BOAT

Brian and Linder ,

If you are travelling in the north of Australai without a boat , you are missing half the action .

Fishing from the banks etc is a problem with crocs , even when the mangroves don't stop you getting there .

Maybe get one of those nifty motorised boatloaders to take the hard work out of it . I already have wheels which lock onto the side of my tinnie and I can roll or tow it ( illegal on public roads ) with my towball to the launch site .

A tinnie is great for sightseeing too ( Carawine Gorge etc ).

cheers ,

Willie .

Brian and Belinda,

I have a small Zodiac Inflatable with a 5 hp motor. It lives in its own bag in the back of the cruiser and the motor, also bagged, either lies in the rear footwell or also in the back.

Mines has retractable wheels (optional) that make moving it aroundthe beach a breeze - I even tow it further down the beach. I reckon I can have it in the water as fast or faster than someone hauling tinnies off the roof and struggling with bigger motors. The little Zodie will do 24 kph with one up and I have always been able to get to where the fish are.

The stories about crocs munching them is an urban myth - having lived 25 years in croc country I can assure you if the croc wants you he will have you out of a tinnie just as fast.

However, inflatables are a bit like Ford v Holden, you either love em or hate em. The new model with inflatable floor are even better, I use an airbed inflator to get a fast 95% fill and just use the supplied foot pump for the final pressure - 3.41 psi.

They can be a bit wet in a head sea - but are self draining inside. I use a leg rope same as the surfers and you can motor home with one side deflated.

Its a fun machine for playing in the surf as well as fishing - exploring. The internal fuel tank on the motor provides about 30k travel.

Cheers John

We have a 3.5m boat on an auto roofloader and would not be without it. We only take it off when we stay somewhere at least 3-4 days and there is fishing or sightseeing territory.

We have a 15 hp 2 stroke Y,amaha motor that we carry in the hatch strapped in tightly. You can't do that very well with a 4 stroke due to the oil in the sump. We had one of our jerry can holders on the A frame made a special size to fit the Yamaha fuel tank so we don't have to syphon fuel in and out of a jerry can. Tides run very fast in some areas and since the 15hp is only the same weight as a 9.9 it was a no brainer for us.

We started off without a boat trailer but after two launches decided a fold up trailer was a must as getting it on and off the roof, attachting the motor and the the reverse when we got back to the ramp was too much trouble every time. Also we did not like loading a salt water wet boat on top of the car or delaying other people when we came back to a single lane ramp. IT is probably Ok without some form of trailer if you are only rarely going to use the boat.

We carry a fold up trailer stored vertically on our A frame. We have it registered so when the water is some distance from your camp site you can use it on the road. We also heard that a short time ago the police swooped in some areas in QLD and booked and fined everyone who was using non registered or non legal methods on the public roads.

I am a keen fisherman and suggest that if you are going to take a boat one at least a 3.5m and one that weighs within the roof carrying ability of your vehicle and the carrying capacity of the loading system, as you don't want insurance problems in the case of an accident. You would be surprised at what we have seen in the last 22 months on the road!

Mike