Is it safe to take my boat from parramatta river to the heads

[gavw]

Hi fish raiders

I'm new to this, but I love fishing.

I've bought my self a Haines v133 fibreglass boat only taken it out a few time, not a very experience boater

I was wondering if its safe to take it from parramatta river right to the south/north heads,

I drove my mates boat under the harbour bridge and found it was pretty rough, and he has a stacer aluminum which is alot bigger and deeper then mine.

All advice would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks

[Testlab]

Great answer from Burnsey.

Be especially aware that in a boat that size and with low freeboard the wash from larger vessels is quite hazardous if your boat is heavily loaded. There can be substantial wash in the zone from the bridge to the heads. Under the bridge there is a speed limit and as vessels pick up speed you can get the wash from many larger vessels combining randomly and producing quite large, steep waves.

Scary huh? The good news is once you get out of the congestion zone of the bridge there are lots of bays and you can follow the north or south foreshore around with much less wash and less risk.

[gavw]

Great answer from Burnsey.

Be especially aware that in a boat that size and with low freeboard the wash from larger vessels is quite hazardous if your boat is heavily loaded. There can be substantial wash in the zone from the bridge to the heads. Under the bridge there is a speed limit and as vessels pick up speed you can get the wash from many larger vessels combining randomly and producing quite large, steep waves.

Scary huh? The good news is once you get out of the congestion zone of the bridge there are lots of bays and you can follow the north or south foreshore around with much less wash and less risk.

thanks guys for your honest opinion

i guess i just have to go out more often

until i could build a bit of confidence

ill just hang around parramatta river for the mean while

[mr475]

Yes, just check the conditions each time you go near Circular Quay as it can get quite rough.

Some 20 years ago I was watching a guy in a low-slung green speedboat crashing through the wakes opposite the Quay. He then stopped as a container ship went past under the bridge. I watched in fascination as the bow wave from the ship moved toward the sitting speedboat and then went completely over the top of it. The boat disappeared momentarily but appeared again, still on the surface but now full of water. Obviously the wick had also gone out on the engine as there was no forward motion any more. Anyway, it wasn't too long before the police boat was on the scene to pull the occupants out and tow the boat to safety.

This is just an illustration of placing a boat in conditions unsuitable for it. That speedboat was one of those ski things with a one foot freeboard. It pierced the oncoming bow wave instead of riding over it.

So just ease into the situation. If it starts to get a bit rough and you feel unsure, turn back to where you feel comfortable and just take it a step at a time. You will grow in confidence as you see what your boat does and what it can take. Good luck.

[dunc333]

why dont you hang around under the gladesville bridge on a sunday about 11.am and there is a fair bit of traffic and when 2 rivercats pass each other at the same time you will know a bit better how she handles and if all good build your confidence for a while around there till you get to know your boat a bit better and then when you get more confident try going down river abit more every trip.(expereince is the only way to build confidence) cheers and let us know how you proceed each trip

[markmako]

why dont you hang around under the gladesville bridge on a sunday about 11.am and there is a fair bit of traffic and when 2 rivercats pass each other at the same time you will know a bit better how she handles and if all good build your confidence for a while around there till you get to know your boat a bit better and then when you get more confident try going down river abit more every trip.(expereince is the only way to build confidence) cheers and let us know how you proceed each trip

I personally wouldn't be trialling it under the Gladesville Bridge as that bridge brings the memories flooding back. I'll never forget, I was with my old man and cousin and we'd taken off from Bayview Park ramp and were heading through Parramatta River up to our fishing spot in the harbour. Anyway as we were approaching Gladesville Bridge in the boat, about 500m away from it, I saw the massive splash about 100m in front of the boat. I initially thought the splash was from someone jumping from the top of the bridge in a suicide attempt - it was that big. I look across at my cousin and said "did you just see that?" thinking he wouldn't know what I was banging on about. He's like "yeah!"

To this day we still talk about and the only conclusion we can draw from it is that it was a bull shark chasing down a jewie or a school of tailor etc.

Anyway, when I say don't try it here I'm just saying it tongue-in-cheek, I think it would be a good place to start as Dunc suggests.

Edited November 23, 2012 by markmako

[gavw]

Hi raiders

I took all of the advice mention ( thanks you all )

today went from parramatta river all the way to birch grove

At first it was abit rough with the larger ferry and boat creating big wash but non the less it gave me huge experience and a confidence boost, still not keen enough to take it under the harbour bridge as yet , when I do I will definatly inform you.

I've got an odd issue with my motor, not sure if this is common

I owe a 70hp Johnson 2 stoke around the 1970s 1980s model , is well looked after from the previous owner he only did around 300 hours,

When I start te motor it turns on no problem

Then I would do about 30knots on the water heading to my destination , and came across a sailing boat , I would slow down give way and avoid collision , after the sailing boat has pass , I would accelerate , that's when my problem occurs the motor seem to struggle to give power I can't go any fast then cruising speed.

Reach my destination fish for about an hour,

Turn the motor back on to head off to another spot , motor turns on fine , I would accelerate to 30-40 knots no problem.

This problem only happens when I slow down and then speed up again , the motor seem to struggle and the noise comming from it felt like its over reving.

Does any one know or had similar experience ?

[Nolongeramember]

the motor seem to struggle and the noise comming from it felt like its over reving.

Do you mean when the problem happens, the motor is reving alot higher than it should be for the speed you are traveling?

[AndrewNR]

Sounds like a tilt trim issue. Try to get it at the right angle. At take of have the motor down and raise it slowly upwards as you build speed. Should help.

[gavw]

Do you mean when the problem happens, the motor is reving alot higher than it should be for the speed you are traveling?

it is over reving, seem like is struggling to gain power in the motor

my acceleration stick would be all the way down but it struggle to hit the speed

[gavw]

Sounds like a tilt trim issue. Try to get it at the right angle. At take of have the motor down and raise it slowly upwards as you build speed. Should help.

you actually have a good point there might be a tilt and trim issue

since u mention it im thinking since my petrol tank is at the front of the boat

when i accelerate the nose of the boat would aim toward the sky ,therefore it tilt my petrol tank and it struggle to feed petrol into the motor

thanks everyone on fishraiders for giving me advice and solutions to solve my issue

[dunc333]

well done today fish1 with the southerly blowing you did very well, as i was out there today to,after the bridge to the heads though it was twofold what it was west of the harbour bridge and not a very nice trip in a 18foot boat i was in,pushing back into the southuly from the heads to the bridge was slow and bumpy and me being in the passenger seat got a little soaked lol, to me it sounds like a cavitation prob or a prop hub prob ,if you can give some more info im sure some raiders might be able to help but very hard dionostic vy the keyboard.

Edited December 2, 2012 by dunc333