Paikea

Hi I do not have a weighbridge certificate however the manuals and spec plates on the unit list the following: Boat 750 KG Motor 195 KG Trailer 480 KG total 1425 KG You would need to add the rocket Launcher, say 50 KG, gear another 5o KG and fuel say 60 KG Grand Total 1585 KG give or take a little A quick check of towing capacities on the internet showed: Subaru Forester 16oo KG Susuki Grand Vitara 2000 KG Ford Falcon 2300 with lift kit Pajero 2500 KG Jeep grand Cherokee 3500 KG I hope this will help you. Cheers Paikea

This may be a strange place to put this post however as it is infrequently used I thought that mine might stay up for a little longer before someone else posts to this section as it does in the "Bar" or "Sell/Swap sections." As I mentioned in my earlier posts I am trying to urgently sell my Tournament so that I can buy a smaller boat that I have fallen in love with. As I don't want to lose the chance to buy that I am arranging to take a half page add in the Trade a Boat magazine and website.(incl a cover pic) When I do that my post in the Swap/sale section of this site will need to come out (site rules and fair enough) The Trade a Boat add will cost me $1.000.00, so effectively making the money that I will get from the sale $1.000.00 less. The current reduced price of the boat site is $42,000.00, If a Raider puts their hand up to buy it before I pay for the add on Monday they can have it for $41,000.00. I know that it is a heap of money but if anyone is contemplating getting a new boat to head offshore you will not do better than this one. Soft riding, very stable, built like a brick outhouse, massive floatation in the fibreglass boxed grid sections under the floor etc. (see pic below). Send me an email to hcl@hclassociates.com.au if you want to see a swag of pics to convince your Minister of Finance that this will be a great investment. Cheers Paikea

Yes I did, a total disaster, not one bite, mate got six cockney bream about 75 mm long. Thanks for your kind words I just hope that some Raider gets the boat. Cheers Paikea

Is anybody out there? Seems I have had plenty of lookers but no one asking for pics or making an offer. The reduced price is way under same model boats in Boat sales etc. Check it out and you will see that I am right. The boat is pristine and fully loaded with extras, goes like a rocket and a terrific sea boat, just ask Steve who came out in very big seas out from Ulladulla (he is in the picture at the ramp/pontoon at Ulladulla) I just want to get the smaller boat (4.85 Twinfisher) that I can handle with no dramas and take the CEO out in the Port, she has promised that she will come out in the smaller boat. Take a punt, send me a message with your email details and I will send you a swag of pics that will prove just how good a deal this one is. Cheers Paikea

I have found a smaller boat that I want to buy, as I do not want to miss it I will drop the price of my 5.65 Tournament by three grand if a buyer comes along before this weekend. So price up to this weekend is down to $41,000.00, well below similar boats for sale in the boat ads. If I do not find a buyer before the boat that I am looking to buy is sold I will advertise it in the boat ads at the old price and look into trading it in with a dealer or placing it on consignment. Please don't think that I am being pushy but I really want the smaller boat and as it is much cheaper than the Tournament I can afford to take less for the big boat. A bargain for someone who is looking for a top sea boat, all set up ,nothing to spend. Cheers Paikea

Age (76) two crook knees and a dickey ticker have finally brought me to the realisation that my 5.65 Tournament is just too bloody big for me to handle. Also pressure from the CEO for some time left me little choice, but she happily agreed for me to buy a smaller boat so now looking for a 4.9 Twinfisher or similar to take the place of the big boat but still allow me to go offshore. Although the size of the boat is greater than the maximum allowed to be advertised in the Swap/Sale section Stewie kindly agreed to make an exception and allow me to advertise it on this site. Thank you Stewie and Donna, much appreciated. The boat is in pristine conditions and has loads and loads of extras fitted to it (see the ad) In putting a price on it I have checked similar 1800's advertised in the boating publications and allowed a significant reduction for a quick sale. Hopefully that is a fair price for a top of the line boat. Only time and interest from prospective buyers will tell. (I am sure that the Raiders who have seen or fished in the boat will verify its pristine condition) I would like the boat to go to another Raider who appreciates quality so that I can view posts of where it goes and what it does. Please tell your friends who may be in the market for a top sea boat. Thanks Paikea

