Monster Ledge NJ

[Capt Sal]

Originally Posted by wyldbillnj

I made that run few times from Sandy hook on my 32 CC. Not bad

32" cc or a 23' no comparison.Pick you day and make sure you know what you are doing with electronics. Discretion is the better part of valor.

[wyldbillnj]

Agreed Sal. With a smaller boat like yours Aaron...you may want to team up with someone and make it a 2 boat deal. Work together as a team and you also have the safety of a buddy out there.

[Reel Class]

I have literally never seen a wahoo near the Monster Ledge and that's in several decades experience. Tunas, specifically bluefins, yes, and sharks, but not many wahoos haha.

The one key out there is having clean water - it's quite a bit INSHORE from the chicken and hudson so getting that super clean water in there is tough, but there are years where it does get inside to places like the ledge.

So in terms of pelagics I'd say your best shot at any would be schoolie bluefins, sharks, and mahi when the water warms around the pots.

[CaptMarc]

Aaron, how much fuel do you hold and what is your range?

[tunajoe]

I've been all over the dam ocean in a SEAWORTHY 23' - SeaCraft. All 23's are not the same. Do you have a kicker just in case you loose your main screw? Life raft? Good electronics? If everything is in place you can make a run much further than that. Traveled from Monster, to Glory to Chicken all in a 23'. Has to be a good day and the right type of 23'.
Caught plenty of tuna, many many sharks, mahi, out there. Be safe. Know you boat and know the seas!

[wyldbillnj]

We had a day out there...south winds kicked up some and a tanker came along offshore that cast a huge wake. Well, the combo of the 2 did not make for a safe situation so we called it a day and headed in before what looked like a 10 ft wave came at us.

Situations like that you have to be careful out there...no matter the size of the boat.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Some great advice and suggestions above...

VHF, Epirb are minimums and a life raft is strongly suggested and buddy up if you can.

As mentioned above, you also need to calculate your range and use the 1/3rd rule. This rule suggests that your furthest range should be a spot that you'll only burn 1/3rd of your tank to get to, the 2nd 3rd to return home and you'll have 1/3rd in reserve when you come back as a safety margin... The reason for the 1/3 in reserve is because if you're forced to run in seas your fuel consumption is going to go way down and when the tank is low, some of that fuel that's in your tank can't be used because of the way your tank and pick up tube is configured.

[wyldbillnj]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

Some great advice and suggestions above...

VHF, Epirb are minimums and a life raft is strongly suggested and buddy up if you can.

As mentioned above, you also need to calculate your range and use the 1/3rd rule. This rule suggests that your furthest range should be a spot that you'll only burn 1/3rd of your tank to get to, the 2nd 3rd to return home and you'll have 1/3rd in reserve when you come back as a safety margin... The reason for the 1/3 in reserve is because if you're forced to run in seas your fuel consumption is going to go way down and when the tank is low, some of that fuel that's in your tank can't be used because of the way your tank and pick up tube is configured.

Im investing in the EPIRB this year myself.

[Capt. Debbie]

Another exotic is a FLOSCAN system. Dead nuts accurate fuel consumption monitor and accumulator.

It shows gallon per hour and counts consumption with an in line transducer and the monitor installed at the helm. I had one on my Grady. Twinned up and after you tweak it it was accurate to 1 gallon in 223 gallons of the tanks consumed.

I think an EPIRB on Monster Ledge is a bit of an overkill. Its an emergency device and should not be used for anything less than MAYDAY situations. That's not dead batteries or out of fuel situations!

And if you have multiple batteries intelligently use the Battery switch(es). If on "ALL" all of the time the switch is ignorantly misused and does absolutely nothing they are bussed together. All batteries will feed and will die at the same time.

Get good type I PFD's with strobes and whistles on each.

Have a "ditch kit" with quick exit duffle bag of gear ( like submersible handheld VHF, airhorns, whistles, signal mirrors, smoke, aerial Pyrotechnics, etc.). Water proof is good as it can be used as a float when zipped closed.

And Monster Ledge in the Mudhole is a relatively speaking mid range grounds and a day boater destination. Unless you're running crazy hours ( e.g. depart dock 11PM, arrive at grounds at 9pm, etc) you should have company within eyeshot. Invest in good high gain (6dB) antenna way off the water with good clean connections it'll be worth way more than most gadgetry.

That's a couple of suggestions. Know your boat's handling and when it gets hairy we slow it down ( survival + any progress( zig zagging over 12 foot swells)). IT may suck, but we are not pushing the limits of your boat's stability.

If you buddy up with another boat even with other guys going back to different marinas ( shark river vs. Manasquan or SI vs. Keyport)) or inlets it is a great insurance idea. Help is always minutes away even 40 miles offshore day or night.

Hope this helps a bit.

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

Some great advice and suggestions above...

VHF, Epirb are minimums and a life raft is strongly suggested and buddy up if you can.

As mentioned above, you also need to calculate your range and use the 1/3rd rule. This rule suggests that your furthest range should be a spot that you'll only burn 1/3rd of your tank to get to, the 2nd 3rd to return home and you'll have 1/3rd in reserve when you come back as a safety margin... The reason for the 1/3 in reserve is because if you're forced to run in seas your fuel consumption is going to go way down and when the tank is low, some of that fuel that's in your tank can't be used because of the way your tank and pick up tube is configured.