wrote in message
oups.com...
As for wherever you can safely go, my dad took the 14' all the way up
to
Desolation Sound when he was a teen. I personally have had it as far
north as Nanaimo. *If* you pick your weather and take your time, a 17'
should be able to handle most of the Puget Sound and Gulf Islands.


Of course, my dad and I both had larger "support" boats along in case
of
emergency...


************

Thanks Chuck, and all the others in this thread for the wonderfull info.
Shopping for boats has been very difficult for me with all the old junk
out there, the used, the new, the unforeseen problems on used ****, prices
of new ****, hell, my head was about to explode! - I couldn't handle
the anguish anymore, it was consuming me, I had to put and end to it.
So, I went out Sunday morning, had breakfast, drove down to Olympic,
spend an hour+ talking to the guy and thinking about it, and walking
back and forth and back out to the parking lot for a smoke, and said
screw it, I gotta put an end to this madness, and I walked back in and
told the guy, ok, lets do it, sign me up, lets get this over with. So I did
it, and I'll take delivery of my new 2005 Bayliner 175 this Wednesday night.
BTW, this was another salesman at another store than the one I originally
went to. Also learned more about the pricing on this boat too. They make
exactally $168 on this boat, and thats set in stone, and thats all there is
to it.

And I'll look into getting a VHF rig. And as a ham radio guy, this would
be a welcome addition anyways. So between now and Wednesday night,
any last minute things I need to know about (or should get) ? I do plan
on getting their little Coast Guard kit they have with fenders, life vests,
etc.

Thanks !






I agree with Garth....
PIcking the weather will be very important when using that boat on
Puget Sound.

Under better than average conditions you will be fine.
Under average conditions, you will occasionally be challenged.
Under anything much worse than average conditions, you will need to be
somewhat skillful and/or moderately lucky.
If the wind really starts to howl, you could be in serious trouble.

Advice for Mr. Wizzard:

If you're hitting the salt water with your new boat, make sure you
install a VHF. VHF is not required safety equipment, (and some people
think they can substitute a cell phone), but the smaller the boat the
more the reasons why you want to be able to communicate not just with
the Coast Guard or your family back at home but other vessels in the
vicinity where you will be using the boat. VHF is less critical on a
small lake, as most of the other boats won't have a VHF or won't be
monitoring it, (and if the wind comes up unexpectedly you might bo only
a few minutes from the ramp)......but out on the Sound etc almost
everybody with a boat of any size will be monitoring the VHF.

Have a great time! :-)