Hi All Finally pulled up stumps and retired to much cheaper SA from Kangaroo Valley NSW. I was going to tour Australia towing my very large and comfortable trailable hybrid yacht/powerboat Imexus 28 as a combination caravan, trailable houseboat, sailing expedition craft with high speed planing power cruiser combination figuring this was enough options!
A new partner met 2.5years ago who whilst now learning to sail also loves her mountains, deserts and forests as a very experienced backpacker has seen the package upgraded to be towed by a small AWD truck with slide on camper mounted. It is now planned to sometimes leave the yacht when travelling in storage close to the coast whilst we venture inland and sometimes we will just take the inflatable kayaks and leave the yacht behind. ( Especially for Tasmania and KI where transporting the truck and camper, which is under 6 metres with bikes on the back, is cheap) whilst including the yacht makes these trips prohibitively expensive.
We are currently living onboard the Imexus 28 for a projected 6-8 weeks ( 9 days in ) whilst travelling the navigable length of the Murray River starting at our back jetty in. Wellington East SA. We have just returned from WA with just the truck slide on camper combination not having time to sail in WA as it was an unplanned and rushed trip. Both trips have not seen us stay in paid overnight parking whilst we did pay for a shower in a waterside caravan park today.
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Saturday 2nd of July 2022 10:33:56 PM
Hi Trailer sailor , could you please show us some picks of the inside and outside of your little ship .
Bit messy inside at present, 10 days living onboard sailing up the Murray at present with another 4-6 weeks anticipated. Not so little really being one of the largest trailer sailers that can be towed by a regular 4x4 without special restrictions. About equivalent to towing a 26-28 foot caravan whilst internally more like a 20 foot size. Typing and posting photos whilst sailing. No mobile phone cameras out here!
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 3rd of July 2022 01:38:17 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 3rd of July 2022 01:51:22 PM
Hi Trailer sailor , could you please show us some picks of the inside and outside of your little ship .
Bit messy inside at present, 10 days living onboard sailing up the Murray at present with another 4-6 weeks anticipated. Not so little really being one of the largest trailer sailers that can be towed by a regular 4x4 without special restrictions. About equivalent to towing a 26-28 foot caravan whilst internally more like a 20 foot size. Typing and posting photos whilst sailing. No mobile phone cameras out here!
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 3rd of July 2022 01:38:17 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 3rd of July 2022 01:51:22 PM
Fantastic looking set up & great plan. I'm very envious but wish you the best.
Enjoy.
Just wish that I was a sailor.
The only sail craft that I have owned was a 'Sail Fish'. We made the single fixed sail craft from ply & had a great time racing around close in Moreton Bay, running rings around the fleets of mouldy Moths that were popular at the time. We used to come home covered in blood from sharp things on the deck & bruises all over from poor seamanship, but with great big smiles on our dials & lots of great stories of our exploits. The best that I can do these days is Sit On Top kayaks away from the lumpy stuff, but enjoy it immensely none the less with a similar collection of blood & bruises from an ageing body.
The last time I went "sailing" was on the Basingstoke canal one Sunday afternoon when I, wife and two young sons hired a rowing boat; being the manly, nautical, tough guy I hopped into the boat first and seated myself; the young man (18 years?) who was organising things for us asked me "Are you going to row?" - to which I proudly replied "Yes!" - so he said "In that case, if I were you I'd sit the other way around."
Some yer win... some yer lose.... :)
__________________
"I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think it possible you may be mistaken"
Oliver Cromwell, 3rd August 1650 - in a letter to the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland
Hi All You dont have to be much of a sailer to enjoy a trailable yacht for camping. Something like a Jarcat6 catamaran or Macgregor 26 Power sailer can allow you to be a motorboat initially and ease gently into doing some sailing in perfect conditions. Its just fun messing about in boats but for free camping in magnificent spots it takes some beating.
Hi All You dont have to be much of a sailer to enjoy a trailable yacht for camping. Something like a Jarcat6 catamaran or Macgregor 26 Power sailer can allow you to be a motorboat initially and ease gently into doing some sailing in perfect conditions. Its just fun messing about in boats but for free camping in magnificent spots it takes some beating.
Had a 5m runabout once, a hole in the water that you throw money into they say. You need deep pockets.
We had some fun offshore at the back of Garden Island, fishing, crayfish and crabbing.
