Need a little advice....

[Island_Diver]

Brothers in Triumphs,

I have made up my mind and should be receiving my slightly used triumph about the middle of next week. I am having a few minor tasks done to her by the dealer here. The rubber boat rail is loose in some spots so they are going to take care of that for me, and since I have been on the site I told him not to have them drill any wayward holes in her in order to accomplish this. I am also having them install the Dolphin/whale tail on the yamaha 150 fourstroke outboard. After that the rest is up to me. I have purchased everything that the coast guard tells me that I should have. I am also going to be installing GPS with cartography and fish finder, VHF radio, and of course a cd player with speakers (hey johnny cash calls the fish in I swear).

I plan on doing some of the mods in here that I have seen to include the extra drain plugs in the transom and fixing the drains on the bait compartments (thanks for the help on doing this). Addionally I will be installing a second battery with a switch. But my question to all of you is going to be on what else should I keep in the boat for spares and redundancy? I am going to be eventually doing interisland travel here in the Hawaiian islands....but right now it will mostly be just slightly off shore diving and bottom fishing. This is my first boat and just a little advice here would be great on what else to take with. I was also thinking about the extra bilge pump as well. I have been on several boats before and worked as a first mate on my grandfather's fishing boat when I was younger. So i'm not completely clueless when it comes to the water. Thanks for any comments/suggestions.

One last question for the big game fisherman out there. Who can tell me the basic equipment needs to go after marlin and tuna? I don't want to go out and buy a ton of equipment that I won't need. Thanks.

Mike

Also no worries before I do any interisland travel I will certainly have an EPIRB on board. Oh and where can I get new cushions for her at? There are no cushions for the bow or stern seats and the place that I am buying her from doesn’t know where to get the real ones at. They just said check the internet.

[Codfish]

Mike,

Congratulations on your Triumph. I would bet you will love the boat more the longer you own it. As for backup equipment, I always have a handheld VHF radio on board. A waterproof one is best. I keep mine in a waterproof bag also. That will be your lifeline to the Coast Guard or other boaters should you ever need help. I also carry a small GPS in the same bag so I can tell people where I am if necessary. This bag can also go with me into the sea if ever needed. Shouldn't have to with an unsinkable boat, but you never know what can happen.

Other items as spares are personal preference things, like a spare propeller, spare bilge pump (manual or electric).

As far as the fishing equipment goes, you are on your own with Marlin stuff. I don't have that species in my part of the world. For small tuna, skipjacks or albacore, a medium weight 5'6" standup should do it. I like the Penn graphite reels for price and reliability. If you could catch bigger fish, use a rod/reel combo that can handle them. Small fish are still fun to catch on big stuff but if you hook a large one, the smaller gear will only cause frustration when you loose them due to light line. Having fished Hawaii only a couple of times, I know you can get a smorgasboard of species only a few miles off shore. One thing I recommend to always have when fishing for big pelagic species is a good pair of long nose pliers with sharp cutters. You never know when a line is going to get wrapped around something it shouldn't and you have to free it quick.

I really do envy you for all the fun you will have in the home waters. What a place to live and fish. Good luck. Keep us posted on how you do.

codfish

[Putershark]

Congrats on the new ride
First thing I would do I punch some of these topics into the site search tool on the home page, and read though the different recommendations that have been made on Dole fins and the such like. Though I spend a lot of time sorting postings trying to keep our knowledge base current and accurate, the search tool does make it a lot faster to find such items, even the ones I may have missed moving...

I would check with either Heartland or Merritt Marine for the seat cushions and just have them shipped over UNLESS you want to have a set custom made on the Islands at one of the car interior shops, and I am quite sure, one of the guys here would give you the measurements if needed...

Dave

[msmandel]

Two things I would add to the above posts. 1. A turkey baster to suck out whatever water gets in the rod holders, etc. and 2. An onboard battery charger. It's a lot easier than dealing with the alligator clips. I also recently bought a marine battery jump starter because I only have one main battery. However, other than the bilge pump I have nothing that runs off the starting battery and didn't want to deal with yet another switch. Best of luck with your new boat.

