Question for Starcraft Aluminum boat owners

[Sammy19]

I was wanting to take my Starcraft FM 160 to the bays nears Rockport and Corpus Christi Texas. Do you think this boat will handle it? What should I be careful of? What should I avoid? Any suggestions or thoughts would be great.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Hello fellow StarCraft owner. You question all depends on the of waters you get there. I am on Lake Erie which is a few klics from Texas, but big water is big water. There are days here my Superfisherman 190 is far too small. If our Marine forecast calls for gusts above 20 KPH I don't venture out unless east winds. Winds from the south and the lake is different. 1 to 2 meter wave heights and I do not venture out there, that's insane in a 19 foot tinny. Deep V or no deep V. Here there are bays like Long Point Bay on our Canadian side where winds can kick up in that very shallow inner bay 8 footers in a matter of 20 minutes.

I can't help you on your water but I do like that you are at least asking for advise. Is this boat new to you? I know I would not go anywhere in the Gulf in a 16 footer, heck I wouldn't go out far on the Great Lakes on a 16 foot tinny, again a good long term Marine Forecast may tempt me, that to me is a 4 hour window. A Gulf bay may be entirely different. Be safe my friend. Windfinder and Sailflow are your friends as well as local Marine forecasts. You can never have too much Marine weather info.

 

[Hoserpoppasmurf]

Years ago when my kids were too cool to go boating I bought a 16' Mirrocraft with side mount steering and 35hp Johnson. I would get weather forecast, especially looking for wind forecasts and would regularly cross from Whiterock B.C. over the Georgia Strait to Cabbage island. I found the freighter's bow wave to be the most distressful. Tide changes were a little exciting. I found the boat floated like a CORK and rolled and stayed on top all the time. Some crossings were slower than others by keeping the heading into the waves or having to tack. I always wore PFD and attached the dead man switch.

 

[Sammy19]

I see aluminum smaller boats on the bays often. Mostly the waves would be 12-18 inches maybe up to 2 feet if you get caught in a tight spot. I used to do lots of kayak fishing in the bays with no worries. I assume the 16ft tinny would be a bit better than that. I am not looking to go out to the gulf, but just the bays and protected areas.

What should I look for in Marine weather forecasts as a go no go indicator?

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Your "go no go" is entirely up to you and the confidence you have in your boat and your personal boating skills. It doesn't matter what body of water you boat in you have a very small boat. I use Windfinder, Sailflow and US Marine weather services VHF radio and Environment Canada Marine Weather Service on VHF AND the website for my boating weather predictions. The best weather service is what you see from the dock before heading out. A smart boater is the one that gets all the way to the water and turns around because it is iffy. Disappointing but not stupid. I start checking a week ahead for some fishing trips.

 

[Hoserpoppasmurf]

A tinny has problems that other boats don't- they are so much lighter than glass so they tend to get blown around a little. This gets worse if you are single handed with too much weight in the stern- then the bow gets blown around and keeping control gets iffy. You'll have to experiment a bit and set your own "do not go" wind, and water conditions.