Planning on spending a couple of hours in the Bay tomorrow, Mate can't handle outside so will limit fishing to inside the Bay. Probably the cockle beds to try for Bream etc then off to the runway or the sticks. Or maybe do a drift for Flats down the middle of the Bay Likely try a livey under a float if I can find some balloons tonight, no luck so far. If we get onto any fish I will put a call over the Raider channel on VHF. (Monitoring Channel 16) Cheers Paikea

Careful Steve, having a beer with John is never just one, I speak from experience! But hey, we will have to get him out when he comes out later this year, out to Browns, the Plonk Hole and the Peak weather permitting, love to see him on a big shark while you and I watch. Or a big black stingray, say one of those monsters that measure around 6 foot across, he loves catching "Skate". One of those would have him skating all across the deck. I know where there are quite a few of them. (South Coast) Onya John, looking forward to your visit and hopefully this year I will be able to host you to some memorable trips on my boat. Cheers Paikea

Thanks guys, really looking forward to the break. And as to coffee, no worries Stormy ,the key is just to the left of the 180 pound bull mastiff pup chained on the veranda. He answers to the name of Killer. Cheers Paikea

Thanks Witha, googling it now. Cheers Paikea

"Mate I've got the larger cousin of these, same deal China mass produced and sold under different names. I love it. Not the highest quality fittings but can't really screw up rotomoulded plastic. Got mine in a similar bundle deal for 700 and mine is suitable for offshore." Thanks all, my mate has just bought one and is going to let me try it out when I get back from Tassie. If my bum is too wide to fit I may have to look at the bigger model that Witha mentioned. What size/brand/weight is the larger model? I am just looking for something easy to throw on top of the car and fish the flats or throw some lures around the moored boats in Port Hacking for a couple of hours late afternoons without having to put my big boat (5.6 Tournament)in the water. Thanks Cheers Paikea

The day has finally arrived. The boss and I are off to Tassie for a two week holiday, based at Seven Mile beach near Hobart but travelling to various places including Bicheno, Bruny Island, etc. May stay overnight in some places. Hoping to do a charter for Bream fishing and possibly offshore whilst we are there. I also have an ex deckie friend operating a cray boat on the island and may see if I can hitch a ride one day. I will post some pics when I get back. Cheers Paikea

That's my local ramp, 45 seconds drive from my house, very shallow and hard to launch a bigger boat on a low tide, the jetty there is pretty shocking too. When I get my new boat I'll be launching from Sylvania Waters. Hey Tef, the Hole in the Wall ramp is not as good as it is wrapped up to be. Quite steep and not easy to launch on your own as the jetty is awkwardly located. Steve did his shoulder in when we launched there some month's ago, also gets a lot of current flowing across the ramp when the tide is racing which makes it hard to line your boat up when coming in. The best ramp is at the St George Motor Boat Club, awesome dual ramp and great pontoon. Also a top fish cleaning station. Worth joining the club just to use the ramp and be able to have a beer when you get back in. But don's tell too many people about it, it might get too crowded. Cheers Paikea

I saw a lady paddling a sit-on fishing kayak at Narrawallee Inlet yesterday. Looked very smart with 5 rod holders, waterproof containers, a paddle retaining cord, all the bells and whistles and only $369.00. The lady claimed to be very happy with it and had caught a decent bag of Whiting from it the day before. Looking at the internet there are dozens of these kayaks for sale, all priced around $350.00 to $450.00. My question is, are these just a toy or a serious fishing craft for limited travel fishing estuary flats and oyster leases? Just how comfortable and stable are they? The Chairperson of our family has offered to buy me one for an upcoming birthday, are they worth having? Thanks for any advice from someone who has one. Cheers Paikea

I keep a 3.6 lightweight (49 KG) boat in the Garage of my Holiday place at Ulladulla. Use it to fish Burril Lake, Conjola and Narrawallee Inlet. When fishing on my own I have found it hard to keep the nose down. The front seat is too far forward to let me operate the motor from there. So I needed to find a solution. I got a length of pre-painted finger jointed timber from Bunnings, fixed some cleats to the underside to keep the plank in position between the front and back seats and using some dense foam and marine upholstery fabric I made myself a soft seat. Whilst I was at it I looked at placing the small sounder that I got as part of a Magazine subscription, after fiddling about trying various positions I ended up putting it where I could clearly see and operate it whilst driving the boat. Haven’t tried it yet but it looks great. I had to get a 12v battery to operate the sounder, ended up getting a small battery pack from Whitworths that comes complete with a mains and car plug-in charger that plug into a cigarette lighter socket on the side of the battery pack. The lead from the sounder fits into the same socket, all very neat and handy. Now all that I have to do is get out and try it. Cheers Paikea

