Advice on Overnighting

[rzetsd]

Hi All,

We brought a Cruise Craft 685 hardtop before Christmas and my wife is very keen to travel up the Clyde River (Batemans Bay, NSW) and spend the night on the boat.

We have not done this before and we are looking for advice, tips, tricks on what to take with us.

Regards,
Nick

[Crunchy]

Plenty of alcohol and some food ste the priorities

[rzetsd]

Lol ......those boxes are already packed !

[Chimo]

Nick

May I suggest that if you anchor for the night pick a spot that you can get as far as possible from the shore to get away from mosquitos and other biting things.
Also put out a stern anchor as well as the bow anchor so you don't do circles in the night. My wife got very disconcerted by the fact that we rotated during the night and the nav marker beacons were always in different locations. She found it too disconcerting.

All the usual camping things like food and drink and loo. Basically whatever you wife wants is what you take so she get ownership.

Have you got a small tender tinny that you can use (even row) to go back and forth to the shore so the 685 can stay anchored once you get set.up?

Good luck with it.

Cheers
Chimo

[ranmar850]

well, you've got the boat for it. I'm about to take delivery of a 6.4 metre boat and overnighting , and extended trips, are firmly on the agenda. How do you intend to cook? I'll be getting one of those little single-burner gas canister stoves, perhaps with the optional hotplate top. Also getting a 12v travel Buddy marine oven for heating food up. I detest instant coffee, but was put onto these 12v espresso machines in this thread here, scroll down a bit. Being a 685 CC, I imagine you will already have a fridge on board. Some way of freshening up before you retire to bed is a must, particularly for the ladies, so think about how you can wash. The old flannel in warm water is OK, but, if you are going to be in a nice calm river, you could have one of those cheap solar showers sitting on the roof and warming up, just remember to use it before the sun goes down, they cool quickly.

You'll doubtless have your own preferences for bedding, so you really just need to consider where you can anchor most comfortably. If you can get out of the heavy traffic areas you'll have a quiet night . Think about getting out of the wind, consider what will happen if the wind swings during the night, also tide changes. Make sure there is enough water under you for the tide to go right down without being on the bottom;) getting too close to the bank will give you more sandflies--mosquitos will fly further, you might need to think about some mosquito nets to drape over anything you will be leaving open, like the forward hatch and cabin door.
Enjoy.

[chocolatemoose]

go to kmart and buy one of those egg shell mattress toppers and sheets. cut to size if needs be. a few extra inches on the mattress makes a big differnce with the sleep.

Get yourself a decent fan. battery really. keep the air moving through the cabin.

depending on your battery situation, turn on a drift or anchor alarm.

solar hot water shower is an awesome idea :)

12v oven for croissants in the morning is also a brownie point idea

[Chimo]

Nick

What Moose said sort of.
We fitted side drop down seats in front of the rear drop down seat and have a rectangular table the that gives a booth type affect. We can change the table height so that you get a double bed size. Seafarer made up the same sealed cushion for the table. On top of that we have a full double mattress the same as our matress guy makes for the Rivs etc .

Sleeping down by the stern you avoid the need for a fan as your clears and canopy give plenty of headroom.
Still keen on the second anchor to cut down swinging and female motion sickness.

Pic shows rear seats without table infill. Travel cover instead of clears etc in place.

Chimo

[Spaniard_King]

Do you have a dual battery system that ensures you only use 1 battery at a time. You dont want to wake up the next morning without any battery power to start your engine?

[Noelm]

I don't think I would rush out and buy a fan to keep you cool in Batemans Bay, maybe a polar sleeping bag to keep warm!

[BeastMaster]

Suggest you anchor up out of boat traffic, take a good pillow,have well charged duel batteries, a fan in the cabin if its a warm nite.Most importantly make sure you have a big plough anchor and a good lenght of chain on the bow. I also like to sit bow into the wind so i also use a second anchor off the stern to stop the boat swinging in the wind and tide. This work well if it happens to rain , you stay a lot drier.
Regards
BeastMaster

[RayLamp]

The Clyde is pretty tame in regards to tide and wind. As Noel said, something to keep you warm from this point on would be more useful than a fan. Try not to anchor near big island as bees hang around there. If you go a bit further up there are some oyster leases to the right. Anchor near them or on the other side back towards big island, there is a place called the steps (you will know it if you see it on the sounder). Its kind of near a camping ground area and the steps would be bloody good to fish at night. If you want to stay out of any wind or weather, go further up towards chinamans point and anchor near (but not too close -- be in about 25ft of water) to oyster leases in the right and you will have a calm night and possibly get some good flathead.

