CONTINUOUSWAVE

I am new to boating. I am interested in fishing in the bays or near the coastline of the south shore of the Long Island, New York, area, and also traveling from Captree or Fire Island to Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Q1: will a 130 SUPER SPORT or a 150 MONTAUK be stable and safe for these trips under regular weather conditions, that is, definitely not for rough weather?

Thanks for your opinions.

I owned a 15' Dauntless [that is, a boat that is not the topic of this discussion] with the intention of using it near shore on Lake Erie [that is, a Great Lakewhich is not the body of water in this discussion] off Cleveland Ohio. By near shore I'm talking about no more than four miles. I no longer have the 15 DAUNTLESS because the 15 DAUNTLESS was not suitable if there were any wave action at all [on Lake Erie].

Huge difference between an classic 15 and modern Whalers.

I noticed Long Island Sound can be calm in the morning but then have a nasty chop in the afternoon.

Boat length overall (LOA) makes a big difference in seakeeping and comfort.

I would not select a 130 or a 150. I found the 150 Montauk to be very uncomfortable in a chop, even when standing. It is just too short. I would go for a 17' model, classic or modern.

Thank you guys very much for sharing your experiences. I probably should look for a larger one.

I think you should be guided by the model designator MONTAUK as used for the classic 17-foot center console boat. When Dick Fisher named the classic 17-foot center console boat the "MONTAUK" model, he was naming it after a port town on eastern Long Island. The notion that you could use a MONTAUK 17 in Long Island Sound is inherent in the boat's model name.

As the boat gets smaller and the body of water gets larger, the number of days you can use the boat becomes smaller. If you pick just the right day, I am sure you can have fun in a 13-footer in Long Island Sound, but the number of those days will be proportionately smaller than if you had a 17-footer. If you are talking about the southeast shore of Long Island, you are talking about the open ocean, so certainly a 13-footer is probably only useful a few days a month.

Thanks a lot for your input, Jimh. It seems a Montauk 170 might be the best choice, considering both the cost and size. For long island south shore, would a 150 be good enough if I limit my activity within the bays, not going into open ocean or in shore? There are large areas of bay north to Long Beach, Jones Beach and Fire Islands.

I am not familiar with the near shore or inshore waters of southeast Long Island on the Atlantic Ocean side.

To get a sense of what length and size smaller boats are in general use in those waters, I would visit a boat ramp and take note of what boats are being launched. I would use the launch ramps in preference to marinas because a marina slip is likely to be used by larger boats due to the difficulty in launching them at a ramp.

Jimh, I think that is a great idea. I will go check the ramps once boating activities resume after the winter.

I spent my first 20 years boating on Great South Bay. The bay gets rougher than you might think. A typical summer day starts with a gentle northwest breeze, which often fades to calm in the mid-day. But after lunch the southwest sea breeze kicks up and is often blowing 10-15 knots by later afternoon. Combine that with the bay's shallow water of only about 5-6 feet in most places, and you can get quite a bit of chop. It's not like you can't use a small boat (I've made numerous afternoon crossings on a Sunfish) but it might often be uncomfortable.

Running Fire Island Inlet and going offshore is no big deal on a nice day. The inlet is (or was) deep and pretty well protected. Moriches or Shinnecock inlets were to be avoided in any wind.

A 130 Sport would not, I think, be a good choice at all for this area. A 150 Montauk is a very competent boat for its size but I'd still call it a bit small. I think my 160 Dauntless or a s similarly-sized 170 Montauk would be the smallest boat that would be good on most days. It's been quite a few years since I've been boating there, but "back in the day" it was pretty common to see Montauk 17s, lots of Makos in the 18-22 foot range, and plenty of Grady Whites in the same range and up to 25 or so. With a 170 you'd be on the small side but sufficient for most days.

Thanks very much, Goldendaze. That's very helpful, especially for your specific experiences in the [Great South Bay] and your experiences about the inlets. It seems a 170 Montauk would be the minimal practical size boat.

I keep my Nantucket 190 in Milton Harbor (Rye, NY).

On nice days, the 19 Nantucket/Outrage is fine. However, Long Island Sound gets choppy. I've crossed from Rye to Oyster Bay in the morning when it's smooth and then returned in the afternoon when it's rough. For that type of trip, I do not think I'd be comfortable in anything smaller than a 19 when it's choppy.

From Milton Harbor, I frequently travel up to the Islands off Greenwich, CT, Oyster Bay (Long Island), and I've made a few trips to Statue of Liberty.

How many passengers do you want to bring with you?

Thanks, Roundle1979.

[Aboard the boat I plan to purchase I want to bring with me as passengers] two [people] most of the time and occasionally four [people].

I think that means three to five people aboard. FIVE people are too many for 13-footer, and a big crowd on a 15-footer. You should move up to a 22-footer for five aboard.