Hi Jeff....
I taken the US Coast Guard Auxillary seamanship/boating safety course and will continue to sign up for what ever classes become available. Right now i'm going out with experienced boaters, and the few times I went without one, I stay close to the shore/harbor. I'm spending most of my time getting to know my 26' Seaswirl Striper. Not really doing any fishing right now, just learning navagation, weather, chart plotting etc.
I'm not ashame of being a rookie, everyone has been there at one time or another. I'm just greatful that I can afford the privelage to own a nice vessel and live near the beautiful pacific ocean. My buddy is 45 years old, living in Kansas and the only ocean he has ever looked at was on TV.
Boating safety is certainly number one on my list and fishing will be taking the back seat.
As far as electronics, I only have Furuno GPS-1650F GPS/Plotter/Sounder-Fishfinder and needless to mention a VHF radio. I'm currently shopping for a radar and having trouble choosing between the Furuno 1731 CRT display or a color display. I'm also looking for a handheld GPS as a back up, so if you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.
Back to some of your questions, it's a v-hull, 135 gal fuel tank, i/o 280 HP Volvo Penta 5.7 GSI w/ DP. I'm still uncertain about the range or fuel burn, even the broker did not know. I'm still waiting to hear back from Seaswirl. I'll find out with a little research.
Thanks for your reply, and again, any suggestions on a radar system is welcome. I've been scrabling my brain trying to choose CRT or color.
JR