[Triple]

And make sure you leave your all round anchor light on...

[catshark]

definetly take insect repellant, and amber lighting should be ideal to not attract insects, red lighting is easy on the eyes followed by blue, if i remember right anchor west of the bridge up near the powerlines crossing the clyde, deep hole their and a patience person with a fresh bait can land themselves a nice jewfish. chuck the juveniles back though as they taste like soap. this spot should keep a breeze flowing which will keep the insects down as it will be your main problem if you can endure them, be prepared to get biten off as bronze whalers and gummys frequent the river( great eating though if you land one) and dad caught a hammerhead once under the bridge one night. another nice spot is to motor out of the entrance and anchor up just off maloneys beach about 100 mtrs off the beach, no waves or swell here nice and flat with fresh air, no insects. Keep on your radar around the long beach to square head area line of sight there is exposed rock at low tide, so avoid hugging the shore line around this area.good luck

[BigE]

love over nighting , by far the best $500 bucks i have ever spent for over nighting

$350 = kings 2KW gen set
$99 = Nescafe coffee machine (uses instant coffee)
$ 39= 7 inch electric frying pan
$10 = straps to hold the gen to the bait board or on the transom live well.

quick feed and a hot coffee in the evening and in the morning make the experience soooo much better ( happy wife happy life)

BigE

[catshark]

i used to use those portable butane gas stoves, unless your cooking bacon they arent much chop for any other meat, if i were to do it again i would follow Big E and get the set up he does, love the nescafe machine idea, awesome and also get inverter and wack in a microwave and nuke food all night long, and have that coffee machine cranking. ohhh yeahhhh.

[BigE]

I use to do the flame thing but then I help try to put out a boat (FG) that had caught fire ...... no flame on my boat now and i haven't look back once.
and fresh coffee is sooo nice in the morning.

BigE

[juggernaut]

Scented candles, flowers and massage oil......should be a good night ;)

[TheRealAndy]

Cruise Craft 685 means you are camping, treat it that way. If the wife thinks its a hotel room before hand, she will not do it again.

Cooking, keep it basic. Best thing you can do is reheat pre-cooked meals on an exploder (those cheap canister stoves).

Forget things like 12V stoves and fridges unless you have a few hundred amp hour battery pack, carry a genset and/or have a few hundred watts of solar. FWIW, my boat has 400W of solar, and 200ah of battery and it has struggled the last few weeks with all the cloud in Brisbane. A small fridge and a house battery will get get you through a weekend, not much more.

Re swinging on anchor, get used to it, its part of boating. Its more comfortable swinging than putting out a stern anchor, the exception is if you are in wally world (like the gold coast broadwater) where rivieras are flogging past at 20 knots. In the latter case you need to keep the bow facing into the river. IF you find yourself in that situation, you wont make that mistake again, I promise you.

Last but not least, you are camping (did I say that before?). Once you get used to it, its the best camping you will ever do!

[NAGG]

I've been spending a fair bit of time on the Clyde over the past 9 months - I actually camp out on one of the Islands .
The Clyde is a big river & you can nearly get 30km up from Batemans Bay - the first 10km up to Nelligen you'll find quite a few moorings . plus there are a few bays that you can anchor in - just watch the depth as there are well defined channels . The area up around little & big islands is good & there is a really nice sandy beach on little island ( my favorite spot ) 116876
Bugs on the Clyde aren't too bad ..... but cabin lighting will bring them in . This time of year you'll be trying to keep warm at night .... but you still want ventilation .

Just get out there and enjoy it .....

Chris

[Chimo]

I have been thinking about getting one of these to simplify over-nighting and do away with flames on the boat.
https://www.macfarlanegenerators.com.au/products/1063/Cromtech-Outback-Portable-Generator
Perhaps you could consider this to power your standard home comforts. Happy wife happy life with benefits could well result.

