fishing from inflatables ?

[Dezmo]

Hi Guys

A while a go i posted about my upcoming round oz trip asking questions about beefing up the boat trailer carrying my quintrex 420 dory. The trip will involve heading up the east coast to the cape then across the top down through WA etc. I will being going for about 8 months with my girlfriend in an 80 series landcruiser and i anticipate we will be doing some of the rougher roads.

After much deliberation i have decided the trusty dory is too big and the risk of damage to the trailer and transom with a 40hp on it is too high. There is no guarantee a $2500 custom off road trailer will survive the trip and i am sure this money would never be recouped on a resale. I would prefer not to have a trailer with me anyway due to the inconvenience they present in day to day driving and touring.

I have a 10ft tinny at home and for a while considered the prospect of putting it or a larger 12fter on the roof for the trip. The car has a 2 inch suspension lift, 33 inch tyres and a fairly heigh arb roof rack cage on it. I have found the height makes it quite difficult to get the tinny on and off the roof. While a roller system would help, i still think it would be a fair effort for me and my girfriend alone. A secondry problem occurs with clearance under trees and i have heard the extra drag will be detrimental to fuel economy. A tinny this size will also only be safe for more sheltered waters.

Due to the above i am considering an inflatable as the best possible compromise. I have been looking at models such as the quicksilver 340 air deck, perhaps matched with a 15hp two stroke. These go down quite small and are lighter than a tinny to carry. They will also be more suitable for beach launches and rougher water. Unfortunately they can be punctured and lack the internal and storage space of tinny.

Anyway i am looking for peoples thoughts and opinions for such an inflatable as an all round fishing rig. I suppose the majority of its use on the trip will be in northern australia and i will be spinning, trolling, baiting and perhaps even putting crab traps in it. Has anybody had experience fishing from one of these ?

What would you do ????


Cheers

[mackmauler]

theres no doubt that the rubber boat will do the job, you will have to be very careful but, rocks and coral all over the place up there. extra patch kits would be the go, this pic says it all :o

[NQCairns]

Hi Dezmo, dont forget the Crocs you will be fishing with them, and the unsavory nature of getting wet up here ie stingers, a couple of weeks ago i watched a 6 foot shark and mates crash my biggest ever GT a few feet under my boat, made me recheck the bung!!.

Call me chicken but when i lived below the border I would have gone almost anywhere in a small inflatable no problem but up here I would not even consider it as a tender, sounds chicken doesn't it? Spooky water :o. But damn exciting if you are really into fishing [smiley=2thumbsup.gif].

My old southerner mindset of nothing to hurt me under the boat (used to jump over all the time to cool of anywhere) is well and truly out the window after this last year.

IMHO go the 12 footer with deepish V if you can with min 9hp, you will not regret it, will open up the extra 60% of places to fish and with 2 up will give you even more choices.nq

[Gorilla_in_Manila]

Dezmo,
You haven't said where you are planning to carry the outboard or what you are sleeping in. Those two things usually govern your setup.

The best place for the outboard when you are belting over endless miles of corragated road is horizontally across the front of a trailer on a specially made holder that you screw the transom mounts to and had a V shapped suport for the leg. You then need a cover to keep the dust out and a stone guard in front. That way you can aslo chain the motor up if you are wanting to leave the trailer at camp somewhere. You will also need a couple mate for the trailer.

Generally you can spend some money at the start of the trip getting the right equipment for the job and planning for spares and repair kits, or you can spend 3times that trying to get repairs done in the middle of nowhere and sit around for a week waiting for parts to be delivered up from the major cities. Either way, you are going to have to spend money.

My parents have been doing the grey nomad thing for the last 5 or 6 years with 1 big 5 or 6 month trip in each year the main feature. Various others travelled with them with various sorts of rigs, and it has been quite an education for me hearing of all the dramas, costs, functionality and practicality of the various setups etc.

Anyway, let us know where your planning to stick the outboard and how you are camping and might be able to help out a bit more.

Better still, find as many people you can who have done it or similar trips and pick their brains and check out what sort of set up they had. There are several ways to skin the cat, depending on how long you plan to stay at each spot, how comfy you need to be, what budget you are planning on spending, whether it is a one off trip or if you are going to use it again a year or two later, etc

Cheers
Jeff

[Dezmo]

Thanks for your reply guys

Mackmauler: Love the photo, i would be stoked to catch mackeral like that on the trip. Getting them into a small boat would be interesting.

