Towing a Boat to Swaines

[Boab Bribie]

Hi Guys,
I was wondering if anyone has had much to do with towing boats a long distance offshore. We are heading to Swaines in Oct and asked the charter operator if they will tow my 6m plate boat out there and they said is was ok.
Basicaly i would like some options or experences had from towing boats offshore. The do and do'nt etc.

Cheers BOAB BRIBIE

[devocean]

Sounds good as long as the weather is calm. If it gets up to 30 knots you will be doing damage to your boat and could effectively loose it. I wouldnt risk it unless I had a god forcast. It can get pretty lumpy out there

[Waraba Mick]

BB, check the fine print on your insurance policy, i dont know too many that cover you for this.



Mick.

[finding_time]

I think you have to be guided by the operator of the boat that will be doing the towing, if he's confident it will be fine then that should be your guide.

i've seen a few boats towed out to the bunker group off Gladstone and they seemed to tow alright that was at 6 knots by the barge Robert Poulsen . I dont know how fast the Swains boats go, again seek advice from the skipper!

One thing i would do is watch the towed boat like a hawk and i mean all night till you arrive. Make up a roster of all those who will be fishing out of it and give them 2 hours each until you get there. I say this because once a boat being towed to Tryon island broke free due to the shackle wearing through the rope at the boat and no one noticed for a while and were were very lucky to find the boat at night.

Ian

[lethal098]

I cant really see it being a problem, supply the rope and shackles yourself, dont use what they have on the charter boat, Plenty of boats get towed at 22knots, no probs at all, just make sure the rope is adequate and definately keep an eye on it. Biggest thing will be working out the best length to tow it at, this will depend on the charter boat and the weather on the trip out.

Cheers Lee

[cormorant]

I've seen tow points break on boats that are regularly towed ( only dorys and barges but..) .

If possible a hauser sharing load between a couple of points quite low on the hull would be better.

Huge forces on a 6m boat planing so make sure rope is up to the job and has some stretch and proper fittings You will need to adjust the rope length depending on speed and conditions so it is not a set and forget.

I used to hear that some gearboxes failed but never saw one first hand and don't understand why one would. Have heard of people pulling prop off but leaving skeg in the water so boat has some directional stability and a bit of resistance so it holds weight on the rope between swells.

Speak with the VMR guys as they do it all the time and know , Motor up, motor down? Steering held straight? Tow point? Tackle? Prop off? Hauser on tow boat.

I'd do a test with a mate or a few cases to the VMR. Some boats just won't track straight without constant steering input and with the motor up it may not be a stable tow. Need to resolve what speed tow will be at and ensure your boat will be on teh plane comfortably at that speed or comfortable at displacement speed as inbetween is a huge stress and so is on and off teh plane..

Great idea to get out wide . What will they charge?

[lethal098]

Hey Jason,

If you want to test it out give me a yell, should be able to organise a test tow for you.

Whenever we tow a vessel it is generally motor down and we ask for steering input when needed. I would think if you locked the steering straight it would be fine, but it all depends on your boat and how well she tows.

Cheers Lee

[b j p]

Even reading through this thread gives me nightmares.

Swains is a long way and there are so many things that could go wrong, that I can't see the benefit of doing it. Most charters have decent enough tinnies to do whatever you want out there without adding the risk of your own boat or the constant stress thinking about something going wrong with it.

Let's put it like this, one trip I was out there, we went out with a 7 day forecast of 5-15kts. On the way back it blew 40kts ontop of a 4m swell. It took 19 hours in that to get back to Gladstone. Even the charter boat got turned 360 a few times during the trip back.

[Bros]

Don't even think about it. If you have a problem with towing the skipper won't give a stuff about it as you will be looked on as a nuisance as towing boats can be a problem especially in rough weather and the Capricorn Channel can get rough. Pro fishermen tow dories to the Swains but they can wait for the weather, charter boats run to a timetable rough or smooth doesn't matter to them.

I think any insurance will be null and void as well.

Leave it to another time and go to the Capricorn group with your boat.

[dnej]

My son in law got caught on a charter, in a storm, with 3 boats in tow. They lost the lot. And that was only coming back from Moreton
David

[Boab Bribie]

Thanks for all your inputs guys. I have made the decision to leave the big girl at home. Like BJP said it is not worth the stress for the week and the arguement with the other guys once we got out there etc.
Cheers BOAB BRIBIE

[tomrob1]

The other thing you may want to consider if you are ever towing a considerable distance is leaving a "bug" on board which is actively transmitting Satellite signals (like a phone with the correct app and reception range, or a satellite tag etc.)

They can be expensive, but I've seen a big, "unsinkable" duck lost at sea from towing, and thats a lot more expensive. Plenty of time was spent searching, for nil result.

At least if you've got a satellite signal you might have a chance of finding it.

[Noelm]

towed boats all over the place, from the Whitsundays to Sydney and god knows where else, there is too many variables to give a straight out yes/no, I would be thinking the boat would be a 9 knots job to make trips like that regularly, so speed is not a problem, however, I also reckon they would be trolling a lot, and a boat towed behind will be giving the other people (who paid just like you) the shits big time, and as mentioned, it is not the skippers boat being towed, so he will hardly be bending over backwards to ensure it is still there next day! there is a big strain on the tow point of the boat, just try it one day and see if you can hang onto anything being towed, so a decent bollard and tow rope is a must, the boat will usually be towed in the centre of the bigger boats wash, so that needs to be taken int consideration too.

[Bubsy]

I can see the risks, but I am salivating at the advantages. Imagine having a 6m plate at the swains with a full fuel tank. And a mother ship nearby to calm the usual nerves when fishing the reef. It'd be an awesome week.
There are some good points made above, and I don't want to make them out to be doomsayers, but why can't you sit in your 6m plate while its being towed?
Sure it wont be as comfortable, and you won't be able to be part of the usual banter on the trip out, but at least if your boat breaks off, you'll be in it. Just a thought.

[mangomick]

. Even the charter boat got turned 360 a few times during the trip back.
:o now that would scare the crap out of me

[Horse]

I think you made a wise decision. Towing bigger boats offshore is full of problems. Normally you run them with the motor up, doubled bridle at each end (often a second tow rope) and some stretch built in (snubber). The pros run their dorrys out there but they are purpose built hulls that are fully selfdraining with strong towing points built in.
Any vessell taken on a trip like that would have to be considered expendible and no skipper would endanger any passengers or crew to retrieve it under difficult conditions