An unhappy first camping on the boat is something i believe you should go all out to avoid.

There have been lots of great tip so far so your challenge is to distill it all and find out what she who must be obeyed is really thinking! (44 yrs of practice tells me so!)

Cheers
Chimo

PS Don't forget you must report back with the results of the overnight with pictures; its the least you can do. Without pics it didn't happen......

[chocolatemoose]

thats a cheap generator!. on a whole generators are getting cheaper for sure.. id imagine they would not last as long as better quality units. but considering a genset can cost 20+K i can see just having a little portable unit to keep things topped up is worth it.

[Chimo]

Hi Moose

Its an Aussi compnany that sells a heap of different units inc diesel and it has a 12 month warranty and seems best value for money with 2.4 kva 2.1 kva operating so could be tha go.

https://www.macfarlanegenerators.com.au/images/list/3358/CromtechOutbackCTG2500iMain.jpg


The Cromtech Outback 2.4kVA portable inverter generator is a super quiet and compact unit that has multiple power options including USB, 12V and 240V power. It's Ideal for camping, caravanning and home use. This is a very popular generator and has all the handy features you'd expect in a portable generator such as alarms for low oil and overloading, an eco mode, a protective cover, and a 5L fuel tank.

Every generator that leaves our store is given the Macfarlane Generators quality treatment - we pre-deliver every set (including oil, run check, and more) and we make sure your generator is ready to go from the moment you get it. We're believers of quality products that you can see, touch, and test before buying.
Details

Cromtech Outback Portable Generator



Features


2 x outlets (single phase - 15A)
USB (5V - 2A) charging


12V-8A battery charging
Pure Sine Wave <2.5% THD suits precise instruments


Super quiet running - 52-29dB
Low oil alarm, overload alarm, output indicator, eco mode


Eco mode adjusts output as load requires and lowers noise
5 - 20 hours continuous running (depending on load)


Bonus protective yellow cover
4-stroke, forced air-cooled, OHV engine


5.0L fuel tank
Lightweight & compact design


Recoil start with direct gravity fuel supply for starting within 3 pulls
Easy maintenance with quick convenient access ports


Durable, cast iron cylinder liner
1 year Cromtech warranty





Applications


Camping
Caravanning & RV's


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Shop and production use


Precision instruments
Small power tools


Fetes
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Power
2.4kVA


Phase
Single


Fuel type
Petrol


Starting System
Recoil start


Max. Watts
2400W


Continuous output
2100W


Rated power factor
1.0


Alternator type
Brushless


Voltage regulation
Pure Sine Wave


Battery charger
12V-8A


Overload protector
Yes


Engine make
LH148F(G)


Engine Type
Cromtech


Engine kW
2.6kW, 79CC


Engine features
Forced air cooled OHV


Fuel tank (L)
5.0L


Noise level
52-59dB @ 7m


Weight
19.9kg


Dimensions
514 x 315 x 447 mm (LWH)


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For more detailed specifications, please view the document below.
Related Downloads

24kVACromtechOutback.pdf (768.37KB) (https://www.macfarlanegenerators.com.au/download?fid=749)

[Smithy]

Link above got me thinking. On eBay looks like you can get a 1kw 2 stroke for sub $200. 4 strokes about $658 for 3.7kw which seems like a lot of bang for buck kw wise. 1.8kw from Alibaba to your door from China about $685.

[Chimo]

Smithy

Howdy, just been reading consumer comments on these and the Aust network for repairs and warranty seems to be good value. One guy had an inverter fail and they gave him a new machine. Whats the support and warranty and repair set up for the ones you mentioned above?

Cheers
Chimo

[TheRealAndy]

I have a yamaha 2400 (2.4kva) genset, weights far to much for boating and is way to big. I am actually going to buy a little 1kva honda specifically for my boat. They are whisper quiet and a pretty light.


Dont waste your money on a 2 stroke, the are rubbish and will end up going over the side as an anchor!

