offshore in tinny

[mju_75]

Hello,

hey there everyone,been wanting too get offshore but i have a 4.3 stessl with a 5o on the back i mean i know this much i would have too pick my days well and truly but honestly can someone give me some more advice on this please i fish out in mud island at the moment and some told me from BCF the other day if i wanted too get offshore in my boat i would be best going up too Caloundra or up that way and going too a place called 12 MILE REEF im only going off what he said so can some please steer me in the right direction any help would be greatful

Cheers

Mark

[Jeremy]

Mark,

I have a 4.3 m Stessl tinny (actually 4.5 m LOA) with a 40 hp. It is an old 'heavy duty' tinny which has been converted to a centre console, and has plenty of freeboard and beam.

I go offshore regularly no problems. Watch the swell size and pick your days. 15 knots offshore is no worse than 15 knots on the bay, unless there is a swell running. It does depend on your experience and skill level with your boat, but really you should have no problems if you are confident on the bay.

Go out from Mooloolaba or the Gold Coast seaway as there is no dangerous bar to cross (unless there is a swell of 2 m or more running). Out from Mooloolaba the Gneerings and Murphies reefs are around 12 km. From the Gold Coast, there are the 12, 18 and 24 fathom reefs, which are also pretty close in.

Ideally, team up with another boat so you can follow them out to a good spot and for safety.

Jeremy

[lattic]

Mark,

I own a 410 Bermuda Salmon, strong built 3mm tinny, 1.98 beam and high re-inforced sides with a 30 Merc. I fish offshore regularly from Tallebudgerra, Currumbin and the tweed, the more bar crossings you make the more you will learn and your confidence will grow. I take a hand held GPS, EPIRB, and flares just in case and as Jeremy said try to take another boat along also. Theres no better feeling than turning back up at the boat ramp with a few monster kingies or tuna in your tinnie and seeing the larger boats you saw outside with smaller fish. I usually get a laugh now and then from some rich ###### with no fishing knowledge, (usually off southport) but atleast im out there. When im going atleast 10km out I always take 20ltr extra fuel just incase, you tend to troll a little longer etc. Get out there and get amongst it.

Muz

[-Henno-]

All these guys have huge boats compared to mine. I went out to the 18s on Sunday in my 3.9 Dehavilland. I have all the safety gear of course but the main thing I would recommend is the biggest volume bilge pump you can get. Mine is a 1100gph model and could empty my boat in an emergency pretty quick smart. Don't believe that old joke about nothing emptying a boat faster than a scared man with a bucket.

[BenDover]

I go out to the 36's and 50's in my sports zodiac. No fuss at all. Just watch the wind and swell direction. if its light winds then alls good but if winds get stronger, and its a cross wind on the swell its a b*tch... and i come home with a sore backside. But my boat only knows 1 speed.

[timddo]

mate, i've got less experience than probably everyone here. I went out on 2 occasions from the seaway. on both days it seems flatter than the mouth of the brisbane river. Make sure you have an epirb fi you are going more than 2 miles. I have a 4.85 boat, so it's a bit bigger.

if you need a tinnie to go with ya or anybody, give me a pm. i'lll gladly go on weekends.

ta.

[Jim_Byrne]

Hi Mark,

As the guys above have said pick your days.

I have a reinforced 4.6 Dory with a 50hp and have been taking it way off the Gold Coast and Brisbane for a couple of years.

Just duck over to Moreton and round the top end. On some days its better than the bay is. Down the Coast there are plenty of options within range as a few of the guys have said.

In this time I have split a weld on my hull (76cm) which has been attributed to the banging and crashing on the way home with the arvo sea breeze picking up, with the meesy chop. You gotta take it easy on most tinnies out there as they aren't really designed to suit the sometime messy conditions that can blow up.

The bilge pump's a must if not two and I always check my welds now just to be sure. When I noticed the crack in mine I was a bit over 50kms from the boat ramp and was a bit concerned to say the least.

Make sure your engine is serviced, cause the last place you want any engine dramas is way off the coast, or in any seaway, especially in a tinny.

Always carry heaps of spare fuel. You never know just how far you'll want to chase schools of pelagics, especially longtails, and troll for pelagics as Lattic said.

Cheers

Jim

[-Henno-]

Hey FORESHORE

The good news is that www.coastalwatch.com.au have new web cam for the seaway. It is very good. Lots of people in here will tell you that an outgoing tide running into any swell will generate standing waves which are nasty. Now you can log onto coastalwatch and watch those conditions and compare it to the swell on bom.gov.au and know what to look for.

[Bowser]

I run a 4.45 with a 30 offshore from Wello to 35's. Make sure you have enough safety gear and if the boat does not have a full anchor well be very careful and pick your days and tides and also try to make it so you run home downhill, that way if it does look like turning nasty you at least have the ability to make a run for it and not have to punch across the seas to the relartive safety of the bay. There are times that I have been there and larger boats are leaving but they have been travelling north around the island into the seas and I have been going south easterly with them. Much more comfortable. If you want a partner to take a run with you pm me and we can try to set up a trip or two.

[wayne_cook]

i fished many a year in a 4.3 quinnie.It was a all weather boat u got wet in all weather.
Just watch your weather and conditions.
Many a person said why don't u get a bigger boat, my reply used to be "Why I carn't fill this one with fish"

[megan]

We go fishing outside off wollongong in our 12ft tinnie with a 9.9 Yamaha. You just have to pick your days and conditions. We used to also have a 5.6m Alley Craft but sold it cos we just werent using it enough. Honestly we have more fun in the little tinnie and catch bigger, better fish in it as well - and it costs a lot less to fill up.

[Sean]

My most scary day on the water was in morteon bay about 5km's from peel is. Massive seas, really close together. What a di**head I was that day, should not have gone. I have been 15 miles off the coast in ballina, tweed and Straddy...but I will always remember that damn bay!!!!
My apprentice goes from Buns. over the bar and to Julian rocks off byron in a 3.6 meter punt that leaks, with a 6hp....Not for me.

[mark hennessey]

have all the safety gear - what - including an epirb, oars bailer and life jackets?