Overcrowded Boat Ramps..Solutions?

[fishing111]

As most of you would be well aware, on any given weekend, when the forecast is favourable, all boat ramps from Bribie Island to Mooloolabah are ridiculously overcrowded.There are trailers for hundreds of metres, in all directions in any space available on the roads around these ramps.This problem is compounding daily with new interstate arrivals and people getting into boating for the first time.If the ramp situation is ridiculous now,what's it going to be like in 5 years time, or 2 years for that matter>:( .Its only going to be a matter of time until someone trips on one of these trailers occasioning harm, or some accident because of a trailer legally on a roadway,or footpath before this public liability thing raises its ugly head.Then we'll have those charming little chaps going around writing tickets to there hearts content.>:(

We all know of impatient people at the ramps which has been well documented, but what is the solution? Do we have to wait until there is a ramp rage incident where someone gets stabbed or something to get better facilities,or do we have a launch time similar to golf with there tee off time,joking of course, but if things keep going the way they are,who knows?On most ramps there are no pontoons, shitty lighting for security, and this seems to be par for the course.What we need are some huge new ramps with great facilities,obviously,but where???Where would be the right place on the coast to put them as land is a scarcity.One solution for the Caloundra area is to widen right out that bottom ramp,dredge it and make it usable for bigger boats,knock down all that bush and do it right the first time. Then of course make a suitable breakwall at the Caloundra bar,similar to Mooloolabah, yeah I know wishful bloody thinking,but what's the alternative??

What's your take on it,ideas,solutions. Expressions of interest required:D

[CQHORNET]

Move to somewhere quiter ?


DNO

[snelly1971]

Move to somewhere quiter ?


DNO


2ND that...move to somewhere like tassie...no problems with over crowding down here..

Mick

[fishing111]

Move to somewhere quiter ?


DNO

Shit I was waiting for a reply like that, never expected it so fast though:D Well lets say for agument's sake that your staying put, hows the wording now. Im sure Tassy nice Snelly, but i can't afford a boat like yours to stay warm:D

[Getout]

Only go out when the weather is crap??

[snelly1971]

Shit I was waiting for a reply like that, never expected it so fast though:D Well lets say for agument's sake that your staying put, hows the wording now. Im sure Tassy nice Snelly, but i can't afford a boat like yours to stay warm:D

Does it help if your at the ramp really early ????There would be no need to buy a boat if you moved down my way...i am sure we could find room for you on our boat...we are always looking for extra people to jump on..the more the better I reckon..

Cheers Mick;D;D;D;D;D;D

[disorderly]

Even my small local local ramp has parking problems on good weather weekend days and school holidays.
I dont fancy leaving my boat bouncing around on the ramp while I have to walk 100-200 metres to park the trailer so i do what snelly suggests and leave early and often return after dark.
I've had trips where I have not seen another human the whole day.

Scott

PS I cant really see that new mega ramp facilities would be high on the priority list for councils and state gov't when they can barely provide SE QLD with water.

[dazza]

hi all,
with what we pay in our boat rego (qld) we should have very good facilities. i wonder how much is actually spent on ramps etc, not much by the condition of some.

if serious about addressing ramp rage etc the dpi&f should include a ramp ettiquite sheet in rego's from time to time. this may help everyone get on a bit better
heard on the grapevine (?? truth) that the corner block that everyone parks on at the spinnaker ramp (bribie) is soon to be developed, that will really make things interesting.
cheers
dazza

[Pirate_Pete_Tas]

2ND that...move to somewhere like tassie...no problems with over crowding down here..

Mick

Ditto :D:D:D:D:D

[blaze]

Shit I was waiting for a reply like that, never expected it so fast though:D Well lets say for agument's sake that your staying put, hows the wording now. Im sure Tassy nice Snelly, but i can't afford a boat like yours to stay warm:D
Not many boats down sneellies way like the one he is getting, most are 12-16 foot open tinnies
cheers
blaze

[Noelm]

to beat any crowds around my way, you need to launch about 1 hour before daylight, even then, on a Sunday, there will be a lineup of some sort, if you can get someone to drive the car and you get in the boat, drive to the water, unhook and drive off and then just motor around the Harbour, River whatever, it makes it so much easier.