I spent the weekend at my place in Ulladulla cleaning up for some tenants staying this week. Did not get a chance to fish (33 degrees!) but went down to the Southern Ramp in the Harbour to talk to some of the regulars as they came in around 11AM (to beat the North Easter) and see what they had caught. Even though most of the Tourist (Terrorists according to the locals) had left the weeks before there were more than 50 boat trailers parked at the Harbour and the streets from the Harbour at 8.00 AM when we had a coffee at the Boardwalk Café overlooking the Harbour. Most of the fishos that I spoke to had gone north to get an easier run back in the North Easter (I usually head down to Burril Rocks and Tabourie). Some good Flathead were caught plus a sprinkling of small, just over legal Snapper and the usual mix of Rock Cod, Sergeant Bakers, Gurnard and some Pig Fish. All reported seeing Slimey Mackerel in very large schools. One guy reported seeing 5 to 6 boats on the Kingie Ground, However I did not see them come in. The same guy had an interesting rig that he claimed caught everything from three Flathead at a time when drifting productive grounds plus Snapper and other reef fish. The rig uses three pink squid lures on short rigs from a main leader and a Snapper sinker on the bottom. Very simple and looked very effective. The Squid Rig I spent some time looking into the water from the walkway between the two ramps and was pleasantly surprised at the numbers and size of fish that were swimming over and around the concrete ramps. Bream that looked almost legal, some big bully Mullet, Whiting and a couple of huge black stingrays that would have gone at least 12 to 1500 wide. Great to watch. Made me think that there could be worse places to bring little kids to have a go at catching the Bream etc. Dead safe and a lot to look at. As I am giving my Granddaughter a rod & reel for her third birthday in March and they are coming to Ulladulla at Easter I think that I may start her off there. The water colour is a little fuzzy but if you click the pics to make them full screen you will see the Bream, Stingrays etc Cheers Paikea

As one of the people who likes to acknowledge posts as a matter of courtesy to those who have gone to the trouble to describe their experiences and add Pics I hate to think that others may view that as trying to get my post count up. Why do we always look for the worst in people? A like/dislike button is so impersonal, particularly when responding to new or young contributors where a little more detailed acknowledgement will surely be more encouraging than simply "Like" Maybe I am old fashioned and should move with the times? And yes, this is the best site, lets keep it that way. Cheers Paikea

"I had a 50cm fish actually scoot up the leg of my board shorts and that wasn't fun, trying to keep it from doing headshakes." I think that anyone reading this would have an instant mental picture of the situation and potential outcome. Ouch! Great post Stormy, good to see you getting about. Cheers Paikea

Lovely fish, great to catch and even better to eat. Well done, thanks for sharing. Cheers Paikea

A lot of water skiers play in that area, could that be the problem? Has anyone hired a canoe from the guy at the crossing and fished upstream? Must be Bass up there surely. The river looks very pretty there. Cheers Paikea

Congratulations, a super effort. Cheers Paikea

If considering alum twin hull perhaps you may like to look at a Webster , they come in a no. of sizes , 4.9mt is the most common but they are also available in 5.2mt Geoff Hi Geoff, I have always liked the Webster boats, is yours the 4.9 model? Very practical and easy to clean, what size motor do you have and how does it ride in a sea/chop? Downhill? Also do you get any hull slap. Finally is it easy to drive onto the trailer with those guide rollers? Cheers Paikea

Hi Fab, never heard of "brined Nippers' but they obviously work. What is the recipe? BTW, nice catch and a great feed. Minamurra is a nice area, did you fish the river or the entrance? Cheers Paikea

Any size to the Flats? There are some good North to South Flathead drifts South/West of Osborne Shoal and on the same line further East (deeper) Cheers Paikea

When I was a very young kid (late 1940's) we used to half fill tins with Quicklime, punch a small hole in the lid, tie some meat to the side and drop it into a canal. Water entering the tin would react with the lime and gas up to the point where the tin would literally explode. Tiny "Stickleback" fish would float to the surface for us to collect. Great fun. I later heard that the Canadians who liberated our town used hand grenades the same way to get large Pike. Ahh, memories! Cheers Paikea