Introducing Tailgunner

September 12, 2010

Allow me to introduce (after a short hiatus for fishing) TAILGUNNER:

A good deal of time and effort finally pay off, she's done, she's battle tested, and she's packed our freezer so full of meat that we aren't exactly sure what to do with it all. The completion actually occurred around the first of August, but between life and fishing, this website had to take a back seat. Here we are, back with the completed boat, and preparing for a site revamp in October.

Without further blathering, here she is in final form, before she'd been put to work.

Rods at the ready.

Interior, all nice and clean. This will change rapidly...

Sleeping quarters and head, under the square cushion forward.

Helm area, with all electronics in place

Her lines were spot-on, the bottom paint worked out great in relation to waterline, though later I find that there's an adhesion issue.

As wonderful as it was to have the boat complete, it was still only partly "finished" in that it needed a good saturation of tuna blood to bring it to her final state. The skies cleared, the wind died, and in August, a crew was put together to get out on the grounds to see how she could do fishing. The crew consisted of Don, whom I took my first albie trip with, and Matt, a WTC team-mate.

Her first trip would be to Westport, following the tournament and solid fish reports. 38 miles offshore, we drop our first rod in the drink when the water looks right, and scarcely get the second lure in the water when the reel begins to scream. We set down right on top of them!

The ensuing melee of fish lasts several hours, consistently picking up fish at short intervals. We don't get the complete 5 rod spread out until halfway through the day. The most common view is this, of blood on the decks, 3 rods fishing, and two crew working hard to keep it all moving.

At the end of the day, the body count is 22 albacore, 2 tired crew, and one very happy builder.

To confirm the results, a second trip was planned in early September to see if it was just a fluke, or if this boat really is tuned and ready for medium range offshore fishing. We decide to run out of Ilwaco this time, testing different grounds and following above average reports.

Crewing this trip is Matt, and his neighbor Keith. We set out in sloppier seas than the previous trip, motoring slowly but efficiently about 40 miles from shore. We set in at a little cooler temp and troll to an area just north of our target. 45 minutes without a strike makes me nervous, but just as I'm thinking of changing tactics, that beautiful banshee scream comes again, and we are on the fish.

With a little adjustment in tactics, we begin to take nothing but doubles for most of the day. Each strike is worked in a circle, staying at 6-7 miles per hour, until another rod goes off, and it always seems to.

A true testament to great gear, I am using an all Ballyhood lures spread, including the Tuna P-nut, natural cedar plugs, and an Albacore All Star. We manage to put more fish on the boat than a nearby live bait boat, which is essentially unheard of in this neck of the woods. Below is a shot of the Tuna P-nut in the chompers of a tuna who had no idea what was coming.

The fishing does slow down a pinch, but we finish up the day with a triple header, getting two to the boat, on the gaff, bled, and bagged.

I couldn't be more pleased with the results. We then have a rather harrowing experience crossing the Columbia River bar in swells and occasional breaking waves from 6 to 8 feet and some larger. She performs flawlessly in huge waves, toughing out conditions most smaller boats would have foundered or at least shipped water in. We were safe and comfortable, getting back to port once the bar mellowed out a bit.

She's a consistent performer, getting fuel economies at and above 5 NMPG, bringing in loads of fish well over 400lbs, and pleasing all who ride in her. There will be changes such as the addition of trim tabs, handrails, some paint repair on the bottom paint, pump system reconfiguration, and other wear and tear items, but that's to be expected in any boat used at these levels.

I welcome any comments or questions. Plan to see some changes on the site, including changing to a chronological format, inclusion of other projects such as Cloud Cap and our CLC Oxford rowing shell, as well as a continuation of the bloggin of whatever may be under construction in the shop. Also, a new URL may be in the future, giving us searchability and more functionality.