I live in SugarLand and have a 26' glacier bay isle runner with twin Suzuiki 150's with less than 60 hours on each. Can go out of freeport/galveston/or matagorda.

Boat has two 12" simrads and holds 180 gals in total

Looking to stay relatively near shore to get some experience. Need guidance. It is trailered and I can pull to where we need to go.

Draft is just under 20".

If a professional guide then I will pay you to take to a few of us out.

thank you,

john miller
821-212-3728
jrmillerpersonal@gmail.com

john

E-mail sent. I'm not a professional captain, but I am a very experienced Gulf fisherman and boat owner in Galveston County. Can likely help you learn the ropes. Gig Em!

Parents bought a ski boat when we were kids… salesman met us at the lake and taught us all about the boat. We were on the lake literally all day. Most sunburned I've ever been. Dad was a Dr - went to the hospital at 8:00pm and brought home burn cream. Brother and I had Huge blisters on our backs. This was before sunscreen was a thing! Congrats on the boat! Hope you have as much fun as we did for years!!

Yep. I was fortunate to grow up with an uncle that had boats, and my dad had boats for a while, and so we had some experience and knowledge to build on. When I acquired my own boats, I was already familiar and could build out from
Waters I was familiar with to new locations in increments.

It is wise to get some training if you're making a big leap into a new boat or very different waters.

Nice boat. I always wanted to fire up a glacier bay and run around in the Bahamas. Glad that you are taking the time to increase your skill set. It makes for a much more enjoyable experience for everyone, captain included.

It was hard for me to discover how little I knew after boating for decades on Texas lakes.

I took several professional courses so that I could charter a boat in the BVIs. The most eye opening course was on Coastal Navigation.

My wife attended the courses with me, even though sailing is not her passion. It came in handy when we were in the BVIs and I slipped in the cockpit and nearly knocked myself clean out. I wanted her to be able to handle the boat if I was incapacitated. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before, or since, but I was grateful that she had some confidence when things were dicey.

Nice rig OP. I dont know how much you researched your purchase, but the GB 26s have quite the reputation. Ive fished in them but never ran one. Awesome in a head sea but can be quirky in a quartering sea, crossing wake, etc. Dont allow anyone to sit on the gunnels while under way. Real chance of them getting tossed out the side on a big wake or wave.

If your boat doesnt already have them, install some permatrims on the motors. Supposed to be much better than the Dol-phins that a lot of them have. Id make this your first upgrade if it doesnt have it. They will help stabilize the boat from its notorious pitching when underway and help you to get the bow up when you need to.

Find someone that has owned a 26 GB to go ride with you. They'll be able to help you figure out how best to run it.

Being an older model, Id do a visual inspection of all through hull fittings and hoses and connections. If they dont look like they've been replaced in recent years, get them replaced sooner than later. Avoid the cheap plastic parts for anything under the water line. Bronze is first choice. Stainless can be used if the boat isn't stored in the water. Marelon is supposed to be good but I haven't used it because it seems just as expensive as bronze. May be more info than you want but the majority of problems with boats sinking comes from a failure at a through hull.

Bilge pumps. Make sure they're in good condition. Rule gold is a good but reasonably priced pump. The ultra safety switches are worth it on the float switch. All the other cheaper ones will fail at some point.

Do some research on what safety equipment you want to have on board.

I you havent already, go sign up at thehulltruth.com. Tons of old info on there about your hull. Use google to search that site.

CAT hulls have very different handling characteristics than mono hulls. The reason is the extreme wide distance between the props and the fact they are very trim sensitive due to the long narrow running surfaces of the two sponsons.
There are some aftermarket systems/ attachments to aide in safety and drivability of CAT hulls. As CS78 said the Permatrim is one. I believe the other is called the Twin Trim or DualTrim or something like that.
The Glacier Bay 26 has some handling nuances that needs to be learned and taught…… but sea conditions are always changing and nothing is always the same. You will just have to learn it as you gather time running the boat.
It will take some stick time to learn the boat and its handling and capabilities. Take your time in learning.
SGrem is very knowledgeable and may have some experience in driving the GB26 Isle Runner. If not I would suggest finding someone that has a lot of time in one to show you the handling and performance envelope of the hull.
As CS78 said… go on The Hull Truth forums and you can read up on the GB26 IR .. good info.

Maybe I missed this but obviously being safe on the water is key
But another valuable lesson is BEFORE you get on the water. Practice trailering the boat. Right turns are wider than left by the way. Backing trailer is huge! Getting all gear and people ready in the boat BEFORE you back down the ramp. Do NOT pull into space in ramp and then get situated. Only go in ramp when you're 100% ready to float boat off trailer

Also if launching when dark pay attention to head lights and where folks have space to get down ramp. Headlights on with truck pointing up ramp can blind the folks trying to back down

And as you venture further off shore make sure before you go you have a plan, communicate the plan to someone not going. Stick to plan as best as possible. If going far enough out make sure you are good with radio communication and invest in an epirb

Sound wisdom there trip98.