Anyone take their 270 rinker fiesta vee on a virgin island 5 day?

PickleRick

Don't rule out the atlantic side.   The fishing is better out there and I've had many a great week where the waves never got more than a foot or two down there. I've never rented anything more than a 23 ft cc built for bay fishing.   I go several miles out nearly every trip.   I usually rent 19 to 21 footers. 

Occasionally the currents around the bridges get rough if waves and currents and winds don't agree but that's when you dingy to a bar until  the tide slows.

maxwell

Wow!..
Jeff..thanks for that!

It means a bunch to us....(to get the info from actual guys that..actually.. DID  IT!.).reports...!

priceless info!

thank you friend!

On other topics...

on our progress..,

(in learning how to drive this thing..,)

doing pretty good,with Marinas..and parking the beast..although that bow thruster would have come in handy..in that storm...

the wind was brutal.

Gaff hook saved me...it was a bit hairy.

Watched a really  wealthy  guy, spin his 60 footer almost 180 degrees... .

like it was nothing..right into his slip.

it was really sweet..

got to get one of those..thrusters.


now the bad stuff..

Hit a sunken tree on a sand bar this weekend...going slow though..

wife freaked!

I was in 12 foot depth...It came out of nowhere.

WHAM!! ..thud!!!...times four! 

prop was still spinning....
I am NOT happy..

The boat got biffed hard.. ,I went to idle..... shut off the key immediately..

it drifted off ,thank God!!

The prop may be damaged..lower unit..was not leaking oil..but it made some odd sounds ..limping back to the marina..

WE thought the boat was going to sink!

after 2 hours..and no new water in the bilge..at our moor...we left for the week..

I hope it will not be on the bottom of the marina next friday..

Will report on it..then..

Crap..I have to get this boat in deep water!

enough of this lake stuff..I am getting tired of always watching the depth constantly..

Jeff..when we  DO ...get out there ..(To the BIG BLUE!)

most likely next season..we will look you up.
you too Rick!

Shots and beers on me!

maxwell

Wife  now wants deeper water...too!
the tree convinced her....

randy56

The gulf is actually shallow, but tree stumps are rare.

PickleRick

Stick to the marked channels in the bay (they call the gulf Florida bay or "the bay" in the keys) and you'll be smooth sailing. 

It's outside the marked channels you'll have instant grounding. 

The coral will be much less forgiving than a stump. 

Handymans342

I went from Cape Coral to Key West. Took 6 hours @32 mph from Sanibel Island. I burned 120 gallons each way. Good luck. 

PickleRick

32 mph is too fast to troll for mackerel!

Handymans342

Not for Mermaids

randy56

@maxwell Just a suggestion. You may want to get real familiar with navigation and install good electronics. As south Fl can be a beautiful place to boat. It's nothing like Wisconsin.
Remember red right returning. 

    Navigating a boat is absolutely, positively nothing like navigating a vehicle on land. There are no roads, few signs other than basic navigational markers outlining major channels, and you may have to contend with fog or an inability to see land or landmarks. In fact, it takes years of accumulated knowledge and advanced learning to become a marine navigational expert. But don’t let that deter you—just as long as you have a firm grip on the basics, learning how to navigate a boat in most inland and nearshore waterways in normal weather conditions is a piece of cake. We can break it down into these simple steps...

How to Navigate a Boat

1. Decide on your method: electronic navigation or traditional (analog) navigation.
2. If using electronic navigation, start by operating your GPS or chartplotter.
3. Make note of your real-time position, speed and direction of travel.
4. To get from point "A" to point "B," create a waypoint.
5. String waypoints together to create a route; utilize auto-pilot when applicable.
6. For traditional navigation, use: a compass, charters, parallel rulers and dividers.
7. Stay within sight of land and use major landmarks as points of reference.

PickleRick

And red/green markers, they flip on the bay side vs the atlantic side of the islands 

There are still many missing in the keys from Irma 

J3ff

PickleRick said:

And red/green markers, they flip on the bay side vs the atlantic side of the islands 

There are still many missing in the keys from Irma 

That's what I was going to say. It's confusing at first

maxwell

"Nothing like wisconsin"....quote.

yep..I know..

but the my time in the gulf, around boca..was a cake walk compared to  THIS lake...

Petenwell Lake water depth map - marine chart (fishermap.org)

been on a lot of lakes,..Big water Lake Michigan...in all its fury....,. ..out and all  around boca grande ,Port charlotte, a few times..(Tarpon and sharks)..(the battle)..Sharks chowing on Tarpon...us in the middle of it..

This lake I am currently on,is a bugger.though,.most of the shoreline is ringed with stumps..complete with an underwater town..and huge bays of no return..but its the second largest waterway (inland) in wisco.

Wanted to get the Big boat  going top end..to see what it can do...I did...it did about 44/45 mph...and was smooth..but that was before the tree.!

This weekend..we will see if I screwed it up..

If you follow the main river trek..on Petenwell,your good..they sail on it for Gods sake.(.Big sail. boats..)

Bays for fishing ??    thats  a different story..

its how we found the tree.

petenwell lake depth map wisconsin - Bing images

On our  future, port charlotte ,to big pine key,  run...??

Randy..#7,on your list,and a bunch of maps,was my plan, along with the two depth gauges ,and a new shallow depth alert installed,as well as the hummingbird with a program for the route..

am I nuts?

Do I have to be a veteran sea master to attempt this??

I appreciate your list ,I like the waypoint idea.

