we never know, but we always will go!!!

OLD GUYS RULE !!!!

To your first two questions, Trim tabs, Yes, very much so and fuel yes, depending on how much fuel (six gallons plastic tank not really, 250 gallons oh yeah.).

Gene (Purple Haze) has many, many hours of long runs at the helm. Heed his sound advise. The only thing I would add is that bean bags will make a bumpy ride much, much nicer for your crew. Too much or too little throttle can make the ride miserable. See if you can find an experience operator with a boat like your's and seek his advice/knowlege for a starting point.

"OOH RAH" 29' Black Sport w/twin zukes

I fish out of a Wellcraft Steplift V-20. I don't have trim tabs, powered by an I/O. I have found that weight distribution and speed helps out alot. Some days in the Gulf there is not much you can do to avoid pounding, depends on how fast you want to get there. I will trim my outdrive to achieive maximum speed with  whatever RPM I'm running. I think one major factor in the pounding is the weight of the boat hull. I have fished out of a 25 ft. Cobia CC with twin 115s , my boat took the chop better than the Cobia. All fishing trips in the Gulf are, take what you can get, when in comes to getting there and back. Some days you can change your heading by 5-10 degrees offcourse . Go a mile 5-10degrees and then go other mile at 5-10 the other way, kinda zig zag. I'm not trying to sound smart , but some days its best to drive the boat , not set on such course  and hell bent on keeping the course.

"GET'EM OFF THE BOTTOM"

Nothing beats trial and error.  Try everything you’re reading on this thread and see what works best for you.

243CC Everglades

250HP Verado

 

18' Nitro Bass Boat

150HP Mercury Tracker Series

It seemed like last summer the waves were primarily out of the west. So I started going WSW (not directly into the waves) and stop to fish in a few spots, by the time we are ready to head home, we have worked our way west enough to almost have a following sea.

I learned that the hard way, headed east and when it was time to return, head sea the whole way.

V/R
Scott

Robalo R260

This is why I take Swhiting fishing with me. He is a professional at blocking any spray and much cheaper than having curtains put on the boat.

1. Faria Gauges SUCK!

2. Please do not support any of the captains or vessels on the list below. They support the SOS plan and intend to lie to you and steal from you so that they can stay fat and happy.

http://saveoursector.com/supporters/supporters_full.aspx

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Slowing down helps most times.  If you pay attention to your boat, it will tell you what speed is best for prevailing conditions.  Load distribution is a huge factor as is judicious use of trim tabs and engine tilt.

Fishing is supposed to be fun.  When I have to sit down and pull a butt vacuum on the seat just so I can fight a fish and stay in the boat, it isn't fun.  The visit to the Chiropractor after a bumpy trip isn't fun either.

The balls/brain relationship I mentioned earlier has made me a safer boater and fisherman.  As a charter captain for lots of years, I always paid attention to SCAs and SCCs.  Common sense came into play a lot of times when conditions began to deteriorate.  I'd imagine an insurance company would be none too happy if you filed an injury claim when you clearly shouldn't have been fishing.  Fortunately, I never had to file a single injury claim on my liability insurance. 

Be safe---not sorry.  Being stupid can get you hurt or killed.  (IMHO)

Life is too short to catch little fish.

 http://www.panhandlefishingbooks.com/

This is what I do as well.  I only have a 19' boat.  When there is even a moderate chop on the water it can bang my kidneys to death to run at speed sometimes.  I usually have at least two fishing plans.  One to head southwest and one to run southeast.  And which one I end up doing is based on wind and wave direction if I can help it.  The chop and waves tend to pick up in the afternoon.  (Typically)  So I do not mind heading into a slight chop in the morning knowing that it is going to be bigger in the afternoon.  And I usually am up to running head on into the chop in the morning because I am rested and full of energy.  After a long day of diving and fishing I like to have a following sea if I can help it. 

But the next biggest thing is to not get in a hurry.  With my size boat, I often times have to find the perfect speed to get in between the chop or get fast enough to get on top of it if it's a small chop.  But there usually is an ideal speed that your boat will feel and take the waves a bit easier.

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Jon

This is exactly what we do as well. Keeping up with the forecast and weather/wind trends can make for a more comfortable day going out, trolling, and coming in along with polishing your boat skills. Like sea monkey said too....its ok to "zig zag" for a more comfortable ride. Definately listen to Purple Haze advice.

David T  Navarre, FL

Usually fishing out of East Pass Destin

Triton 2486 Offshore Center Console
F225 Yamaha

18'6" Polar Fishmaster center console/merc 115

Please do not support any of the captains or vessels on the list below. http://saveoursector.com/supporters/supporters_full.aspx   If you agree with the above, please copy and paste this as your signature as well.

Member of RFA and FRA

The trick is Trial & Error it is all about

your Boat and see what works best for you

for me it is a Fat boy i can move around to help block any spray .

Capt,dantheman

Team (Over The Edge)

2700 Triton / Twin 225 Mercury Optimax