Solo skiff offshore trip

[GTboosted]

Originally Posted by FISH11

It mostly depends on water surface conditions. The flatter it is the slower you go. Flat flat water about 10.5-11.5 mph, on slight wind ripples it's usually the fastest 13.5-15.5 mph, on following seas if on the right angle and it's virtually surfing, I've had it hit 17.8 mph. At that speed the steering is very touchy and you have to pay much more attention to the waters in front, from the sides and catching up from behind. It is a total blast. Most of the time when we were going fast it was around 12.5-13.5 mph. Trolling the Nomad was 5.0-6.5 mph. P.S. What's up Beto, I still have my 2016 Malibu X Factor I bought from you.

Hey Mark,

That's pretty fast. I got tired of the range of the kayak so I sold my Hobie. But I refuse to pay covid prices on boats so I ordered a new small inflatable and 6hp mercury to hold me off for a bit. Later I can take the inflatable to the Eastern Sierras in my little camping trailer.

Anyway, I figured it will be a bit too fast to go out with kayaks but maybe to slow with Solo's. I guess I will see how it performs when it arrives next month.

For the price I should have kept one of those Malibu kayaks. Not sure I want to surf launch with an outboard in LA County

[FISH11]

Compared to kayaks it's a whole different ball game. Besides the speed to cover water faster or further, the big advantage is not having to fight the wind and current. No more spending hours to get back from 3.5 miles out down current and wind and your GPS says your forward speed is 0.5-1.2 mph, even on a Hobie were you normally could do 3.5-4.3 mph (been there). Sometimes you might not be able to go full speed through the chop and need to slow down so as not to get so wet, but then you are still going 8.5-9.6 mph. It makes it great to get back in minutes not hours. I call that, SAFETY. I also have friends that have Scout inflatables with the 6 or 8 HP outboard and they get out there also.

[AlwaysFishing]

I have not pushed the Solo Skiff to its full potential until this past weekend, going out with Mark, Nick and other owners. It is safer to go faster because you would ride on top of the swells and chops. It's a little nerve racking at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad. If you go slow, you get pushed around by the swells and chops, like you would in a kayak.
Here is my video of the trip.
https://youtu.be/7pshhDcBrbY

[GTboosted]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I don't want to hijack the thread so I'll start a new one when I get my gear in.

[FISH11]

Just another update. Saturday a bunch of us Solo Skiff owner's (So. Cal. Solo Skiff Owner Club) 10 guys headed out for the N. 9 Mile Bank area. It was the first organized of shore trip asides from rock fishing, lobstering,etc. The pack of Solos chased Tuna like all the hundreds off boats that day, few landed any. On Tuesday the 20 th, I thought the Solo is all loaded I could launch from La Jolla and have a shorter distance. What started as to check how close, ended up I went to the same spots. Unlike Saturday there were hardly any birds, no foamers or breaching tuna. Wind did not pick up as forecast and the sun burned off the haze and made it a beautiful day. Just no a good fishing day. It opened up so much more than I though would be possible. AMAZING SOLO SKIFF!

[FISH11]

After looking at my Lowrance 7TI and checking the trails from the off shore trips on 7-13,7-17 and 7-20, all to areas on the north end of the 9 mile bank and La Jolla Canyon Weather Buoy. I took a screen picture showing the 3 routes and they totaled 132 Nautical Miles on the Solo Skiff and it's amazing to me to look at that chart with the trails over so much space and know that was on my Solo Skiff on 3 trips. One launching from Mission Bay and two from La Jolla Shores. I find that amazing!