Hey all, just bought my first boat (19ft semi cabin with inboard) and planning our first trip to rotto for a post exams party.

We've never done this before so I thought id ask for some advice.

What kind of safety gear will we need? (PFDs, eperbs, radios)
Are there boat pens in rottnest?
Is it a bad idea to tow a small dinghy behind us? (ive seen people do it, they store their petrol and auxiliary motor on it and use it for transport around rottnest).
The boat has 4 seats, 2 front and 2 either side of the motor box. Is it ok to have 6 people and travel slowly?


Ive been playing around in little 6-8hp boats most of my life, but next week will be taking rec skippers ticket so i will know more about the posts and protocols :)

Any advice is appreciated :)

Fremantle Sea Rescue.. 93351332.

Were are you leaving from? It also pays to understand the Island bays and leads into each one, or at least Thompsons before you leave. Its not a case of just driving up to the Island, there are a few reefs in between when you get close

But bit of planing and you'll be fine. If your North of the river i wouldn't mind if you wanted to drop in and i can give you a few easy pointers on a map.

My Boat Yard is in Joondalup.

www.boatshack.com.au

There is always this option ... for anyone new to travelling to Rotto
not to sure when they are going though.

And just because you can, does'nt mean you should..

What I mean by this is even if your boat is licenced to take 6 people, does'nt mean you should take 6 people.
Just because the corridor between Freo and Rotto is EPIRB exempt, does'nt mean you should'nt carry one.
If you stick your nose out of the heads and you get a gut feeling that you should'nt go, then dont. I did that this weekend just gone and kicked myself the entire weekend. But your better off being on shore wishing you were at sea than at sea wishing you were on shore.

And the fact that you are asking questions show that you are being somewhat resposible. Dont be swayed be mates charged up on a dew tinnies to do something that you don't want to (or should'nt) do..

And dont just sign on with the local VMR, become a member. It's only 35 bucks a year..

EPIRB, life jackets, offshore flares, CB radio, anchor with at least 50m of rope/chain as a minimum.
Make sure you keep an eye on the weather. Even with a 15 knot easterly and bit of swell it gets pretty lumpy and rough out there. It'll look nice from shore but don't be decieved.
As JB said you it's not just a case of driving straight into rotto where ever you please. Lots of reefs and shallow water around so make sure you know all your cardinal markers etc. Get your hands on a marine chart with water depths etc if you can and have a look over that.
You'll p!ss it in in a 19 footer but wouldn't recommend taking 6 people unless the weather is going to be tiptop. There and back!!
If you've only just got the boat you'd want too if you haven't already take it for a good run in the river or not to far offshore to make sure it does everything it's spose too. Would recommend getting the outboard serviced if you aren't certain when it had it's last one. Small price to pay for a bit of piece of mind.
Enjoy and congrats on the new boat.

A lot of people have commented on the gear but I'll have a crack on the driving. On my 17 footer I take it easy, bloody easy if it's rough. You use less fuel and you still get there. If in doubt, slow down. As long as the nose is up (mine about 8 - 10 knots) it won't roll in swell even though it feels like it will. Don't try to be a man and 'power through' swells or anything, slow down and let them roll past. Go down swells about 45 degrees I find, if you go straight it will speed up and the bow will plough in to the bottom (fark'n scary).

Now I am a conservative boater by all means, but my budget is very very limited and I'm a realist. I get the on a bucket (no bilge), 27mhz radio (which wasn't working for a while) and I've taken four people and two eskys on a mild day. What I am saying is, I can't see 6 people being a problem on 19 foot of solid boat. Go slow!

Here's some of my dodgy safety tips that hopefully make up for lack of bilge / EPIRB:
1)Scatter your life jackets across the floor. If it tips they'll float out (don't lock them away!)
2)Leave one or two boards unstrapped. Again, they'll float.
3)Take heaps of fuel
4)Log in with sea rescue (channel 90) VN6DI

Sounds like a recipe for either a comedy of errors, or a disaster, I cant' tell yet.

If you have a crack at it stay off the grog until you get there, dumb **** happens to people when they are half pissed.

Timmyz said...

Hey all, just bought my first boat (19ft semi cabin with inboard) and planning our first trip to rotto for a post exams party.


Any advice is appreciated :)

First thing you need to do is make your self independent of shore support.

This is more an attitudinal and confidence thing than anything else.

Grab your guts in your hand and do it.

If you are committed to doing it, why would you seek advice on an internet forum over the advice you might get at the boat ramp or the local club.

Who perpetrated this idea that the answers to all practical problems are available on the internet.

If you don't go you'll never know.

You gotta be innit to winnitt.

Life is uncertain. Death is not.

Go forth where the feint hearted dare not.

It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Here's one more of my dodgey safety tricks. I ALWAYS charge the battery over night before I leave. And I get a spare charged battery and just put it in the boat somewhere. You wouldn't believe how often I see a dead battery ruining someone's day. My spare battery has saved me a few times. Throw that and two adjustable spanners into the boat. Or if you have more money, get double battery. But if like me, just carry a spare.

cisco said...

Timmyz said...

Hey all, just bought my first boat (19ft semi cabin with inboard) and planning our first trip to rotto for a post exams party.


Any advice is appreciated :)

First thing you need to do is make your self independent of shore support.

This is more an attitudinal and confidence thing than anything else.

Grab your guts in your hand and do it.

If you are committed to doing it, why would you seek advice on an internet forum over the advice you might get at the boat ramp or the local club.

Who perpetrated this idea that the answers to all practical problems are available on the internet.