[ranmar850]

The Cromtech generators are Chinese made, yes, but backed by Crommelins Machinery. I should know, my late mate Terry Crommelin owned the company. They are Robin Subaru importers, and recognised the need to compete with the cheap Chinese stuff a few years ago. They have full support, unlike so many which are imported cheap. I bought a Bushpower 1000 from Australian 4WD Direct in 2011--it gave good service for 6 years, then something went wrong with the electronic governor. No support from the agent at all, no parts on the net. So I bought a Cromtech 2.4kva same as in the link. Appears to be very good value for money.
That said, i wouldn't be carrying a portable generator on a sub 9 metre boat. Even the "whisper quiet" ones are noisy enough when they are only a couple of meters away. And electrical safety is something you should think about, no real protective earthing. Plus the "no flames" angle--I've seen a portable generator set fire to and sink a 55 foot fibreglass boat. If the boat isn't big enough to have a permanently mounted and well soundproofed genset, stick with 12v, double up on your house batteries for the trip, and throw out a flexible solar panel on the roof if you have to. Make sure all your lighting is LED, right down to your anchor light. And stay away from bloody 12/240 inverters, absolute battery killers, and again, electrically not very safe. Get proper 12v stuff, power draw is only a fraction of inverting it.

[Mr__Bean]

I have done a lot of overnight stays over the years, can I suggest that you try to keep it simple for the first few.

We have even had a full size outdoor café heater on the deck to keep warm under as we cooked and ate, mind you we set fire to the tea-towel that we had under the pressure pack camp cooker too though.

Maybe take a thermos of hot soup, simple cook up on a butane pressure pack cooker and see if you like the boat overnighters. I have had the strongest stomached people throw up when out on the boat in true darkness, seasickness can come on quickly with the slightest movements once the sun goes right down and the real dark sets in.

Like it or not you are also likely to have to do number 2's in the morning, plan this before hand.

Good luck and enjoy.

Darren

[BigE]

Supa 4WD still have the 4 stroke 2kw KINGS gen sets for about $350 mine hasn't let me down yet it not much louder than my brothers 1KW honda

I dont run mine for long just to cook and make coffee , it nice and compact and fits between the cabin bunks with the centre cushion covering it.

I take it out and set it up on the transom or if i'm being lazy just on the floor.

Ranmar is correct you still need to be safety conscious when using gen sets it a potentially wet environment but with some common sense and fore thought it's not that hard.

My boat has a loo as well so its user friendly to over nighting.

hmmmmm coffee


BigE

[BigE]

Price check now $429 guess i got mine at the right time.

Doing and awsome deal on 1500w inverters ATM

BigE

[rzetsd]

Wow, thanks for everyone’s input. How good is boating, fishing, and life !!!

Unfortunately work, kids and grandkids have being consuming my time so have not been able to get back to see the advice.

My wife and I have camped before, including 4 months travelling on our bicycles with a 2 year old carrying all our camping gear. But as has been stated, it is very important the wife is happy and comfortable, and we are now the other side of 50. Upside he wife is keen so, like The RealAndy says we hope “Once you get used to it, its the best camping you will ever do!”.

We have fished the Clyde River a few times. The plan is to overnight as far up the river as viable (past Nelligen). Whilst making our way up the river we will call in and get a couple dozen oysters and catch a few flathead (including spots suggested by RayLamp), we hope, for dinner. Would love to catch a gummy shark. Hadn’t thought about Maloneys Beach. We can motor up to there from Broulee another time.

The boat did not come with a fridge, just 2 x 115L eskies.

The current approach/checklist is:


Make sure the wife’s needs are covered.
One of the kill tanks will be the drinks chest for the champagne (see point 1), vodka (see point 1) and beer.
I like the idea of no flames on board. The boat has 2 batteries already installed. Pretty sure they can be isolated but will check (thanks Spaniard_King). I have a spare deep cycle battery and was going to attach a female car lighter interface. Once we see how much we love it we will look at the best way to power our needs.
12v coffee machine (excellent idea as wife loves coffee)
Some sort of 12v cooker
12v fan
Pre cooked meals
Croissants (outstanding idea) with fresh flathead in the morning (hopefully).
Make sure we have water under us at low tide !
Mossie net.
Anchor as far away from the shore as possible.
Drift anchor alarm.
We have 50 litre fresh water tank. Will be starting to get on the cool side when we go so it might be the warm washer shower (great idea, thanks ranmar850).
We have plenty of deck space so thinking of sleeping in swags on the deck (thanks for picture Chimo, it gave us the swag idea). Otherwise off to kmart for the mattress topper as chocolatemoose suggested.
Insect repellent.
We have an excellent plough and anchor as suggested.
We have cameras ready to record the first outing, even if only for a night in what is a pretty calm river.



