anyone fished in a 12ft boat in area 8-2

[mallard433]

the last two week i have gone back and fourth on taking my 12ft smokercraft out on a good day has any one done this around shipwreck to everett . my smokercraft has a good beam and a 20in transom with a 15 hp evinrude. i heard my boat was un sinkable cause the way its built but not sure on that any help would be great

[Drewp]

I have done it. With a crab pot too. Just make sure you have all the stuff you need to be legal, and triple check the weather. Pay attention for rollers caused by the ferry or other large boats and you should be fine.

[mallard433]

glad to see some ones don it and i am not crazy i have all the right gear still from my other boat that i no longer have i should have never down sized from a 19 ft bouht a smaller boat i could use more in the rivers now i miss the salt

[BentRod]

Yup, I've launched out of Mukilteo. See the Hood Canal thread. I stay pretty close to the launch though as my 4hp Evinrude doesn't pop me up on plane and is slow against a large tide change.
PS. I make sure I'm wearing my PDF when I do this. Why take more chances than I'm already taking.

[mallard433]

this is my setup

[mallard433]

yes a pfd a must i am just worryed about sinking my boat and losing may gear for some fish from a wave

[BentRod]

Yes, that is a valid concern. Anytime one takes a "smallish" (open to interpretation) boat on the sound, there is a risk. From your picture, you certainly have a better setup than I do and it looks like a deeper hull. Mine is just a Starcraft lakeboat, but with two people, two crab pots, the motor and a gas tank, it does alright, but doesn't have a ton of freeboard. My outboard doesn't have neutral, so I won't go out on the salt in this thing alone as I like to keep the bow into any oncoming rollers if I see them. As I said earlier, or in the other thread, I watch the weather and waves. I will kill the motor and drift if all is calm. I like to have two people, so my passenger can pay attention to the pots and fish and I can pay attention to the water. I think after the first time jitters, you get used to how things ride and it isn't too freaky. It's good to have a healthy respect for the environment though.
I can honestly say that the first time I did this, I was pretty nervous, but everything turned out well and I saw some other craft off of the park at Mukilteo that were smaller and looked more questionable than mine, but everyone made it out and back to shore that day.
Tight lines.

[hanapaa808]

mallard, let me know how your boat does out there. im not familiar with these waters aswell and am intrested in learning this body of water since i live right in lake stevens.

[curado]

the newer smokercrft alaskans are nice my dad and i got a 15 footer

[zen leecher aka Bill W]

I don't think it's a good idea and yes, I have seen 12' boats out there.

[Dave]

I agree with Bill. 12 years ago when I bought my home near the salt, I bought a 14’ Gregor welded aluminum boat with a 25 hp Evenrude. It was a very nice boat and I thought it would be big enough for the Sound (specifically area 8-1 at the time). I took it out a few times and made the 5 minute run from Camano Island to Whidbey Island on what looked like a calm day, and found that even the small swells that are very deceiving, forced me to go slow and make sure I took the swells head on. I honestly felt very unsafe in it. I took my wife out in it a few times after those first few trips, and was concerned for her safety as well. So I sold that boat and researched welded aluminum boats for a few months, then bought my Hewes Craft 163 Sea Runner which has 3X the freeboard, and can handle the sound with no worries. In fact I’ve had it out in 8-2 near Mukilteo one pink season and the wind came up and so did the 5’ swells. The boat handled great and firmed up my confidence in it.

So, although I believe on a very calm morning before all the boat traffic begins, if you stayed relatively close to shore, I think you would be okay. I would personally not take a 12’ aluminum boat (I have a 2005 Smoker Craft Alaskan which has the deep freeboard) out to Hat Island. But that’s just me. I would take it out in front of a launch say at Kayak Point but I wouldn’t wander far. Nothing out there is worth your life. Your boat may not sink because of the seat flotation but it would be a very dangerous and frightening experience if it capsized. Good luck and be careful if you take it out in the salt.