Thread: Boat nearly threw us out - why?

Originally Posted by workingonit

Thanks Bearman. Was out a few times in a friends boat crossing the water to places like Gun Point, the Bottle Washer and a few other areas, fishing and crabbing. We went out on different occasions in two different boats that he owned, a Bar Crusher (?) and a more basic plate boat with welded in floor which seemed more practical for cleaning out. I used to do a small amount of scuba diving years ago so not entirely unfamiliar with boats, but still claim to be novice - having said that I do like to keep my head above water and sometimes wonder if I should have saved a bit more and got a poly boat. Before going to sea with my friend my son and I spent many days trying to fish from the shore, from the few bridges and elswhere but the mangoes midges dominate. So having experienced the freedom of boat fishing I took the plung on a second hand unit on the side of the road. The boat at the time of sale was also tethered to a second hand Disco Tdi300, something I had also been thinking of buying. Got both.

Just this unscheduled right turn at speed, but left tilt, was completely unexpected, novice or not.

By the way, you have a tag 1985 110 V8 County (soon to be Isuzued) - have you done the conversion yet? I've got the engine and matching Isuzu gearbox to put into my 82 RRC and have been watching a couple of threads where some conversion kit options have become available or will soon be available to allow gear changes and mount the transfer case. Might be of interest to you. Cheers.

Good one, you got the daily double in one. Can I ask what brand of tinny it is.
With regards to the County, I still haven't done the Isuzu conversion yet, the V8 is still waiting patiently for me to find some time to get around to it. I have all the bits to do it but other projects like a new shed and work, sickness etc have taken precedence as far as time goes. I have done a couple of conversions before so I don't anticipate any snags although I am going the easy way with LT95A gearbox and I have a 110 chassis with the Isuzu mounts as well. So it all just bolts straight up. Most likely will have a perentie 110 project on my hands in the not too distant future as well

The boat has no brand markings as far as I can tell - has what might be some Western Australian rego number? Plate construction. Tinny is pressed?

surely if the boat was under power there would be no outward lean?
so whatever caused you a problem,, it was not the boat.

Ean is onto it, but out of interest does you outboard have a fin of any flavour bolted to the anti-ventilation plate?

You mention cable steering which for all intents and purposes is direct 1:1 attachment to the motor. If you hit a tidal eddy and the load is then amplified by a fin on the leg you will never be able to resist the reefing on the wheel... A fin amplifies any differential load one side of the leg to the other. Hydraulic steering may indeed have helped with the issue at hand combined with more river knowledge.

In my experience what happened to you is not that uncommon in narrow boats (think wahoo/hooker dories) Spend a few years in one and you read the water very differently to something with more beam. BUT narrow beam is why you can get away with minimal horsepower and still have good performance. Everything in boating is a compromise. Which is why you need at least three boats probably more

Steve

Good guess, yes, has a fin 400 wide at its end just above the prop. Should I surf the Elizabeth without it

Beam is 1800mm or 6 foot.

It is my opinion and many others that know their shizzle that a properly set up boat has no need for a fin. They are a crutch... Just to keep it landy oriented they are like a "return-to-centre" steering damper. Fix the underlying problem and end up with a better result.

Issues to look at are motor height, prop size, pitch and cupping, and weight distribution.

1800 is the same width as a 'dory' and as I mentioned above you will learn how to surf it with time Nothing more fun than running home with an angry building sea, 25kn from the SE in the 5m waho, 60yam on the tiller... must be the surfer deep within me! Just gotta make sure that if you mis-time and punch through a green one that first your passengers dont panic and grab your arm and also that you keep headway and keep the scuppers working!

Anyways, my guess is that being a territory rig it is a relatively heavy, and you carry pretty good weights (esky, ice, beer, camping gear etc etc) and that the fin was put on to give some lift in the tail. With some planning and experimentation you should be able to lose the fin and end up safer in the current. Or put in some non-feedback steering such as hydraulic. Or upgrade the donk to a 140zuk, that way the only thing in the water will be the prop hitting every thrid pressure wave and you wont have a chance to bog in and get broached.

Steve

Any chance of a pic of the boat???
Andrew

Steve. The fin came with the boat so don't know if there are any underlying issues that previous owners might have been trying to remedy.

Found a WA rego sticker expiring 2005 on it so may be a WA construction? So its likely to have been in the Territory in various hands for many years.

Andrew. Will try but no promises (it needs a clean)