[Seahorse]

its like doing any popular activity these days. There is always a crowd at footy, do u stay at home because of this? go to all the theme parks, big lines of people. even takes ages just to go to the local shops. unfortunatelly just have to be patient, and i would travell a little further to a ramp with sandy beach if iam by myself. somewhere to leave boat for few minutes.
There is no way heaps money going to be spent building new ramps, so iam sorry we will just have to grin and bare it.
prob have to ban knives at ramps. think thats getting little desperate.
I have been putting boats in for many years and also get little frustrated sometimes, but i can honestly say that i have never seen any voilence.

cheers
greg

[PinHead]

apparently by Nugget's post//50 mill to be spent..will believe that when it happens

[Poodroo]

Leave at 3am, bagout by 6am and get home before the crowds gather.;D

Poodroo

[joeT]

1) get a job that means you can go fishing weekdays
2) get a waterfront property with your own ramp/pontoon
3) go really early in the morning or late at night
4) move to somewhere quieter

I think only options 1 and 3 are realistic for me...

[Jeremy]

One solution for the Caloundra area is to widen right out that bottom ramp,dredge it and make it usable for bigger boats,knock down all that bush and do it right the first time. Then of course make a suitable breakwall at the Caloundra bar,similar to Mooloolabah, yeah I know wishful bloody thinking,but what's the alternative??


If you are talking about the ramp next to the Coast Guard at Caloundra, no point making that any bigger or better because there is very limited parking as it is. As for the breakwall, I am absolutely opposed to that. The shallow bar keeps the crowds away from the close reefs at Caloundra and that is the way I like it.

The Beattie Government promised $40 M to be spent on boat ramps at the last election and we are yet to see any of this. Lying b****ard.

Jeremy

[mako101]

I think there are way more important issues for councils etc.
I don`t mind to much waiting a while at the ramp given that on the Gold Coast or anywhere around Brissie there are many alternatives, they are always a bit less convenient but that`s the price you pay I guess.
The Labrador boat ramp is a beaut, very popular and hard to get a trailer space unless you are early or lucky, mainly due to it being quicker access to the seaway and a pontoon, but then again a 20 minute drive to the Spit, no pontoon but parking is never a problem.

[KGW3]

Caloundra.. Launch early from Bells creek ramp . Bribie has quite a few ramps.. 3 on the island and 2 at Spinnaker quays. Best one is at the Coast Guard station (turn left over bridge) Plenty of parking and never overflows to the street.
Move to Tassie or Melbourne.. Problem solved because for 8 mths of the year it's so cold and grey the you can't use your boat.

[Nowhere Bob]

I dont have a solution to offer for parking, sometimes it gets ridiculous. I spoke to a guy last Xmas who told me {Apply 10% B.S. factor} that the nearest double carpark to the Thomas St. ramp was an 9$ taxi ride away. Seriously- why would you bother?
For actual on ramp time - the answer is easy - do your prep before you get within 50m of the ramp & learn to reverse a damn trailer. Sorry but its one of my pet issues - clowns who take 5 minutes to get onto the ramp, occupy two lanes because they can't reverse, then once they are there, they spent 15 miinutes faffing about with tie downs and eskies. Everyone is there to go boating, not sit there like a stunned mullet waiting while some clown. If it takes you more than three minutes total on the ramp then you need to review how you go about it. Boats more than 5m I give you 5min - either launching or retrieving. For dogs-sake spend a sunday afternoon learning how to back your trailer its not that hard.
While we are at it, when the car is on the ramp, get your kids out of the car. It is not safe. There were two little tackers drowned in florida last year because while dad was stuffing about with the trailer the handbrake disengaged. Anyone with kids know they do stupid things, knock an auto out of P whatever. Give them a rope to hang on to, or something to keep 'safe' on the grass, worse case scenario - put them in the boat. Imagine watching your kids drown through the windscreen.

