How to Prepare for a Multiday Offshore Fishing Trip by Boat

By Brian Gordon, Last updated: 8/10/2023

Embarking on an overnight or multiday offshore fishing excursion is a dream come true for many anglers. If you own an offshore-capable fishing boat but have yet to experience the excitement of a blue water fishing trip, this article is for you. Following are our tips and suggestions on how to organize your tackle and prepare yourself, your crew and your boat for a trip that is comfortable, safe—and from the perspective of catching fish, hopefully successful!

Is your boat up to the task?
Are you up to the task?
Safety
Food Storage and Preparation
Offshore Communications
Engine and Mechanical
Don’t Run Out of Fuel!
Fishing Gear
Fishing Electronics
Organize your tackle.
Preserve Those Trophy Fish!
Dress for the Weather
Conclusion

Is your boat up to the task?

What do we mean by an "offshore-capable" boat that is capable of multiple days at sea? First, we refer to fishing boats that are generally at least 30 feet long and ruggedly built to withstand the challenge of offshore conditions. For an overnight trip or longer, your boat, as your "home away from home", must also provide you and your crew with an acceptable amount of comfort at sea. This means a sleeping berth for each crewmember, a galley equipped with a range, a pressure water system, and a USCG-approved marine sanitation system. Of course, your boat must also meet all USCG Equipment Requirements for Recreational Vessels.

Are you up to the task?

175 piece tool kit with contents displayed

Whenever you cast off from the dock, consider your boat to be a floating life support system with you in charge. As such, you are responsible for the safety of yourself and your crew. Bearing this in mind, we suggest you become familiar with your boat’s engine, electrical and plumbing systems and that you know how to make simple system repairs. To this end, we suggest you keep a set of tools onboard. The more you know about your boat, the less chance there is of a relatively minor problem becoming a trip-ending issue.

Safety

Key requirements related to safety contained within the requirements mentioned above include the following:

Life Jackets: For help with selecting life jackets that are right for you and your crew, see our West Advisor article How to Select a Life Vest.
Throwable Flotation: All boats over 16' must carry throwable flotation. Unfortunately, many boats use a square buoyant cushion with only 18lb. of flotation. Ring buoys and horseshoe buoys are more buoyant and can be mounted conveniently on a bulkhead or rail in compliance with USCG regulations. One device to consider is a Lifesling rescue sling, which unlike conventional ring or horseshoe buoys gives you the ability to hoist a crew overboard victim out of the water and back on to your boat. For more on throwable flotation, see our West Advisor article Selecting Crew Overboard Equipment .
Fire Extinguishers: For requirements and rule variations that may apply to your boat, see our West Advisor article Selecting Fire Extinguishers
Emergency Signals: For acceptable combinations of pyrotechnic signals (flares) or non-pyrotechnic devices that meet USCG requirements see our West Advisor article Selecting Visual Distress Signals.
Sound Producing Devices: Sound producing devices include horns and whistles used to signal your intentions of position.

What is interesting about the USCG requirements is what they don’t mention. For example, an essential item of safety gear that most every boat should have is a VHF radio which, in a serious emergency, will be your primary means of summoning help. Following are our suggestions for other gear you should consider when outfitting your boat for an offshore excursion.

