14 replies to this topic

[plooney]

Hey guys looking hard at the 270 signature. Haven't been able to take it on a test drive. I'm really interested and wondering how does it handle the afternoon mid channel chop while crossing between Catalina and main land?

[Richard W]

Which year? All Chap boats have changed over the years.

[plooney]

Hey Rich I'm looking at the 2011 model. Also how many would you say can comfortibly sit in the boat?

[Richard W]

Your boat is what used to be called Sig250 before 2010, and it is 2 feet shorter than mine 2007Sig270. I've been on a new 2011Sig270. The layout is very similar but the shorter LOA is most noticeable in the cabin. I would say, you can sit comfortable 5-6 people in the cockpit underway, 4-5 people around the table in the cabin at rest, and no more than 4 people for overnight cruise.

I do not have experience in SoCal waters, but from what I've read it is doable with prep and caution. You will find some more info in this topic: http://forum.chaparr...showtopic=16844

Hope this helps ...

[MontreAl]

Plooney,

I have an '08 Sig 270 and I boat along the gulf side of Florida. Personally, I don't care to be in the gulf when there are whitecaps. The ride is to bouncy for my taste. Running at cruising speed with 2-3 foot swells means the boat will be crashing down a bit to much for me. Perhaps I am simply not a good boat captain and do not know how to trim up the boat properly. When the weather is windy in the gulf, I prefer to stay inland on the ICW.

My thoughts, MontreAl

[Malcolm]

The boat will handle more than you can. Will it be comfortable? Maybe not. Will you break things? Probably. Will you sink and die? Probably not. I boat back and forth to work 3nm each way,on the ocean,year round. 20ft welded aluminum jet boat with a fairly shallow V compared to my Chappy. The worst was 50kts and 10ft waves. Did it suck...Yep but I didn't break anything,that time, and I'm still alive. If you know what you are doing and you are prepared...don't worry about the boat.

[plooney]

Rich does your boat have a 9'6" beam? Do you tow it or leave it in the water?........... MontreAl that would be the same kind of conditions coming back from Catalina. Usually by noon or 1pm the afternoon winds pick up mid channel and generate 2-3' chop. So in your opinion, the 270 expereinces the washing maching effect in those type of conditions? My wife and I have two small ones and am concern about the boat bouncing around too much in a afternoon return trip to mainland. [b]The distance between the island and Mainland is roughly 26 miles....Malcolm yeah I'm smart enough to listen to the weather channel and won't dare go out if their is a remote chance of experiening 10' seas. I've experienced 7-9 foot seas once before (very stressful) on a 25' Parker (LOA 28) (9'6" beam) and in my opinion, Parker is way more sea worthly than Chaparral, and I never want to go through that again espically with my family.

[Richard W]

Rich does your boat have a 9'6" beam? Do you tow it or leave it in the water?

It's still a pocket cruiser with 8'6" beam. I keep it in the water and only tow it to and from storage at the beginning/end of season.

[zx79]

That boat will handle it no problem, as long as the Santa Ana winds aren't that strong. I do it about once a month In a (sig 290, 97) it not that much shorter although I prefer to leave around 9-10am and return the following day

[rickster]

Hey guys looking hard at the 270 signature. Haven't been able to take it on a test drive. I'm really interested and wondering how does it handle the afternoon mid channel chop while crossing between Catalina and main land?

I have 2007 Sig 270 and I go to Two Harbors from Oceanside 3-4 times every summer. The boat does fine. I check the marine report before leaving but I have seen 6' seas ( no fun ) If you are coming from San Pedro or Marina Del Rey no problem. Rickster

[cj-orca]

We run our Sig 270 (29LOA) from the mainland to the Southern Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island - the winds/seas can get VERY snotty in the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver & Vanouver Island... been in 25kn winds with 2-3ftrs... bouncy - but do-able if you have a following Sea its fine... but going into... bouncy


Strait of Georgia

[Chapshute]

Have 2008 sig 250 (27') with 5.7 dps. Have been all over so cal waters from Santa Barbara to Newport and most of the islands in between. Check the weather - get a good window and leave early in am. Only been stuck not getting back from Catalina once due to ten + foot square waves. Gave it a go and the fam tapped out 2 miles out and we headed back - boat would have kept going no prob. Boat is solid. Just had it out of Ventura harbor blowing 25 with short 2-3 doing 30 knots. Bumpy yes - grins ear to ear though. Spun a prop a couple months back, but that's boating.

[rrickyricardo]

I have a 1989 Sig 23. From then until 1996 I went to Catalina (Avalon and Two Harbors) frequently. Although it is always better early or late, I did take it back and forth in the afternoons. It was a slower ride, but no real problems.

[Impact]

Leaving early in the morning the sea is usually very smooth and you can make good time to Catilina but if you wait
for the moring fog and overcast skys to turn sunny the winds pick up and make the trip seem long and the waves can get
bad to the point even a 30' boat will seem small. If you wait by the Queen Mary there is a huge catamaran tour boat that
goes to catalina island back and forth all day long. You can follow it until you get comfortable. All the sailboats come out
to play in the afternoon because its almost always windy in the afternoon. Making the trip both directions in the morning gives
you the best odds of smooth seas. Our Signiture 260 ran like it was on steroids at sea level and I think the salt had something to
do with it also. Between the Queen Mary and Dana Point is a Oil Island and it breaks the waves. Alot of boats moor there where
it is smooth most of the time. We sliped at the Harborlight Yacht Club which was way laid back and fun. They gave us a key to
the hotel maya pool and hottub and helped us with tying up anything we needed. The area between the Queen Mary and the Bridge
is very shallow unless you in the middle of the channel.

Brian & Connie

[Gnomeally]

We make several trips each Summer from Huntington Beach (sunset aquatic park) to Catalina in our 233 Sunesta. It is hardley an ocean boat but does very well considering. You need to leave in the morning and plan on spending the night or heading home early after noon. SOmetimes we leave around 700 am and arive in avalon around 830am. We have anice breakfast on the island, walk around for a while and have a few drinks. Then we head home around 100pm and get back to Huntington around 300. Makes for a fun day and only takes about 15-20 gallons of gas. A 4 hour mooring in Avalon cost $15.00 i believe. Other trips we just get an overnight mooring and spend the night on our Sunesta. Not made for sleeping but with two biminis tops and some plastic tarps, we can make a pretty cozy white trash tent. Actually we keep pretty warm. We have a BBQ on our swim step and some awesome blue underwater LEDS for fish watching. If you can get a mooring in the front (closest to shore) of avalon, you can sit on your boat, have some adult beverages, a nice BBQ and watch the tourist walk by. Its also cool if you have a dinghy for cruising around the harbor checkiing out the big boats. We are always looking for folks to join us on our island trips. This year do to my new work schedule, most of our trips will be mid week, Tuesday and Wednesday. Actually that works out very well because sometines the moorings are all booked and being on the wait list is no fun.
If anyoen wants to make a run and has a simalar schedule, hit is up...
tsimrak@gmail.com
Tom