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Gearing up any boat for offshore requires a significant investment. First dollars you should spend are to chip in to go out on someone else's boat that is already equipped. You will get a feel for it and have a better handle on if this is a good investment given the boat you have. Not all hulls are worth sinking that investment into. Personally, I have a great inshore boat. I can take it to Stellwagen, but am limited there by LOA on certain days. Conversely, there are good offshore boats that can't do what I want to do inshore. So when I have the need for an offshore adventure, I go on OPB, other peoples boats. Chip in for fuel, ice, food, etc. that I would have as expenses anyway. And I have my own ditch bag, float coat, and floatation devices. It is not a cheap endeavor. Ongoing maintenance costs of rafts, EPIRBS,big game rods, reels, and tackle etc need to be figured in. Do the math, count the number of trips you would make, figure you foot the fuel bill by yourself, add 25% to the total cost and see if it fits your reality.
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