Equip your boat with a life raft: Whether you are an offshore angler, cruiser or sailor, prudence dictates that you equip your boat with a life raft. For offshore boaters, a life raft is the most important piece of equipment that they hope to never have to use. For the different types of life rafts that West Marine offers and to help you make an informed buying decision, please read our West Advisor article Guide to Choosing a Life Raft for Recreational Vessels.
Pack a ditch bag: A ditch bag, also called an abandon ship bag, contains key items needed to summon help and to survive in a life raft while waiting for rescue to arrive. A ditch bag must be kept in an accessible location onboard, ready for immediate removal should the need arise. For more on ditch bags, see our West Advisor article Preparing a Ditch Bag.
Attach a bung to each thru hull fitting: Wooden bungs are a quick and effective way to plug a thru hull fitting in the event one breaks. Attaching bungs with a lanyard to your thru hull fittings is the best way to keep them ready for use and from getting misplaced or lost.
Equip your boat with an EPIRB or pack a PLB: Rescue beacons such as EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicator Radio Beacons) and PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) provide life insurance that we hope you'll never need to use. No matter where you are in the world, in the event of a life-threatening situation, either of these devices can save your life or that of your crew. When activated in an emergency, they broadcast a 406 MHz signal via satellite to the Cospas-Sarsat global emergency network. EPIRBs and PLBs are now offered with a built-in GPS. In an emergency, these models can alert the SAR agency nearest to you of your emergency and your position in as little as two to three minutes. For more about rescue beacons, including the difference between EPIRBs and PLBs, see our West Advisor article Selecting an Emergency Beacon-EPIRBs and PLBs.
Medical Kit: Every boat should be equipped with a medical kit. But, do you need a first aid kit that can treat the basics like abrasions, sunburn, minor cuts and sprains, or should you invest in a more elaborate kit that can help deal with significant illnesses or injuries at sea? There’s no standard medical kit that’s right for every boat, so be sure to pick one based on the length of your trip and the number of people in the crew. For more on how to select a medical kit, see our West Advisor article Selecting a Boating Medical Kit.

Food Storage and Preparation

A well-fed crew is a happy crew! Following are several suggestions on how to streamline meal preparation and ensure that your galley is ready for offshore use.

Check your LPG reserves: If your boat is equipped with a propane range, check to ensure that your LPG reserves are adequate for the trip. Since the pressure gauge remains relatively constant at all fuel levels, the only way to accurately do this is to weigh your LPG tank.
Invest in appropriately sized cookware: If your boat has an oven and you plan to use it, remember that many marine ovens will not accept standard cookie sheets or roasting pans, but fortunately, West Marine offers galley cookware that does.
Prepare meals in advance: One way to simplify meal preparation is to prepare your meals at home and then freeze them for later consumption at sea. This works best with soups and stews.
Install a marine grill: If your boat doesn’t already have one, consider installing a marine propane grill. The grills we offer are easy to install and are a great way to free up galley space for secondary dish and salad preparation. The innovative design of some of these barbecues permits use of standard pots and pans, so in addition to standard grilling, you can fry, sauté, or simmer up mouth- watering meals for your crew.
Refrigeration: To keep perishable food items fresh, ensure that your boat’s refrigeration is in good working order. If your boat lacks refrigeration, you’re going to need an appropriately sized cooler with plenty of ice.

Offshore Communications

When offshore, being able to communicate with family and friends can give you and your loved ones great peace of mind. But offshore, you may be out of VHF range to shore-based receivers, and there is a good chance there will be no cell phone coverage. One solution to this is to install a satellite phone system like KVH Industries TracPhone LTE-1 Global which gives boaters the ability to enjoy streaming video and music; Wi-Fi calling, browsing the web, checking email and social media, and more. A less expensive alternative is to purchase a satellite communication device, like Garmin’s inReach® 2 Satellite Communicator or SPOT’S SPOTX Satellite Messenger. These types of devices, when used along with a paid subscription, give you the ability to send and receive messages, send an SOS to search and rescue agencies and track, log and share your position with family and friends.

NOTE: While satellite communicators can, in an emergency, be used to contact SAR (Search and Rescue) agencies, we do not recommend that you substitute one of these devices for an EPIRB or PLB mentioned above.

Engine and Mechanical

The last thing you need at sea is for your engine to break down. If you have any deferred maintenance, take care of it before leaving the dock. If you are not following a maintenance schedule for your engine, check your engine’s owner’s manual for a listing of maintenance tasks and how frequently they should be performed. Here are some common maintenance tasks:

Check and/or change the engine oil.
Check and/or change the transmission oil.
Inspect the V-belt or the serpentine belt and change if necessary.
Inspect and/or change the engine coolant. (engines with heat exchangers)
Inspect, adjust and lubricate shift and throttle linkages.
Inspect and adjust the stuffing box and replace the stuffing box packing if necessary.
Inspect and change the engine hoses if necessary.
Inspect and change the water pump impeller if necessary.