A chemical toilet came with the boat. What is the story with no. 2s. ? In a bag to be stored and thrown out, in the toilet (and only in the morning as Mr_Bean suggested) ?

Once again thanks everyone for their help !

Nick

[TheRealAndy]

And electrical safety is something you should think about, no real protective earthing..

Just a quick note on that point - Isolated generators have no earth requirement, and the regs actually discourage earthing if its not permanently wired.

[myusernam]

why on earth is everyone using generators?! or 12v heating elements or ovens?. It's no safer anyway - probably more of a fire risk than one of those butane stoves, and risk of fuel spilling etc.
Mate just take an esky. Hot shower - one of those 12volt camping showers (cost $20 big w) or you can make a T in your deck hose draw. or those black bag showers laid on the deck work well also
Heat some water up ontop of said butaine stove on the bait board. add a billy full of boiling hot water into a half or 3/4 full bucket of cold water. Drop shower pump into bucket. for long trips shower in salt and rinse in fresh. ($15 big w. cans $1 for 5. 1 can a day. store cans outside of stove in gunwhale pockets)
You can also buy a wind tamer sides / move to the top of the esky to get out of the breeze or i used to use gear box lids to shield if windy
Butaine stove and a saucepan or billy to heat water for shower or to boil water for plunger coffee (why bother with one of those 12v capsule things?! plunger coffee just add hot water or even stove top expresso if fussy?non stick frypan for snags, bacon and eggs in morning. Some sort of burger in evening where you only have to fry the meat and onions. maybe some tongs or egg flip seeing as your missus will be there and you dont want her rousing at you for using your fingers. Job done. boil more water for washing up
I advise against stern anchor. let boat swing in breeze, breeze flows through boat. no akward rocking.
Breeze helps with sandflies allthough at your latitude a sheet or blanket.
anchor light probably important. Maybe a good movie or tv show on the phone or tablet.
Probably more of a worry what happens after the coffee in the morning.

showers available everywhere
https://www.ebay.com.au/i/182566380859?chn=ps
if never used these bag showers get quite warm
https://www.bigw.com.au/product/coleman-solar-shower/p/8387302/

https://www.bigw.com.au/product/campmaster-double-burner-butane-stove-with-steel-plate/p/517114/
double ones are better. can boil billy and cook at same time. or use bbq plate. Burners quite powerfull and plate thin so cooks even steak well
single ones small, easily stowed
https://www.bigw.com.au/product/campmaster-portable-gas-stove-cm2210rw/p/891460/

[ranmar850]

On the subject of the toilet, Inbuilt toilets set in the v ( common setup) won't work well for camping because a) you have to pull the bed up to get at it and b) who wants to sleep with the smell of a fresh crap in the cabin? So chemical toilet put out on the deck will be fine, they seal up well and don't smell. For this reason, I didn't order a built-in with the new boat.

Now to the big one, the generator. I am more than passing familiar with the regs in this respect, being a statutory electrical supervisor on a minesite for a number of years, and still in the game. When you say no earth requirement, I am asuuming you mean no earth stake. Every power source needs earthing, how you do it varies. To cut to the chase, I have had people turn up on site with inverter generators , attach one of those portable RCD boxes to it, press the test button on the box, have the RCD trip and say " see, RCD protected" ::) i would then gently point out that it was only an internal protection test they were pressing. I would then drag out the RCD tester, apply the test, and it would, of course, fail. There is no protection on these things. If you get a faulty appliance , you are not protected by any RCD, unless it is built in. These are rare or non-existant on inverter generators.
If you are in the trade, qualified, I would gladly share a copy of an excellent generator connection standard put out by the company I used to work for, and still contract to. Covers all likely scenarios,such as portable, trailer mounted,fixed, temp, permanent, changeover, and is fully AS/NZS compliant.

