solent crossing OK?

I did the level 2 course earlier this year from the Southampton University Watersports Centre. Two days of playing in nearly new ribs! On the second day, we blasted down Southampton Water and across to the Cowes Roads. I've never driven a motor boat before and it was great fun, a bit choppy and lots of spray, but once you get the feel of each wave being much the same as the last, you know you'll be able to cope.

Pick a day without too much wind to whip up the waves and you'll be fine.

Rob.
 
The boat is very capable of trips inshore. I have a friend with a sheltie (same hull, different superstructure I think) that he uses out of St Andrews to go fishing around Bass Rock in the Forth. He has a very old Johnson 40 ( on newish gas struts ) with a slightly newer Yamaha 6 as a back-up.

Work the tides. A 20 hp ought to get you on the step in calm waters. You really wouldn't want to do that in a "Solent Chop" anyway.

You don't really need a lot of stuff, just charts, compass, a couple of red flares and a bit of "Nous". Chi Harbour's a good place to practise and the shetland will take the ground (although I wouldn't recommend this at speed) so if you do, all you need to do is wait for the tide to float you off. (I have a couple of "horror stories" concerning over reliance on electronics that failed but that doesn't mean you shouldn't use them, just know what to do if they stop working).

Pick a nice day, low windspeed (a high Pressure system over the chanel would help) and if you don't like the look of the water over the bar, have a plan B (you can get from chi harbour to Gosport without putting your nose out into the Solent if you play the tides right)

You are doing the right things, asking for advice and thinking ahead. You wil get to IoW eventually and when you do you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. This won't stop you feeling inordinately proud of your first trip.
 
ive had some great advice , thank you all.
im putting her in the water for a few days on sunday. i still need to sort out a f/f but i think it will be a fairly cheap one as all i want to know is depth, will also get a h/h gps aswell.
 
Garmin FF90 seems to be available for under £70 on Google, had one and would reccomend it, easy to use and does what it says on the box. Can't help with the GPS reccomendations, sorry.....but there are plenty here who can and will.
 
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