Reply With QuoteThe Hawksbury is pretty well marked, so that should be no problem, mind you, I know nothing about up Windsor way, and crossing a bar there will be of little concern.
Hi all,
New to boating here and has a few questions regarding boating safety just to ensure i can remain as safe as possible on the waterways. Currently i am practicing at the Hawksbury River before venturing out into locations which are a bit more busy.
This weekend i am planning on driving from Windsor, to Berowra Waters Marina and some of the parts of the river on google maps look quite narrow. I am wondering what the minimum water depth is for my boat to float comfortably and prevent risk of hitting something underneath? I have a Tahoe Q4 Sport Bowrider 2006 Model which is about 5.92 metres long.
Also how will i ever know if i am approaching a coastal bar, or something similar? Will i only hit these when i get out into open waters? The reason i am asking is not to try and cross them, but to avoid them completely and ensure safety.
Thanks.
The Hawksbury is pretty well marked, so that should be no problem, mind you, I know nothing about up Windsor way, and crossing a bar there will be of little concern.
When you are ready to think about crossing a bar, see if any of the local boat licence joints do advanced courses that include bar crossings etc. I know several of the bigger ones used to here in Qld.
For minimum depth of water, I'd start getting nervous below about 3 foot if you are on full song in water you dont know well, you will probably find with the motor tilted and on idle you can sneak through areas maybe as low as 18 inches.
Once you know the water ways you will feel much more comfortable in opening things up in shallower water. The problem is usually sounders are at the back, and they have a couple of seconds delay in displaying the depth - and in the rapidly shoaling water approaching a hidden sandbank or similar there can be a lot less water under the boat than what the sounder is reading!
Hey mate!Originally Posted by mercthunder
Windsor to Berowra is quite a nice drive. How big is your fuel tank? It looks shorter than what it is, but it is a long drive with all the bends. Windsor river is pretty good, I was there a couple of weeks ago. A lot of ski boats so just follow them. There are not many markers along the way which means it should be deep enough along the middle. This weekend is going to be raining so I wouldn't head down there, definitely a lot of branches etc after rain.
A good spot to start is Berowra waters. Just get there in the morning otherwise you won't find a spot. The river is much wider there, you might feel more comfortable as windsor does get narrow and you get a lot of ski boats.
Hi Dave, thanks for your response. The Fuel Tank is 87 Litres. How long do you think it would take to drive there one way from Windsor Boat Ramp. Yep if its raining this weekend i wont be heading down, but i plan to do it the first weekend where the weather is good.
Is there a closer Ramp to Berowra Waters along the Hawksbury. Ideally would like to drive about 1 hour to get to Berowra to make a good day of it out on the water
Windsor to Berowra Waters is about to 110-120 km one way. Not knowing your boat, I reckon it would be pushing a 87 lite tank to it's limit. Strongly consider carrying another 20-40 litres in jerry cans. You would need to refuel for the return leg. The main (west) Berowra Waters marina sells fuel.
If travelling at night or early morning be mindful it's often foggy.
There are no tricks to getting there. Slow down for the vehicular cable ferry's. There are good channel markers. Generally stay mid channel, but there are about 3-4 points along the way where the channel markers will take you very close to one bank. Look out these as a short cut will see you run aground.
There is fuel at Wisemans ferry. And some of the waterfront caravan parks have fuel, but don't rely on them.
Mobile phone reception can be very poor in some spots. If you have phones on different providers take them.
If you launched at Wisemans, the boat trip to Berowra W would only be about 1hr at planning speed.
I saw your docking post. The west marina has a fuel wharf thats easy to dock on. Parallel parking almost. You can stop there and get the marina staff to help you into your private spot. The boat ramp is only 100m away and has a good wharf too.
If you get into trouble call these guys:
https://m.facebook.com/hawkesburyrescue/?ref=ts&fref=ts
VRA Hawkesbury - 02 9985 1111 available 24\7.
Cheers
F'Rod
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