[Noelm]

I kind of think the whole idea has been over looked, he plans on doing an overnight in colder climate in a boat, not spending a week at the Cape! simple camping stuff will be more than adequate, easy to prepare food and good sleeping gear is about all he will need, an esky will be plenty for one night (and day) generators, coffee machines, microwaves and other sorts of stuff are way over the top, and there will be no room in the boat with all the gear.

[NAGG]

I kind of think the whole idea has been over looked, he plans on doing an overnight in colder climate in a boat, not spending a week at the Cape! simple camping stuff will be more than adequate, easy to prepare food and good sleeping gear is about all he will need, an esky will be plenty for one night (and day) generators, coffee machines, microwaves and other sorts of stuff are way over the top, and there will be no room in the boat with all the gear.

He is taking the missus Noel ::)

[ranmar850]

"The missus"...some variations around on that. One will refuse to stay anywhere that isn't at 4 star, and write bad TripAdvisor reviews if the towels aren't folded to their satisfaction. Another will help you clean fish. Thankfully, I have the second type, and she is looking forward to camping on the boat, with all the limitations known.:thumbsup:

[RayLamp]

For night - pre cook something in a shuttle chef
https://www.thermalcookware.com/main.php?mod=dynamic&id=22

For the rest, esky with ice - milk for coffee and a bowl of cereal. drinks, beer and grog. The EX685 has plenty of space for this.

Also, a lot of EX685's have a travel buddy 12v oven in the cabin (http://www.12-24voltovens.com.au/) and some have a built in fridge. Bung a pie, sausage roll or pizza in that - or croissants for brekky,

You want a bath? Jump overboard. Then hose off with the freshwater deck wash. Just not a first thing in the morning exercise.

You need to take a dump? Get some brekky cooked for you? Up anchor and go to Nelligen. Cafe there does brekky, coffee and a toilet is there in the little park.

I will keep an eye out for a fellow cruisecrafter on the clyde!

[Smithy]

Big E is onto it. $389 it showed up on my computer. That is awesome. Through an Australian retailer so should be 12 month warranty. No warranty from China and more expensive. I'd missed his comments originally. Exactly the same units they have sourced from somewhere in China as well.

[TheRealAndy]

Now to the big one, the generator. I am more than passing familiar with the regs in this respect, being a statutory electrical supervisor on a minesite for a number of years, and still in the game. When you say no earth requirement, I am asuuming you mean no earth stake. Every power source needs earthing, how you do it varies. To cut to the chase, I have had people turn up on site with inverter generators , attach one of those portable RCD boxes to it, press the test button on the box, have the RCD trip and say " see, RCD protected" ::) i would then gently point out that it was only an internal protection test they were pressing. I would then drag out the RCD tester, apply the test, and it would, of course, fail. There is no protection on these things. If you get a faulty appliance , you are not protected by any RCD, unless it is built in. These are rare or non-existant on inverter generators.
If you are in the trade, qualified, I would gladly share a copy of an excellent generator connection standard put out by the company I used to work for, and still contract to. Covers all likely scenarios,such as portable, trailer mounted,fixed, temp, permanent, changeover, and is fully AS/NZS compliant.

The problem is people, yourself included, don't fully understand how RDC's work. How you earth a generator does not vary, its regulated and for a very good reason. I am not going to hijack this thread any further, but I feel that when incorrect information is posted that I should correct that. Happy to take this to another thread if needed. And just for the record, I am trade qualified.

[ranmar850]

I'm going to not take that as a direct insult, as you are making a number of very incorrect assumptions about me. Yes, we'll take this elsewhere, I have just started on new thread on electrical safety as it applies to small boats.

[NAGG]

My Brothers wife loves sleeping under the stars ....... but only 5 of them ;D

[NAGG]

FAR OUT DUDES .... stop trying to scare the bloke off

Just run the boat up to Nelligen & buy a awesome burger (with the lot) for under $10 ...... you'll probably end up with 3rd degree burns on your wrist - but you;ll be licking off that fat & wanting more ....

