302 in following seas?

C

Captain Starbucks

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 26, 2012
Messages
45
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Hi all,

I haven't been on here since we sold our R25 8 years ago. My wife and I are considering a 30 or 302. She wants fancy, but I will fish it hard off the Washington Coast for tuna, halibut, ling, salmon, etc. I think the layout is great for our needs just wondering about the seakeeping qualities.

There was a 30' Cutwater out of LaPush I saw last weekend but didn't get a chance to talk to the owner.

Has anyone ran one of these boats offshore in 4'-6' following seas? Bar crossings?

Thank you in advance,

Rob in Tacoma, WA
 
Rob,

I certainly understand why you are asking the question about following seas after owning a RT25. I don’t have any experience you are looking for, however I would suspect that the 302 may have the best following sea performance between the C30 & C302 based on the ability to get the bow up with the outboards. Also, the C302 with twin engines you may feel more comfortable where you are going to use the boat.

Just my opinion… Dick
 
There are quite a few threads out there on the seaworthiness of C302/32s. The general consensus is they are not 'bluewater' boats, nor are they priced as such. Not only are there issues with the hull performance in heavy seas, but, the overall boat is not meant to take a lot of big waves and you'll get parts flying all over. I was particularly annoyed by the chandelier bulbs popping out with every wave (solved by removing them). Overall, the boat meets my needs and I'm not looking to change it anytime soon.

I will be fishing for all those fish, including BlueFin tuna, and will make every effort to only go out in relatively good weather, for northern California. We rarely ever have flat days going out of Pillar Point Harbor, but, if you avoid most small craft warning days and check windy, NOAA and other sources, the boat handles those conditions well enough.

The number one issue is fuel consumption and there is a plethora of information posted on Tugnuts that I'll defer to. Getting 0.7 mpg on average cruising is very troubling when my brother's bigger and heavier boat is getting 1.2 mpg with the same engines.
 
I would never take our C30 off the WA Coast unless I were very sure of nearly flat water. It gets very uncomfortable above 3' waves. It's important to remember that 4-6' waves do not mean that the maximum is 6' -- it means that the average of the upper 1/3 is 4-6'. There could easily be 8', 10' or higher waves mixed in.

These boats are very much designed for relatively protected waters. Would they be safe if needed in those conditions? Probably. Is it a good idea to go into those conditions deliberately with these boats? I don't think so.
 
Hi Captain Starbuck
I was the C30S you saw at LaPush.
We have had the boat for 1 year now and have already had her in some VERY rough offshore conditions.
The vessel has handed all we have thrown at it effortlessly. (including some very large (4-6+') with 25knt + winds and short wind/tide chop- unexpectedly
Of course I try to avoid those situations but....
We have fished out of that port for all the species mentioned going on 30 years.
Used to have Trophy 2459 and are changing gears with the Cutwater to include less fishing and more cruising (but not yet!)
As mentioned there are alot of bolt ons that will need some reconfiguration for this type of use.
Also you will need to consider your abilities to captain a vessel in those conditions.
All that said we feel very comfortable in our C30S fishing offshore.
Hope this helps.
GreyHawk
 
Thanks for all of the responses everyone. I was ready to throw in the towel until Mark answered, now I'm interested again.

I've been running a Shamrock 270 out in the ocean the last 7 years as a weekend warrior. I'm no pro but have many bar crossings and have enough open ocean experience to know my next boat will handle the ocean well.

As a former Fluid Marine owner, I'm not expecting high quality construction, just safe. Given the functional layout, I'd be interested in finding out more about what mods need to be done to get a 302 ready for some green water abuse. I've been a professional airplane mechanic for the last 30 years and enjoy maintaining boats.

Rob
 
I should add that the hull design as mentioned prior is not made for off shore.
The ride is a wet one in most semi to rough conditions.
There are alot of hulls made for that use that would do much better.
Looked at alot of vessels.
Almost landed on a Oceansport 33.
We went with the C30 because of the creature comforts, trailerability, and our next phase of boating (inside passage cruising)
GreyHawk
 
Almost landed on a Oceansport 33.
Click to expand...

I hadn't looked at that boat before. Are they still made? There's no website, but, it looks like they may have been acquired by Nordic Tugs. Also, I couldn't find very good pix online. The main berth looked like a standard V-Berth which won't work for the Admiral.

To Captain Starbucks,
I'm going to be in water a lot bigger than 6'. We reel in salmon that are over our heads at times when in a deep trough. I think we are all just trying to give you an accurate picture based on personal experience and observations. You'll see pretty quickly what needs to be battened down or removed, like chandelier lights.

~Paul
 
markzorad":2snnuvpj said:
There are alot of hulls made for that use that would do much better.
Looked at alot of vessels.
Almost landed on a Oceansport 33.
We went with the C30 because of the creature comforts, trailerability, and our next phase of boating (inside passage cruising)
GreyHawk
Click to expand...

Mark, what else did you look at? I've been looking for years to find a fancy, trailerable, fishable boat that sleeps 4 and can handle the big water. Last year we made an offer on an Ocean Sport Roamer 30 but a lodge in Alaska paid more than asking. Couldn't tow it and 2x outdrives scared me anyways.

There are many aluminum manufacturers out there that fit the bill, just not my preferred hull material.

If I throw out one of the criteria on my list, there become many choices. I should just throw out trailerable and move on....
 
One of the only boats I've found that meet my fishing, cruising and comfort needs like my C302 is: https://aspenpowercatamarans.com. The 35' C108 in particular, however, they have smaller models which I presume are easily trailerable. I'd need to do a lot of research on Cat hulls before actually buying one, however, the fuel consumption is noteworthy. There's a 3500 Noosacat on my dock that can be seen out on the roughest of days.

The C108 seems underpowered since I'd like to be able to cruise at 30 knots, which I can do on my Cutwater.
 
I just remembered one thing for anyone going offshore in the PNW: check your insurance, as you may not be covered by a default policy

Our C30 policy from Travelers specifically excludes the Pacific Ocean, the west side of Vancouver Island, and anything except "inside waters", "inside passage of BC", etc (with a list of some of the covered areas).
 
SJI Sailor,

That is very interesting on insurance. My policy from BoatUS/Geico says coastal and inland waters of US and Canada. I guess the insurance companies think the RT25 is good for bar crossing. I have never crossed a bar, always stayed on the receiving side to enjoy my drink.
 
I'm a big fan of the Aspen C90. The C100 is the preferred choice for me but out of my budget. The last C90 that came up for sale was last month. It sold in 5 hours.

I'm still on board with the C302 but am reading some scary things on fuel consumption. Seems to be all over the map...propping issues or what?
 
@dclagett Interesting, it may vary according to the home location of the vessel. The Pacific and Atlantic coasts are quite different in risk (and average distance from the ocean to safe ports). When we got quotes, I know there was regional customization of policies according to our intended usage. In any case, good to check!
 
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