unseen objects

[DALEPRICE]

well, a lot of the offshore members on this site
do a lot of travelling to the banks, cape or wherever
at night time. out of all the trips i have done only a handfull
have been completed in pitch black. recently i have been
seeeing more and more objects in the water. last friday
we came across two 20 litre drums tied together floating.
was thinking that if it was in the pitch black it would be nasty
to run into. nearly every time we leave bribie we are dodging
pro pots and and other things in the main channel. does any
body ever have any encounters or get floats around props at night.
any experiences???
cheers dale
p.s murphy always seems to strike worse at night

[bignick]

I once caught one of those big el-cheapo blue tarps around my motor as I went around St. Helena Island one night. I didn't see it; it must have been floating just under the water. It brought everything to an instant complete STOP; no damage done, fortunately. I have often seen crab pot floats with that much growth on them, they are almost impossible to see at the best of times in the daylight. Also, a bit more thought needs to be put into what people use for floats; a red 4-litre oil bottle looks lovely and bright on the shop shelf, but when floating at water level, it is almost invisible, particularly in low light or dark conditions, even with the aid of a torch or spotlight.

Cheers,
NICK

[searaider]

Dale ,
Good topic , I've always been worried about the same thing .
Last trip out heading to Deep Tempest , at about 6 am in broad daylight ,between combie & the cape doing about 20 knts I hit something . Made a loud thump at the back of the boat . Even though the motor was still running OK , I stopped tilted it up and had a look . Couldnt see any problems so kept heading out .
When we got back to the ramp , there were a few heavy scuff marks on the side of the gearbox & some lighter ones on one of the blades on the prop . No long term damage , but it could have been nasty .

As we couldnt see anything in the water , we had no #idea what we hit .

Peter
Searaider 2 #

[-spiro-]

I have done alot of overnighters at Morton around 50+ and still to this worry about hitting something. Over the years i have seen timber, tress, 44 gallon drums, pro floats, tinnies without lights and the biggest was a shipping container getting towed by coastgard and then a tug from Combie point. I have been out on a pitch black night coming back to Bribe when a container ship hasn't had any lights on and lucky we heard it or we might have been gonners. Don't forget day time when smart people put auto pilot on and head down the back of there boat and there aiming straight at you. I had to start the motor once ar anchore as a pro crabber would of taken 3m off my hull. All he could say was sorry. 8-)

[GBC]

Heading out between St.Helena and Mud in the dark - BANG - all stop. Went astern and found a 2400X1200 sheet of formwork ply jammed around the leg. Took some time to get it off too because I couldn't trim the motor up. I'm a chippie by trade but I never thought I'd have wanted a handsaw so bad on a fishing trip.....Hardest part was getting it aboard and ashore at St.Helena so some other poor Pr$ck didn't end up the same as me.

[agnes_jack]

Always worth chucking a lure around anything floating, usually gets you a Mahi Mahi or 2 ;) ;)

Regards, Tony ;D ;D

[SeaHunt]

Dale ,
Good topic , I've always been worried about the same thing .
Last trip out heading to Deep Tempest , at about 6 am in broad daylight ,between combie & the cape doing about 20 knts I hit something . Made a loud thump at the back of the boat . Even though the motor was still running OK , I stopped tilted it up and had a look . Couldnt see any problems so kept heading out .
When we got back to the ramp , there were a few heavy scuff marks on the side of the gearbox & some lighter ones on one of the blades on the prop . No long term damage , but it could have been nasty .

As we couldnt see anything in the water , we had no #idea what we hit .

Peter
Searaider 2 #
:-? Turtle

[adrian]

have also seen trees but as someone has said those bloody crab pots are the worst

[DALEPRICE]

tony, you may have to give me the run down
on WHAT i should be chucking at these objects
for a mahi mahi. my goal is to hook onto one
of these bad boys this summer.............
me and lures [smiley=help.gif]

[chemmy]

on the last infamous trip from the banks we were heading back to the ramp doing a smooth 25knots when all of the sudden the the boat slows down and stops. I thought aw f#ck the prop fell of but it turned out that we got a rag wraped around the prop couldn't fogure out what was wrong at first then tilted the motor up and had to surgicaly remove the rag. i tell you what, even some thing so small can give you a fright alright. If it was the prop it would have been a dare i say it sh!t end to such a goo trip.

Michael

[caloundra]

chemmy
got any pics [smiley=lolk.gif]





welcome back
did you get banned [smiley=huh2.gif] where have you been

[ANYFISH]

Always worth chucking a lure around anything floating, usually gets you a Mahi Mahi or 2 ;) ;)

Regards, Tony ;D ;D

You have to give it to Tony
He always looks on the bright side of life doesn't he ::) ;D ;D

[chemmy]

i've been in Nea Zealand where the girls are booch and the guys ar , are..... well you get the picture

[Angla]

Good subject Daleprice
I havent hit anything yet but am always vigilant and have a great search light under the bow sprit and my eyes peeled. I have dodged a crab pot marker or two and am always cautious of anything different in the waters surface characteristics.
Must say I love to scare the cr#p out of stationary boats without lights that I have spotted by heading at them as you come up on the plane. See the torches come out quick normally

Angla

[FNQCairns]

Angla that is really cool, can it withstand the flogging it might get from a rough sea? What are they worth? cheers fnq

[reeldreamer]

Where is Nea Zealand Chemmy? ;D Glad to see the spelling has improved!

[Jitlands]

Hit a dead roo up a creek near caloundra one afternoon, It was bloated up and just under the surface.
The outboard flew up and we ended up coverd in rotten roo guts

[Angla]

FNQCairns, Just under 300 smackers. Has 2x motors in it with joy stick in cabin, only 50 watt but is good search beam (pointy) which you can point at the on coming waves no matter what direction and set the height so you see the wave everytime you come down from a bounce. Just great.
They are weatherproof when mounted the other way up, but this is the best way for visibility and just took 10 minutes, a drill and some silicone to seal the new top and add drain holes for the new bottom. Cannot give a big enough rap for its effectiveness.
I've tested it a bit strength wise and I think it will stand all but a direct strike from something solid.

Angla 8-) 8-)

[Kiktz]

I saw a lil punt nose that come out a few years ago that had head lights.
Yep moulded into the bow of the boat..........
Personally I dont do that much work at night but a bloody great idea.
Even Angla's spotty would worka treat.