Bay boat offshore??

[Reefman]

Redundancy is the best plan for off-shore fishing. As I stated in other threads a bay boat doesn't belong off-shore. Over the years that I have fished off shore, every boat I've owned had 2 outboards, separate tanks for each, a spare battery, spare props, sea anchor and dang good working VHF with the tallest antenna I could install. GPS with a handheld backup, spare anchor w/ rode, emergency medical supplies along with spare water and bug stray. A set of up to date paper charts and a corrected compass. (I started fishing off shore before the advent of Loran and GPS.) Over the years I've used everyone of these articles. Spot Connect is good to have, however, I prefer to be able to limp back to shore than having to wait anywhere from 2-6hours before someone can pull me in. In bad weather this could be a serious problem.
Weather factors are always your biggest concerns. Thunderstorms, fog and un-expected high winds. These conditions can easily overcome you in a few short minutes. The design of a bay boat does not allow for operation in any sea over 3ft. (real 3ft seas with breaking caps and shear walls). I've seen seas go from dead calm to nasty 4-6ft in less than 15 minutes.
The best option to fish offshore is to have a close buddy with a capable boat. Trade him/her bay trips for off-shore trips with you picking up the gas bill. Works real good around here!

Just my .02.