If you don't go you'll never know.

You gotta be innit to winnitt.

Life is uncertain. Death is not.

Go forth where the feint hearted dare not.

It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

20km offshore
6ft faces on CHOP even if there is no swell
Reef from 1cm to 1m deep all around the island. Liek I said, a Nav nightmare. People with sounders and charts still get fkd up there.
And he has zero ocean experience. Sameh has done the trip for 30yrs and still has problems.

But you, all the way from Qld, knows best.

Dunno if you thought you were being funny but how would you feel if soembody took your advice and died? All of them on the boat, dead.
Good form.

BTW asking here probably is best as the "local club" could be full of people with yachts (probably) who have never gone to Rotto. The ramp could be full of weekend warriors chasing whiting 200m offshore (probably)
Maybe he has asked at both and wanted to be safe. Just cos he asked online, I'd not be critical.

southace said...
Computer says "YES"

Can you post a picture of your 19 footer?

10nm @ 6knots computer says 1.35hrs.

Computer says 1 hr crossing until reasonable shelter.

Fuel @ 6 ltrs per hour = 10ltrs give or take a little.

2 80kg dudes forward,2 80kg dudes midships, and 2 aft..... Everything balanced total loading 500kg

Would be an awesome adventure!

At 6 knots most 19 foot planing hulls will be ploughing their noses and will be almost impossible to steer. The direct line to rotto from the heads is around 12 nautical miles. With the average 2 metre swell and cross shore seas you will encounter once you move out beyond the wind and wave breaking lee of garden island to your south you may find that you will actually travel a whole lot more than 12 nm as you travel up and down the wave faces and in and out of troughs. Most sub 6 metre boats in perth are pertrol sterndrive powered, with either mercruiser, or volvo motors, or heaven forbid,old chrysler sterndrives. Even the old 4 cylinder mercs and volvos will burn around 25 to 50 litres per hour depending on load, conditions and trim. At dispacement speeds ie under 12 to 14 knots most of the older engines couldnt get enough water into them to cool them down, glazed up spark plugs etc etc. ie in general older sterndrives generally dont like prolonged low speed work. I too would love to,see a pic of the vessel because different hulls perform better at different speeds. The best advice for a novice going to sea in a new vessel is to find your planing speed, that is the speed that the bulk of the vessel lifts itself out of the water and raises its nose out of the waves. In most older planing hulls this will be somewhere between 10-14 knots. When on the plane your boat will handle appropriately, you will ride over most smaller,waves and chop and not plough trough them and you will remove the strain and load off your engine as you will have substantially less volume in the water for the engine to push. On a good day with a light easterly and low swell a good 14 to 18 knots is an excellent speed to tackle this trip. At this speed you will get to rotto from the heads in under an hour and your trip should be comfortable. At 19 feet your vessel shoud have enough displacement and volume for 6 passnengers if your engine has enough power and torque to reach planing speeds with the weight of six passengers . I wouldnt take 6 people to rottnest though in a small boat,if it was my first attempt. Without knowing your vessel im just speculating, however most earlier sterndrives had a very narrow performance band, that is the point where they could provide enough power to lift a heavy fibreglass hull out of the water onto the plane. In many instances a 4th or 5th passengers weight was too much for these rigs and they just couldnt get out of the hole. Its essential to know your vesses and its capacity. Ive seen the trip to rotto done by crazies in a 12 foot tinnie on a perfect day with no swell and no wind and they did it easily, ive also been out there in my old vessel the former marine and harbours pilot boat mv wyndham where on the same route ive taken a wave that broke into the flybridge, and taken a couple on the side that almost broached the old girl. Last year fremantle sea rescue had to help, nearly 700 vessels, most of those attempting the rotto run. Hence get as much advice, and prefferably go with some one or another vessel that has done the trip before and as previously said use common sense. If you get to the boat ramp and its blowing onshore and theres anything over a 2 metre swell happening, go to the pub instead!

6 people plus how many cartons of beer plus swags etc. the boat is going to be overloaded, won't sit right in the water and will not handle properly.

The number of times a year that the weather stays nice enough that you will have a pleasant trip out to and back from rotto over the course of a weekend are quite small. You have played around in small boats so must know how miserable things can get very quickly. Even a moderate seabreeze will make for a very uncomfortable experience.

Firstly as the skipper... I'm just saying... don't bloody attempt to drive back in a seabreeze with a skinful of piss

You can certainly do the trip, but I'd put most of the people on the ferry. And the date will have to be set by the weather forecast, not the end of exams. You should be able to get a decent trip out in a light early morning easterly, for the trip back you may well have to play it by ear and wait for reasonable weather. It's not rocket science but you need to have a very healthy respect for rough sea.
Be sure that the radio and gps is not just bling, it's no good to you or sea rescue if you don't know how to use it or where you are.

And as other people have said, playing with the boat a bit in the river and sound till you know her limitations and reliability would make a lot more sense.

PaddlePig said...
Here's one more of my dodgey safety tricks. I ALWAYS charge the battery over night before I leave. And I get a spare charged battery and just put it in the boat somewhere. You wouldn't believe how often I see a dead battery ruining someone's day. My spare battery has saved me a few times. Throw that and two adjustable spanners into the boat. Or if you have more money, get double battery. But if like me, just carry a spare.

Good advice ^^^^, + plus always prepare for your trip the day before as a minimum, including running your motor at home the day before for a 4 or 5 Minutes.

Wow....reading this thread made me think that it is all really too much effort and expense to go to Rotto on your own boat.