It’s a twelve foot aluminium dinghy with a 6hp two-stroke Yamaha. Flat out, it will do about 15 knots. It can theoretically hold three people, but it’s much happier with one.
I’ve removed the unnecessary aluminium strips on the side and filled the holes with rivets; added a seat and a solar panel; put a few straps and bits of velcro around the place to secure assorted bits; and added a few cleats.
I took advantage of the low tide this morning to have a go at fishing off the end of the Redbill Point sandbar:
Didn’t catch anything, but I had a few nibbles. And a big stingray came cruising past in the shallows while I was sitting there; I didn’t get the camera out in time for that, unfortunately.
The birds appeared to be some sort of albatross or petrel. Big Dodo beaks.
Out in the boat again today; I spent the morning fishing in West Arm, then went for a potter in the afternoon and explored Middle Arm and Middle Island.
The bit I kept referring to as “Long Arm” is actually called Long Reach, BTW.
I also tested that half-throttle-planing trick a little later on with a speedometer app; it will actually hold about 13 knots on half throttle once it’s up on the plane. As full throttle only increases that to 16 knots, it looks like half throttle is the trick for maximum-range exploring,
Fortunately, Tamar Marine were happy to replace the failed tyre.
While being within hand-launching distance of the river is a wonderful thing, I’m still tempted by the idea of getting a ute with a towbar. As well as simplifying boat movement (and allowing me to access the local lakes as well as the river), it’d also be handy for fetching lumber etc.
My anchor rope is about twenty metres long. The main channel of the river is about thirty metres deep. I’m sure you can see how this is occasionally somewhat problematic.
Even in the shallow bits, it ain’t simple. I anchored near the Batman Bridge as the tide was coming in, and the narrow gorge nature of the terrain around there makes the tidal currents fairly extreme. When I went to raise the anchor, I discovered that the current had the anchor rope stretched so taut that I had absolutely no chance of hauling it in by hand; there was so much strain on the rope that it was vibrating. Eventually, I had to start the motor, pluck the anchor with momentum and then race out to the deep channel with the anchor trailing before it could pin itself to the bottom again.