[mako101]

I dont have a solution to offer for parking, sometimes it gets ridiculous. I spoke to a guy last Xmas who told me {Apply 10% B.S. factor} that the nearest double carpark to the Thomas St. ramp was an 9$ taxi ride away. Seriously- why would you bother?
For actual on ramp time - the answer is easy - do your prep before you get within 50m of the ramp & learn to reverse a damn trailer. Sorry but its one of my pet issues - clowns who take 5 minutes to get onto the ramp, occupy two lanes because they can't reverse, then once they are there, they spent 15 miinutes faffing about with tie downs and eskies. Everyone is there to go boating, not sit there like a stunned mullet waiting while some clown. If it takes you more than three minutes total on the ramp then you need to review how you go about it. Boats more than 5m I give you 5min - either launching or retrieving. For dogs-sake spend a sunday afternoon learning how to back your trailer its not that hard.
While we are at it, when the car is on the ramp, get your kids out of the car. It is not safe. There were two little tackers drowned in florida last year because while dad was stuffing about with the trailer the handbrake disengaged. Anyone with kids know they do stupid things, knock an auto out of P whatever. Give them a rope to hang on to, or something to keep 'safe' on the grass, worse case scenario - put them in the boat. Imagine watching your kids drown through the windscreen.

Being impatient won`t help anyone, that when bad turns to worse especially for inexperienced.
I am extremely impatient at ramps but always just switch off the anger and think.....I could be at work!, or stuck in traffic, or had a flat tyre on the way to the ramp, ten or fifteen minutes makes no difference imo.

[Nowhere Bob]

Yep, I agree. I don't hassle people, I know how much that doesn't help. But when the que progresses that slowly it sure is tempting to say something. Instead I spend that time rigging up, sorting tackle & rolling a smoke.

[Camo]

Personally I’d be prepared to pay money $20 or $30 to use a private ramp if it meant that I wouldn't have to fight a crowd, and the car and trailer would still be there when I returned. I came back to the ramp at Cleveland a few weeks ago only to find the bottom set of rollers stolen off my trailer. God knows how it could have happened in broad daylight at such a busy ramp. I would love to catch the thief.

Camo

[KGW3]

Don't put ideas into the heads of the councilors (paying at ramps)... That's one thing that Queensland still has that other states don't.. free launching along with no fixed speed cameras and low property stamp duty. SHHHHHHHHHH...

[Fish Guts]

if you dont like the crowds join upto a boat club. security gated, patroled and pontoons to tie off to. worth the money if you go out a bit.

[Pretzil]

A public service announcement would be nice. IF YOU ARE AT A BOAT RAMP, HAVE EVERYTHING READY.

I am sick of being stuck behind daytripping poseboats as they fart around setting stuff up in there boats once it is already on the ramp and hold up everyone else.

Just as bad is people who cant comprehend that if they turn the boat on side on to hold it at a boatramp while sum1 parks the car then they are blocking 2 lanes of the ramp

[BLOOEY]

Have to say getting there early is the best option,Most of the the boats that are there are keen fishos and know how to use a boatramp.Ben

[haggis]

aye I agree with blooey , get there early and most of the time no problem .
coming back in it doesnt matter as you have a days fishing . If someone is struggling to launch or retrieve boat offer them a friendly hand .
cheers fae haggis ..........................

[Fish Guts]

thats the spirit fae.

[Pretzil]

I must say I totally agree with giving people a hand when you can see they need it.

But when guy turns the boat side on for five minutes just so that the missus can get in easier and doesnt get her feet wet that can get on your nerves.

[Tangles]

Sort of reckon most try to be quick, but sometimes you have folks/kids/grandparents on board etc; if someones is conscious of the time they take then I reckon most have a bit of sympathy/lack of aggression, help or lack of humor not an issue if someones trying,

If someones just doing there own thing without consideration, well not cool,, for all the hotheads out there re time, if you saw some bloke getting kids/grans off a boat and hes really trying to be be quick/efficient and has a crowd waiting, well would you give him an earful? I wouldnt if he was trying etc, if he acted like he owned the ramp and screw you, well fair enough; personally just want to see people try and do the right thing,

Wednesday at the ramp saw a bloke with 3 kids in Tinny, oops no bungs, well who cared, he got help from everyone then got an earful from his youngest son;D for embarassing him... everyone laughed with that....

mike

[Gozz]

Down here in melb we can wait up to 1 to 1.5hrs to get our boat in or out.
We sometimes have a line 300m long.
Most of the time at snapper season where at the ramp at 3am and it's already chockers.