Flatty Friday 24.07.2020 Sydney Reefs

[zmk1962]

Thanks Jerry, yup I pretty much discovered that googling. I came across this document which states:

"The Ermington Wharf road boat Ramp is located on the Council boundary between the cities of Ryde and Parramatta. Funds for the upgrade came from a joint Council submission to NSW Maritime under their Better Boating Program."

https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/files/assets/public/media-releases/archive/2010/120210_new-wharf-street-boat-ramp-boost-for-riverlife-and-boaties.pdf?BestBetMatch=ermington boat ramp|3c8f701e-192c-41d1-b9df-c92ac23bbc06|53be59ec-f85b-495f-8ca6-37b1fb6d9dec|

So I plan to write to NSW Maritime first and ask whom do I need to approach - after all they funded it.

Re driving with coupling locks ... I delved into this just over a year ago with Service NSW/RMS/Police as a result of a Fish Raider discussion... and like you I used to tow with it attached for the past 20+yrs ... turns out its not legal and you may get fined. The police require the trailer to be able to be removed without any tools. Hence why I now only fit them at ramp and at home when parked.

The full discussion is here - please read to the end.

Cheers Z

[wrxhoon1]

That was when they widened the ramp, I remember when it was just gravel, I used the Meadowbank ramp then. It doesn't exist now, river cat berths there. Back in the day with carby 2 smokes and boats with small tanks I used Rose Bay when fishing wide to conserve fuel. I haven't had that issue for many years now, engines use a  lot less fuel and fishing boats as a rule have big tanks.

I think you will find the coupling lock you use is not recommended to be locked while your driving, hence the H/patrol warning to you.

I can't find anything on the AVR rules to say that the trailer can't be locked on the hitch when driven. A lot the time cops don't know the rules they are enforcing. A quick example I was reversing not wearing a seat belt and the cop wanted to give me a ticket, he didn't know you don't have to wear one when reversing.

Not saying that you should or shouldn't use the lock, it is up to you what you decide to do, I will continue to use mine.

For the record I'm not using one of those , my coupling has a built in lock but I use a wheel clamp as well.

I don't use locks on the chains, no point my chains are bolted on not welded. In any case you only slow the thief down you can't stop it. A cheap battery grinder will cut anything, cameras are a better deterrent these days, much better than alarms. The problem is when they steal the trailer, what do you do with the boat? At the end of the day the insurance will pay . You can also put a tracker on the trailer and you know where the trailer is but you still have the boat in the water.