MM

[MolarBoater]

PEPIRB with GPS/handheld vhf/ditchbag like rec by CodFish, two heavy duty starting batteries with switch, t bag or waterproof duffle, tool kit, flare gun since many hand held flares are duds. Offer a free fishing trip to someone who already fishes the area and let them supply the rods/tackle. I would be willing to bet using some 6/0 Penn Senators with stand up rods spooled with 20-50lbs mono with blue/white Ilanders with or without ballyhoo trolled at 5nm would get you started. Local tackle store would be more than happy to set you up and might get some good starting tips. Sky's the limit on how expensive you want to go with rods/reels but when someone eventually drops one overboard....well, don't buy too much you can't easily replace, like pliers too.
Start your subscription to Saltwater Sportsman etc then hit the local book store.
Boater's World usually has some good prices on rod/reel combos too.
Good Luck, what model are you getting?

[Island_Diver]

Well everyone. I just went and signed the papers on my new baby a couple of hours ago. She is a slightly used but not abused 2002 Triumph 210cc with the 150 Yamaha. I should take receipt of her right after the new year. I am having the dealership install a dolphin fin, flushmount radio (i got the mounting location from this forum), mount a dive ladder, second battery with switch, and do the yearly service on her. Once I take reciept of her I am putting on the Garmin 198c that I picked out and the cd player and speakers. From there I am going to take it easy and just do some of the mods that I have seen here to make sure that she doesn't retain water..you know how they tend to do that (no pun intended). One thing that did slightly worry was the pole holders....they had been drilled down into the gunwale and there was standing water in them. But I saw a way to put a drip tube on them decided that will work for me. Thanks for all of the help and i'm sure that once I get her I will have much more for you guys.

Oh and those Penn senators..those are stout enough to tie onto a Marlin with? I found a deal on the internet that had them at a pretty good price. I might pick up a couple.

[Putershark]

Stout enough? That depends upon 3 things...
1. How big is the fish?
2. How much line is left on the reel and (most important)
3.. How much fuel do you have in the tank and time off work too... "Run it down"

Speaking about stout, I would make sure you have at least one high grade start battery before making those inter-island runs you were talking about. Banging though the surf just wipes out your standard wet cell battery and though expensive, that is not much of an issue with Odyssey Battery http://www.odysseysoutheast.com/ for even the worlds best engines won't start with no juice. Being "sick and sideways" on a wave is not where you want to be on anything much smaller than Battleship

Merry Christmas!
Dave

[MolarBoater]

What you want to look at is what lbs line you will be using and how much. I have had my Senators 6/0 spooled with 20-80lbs pending if I am going for big bottom fish or pelagics but you might want something that could handle 500yds of 80lbs unless you use wire or a top shot set up. Some use thin, strong Dacron or Spectra braided line with an appropriate "top shot" of mono for added capacity (I do this on my Penn 8500 spin cast)(knot choice is also very important with braids). For the price, Senators are hard to beat and have stood the test of time (there are also aftermarket parts etc readily available). Later on you can always save up for the 80wides or a bigger boat! For big Pacific Blues, you will probably need 80lb line, trolling skirted ballyhoo or a live bonito/mackerel or 14" Kona head high speed trolling lures. Probably use a heavy action rod 6 1/2' or less and as you get the hang of things, you could add "birds" and "dredges" of varying types.
Since I fish Mobile to Destin in the Gulf of Mexico with in a depth usually of less than 150', I am relying on book knowledge for Pacific Blue Marlin and the fact I will rarely need more than 300' of line or even anchor rope, haha! You are in really deep water just a mile offshore, so the ability of your fish diving and even bottom fishing is already in the "deep drop" catagory.
I use the Senator 6/0 114 high speed reel which holds 375/80 with 5 1/2' heavy action OuterBanks rods Aftco roller tipped rods (on sale @$199 couple years ago BoatersWorld). The 115 Senator holds 675/50 which puts it close to what you might ultimately need in 80lbs if you are using all mono and a brute of a fish dives on you. You can be spooled on any reel in that area can't you?
Always a good idea to charter a local boat to take you fishing for what you are personally targeting, study bait prep, presentaion, trolling speed, depth and area which are ultimately going to be far more important than rod and reel
beyond basic capacity and durability issues.
Good Luck

[Codfish]

Island Diver,

I am wondering why you are having a doel fin installed? Does anyone else use one on their 210CC? I don't and I am not at all sure that it would do anything but increase the lower unit drag at all speeds.

If you plan on running hot and heavy alot, I would recommend trim tabs instead. Just a thought.

codfish

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

i second codfish's comment as well. doel fins on large hp engines/ 21ft boats

dont sit well with me either. the earlier logic 210's with the 80 gal fuel tanks will perform better with trim tabs due to so much of the weight being so far back . i love the quick response of my lencos once i'm out of the hole or find the weight offcenter once on plane
GGC