Peeps have taken lesser craft onto the Gulf and survived. You seem to be a
highly intelligent individual. However, it appears that you lack the
confidence to make this important decision on your own. Tell us a little
about yourself and your boat so that we can give you some informed advice.

"TongSlinger" wrote in message
t...

I want to take a pontoon onto the gulf of Mexico. Does anybody have a good
reason I shouldn't take a pontoon on the ocean for a day trip.
This is a 21 foot fisher with a 90 HP Mercury outboard, it is also
equipped
with depth finder and GPS for navigation.
any input would be appreciated
Thanks
Captain Crunch

TongSlinger???,

I would not take your boat out into the Gulf. First, nasty little storms can
be on you before you know it and your boat is not equipped to handle the
conditions that these storms often create. Second, your boat is slow and so
even if you know bad weather is approaching it's pretty risky to try to out run
it.

The only substitute for a lake boat on the ocean is high speed capability. The
only substitute for high speed capability on the ocean is a seaworthy boat.

One can always find someone with which to fish in the Gulf who has a boat
suited. You can pay back by hosting inshore trips.

Butch

want to take a pontoon along the shore and into the bay. Don't want to
go "out into the gulf" (want to be able to tell if they are men or
women that I see on the beach) Any advice or negitives.

On 03 Dec 2003 14:36:24 GMT, (JDavis1277) wrote:

TongSlinger???,

I would not take your boat out into the Gulf. First, nasty little storms can
be on you before you know it and your boat is not equipped to handle the
conditions that these storms often create. Second, your boat is slow and so
even if you know bad weather is approaching it's pretty risky to try to out run
it.

The only substitute for a lake boat on the ocean is high speed capability. The
only substitute for high speed capability on the ocean is a seaworthy boat.

One can always find someone with which to fish in the Gulf who has a boat
suited. You can pay back by hosting inshore trips.

Butch

JIMinMA
Thank you for the reply. Confidence isn't the problem as I had all but
decided to take the pontoon onto the gulf before I posted to this group. I
was just wondering if I was being over-confident. I have seen in some of the
posts that there are factors that I didn't account for, such as bow lift
from the on coming waves. I also assumed that a GPS and a cell phone would
be enough, but the VHF radio is something that I didn't think of. Structural
integrity is not a problem as this pontoon is only 2 years old. I have been
a lake boater for years using tri-hulls v-bottom and pontoons. I am glad I
posted this question, as for the most part it has given me other thing to
consider. When we were in the Keys, we rented a pontoon that was only 16 ft
and had a 35 horse motor. We went about 4 miles out on the Atlantic side
with no problems. Naturally I assumed bigger is better and safer.
Thank you for your input

".JIMinMA." wrote in message
...
Peeps have taken lesser craft onto the Gulf and survived. You seem to be a
highly intelligent individual. However, it appears that you lack the
confidence to make this important decision on your own. Tell us a little
about yourself and your boat so that we can give you some informed advice.

"TongSlinger" wrote in message
t...

I want to take a pontoon onto the gulf of Mexico. Does anybody have a
good
reason I shouldn't take a pontoon on the ocean for a day trip.
This is a 21 foot fisher with a 90 HP Mercury outboard, it is also
equipped
with depth finder and GPS for navigation.
any input would be appreciated
Thanks
Captain Crunch