Handyman..thanks for the report on gas..and time

I am guessing we use the 100 gal tank going about 20mph to big pine ( one screw).

I am thinking 2.5 days ,with stops.

I could be wrong..will have to work that out.

PickleRick

Why the rush for time?  2.5 days is not going to give you enough time to see all the sites along the way. 

J3ff

I would second taking it slow. I'll meet you up in Northern key largo waters and then again down around tavernier... we'll make it fun! 

PickleRick

You won't be alone.  There's no shortage of others boats.   You'll never be out of cellphone range or out of sight of land. 

randy56

@maxwell I was unaware you had already been there. Last winter we stayed in Port Charlotte for 3 months. Fished and boated all around there. I had a hummingbird helix 7. It's mapping keep me out of trouble. But did not venture off shore. As the little 18 ft Aluminum boat that I took,  was not made for it. So I have no experience with Hummingbird off shore. This year I'll be prepared with a better boat, but still using the Helix 7. 
In the winter there are a lot of negative tides. Two ft is not uncommon. But tide charts are  online.  Lots of info, wind speed and direction, tide's, height of wave's, when to fish. this is the one I used daily. Also will give you small craft advisory's for offshore. 

  https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-gulf-coast/shell-point-peace-river-charlotte-harbor

maxwell

You guys are great!

Randy..that web site is unbelievable!

thanks!...

I wish we had that up and running 2 years ago..started out on a pontoon ..taking water dousings ,(2.5 footers),on our way to cabbage key with son ands buddys..
returned it to rental marina for the Boston Whaler type, deep vee.. with a 200...yamaha...made all the difference in the world!
Then we went thru the jeddy from the intercoastal to the gulf side after 3 hours..of nuttiness.....the gulf was GLASS!

Kicked back on the beach ...the boys were like.."Dad..this is more like it!

I learned that day..Wind direction is everything..down there.

rasbury

We stayed on cayo Costa for a week 2x...right behind cabbage key and my favorite vacations ever. That might be sad. Anyway, we stayed at two different house rentals south of the state park. Shallowest water. I have ever seen for sure. Stayed at another island noth of boca grand, upper captiva and Dunedin.  West coast is awesome.

randy56

A 270 gets 2 mile's per gallon at cruse speed. Na I do not think you can go 200 miles but that give you a range. That's 28 mph at about 3800 rpm. 

J3ff

randy56 said:

A 270 gets 2 mile's per gallon at cruse speed. Na I do not think you can go 200 miles but that give you a range. That's 28 mph at about 3800 rpm. 

This is more proof that I got the wrong props when I upgraded to hill marine. I went with 20p, should have done 22p.  At 3800 rpm I'm at 23mph.. takes 4100rpm to get up to 26/27. This was on advice from the person at hill. Guess I could order some new ones and swap them in the water, not like I haven't done that twice before! 

Handymans342

Miami to the Bahamas is only 90 miles

randy56

@J3ff If you are really seriously thinking about changing props. You should consider 4 blade. When I went to 4 blade it made a noticeable difference. If you can find them. Props are in demand and hard to come by. 

randy56

Handymans342 said:

Miami to the Bahamas is only 90 miles

How far was it from cape coral to key west? 

J3ff

randy56 said:

@J3ff If you are really seriously thinking about changing props. You should consider 4 blade. When I went to 4 blade it made a noticeable difference. If you can find them. Props are in demand and hard to come by. 

Yeah, I've got the 4 blade hill marine 20p on it right now. Need the 22 for sure, maybe even the 24, I think maybe the guy I was talking to didn't know that the 383 puts out more torque and that's why people buy it. 

maxwell

Boats still floating..yeh!...

Thank God!

got sick with a nasty sinus infection..(I think)

didn't take it out this weekend..

hope the lower unit is O.K.
anybody have any thoughts on plasdeck vs. permateak?

maxwell

Randy...do you think I would get better miles if we went about 18 mph??

randy56

It's been 3 years since I had a 270. memory is not what it was. only remembered 2 miles per at cruse speed. @Willhound may know fuel mileage. At different rpm/mph. get better soon. 

Handymans342

randy56 said:

Handymans342 said:

Miami to the Bahamas is only 90 miles

How far was it from cape coral to key west? 

I think it was like 120??

maxwell

thanks Randy...its one nasty cold...worst one that I can remember..negative on the covid test...thats good..I am told..

Willhound

randy56 said:

It's been 3 years since I had a 270. memory is not what it was. only remembered 2 miles per at cruse speed. @Willhound may know fuel mileage. At different rpm/mph. get better soon. 

My 2000 5.7L Gen + wasn't Vessel View capable and no fuel flow meter so I can't give exact mileage at different RPM/speeds, but I did put the chart below together based on an engine mounted hour meter and tracking fill ups over almost a 3 year period. So this is all running time, including warm up, no wake zones etc. But I can tell you that I rarely went anywhere on the open lake unless on step. It is possible to get a 270 to plane at 19 mph, but hard to keep it there depending on waves/wind etc. And the boat didn't feel happy either. So 90% of the time my cruise speed was around 22 to 24 mph at 33-3400 RPM. That's with two people, gear, full fuel tank, full water tank. Average was 6.22 GPH or about 2.4 Gallons per Mile based on a guestimate average of 15 miles in an hour. So a safe bet might be 200 miles on a tank (100 Gallon tank) with some reserve? So @randy56 your memory of 2 GPM is probably spot on at a little faster cruising speed.