Chris

[NAGG]

"The missus"...some variations around on that. One will refuse to stay anywhere that isn't at 4 star, and write bad TripAdvisor reviews if the towels aren't folded to their satisfaction. Another will help you clean fish. Thankfully, I have the second type, and she is looking forward to camping on the boat, with all the limitations known.:thumbsup:

when are you planning to head down ?

I may need to head down there for some R & R soon ......

Chris


Chris

[Jason Green]

Why not just run a 12 volt - 240volt inverter might be more expensive but we already have a power source for it and it would take up less room


Sent from my iPhone using Ausfish forums

[TheRealAndy]

Why not just run a 12 volt - 240volt inverter might be more expensive but we already have a power source for it and it would take up less room


Sent from my iPhone using Ausfish forums

Inverters kill batteries really quickly. They are inefficeint and power hungry.

Forget 12V and 240V powered gear is the simple answer. Gas for cooking, and if you have a house battery then a small 12V fridge for a weekend. If you want 5 star luxury then buy a 40+ft boat with big battery banks and back up gensets.

[Mr__Bean]

Wow, thanks for everyone’s input. How good is boating, fishing, and life !!!

what is a pretty calm river.

A chemical toilet came with the boat. What is the story with no. 2s. ? In a bag to be stored and thrown out, in the toilet (and only in the morning as Mr_Bean suggested) ?






For us we just designated a dirty bucket, necessary jobs were done in the dirty bucket by first adding about 150mm of water and then doing what you needed to do.

It then went overboard and was well rinsed with the deckwash pump before putting it away down the back.

Darren

[BigE]

Hi Nick
good post mate as you can see there is no wrong or right , all of the responses have merit to their various owners. like everything you can make it as easy or as hard as you like (or can tolerate)

For me I done all sorts of overnighting from heading out with a six pak and a rod to open fire to gas to full camper setups.

for mine the gen , coffee and fry pan was the best money i ever spent, ( Jesus boys I've see tents that cost more than $500)

what will last from your experience is ....... "the first impression" (happy wife happy life )

what ever you do have fun and enjoy. ( the $10 burger may actual be the best option but I dont know the area you planning on using)

BigE

[rzetsd]

Thanks all, really appreciated.

Family birthdays, Easter and 2 weeks in Perth means we will now be going mid May. Will post pictures afterwards.

Nick

[scuttlebutt]

If you're using a solar shower be prepared to boil the kettle and add some hot water to it when it's time to shower. In my experience they just don't get hot enough (and I'm in the tropics). I use an electric shower from BCF. Immerse the pump in a 20l bucket and add some boiling water from the kettle. Usually only need half a bucket for a decent shower. Works very well.

[mal555]

I spent a fair bit of time on the Clyde in a similar sized boat, used to always launch at a quiet ramp at Nelligan on the B bay side of the river, away from the chaos of the Hanging Rock ramp.
The best part of the river is above Nelligan, we used to anchor up near Shallow Crossing, and various points back before the bridge.
Personally I reckon you can do a lot with very little, as you are already experienced campers, you already know this.
We pack four, two litre (ex-juice containers) of frozen water into the corners of our 47 Lt. EvaCool with whatever food you want, examples are; pre cooked Indian from Coles, BBQ chicken, simple pasta dishes, to keep things simple, and boat camp for up to five days, with no loss of suitable fridge temp.
I would try Maloneys as a day anchorage first, chances are it may be rolly with surge during tide changes, and if in the middle of the night it starts, you can't easily up anchor and move safely. At least in the river you won't have that issue.
Good luck, once you start and relax into it, it will be the best sleep you will ever have

[ranmar850]

Good tip for the solar shower. My personal experience was that they could actually be too hot if used while the sun was still high, but they do cool rapidly once it drops. But, a top up with some water from the kettle does the trick.
There is also the option of a cigarette lighter powered 12v one, only $25 or so from camping stores. Just heat water, pour into bucket, drop pump in and go. But you may be surprised at how many kettles you need to boil to get cold water in a 20 litre bucket up to a nice temp. At least with the solar, it will still be warm, and not need as much heating.