NQ Cairns: I am still considering the tinny idea however the inflatables i have looked at look pretty tough. The one i purchase will be just as wide as a 12ft tinny and maybe just a little shorter. As these can be used in the surf i would think they would open up more places rather than less. I dont know how much a 12fter with a deep v weighs however my girfriend has trouble helping lift the shallow 10fter onto the roof.

Gorilla in Manila: I will be camping mostly and have both a large canvas tent and a lighter quick set up small tent for overnighters. I had planned on pulling the seats out of the car and keeping all of the gear inside and on the roof. I will make a mount to strap the outboad securely to the cargo barrier.

[NQCairns]

however my girfriend has trouble lifting the shallow 10fter onto the roof. #



Cheers, just a couple of suggestions- mate put that beer down and give the poor girl a hand or else if her back gives out, on that big trip you might find yourself having to do that chore as well as cart the engine, pack, unpack, and even touch the tent before you need to lie in it ;D I know, I know ::) -the things a guy has to put up with when on holidays. A person should be allowed to marry 2 just for lazy trips away :-X

No matter what boat option you chose it wont be the wrong decision, lucky bugger you will have a blast i am sure. #[smiley=2thumbsup.gif]cheers nq













Ps Yeah I know, I edited your quote 8).... ;D

[jeffo]

lol..... ;D
hey rob that pic is an absolute classic! those dudes with the ho' must be more nuts than you are!

[dazza]

Dezmo,
sounds like you are going to have a great trip, lucky bugger.

whatever setup you end up with, make sure it is corrugation proof. the roads you will be travelling will shake the shit out of everything. i personally would be going for the tinney on the roof as they are a bit more robust than the inflatables. you wil be fishing in some pretty rugged country, almost every town has someone who can weld alloy, but not many inflatable repair shops.

you can get some pretty flash hydraulic assisted lifters these days which should let the good lady load the boat pretty easily ;D ;D.
when i was living up on the cape, we used to get heaps of tourists through town, most of them seemed to have a tinney on the roof or on the camper trailer and a small fold up trailer for the boat. they could tow it to the ramps etc when set up for a few days or roll it down a beach for launching (saves carrying it)

I agree with gorilla, try and talk to as many people who have done a trip and find out their opinions, what they would and wouldn't do.

have fun
cheers
dazza

[Dezmo]

NQ Cairns: if only life was so easy. I should have got the girfriend a gym membership so i knew she would be capable of all the heavy lifting she will need to do on the trip. She will have to get some platform shoes as well so she can reach up to the boat on the racks.

Dazza: One of my reasons for thinking inflatable was that it would be easier to transport. When deflated i can have it in the car, or on the racks inside its storage bag. Over corrigations i would have thought this would better than a tinny.

As for repairs they can be made quickly with gaffa tape at any stage if i am out some where. The boats only run at 3psi so the pressure shouldnt create a problem. I will take a comprehensive patch and repair kit so i can do repairs myself if neccessary.

[Zeeke]

get yourself a set of 4wd tyre steps, they hook over the tyres and give you a step so you can reach stuff on the roof, and they fold up flat and wont take up much room

Tim

[Dezmo]

Zeeke: the car has side steps and i can also fold down the tail gate to load gear. The main issue is further behind the car where you have to push it on or lower it off.

I found a 3.3m inflatable with a 15hp which sounds interesting. I will have a look and hopefully get a test drive. I think if i go the inflatable i will have to be very organised and have all gear in small soft water tight pouches. i have a canvas bag i can use for the anchor.

[whiteman]

Dezmo

Let me know how you're going with this plan of yours. I too have been looking at inflatables. My main reason is to get something I can launch from the beach behind my place and store under the house and to be able to take away packed up when I don't want the big boat.

I've looked at Quicksilvers and Zodiacs, both in the 2.7m range with 10-15 hp donks (15 is cheaper than 10 - go figure!). Around $4,500 if everything is new.

I spent time at a place who does all the contract work for the Army and a couple of dive shops. These boats spend a lot of time on the water being hauled onto coral beaches and larger boats. I am amazed at how durable they appear to be.