The fellow we bought it from is moving to Alabama and gave us about all his fishing stuff, including 2 Penn Senator Comos. They are a nice addition to our collection of Zebcos and openfaced Shakespeares. He also threw in a handheld GPS with numbers, supposable good. And, it's got a Hummingbird Martix 25 with a few bells and whistles.
I know this is not a top of the line rig, and some of you might laugh at it, but being old and a little chipped up kinda suits my personality and is practical for my pocketbook, considering I not fanatical about offshore fishing anyway.
To be sure, I got to get a BoatUS account going, with no backup power source to the old motor and all.
Now, I have been fishing offshore with others for a long time and have run a boat out or in a few times, but I have never owned one. Nor have I ever tried to pinpoint a GPS mark and get anchored down on it- Hence the following:
We, (Freddy P, Charley E, and I) took it out about 15 miles yesterday on a shake down.
The both of them are experiences seamen and have been fishin the open water since before Loran. Most of my experience on the Big Bend has been inshore- cain't mess that up too much. With the attitude, you never too old to learn new tricks, I'm ready to give it a shot...So, here we go.
I was excited to get to check out the boat, and they were excited to check out 'my' new numbers.
The water looked good at the Carrabelle ramp at 11AM. It was sunny with a near cloudless sky. The fcst called for 2-3' and wind of 10-15. The wind was actually very light, making the 50 plus air temp tolerable. But, as we rounded the west end of Dog, there they were, the 2-3's with a few second periods- Not too inviting for a novice helmsman,. such as I am. The optimum speed was about 12-13mph with the Yammie turning 28-29k. The boat handled real good with minimal spray, although I think we mighta loosened Freddy's upper plate a few times.
With me at the wheel and the both of them behind me snickering, we zig-zaged to the first spot about 5 point something off the island. After about 5 mins or so of trying to ace the fix, I finally decided, if we were going to fish, Charley was gonna to have to find the double aughts. I'm usually the anchorman on their boats, so it was strange to have Freddy up on the bow doing the duties. And, with both of them busy, I was able to get the first bait on the bottom. As soon as it hit, a 25 plus black sucked it up. Now this is how to break in a new 'old boat'.
The bite was fair, with the both of them boating 'shorts' in short order.
With only a couple of hours to fish, (Charley had family obligations at 4), we didn't wait long before checking out a couple more of the numbers.
The second spot was 5 point something further out and didn't pan out. After about 20-30 mins there, we moved another mile or so and got into them again. 2 keepers boated and they were hitting as soon as the LYs hit the bottom. Problem was, it was already 3 o clock and we had to head back to make Charley's appointment. The trip in was better, since we were going with the flow and were able to make 20-25mph.
The water temp was 58-59 degs at the surface. We fished LY's and squid (mostly LY's). We brought in 3 keepers and boated 12-15 shorts. We didn't catch the first grunt or sea bass. I forgot to charge the DV battery, so only got a couple of stills (poor quality) before the bat-tree lite came on (Gotta get a cheap digital).
The wind did pickup to the fcstd 10-15 about 2 or so, making us scramble for the windbreakers. Still pretty nice , but would have probably got uncomfortable as the day waned.
The boat and motor checked out good with only a couple of minor gripes.
The only big one is, the walk around is very narrow with no recess to speak of, making anchor handling a little hazardous for old and less than nimble guys like us. 'Think an electric winch might be in order. I have already been looking at the Minn Kota Deckhand 40, if I can figure out a way to rig it. If anyone has any personal experience with these winches, I would appreciate the information.
All in all, this boat will suit our purposes for offshore in good weather and pleasure outings with the grand kids and such.
Pics- Left- Freddy with my first fish caught on the boat.
Right- The only boat we saw on the water. Looked to be a CS Vbottom with a Honda 4-stroke, just guessin (cam was on about 10X zoom).
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Oh and for sure, I'm gonna have to go out with the boys a few more times. At least, 'til I get the hang of the fine points of close quartered GPS navigation- So as to not get hollered at by 'Wat's her name', when she's ready to take a shot at riding with me.
'Took her over to DI in the C/S J16 when we first got it. The water was a little choppy and we got a pretty good saltwater bath- Happy she wasn't. Scared?? She said she wasn't, but she had that 'deer in the road look' and screamed at me to slow down all the way over there.
QO
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...... even if he caught one ....he wouldn't know what to do with it. 
