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Kondo 1
11-12-2009, 10:43 PM
Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone here has towed a boat to Weipa??

I am looking at heading up within about 18 months or so.

My current boat came from Weipa and has done the trip many a time, however I haven't and I am looking at upgrading in which case I would be towing a 5.5m plate boat. The trailer will be custom built by a mate of mine and will be over engineered to the max but I will stick with what I have if the road is tight and windy.

FWIW it will be towed by a fairly well setup 100 series cruiser.

Honestly if it is mostly long stretches of corrugations opposed to tight and windy difficult tracks I would be looking fairly seriously at getting the project underway sooner rather than later.

Cheers guys.

Wahoo
12-12-2009, 05:18 AM
Kondo, i have been up that way many many times, the road gets graded quite a few times per year, if you get in early just after the grader and bugger all traffic , the road is sometimes better that the main highway we have up this way,the road is not tight and you have good runs. Other times the road is not so good


Daz

Kondo 1
12-12-2009, 06:15 AM
Cheers Daz,

Apparently we are planning on heading up there basically as soon as the road opens - however if that means its not condusive to towing the boat up then the trip will be delayed.

I had a thought overnight - surely they must send semi's along the road in the dry at the very least??

Cheers, Pete.

Wahoo
12-12-2009, 06:52 AM
Cheers Daz,

Apparently we are planning on heading up there basically as soon as the road opens - however if that means its not condusive to towing the boat up then the trip will be delayed.

I had a thought overnight - surely they must send semi's along the road in the dry at the very least??

Cheers, Pete.

Hi Pete

there is heaps of semi's that go up there in the dry, thats why the road gets bad, we did a short trip there and back to cairns, on the way up you could sit on 120 kph the road was that good,5 days latter on the way back home the road was a shocker in some sections

Daz

patrol50
12-12-2009, 09:31 AM
hi pete towed a kimberley kamper with a 3.7 m tinny there wt 1500 kgs behind a 3,0 k td patrol set up for off road work - bit rough road in places and very dusty with pleenty areas of corrugationa and lots of rocks to stone bruise tyres ( let some air out of the tyres) but no major problems so can be done but boats do vibrate and rub a lot on trailers on rough dirt roads - very large road trains towing one or two trailers rocketed past on more than one occassion so yes semis go there - if you trailer is properly set up for heavy off road use and you dont mind lots of dust then its fine - and the fishing is obviously pretty good - of course if your lucky and its just been graded in places after good rain its obviously a very good dirt road to travel on for a shortish time

Moffy
12-12-2009, 06:13 PM
Hi Pete,

Overall the road up there seems to be getting better each year - it can be bad at times (end of school holidays etc) but generally they grade it now before it gets too bad - there's always the chance of unsigned dust holes and rough patches though - so towing a big boat you'd want to take it relatively easy.

Also they are constantly improving it - every time i go up there there seems to be more and more bitument patches (still about 500km of dirt though) - and they are improving a lot of the causeways - between Musgrave and Coen used to be the bit i hated as you were always up and down through the gears in and out of the culverts - but last trip (Nov 09) they seem to have raised a lot of culverts and you can roll through them a lot easier (much less gear changing). Now i just hate the stones.....

Mate took his boat (though only a 4m tinny) up in November- He put the motor on the floor in the boat - rather than swinging it off the transom) - boat was loaded to the gunnels with gear and on a pretty standard trailer (i was convinced they would have major issues - but got up and back with no real trouble - lost the lights off one side and one mudguard on the way back (and snapped the tie downs quite a few times...) I was talking to some guys at Seisia a few years back who went through 3 springs in the one-way trip!!! So it can be bad at time.

But if you have a purpose built trailer set up for the trip with decent suspension, good tyres and set up so nothing can move - and drive accordingly - you shouldn't have too many dramas- think about some protection for stone chips though - a must if you have a painted boat......(and wouldn't consider it with a glass boat!!!!!)

As Patrol50 said - the stoney sections are probably the worst bits of the road - don't go with crap tyres (hey Daintree Boy.....) If you're tyres are old or much less than half tread (and you are carrying a bit of weight) i say get new ones - much less hassle than worrying about running out of spares (hey Daintree boy...)

It's worth having a big boat up there though - it opens up you're options over the cartopper crowd infinitely- wind against tide up there in the big rivers equals very rough....

(Am lucky - my brother lives up there with big boat and truck to boot - hence why i don't drive up as often as i used to - plane flights much more agreeable....)

Oh yeah - unless you've got a sealed dust cover - don't expect your boat to be the same colour again - have a weipa trailer here at home that is still orange......

Moffy.

Kondo 1
13-12-2009, 06:32 PM
Cheers fellas for all your feedback!

Well I guess the consensus is that provided I am set up alright I shouldn't have too many dramas.

Well I have clearance to upgrade the boat :) so now the search begins for the new rig! This should be fun.

Thanks again fellas.

andoland
14-12-2009, 12:07 PM
As others have said, the road is likely to be corrugated, how badly depends on how long it's been since it was last graded.

You will be able to tow your boat there and back but be aware that the boat, motor and/or trailer will suffer damage in some way. It might only be that everything will have a permanent red tinge to it or the paint is worn off in places wher you didn't secure something properly or it might be something major. Many boats travelling that road have had holes worn in the hulls or trailers fall apart. I am not trying to scare you off - plenty of people tow there boats along the PDR every year - but you do need to be aware that your boat will not be in the same condition after the trip as it is before the trip.

Are you taking your boat there permanently or just going for a trip? If you are going up there permanently then consider taking up on the barge from Karumba. It will cost a bit but should arrive in good condition.

Kondo 1
14-12-2009, 09:02 PM
Gday Andoland,

nah mate not permanantly, will be making the trip annually... Honestly I do expect some damage on the trip though I hoping to mitigate as much of the issues as possible. Essentially I am going an unpainted plate boat, no paint to scratch or worry about and the red tinge doesn't worry me (my boat now is covered in Bauxite :)) ANd the trailer will have plenty of skids and rollers...

Honestly I am not too worried - the reason I am going the way I am is so I can punish it, driving it amongst the trees and sticks up the creek over dirt roads and all the rest.

Again thanks again for the heads up, have a good one.

Mark Ward
27-12-2009, 08:59 AM
I tow a boat all over the Cape as I am based in Weipa for the next couple of years and the trick is a good trailer, well tied down boat and easy does it. I also take the motor off the back and travel with that in the back of the car but I only run a 30hp. I also have a 4.1m Polycraft that is bullet proof but mates with boats like yours do it all the time. All pervious posts mentioned the grading of the road so it is a lucky dip sometimes but it sounds like your all set up for it so you'll be fine.

Kondo 1
28-12-2009, 08:44 PM
I tow a boat all over the Cape as I am based in Weipa for the next couple of years and the trick is a good trailer, well tied down boat and easy does it. I also take the motor off the back and travel with that in the back of the car but I only run a 30hp. I also have a 4.1m Polycraft that is bullet proof but mates with boats like yours do it all the time. All pervious posts mentioned the grading of the road so it is a lucky dip sometimes but it sounds like your all set up for it so you'll be fine.

Cheers Mark,

how does the Poly go up there?? I was considering car topping and running a tuff tender but thats more for a run to the top as opposed to the Weipa trip.

Actually considering dropping back to a 4.5 like a Blue Fin warrior or something like that from the 5.5. I reckon that should still do the trick alright. Might have to see if they can give me one unpainted...

I know one thing for sure I cant wait to get up there and get stuck into it.