Gone Coastal

GEORGE SASS AND SEAN O’LEARY’S EDGEWATER 245

Business partners and friends George Sass Jr. and Sean O’Leary of Fairfield, Connecticut are avid boaters who, like a lot of us, are constantly trying to squeeze time into hectic schedules to get on the water. Therefore they decided that it made more sense to go into a partnership on a new boat, sold their individual boats, and purchased a 2007 Edgewater 245, Gone Coastal. “There is nothing worse to me than to have a boat that just sits,” says O’Leary. “It’s not good for the boat and worse, my boys won’t let me off the hook. ‘When are we gonna go out on the boat Dad’.”

Although the boat arrived late in 2006 and didn’t see much time on the water before going into heated storage, 2007 has been an active year for Gone Coastal. The owners split time effectively and have been able to organize some long one-way trips. “Sean has taken the boat to Block Island, and then I’ve arranged to pick it up,” Sass said.“We’re able to take advantage of our schedules.”

After considering some of the longer offshore trips they planned, Sass and O’Leary decided to go with twin Yamaha F150s versus the single 250. “Last year we were too ambitious and were hoping to take the boat south,” says Sass. “But not everything happens as fast as you would like with a new boat.” This season they ran the boat from Connecticut to Newport, Rhode Island where she was based for most of September through the middle of October to take advantage of a hot bluefish, striper, and albacore run. At this writing, they were leaving to run to Cape Cod, before returning home via Nantucket. After some service work, they plan on shipping Gone Coastal to Sarasota, Florida. She’ll be heading down to the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas in January and they would like to take part in the annual Edgewater Bahamas cruise in June. “If we can make it work, we would like to then cruise the Bahamas for several weeks,” says Sass. “In my opinion a center console is perfectly suited for some long trips. Our boat is incredibly economical, has enough storage for all the necessary gear, and with a few modifications, will make a great platform for fishing and exploring. Obviously, we’ll be staying on land or on other’s people boats during the trip.”

They’ve certainly equipped this 245 with all the equipment to make these long offshore hops. The electronics include dual Northstar 6100is with a 4 kW radar, chart plotter, GPS, and fish finder. The 10-inch monitors are mounted side by side to give a variety of viewing options. In addition, they upgraded the units with Sirius satellite weather and installed a Northstar autopilot. They plan on adding a forward dodger, a Winslow life raft, and a Frigid-Rigid cooler after the boat arrives in Florida.

Sass and O’Leary have already had several opportunities to shake the Edgewater down in two heavy Nor’easters between Rhode Island and Connecticut and have said the boat’s ride is very good. “The hull is solid, and there’s little or no pounding,” says O’Leary. “I feel very confident bringing my boys even when the weather is a little choppy. They love the boat.” And that’s what it’s all about.

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