Don’t Run Out of Fuel!

Follow the rule of thirds: Running out of fuel is a leading cause of boater distress. To avoid running out of fuel, when planning for a trip, always follow the Rule of Thirds. This rule dictates that you reserve one-third of your available fuel for arriving at your destination and one third of your fuel for the return trip. The remaining third should be held in reserve for unforeseen circumstances such as unexpected weather or towing another boat.

Screen shot from Garmin GMI 10 Fuel Economy Instrument

Find your engines “sweet spot”: Determining the optimum RPMs at which you need to run your boat’s engine that will get you to your destination within a time frame and at a fuel cost you are willing to accept is your engine’s “sweet spot”. The easiest way to do this is to install a fuel flow sensor. Examples of fuel flow sensors include Garmin’s GFS 10 Fuel Flow Sensor and Navico’s Electronic Fuel Flow Probe Sensor . When connected to a NMEA 2000 multifunction display or instrument, these sensors keep you abreast in real time of your fuel use in gallons per hour, how much fuel you have used, your remaining range based on current RPMs and how much fuel you have left. The dynamic nature of the algorithm enables you to accurately adjust throttles and trim for maximum economy even as wind and sea conditions change. For more on fuel flow sensors and finding your engine’s “sweet spot”, see our West Advisor article Stretch Your Fuel Dollars.

Fishing Gear

If you are in need of fishing gear replacements or upgrades, West Marine offers a full selection of fishing rods, reels and other gear to outfit your boat for most any type of fishing. Whether you plan to troll with outriggers for large pelagic fish or deep drop for big, bottom-dwelling quarry, West Marine has all the gear you need. For assistance with selecting the right fishing tackle for your boat, we suggest you visit a West Marine store near you where knowledgeable West Marine crew members are ready to help.

Fishing Electronics

Angler looking at multi-function displays

Whether you want to move up from a dedicated fishfinder to a combo fishfinder/gps, or want to install an all-in-one multi-function display, West Marine offers a wide variety of options to improve situational awareness and find more fish.

Organize your tackle.

When the bite is on, the last thing you want is to waste time searching for whatever lure or terminal tackle you need. The fact is, organized anglers catch more fish, which is why tackle bags have become increasingly popular over the years. West Marine offers various sizes and brands of tackle bags, which are designed to accept plastic tackle trays, which you can mix and match according to the anticipated hooks, leaders, lures or other terminal tackle you may need.

Preserve Those Trophy Fish!

Once you are offshore and your boat’s decks are piling up with big fish—they will be, right?—you will need to ice them down in a large cooler or insulated kill bag. West Marine offers these in a range of sizes from top brands such as AO Coolers, Reliable Fishing and others to accommodate even very large fish.

Dress for the Weather

Depending on where you will be fishing and the time of year, conditions can change rapidly. One minute the weather may be balmy and the sea like a sheet of glass; while a short time later you may find yoursef tossed about in a squall with a cold rain beating down. This is why we advise boaters to dress in layers so they can quickly adapt to the conditions at hand. Regardless of the weather, West Marine offers a full selection of clothing and accessories to keep you warm, comfortable and dry. Choices include rugged men's and women's fishing apparel and men's and women's deck boots by respected brands like Grunden's, Xtratuf and Huk. We also offer a great selection of men's and women's hats, men's and women's sunglasses, and sun protection products like sunscreen and lip balm.

Conclusion

Preparing for an overnight or longer offshore fishing adventure requires a capable and comfortable boat, one that not only meets the USCG requirements, but that meets the need for additional safety gear as well. Remember to address any deferred maintenance before you cast off—and determine your engine’s “sweet spot” to maximize your fuel economy. Organize your fishing gear and consider options for fishing electronics to boost your chances of catching fish. Remember that once you are underway, you will be responsible for the safety of yourself and your crew—and the more you know, the better you will be able to handle problems as they arise.