable with the trip and the conditions that I've encountered.
I would take the sailboat even in heavy weather, but would only take
the SeaRay 185 in fair weather conditions. I would certainly back
off in any summer conditions that felt uncomfortable to me or my
guests.

What I would like to know is have you ever made the crossing in a
small boat and can you tell me that it's a safe passage?

Sure, many of us have. Especially in mid-summer, if you go early in the
day
before the wind comes up, you can probably expect smooth water the whole
way.
Plus a small powerboat can make the trip in well under 2 hours. Once the
wind
comes up, the chop can make the trip very uncomfortable, slow, and
possibly
dangerous. You've been out there, so you've seen what it's like.

Matt O.



Matt,
Being from Northern California I do all my sailing in San Francisco Bay
and my sailing vacations are from Long Beach or Marina Del Rey to
Catalina. And, again, this is in a 32 foot sailboat that is fully
competent for all coastal cruising. I do know the summer sailing
conditions and always look forward to the wind coming up so that I can
stop motoring and begin sailing. I've never looked at the crossing from a
small boat perspective and I know my kids would get a kick out of a 2 hour
crossing instead of a 5 to 8 hour crossing. I just don't know enough
about small boats with respect to that crossing. Being comfortable with
San Francisco winds, tides, currents, and ebb tide/afternoon wind chop I
don't want to make the mistake of underestimating the Catalina channel in
a small boat. After all, my family is worth more than the crossing.
Still, I know that there's got to be a ton of folks crossing in small
boats. After all, what about the paddle board races, the jet ski races,
the kayak races, the Catalina 22 races, ....?


Where do you sail in the bay? We sail out of Sausalito...

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

I go to Catalina often and if I were using your boat I would go as early as
possible and come back on the morning also. The spring line is easy for you
and gives a great view. Have fun!!

"Marty" wrote in message
...
I want to take my SeaRay 185 Sport to Two Harbors at Catalina Island
departing from Marina Del Rey or Long Beach.

I've made the trip countless times in my 32 foot sailboat. I'm very
comfortable with the trip and the conditions that I've encountered. I
would
take the sailboat even in heavy weather, but would only take the SeaRay
185
in fair weather conditions. I would certainly back off in any summer
conditions that felt uncomfortable to me or my guests.

What I would like to know is have you ever made the crossing in a small
boat
and can you tell me that it's a safe passage?

Thanks

I made the trip to T. H. last Thanksgiving in my Sundancer 220. I often
travel from Ch Is Harbor to Santa Cruz Is. in same. Like the previous
folks said, avoid the chop. This size boat can't cut thru chop at all. I
had a pleasant trip both ways traveling when calm seas prevailed. Wish I
was there today.

J


"Marty" wrote in
:

I want to take my SeaRay 185 Sport to Two Harbors at Catalina Island
departing from Marina Del Rey or Long Beach.

J wrote:

I made the trip to T. H. last Thanksgiving in my Sundancer 220. I
often travel from Ch Is Harbor to Santa Cruz Is. in same. Like the
previous folks said, avoid the chop. This size boat can't cut thru
chop at all. I had a pleasant trip both ways traveling when calm
seas prevailed. Wish I was there today.

Actually, the size of the boat isn't the problem as much as the type. These
boats typically have semi-V hulls that pound badly in a seaway. It's a
compromise made for speed and fuel efficiency in flat water, which is where most
of them are used -- joyriding, pulling skiers, etc. The more
work/fishing-oriented boats like Grady-White have "seakeeping" hulls with deeper
Vs, more freeboard and flare. These offer a smoother, drier ride, at the
expense of top speed and efficiency. Even the under-20' models can handle some
pretty rough seas relatively comfortably.

Matt O.

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
...
J wrote:

I made the trip to T. H. last Thanksgiving in my Sundancer 220. I
often travel from Ch Is Harbor to Santa Cruz Is. in same. Like the
previous folks said, avoid the chop. This size boat can't cut thru
chop at all. I had a pleasant trip both ways traveling when calm
seas prevailed. Wish I was there today.

Actually, the size of the boat isn't the problem as much as the type.
These
boats typically have semi-V hulls that pound badly in a seaway. It's a
compromise made for speed and fuel efficiency in flat water, which is
where most
of them are used -- joyriding, pulling skiers, etc. The more
work/fishing-oriented boats like Grady-White have "seakeeping" hulls with
deeper
Vs, more freeboard and flare. These offer a smoother, drier ride, at the
expense of top speed and efficiency. Even the under-20' models can handle
some
pretty rough seas relatively comfortably.

Matt O.



I guess the crucial factor is that I'm expecting 2 to 3 foot swells with
early morning glass before the wind starts blowing. Other than that I don't
think I would take this little boat across the channel. When I picture the
family, the camping equipment, and some basic crew-overboard/survival-at-sea
equipment, I picture this little boat sitting pretty deep in the water; and
that starts to worry me; but, again, this worry over the unknown is based on
a lack of experience with small power boats.