Shot Jay, I had a look at the 17-55m lens you suggested, awesome and fits the requirement! But it is a pricey little bugga! Going to give it a good think over for the upcoming trips. Got to weigh up more lures against new lens!
Cheers,
Nick
Hey Nick, I run a 17-55 F2.8 Nikon lens (amongst a couple of others) on my Nikon D300 - which is a DX sensor like your Canon. Whilst it is a fantastic lens (and well worth the asking price), I find that it is often not wide enough for close ups on a small boat. You might be lucky enough to get back from the action a little further on your boat, but I often find myself wishing I had my 11-16mm on the body when a fish comes over the side!
I know its a pain, but now (when space permits) I carry two bodies (A D7000 as well), with each lens fitted.
The optimum on the compact sensor for boat work is probably the 10-50mm range (as you have already indicated) but you're not going to get that in one lens (at least one that doesn't give a heap of distortion at both ends of the spectrum).
I tried the 18-200 VRII lens for a while, which gives great range, but a heap of distortion (fisheye) at the wide angle setting - I note, some guys like that, and is too slow at the telephoto end.
Mmmmmm, life is such a compromise hey!