Would a 4.25 m boat be safe enough to travel to Moreton Island.?

[Scott Ashe]

Hi,

I am considering joining a fishing club on Moreton Island and wondering if my 4.25m Allycraft "Reelmate" (30hp Yamaha 4 stroke)would be ok to travel their in.? I would only do it on days that were really calm and probably quite early in the morning.

I have flares that were bought as part of my safety gear. I have one 24L Tank and guessing I probably should buy another.

I would probably leave from cleveland or victoria point.

Thanks for you thoughts

Scott

[business class]

If it gets rough there, which that bay does quite often, it would be very dangerous in that small of a boat, I guess it would come down to the weather window needs to be good........ And yes you would need to get a bigger tank for sure.....

Regards,
MAT

[gaz066]

Scott, I fish the bay quite extensively out of a 420 wide body dory (gave up owning a flash offshore boat years ago) and you do need to be careful and pick your weather. Experience is also a good teacher. Some days are gold and you can do the Sandhill’s - 4 beacons, Neilson wreck and even up to curtain from Fisherman’s Island but those days are rare

Some things to consider in a boat that size

· Watch the weather carefully from at least 2 days out

· Log in somewhere when your leaving

· Take at least 50 litres of fuel if launching from the western side of the bay

· Fit a bilge pump (still won't beat a frightened man and a bucket though!)

· Round trip can be up to 50 nautical miles, it's a long way in a tiller steer boat

· Don't get caught on the other side of the bay (Tangalooma) thinking the weather looks nice , get back to the western side of the bay before lunch even on a good day unless your camping overnight.

I would strongly recommend doing a few trips to the close islands , Peel ,Mud and even a run around the back of Peel to Dunwich and the rainbow channel etc to a get a feel for what are good and not so good conditions and how you and your boat handle them.

Careful planning and you will be OK , the bay can go from a glorious 'flat as a pancake' to 1.5 metres ( or more) of wind swell ( waves close together) in less than 1 hour, 1.5 metres in a tinny is very wet and uncomfortable not to mention dangerous if you get it wrong. A lot will depend on your ability as a skipper, build up to it slowly

Parksy

[Noelm]

I guess, to be perfectly blunt, if you have to ask, then the amswer is no! don't take that as knocking you in any way, it is just a way to answer your question as simply as possible.

[brisbane_boy]

If you are heading to the kooringal end you could handle it in decent weather, bit of a hike up the rainbow then it gets a bit rough in behind sth passage bar at times, just watch out for any wind west or nth, it makes the rainbow run a lot less comfortable

[indy]

I use to go out to cape morteon in my 4.3m clark abalone quite alot the trick is to leave early and get going home at about 8.30/9.00 o'clock and like the other guy's said keep an eye on the weather and dont get tempted to stay longer than 9.00 am. First bit of wind and i was usually out of there.

But with a boat that size you have to be carefull and if you think the weather is at all ify don't go. Also i think you would need a epirb as well. A vhf radio or 27 meg is a must also.

[Daisy Burnett]

All well and good to leave early in the morning to get the smooth water but lets not forget that getting there is only half the problem. Also account for coming home if the conditions change. Two things with this, firstly you want to be safe in changed conditions and secondly if the weather kicks up a bit you will be using a lot more fuel on the way back. Plan for worst case and take the best if it happens. Also if you are going that far off shore check regulations and you will find requirements for radio and epirb.

Cheers
Daisy

[Kondo 1]

Hey Mate,

I do it fairly regularly in my 4.1 tinny, admittedly I only ever go if the weather is pretty close to perfect. Any sort of wind and im out of there and straight home.

I have had some some rough trips home, gotten very wet on accasions but have never had any real scares. Comes down to how you drive the boat really, if you are a competent you will recognise you and your boats limitations and plan your trip accordingly.. I mean I have had some some uncomfortable and very wet trips but I have suspension seats that mean I can come home a little quicker and more comfortably than I would be able to otherwise.

On occasions I have left Nudgee with a perfect forecast came straight out the front and it was rubbish - if it has been I have either turned back and fished the creek or pulled the boat and gone to Bribie.

On the other hand I have had days in the Bay that it has been glassed out from when I got there til late afternoon and you could go anywhere - but the bay does need to be treated with utmost respect and watched like a hawk. Main thing is to not be a hero and head home at the first sign of a change or better still before, that is whether you have been out there 5 minutes or 5 hours. Before going you must know the forecast and what the tide is doing when, I also monitor the radio and listen to the weather reports when they come through.

I also carry an EPIRB and a VHF and of late have been logging in and normally I dont go alone and we do wear PFD's for the duration.

Fuel will be an issue you need to pay particular attention to, I carry 48L. This is plenty for me, I do however have a 50 2 stroke on the back so power isn't an issue as it never has to work hard and thus for a 2 stroke I get good economy. I normally use a shade under 30L for a decent run from Scarborough to Mud to Sandhills to Tangalooma to Curtin then back to Scarborough which isn't too bad but I really wouldn't want to cut it much finer than that personnally. I mean i dont know what your fuel consumption is like but I would probably be taking an extra tank.

Is it possible - absolutely but as Noel says if you need to ask then its probably not a good idea. Without sounding condascending I would reccommend taking some serious time to get to know your boat and develop your skills as well getting yourself some gear (if you dont already have it) like an EPIRB, VHF and some comfortable PFD's. If you dont have the gear then I definitely wouldn't go. Also be aware it heading across to Moreton is a solid trip in a tiller steered boat. The trip I have detailed above is about 55 odd trip miles, that is a fairly long run in a tiller boat especially if it blows up - it is hard work and quite honestly after a run like that you know about it. Trust me you certainly do not want be on the eastern side of the bay and being too buggered to hold onto the Tiller - it is one thing to hold onto it but it is another to have enough energy to move it it as quickly with as much force that is required when you are in rough water in a small boat.

Personnally I am confident enough in my abilities to take the boat over to Moreton and do so as often as the weather will allow, more so for mine it is about reading the conditions more than being able to handle the boat, though that is still very important. Realistically I would much prefer to do it in a bigger boat, however I cant afford one right now. And quite honestly on a glassy Summers day it is a bloody nice spot to be and cruising around with the wind in your face is a bonus. But it can be a bloody nasty place in a small boat when it wants to be.

Cheers Pete

[charleville]

Fit a bilge pump (still won't beat a frightened man and a bucket though!)


;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


Actually, I have found that a bilge pump can be very helpful to pump out rain water in a deluge that was sloshing around underfloor and making the boat handle very badly. The water had not reached the stage of being bucketable because it was still underfloor but nonetheless it was causing real handling problems at a time when lightning was striking all around me and I just wanted to be outta there in a hurry.


.
.

[Getout]

I had a tiller-steer tinny for years. Anything more than a 5 mile trip in open/rough water took forever and was a major exercise. It was even worse for my passengers!
Went to Moreton once in a blow, came back in a glass-out a few days later. I'd never do it again. Open, tiller-steer tinnys are not made for that type of use.

[Scott Ashe]

Thanks all who replied I probably will not attempt the trip.

No harm in asking for your opinions

Cheers
Scott

[Axl]

Good idea Scott Ashe just remember there are no dumb questions best to ask now than be sorry later.