Westport Boat Size

[Lawfin]

I am interested in opinions from some Westport regulars regarding fishing out of Westort in a 16 foot Alumaweld Talon. I have fished out of Westport many times but always in a larger boat. I have always assumed that crossing the bar in the 16 footer was too risky. However, on a calm day with a small swell and long period between waves, maybe it would be fine? I'm just interested in some opinions. Thanks in advance.

[ResQ]

As an avid Jetty fisherman and charter'er, I would say to just stick with area 2-2 in a 16 foot boat. Or come out to the jetty, but not navigate the bar.

[rellfast19]

Been over the Columbia bar and Westport in a 24 glassply, not too bad if the weather and tides are right. Westport isn't as bad but tides and winds are everything. We took the aquasport out last fall and the wife just about **** herself when we headed towards the jetty, we ended up fishing 2-2 that day....

[Jerry H]

Think long and hard before you cross westport bar or any bar for that matter in a 16 ft boat. It's all about timing and weather. What are you going to do if you get out ok then the weather and or ocean blows up unexpectedly on you or something goes wrong on your boat and the bar is too rough for your 16 ft boat to cross. You are stuck outside potentially for hours on an ocean that could be as bad or worse than the bar. More than once we have crossed the Westport and Columbia river bars in a 25 footer with the Coast Guards blessing only to have the bar closed behind us and the ocean in bad shape. On those days we made the best of it and fished the 5 to 8 hours while we waited out the closure. It was water that a 16 ft boat would have been swamped many times over in those 5 to 8 hours. Everyone that was stuck outside stayed close together and when the bar opened we went in as a group watching out for each other.

THERE WAS RESENTLY A FORUM ARTICLE ABOUT A RESCUE ON THE COLUMBIA BAR THAT YOU SHOULD READ!!! It will give you an idea of how fast things can go wrong.

[G-Man]

Honestly, when the conditions are good, and you hit the exchange at the right time, you can cross the bar in just about anything. However, once out, there are no guarantees regarding the conditions coming back in. I have an 18.5' Raider that has 36" of side height and a 94" beam which I consider about the bare minimum for venturing out of Westport. The Talon, if I remember correctly, is more of a hybrid boat which allows for the option of running in skinny water, not what I would take out of Westport. If you really want to get out on the ocean with your boat, have a look at La Push or Neah Bay. Neither necessitates timing the tide to come in or leave port. Just be sure to mind the weather and have a marine radio on board that can monitor the NOAA weather channels and provide weather alerts.

[Jerry H]

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/vi ... ue#p209204" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Read this. The ocean stared good. These people new what they were doing and it still went wrong in a heart beat. Think long and hard before you take a 16 ft boat over any big bar.

[Larry3215]

Our one and only time crossing the Westport bar was several years ago in a 24' Glasply cuddy. Thats a very sea worthy boat. Going out was a breaze. Almost glass smooth water. We limited in 2 hours and headed back. The wind had come up some and the swells had picked up but still nothing that worried us. Once we passed the end of the jetty, we thought we had it made. The swells were getting to maybe 3-4 ft, but they were long and far between.

Then - out of no where - we heard a huge noise behind us and when we looked back there was a breaking 8 footer bearing down on us. I swear it looked like Niagra Falls was about to crash on top of us. Luckily we stayed ahead of the breaking water and made it in ok.

We all had to change our underwear when we got back tot he dock. We havent been back.

[MarkFromSea]

Changes quick out there. I'm unfamiliar with your boat. If you do go, don't force it based on your schedule, base it on PERFECT conditions. I've got a short but stout boat but I am far from invincible. Besides, water and wind conditions, how would you handle fog? Electronics? I'm not saying don't do it, just, be careful and aware of what could happen, be prepared for that. If your boat isn't designed for it..... IDK.... pick only a perfect condition day. I've crossed the bar approx 30 times in the last 12 months or 60 if you're counting each way. BUT, I choose better weather days to do it in, usually. LOL
Find Leroys Ramblins on line for crossing the WP bar... read it, understand it. There are other helpful sources that google will bring you but leroy spells it out pretty well, if you don't understand that text,,,, keep reading it until you do. There is NO shame in taking the time to understand something completely that is that important.
AVOID MAX EB: http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/get_pr ... 6255+Grays" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;