The last time I went "sailing" was on the Basingstoke canal one Sunday afternoon when I, wife and two young sons hired a rowing boat; being the manly, nautical, tough guy I hopped into the boat first and seated myself; the young man (18 years?) who was organising things for us asked me "Are you going to row?" - to which I proudly replied "Yes!" - so he said "In that case, if I were you I'd sit the other way around."
Some yer win... some yer lose.... :)
That reminds me of the last time I went sailing. It was on a 12m yacht built for the America's cup. I think it was the sister to the one that sunk. Anyway, it was skippered by John Bertrand as we sailed in the Sydney regatta.
We lost to the supermaxi 'Shockwave'. We never really had a chance but I thought it was great fun on the coffee grinder for the mainsail. We were so fast and enjoyed ourselves so much that we all agreed to continue sailing the course a second time.
Yes I have to agree that boats are a hole in the water you throw money into but our friends currently sailing with us up the Murray have been doing it for 30 years in their 7.5 meter now nearly 50 year old trailer sailer on a pension and have done so many sailing adventures they have lost count. At least there are no campground or caravan park fees, once you are sailing your fuel cost are fairly minimal and it depends if you pay others for repairs and maintenance or can do these yourself.
The last time I went "sailing" was on the Basingstoke canal one Sunday afternoon when I, wife and two young sons hired a rowing boat; being the manly, nautical, tough guy I hopped into the boat first and seated myself; the young man (18 years?) who was organising things for us asked me "Are you going to row?" - to which I proudly replied "Yes!" - so he said "In that case, if I were you I'd sit the other way around."
Mike, you can row facing both ways, facing backwards and sitting seems to be the Aussie way, but standing and facing forwards with the right oars is also done in some countries, Italy I think for one.
Try racing them offshore. We've had a mast come down, torn mainsails, torn spinnakers all on different races. It becomes thousands, if not tens of thousands. I was glad I was just crew, not owner.
Try racing them offshore. We've had a mast come down, torn mainsails, torn spinnakers all on different races. It becomes thousands, if not tens of thousands. I was glad I was just crew, not owner.
Been there done that. Try motor racing for burning through dollars. It can make yachting look cheap. :) I have just retired around the corner from The Bend Motorsport Park but getting the old race car out of mothballs could cost me more than money!
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Wednesday 6th of July 2022 07:45:33 PM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Wednesday 6th of July 2022 07:49:55 PM
Yes.. Give me sailing over motoring any day. Even with the drama and scary times, nothing beats it (except flying as I used to do that too). Both have aerofoils.
Its interesting that we both like low horsepower fun but also have high horsepower thrills.
-- Edited by KevinJ on Wednesday 6th of July 2022 08:15:36 PM
We are back home now after nearly 6 weeks sailing/motoring/camping on the Murray River midwinter. We stayed one night in a luxury hotel in Waikarie and had a few caravan park showers whilst the superb on river overnight camping spots were free. The beauty of the slow passing scenery and peacefulness and tranquility of sailing/living on our 28 foot trailable yacht is hard to beat with conventional caravanning or camping in my view. We walked on shore most mornings just stepping off the bowsprit onto the bank and pulled into small riverside towns for occasional pub and restaurant meals. All our stuff was onboard with us and apart from a few fresh food topups we carried everything with us. Its completely different from driving and then parking your camper or van as toilet, fridge, kitchen and just about everything else is on hand at all times. If you can handle a fishing dingy then the transition to a trailer sailer is fairly easy as its not racing with every possible bit of sail hoisted and the boat leaning right over in every gust. Most of the trip we just used the Genoa ( main headsail) which furls away (wraps around the forestay like a roller blind) with a pull on its furling line and is very easy to manage. Our friends who sailed in company on their yacht have been retired and travelling both on water and land for over 30years using their trailer sailer as an on land and water caravan. :)
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 7th of August 2022 08:53:49 AM
-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Sunday 7th of August 2022 08:59:03 AM
The things I see ............the things I have seen
Boats are an expensive toy (but great fun)
Be they sail, power or paddle, in the wrong hands they are a disaster.
I have seen it all.
From paddlers being blown out to sea or across the lake, to huge cruisers misreading the navigation aids and running aground.
Speed boats breaking in half on rough water, motors leaping from the transom even propellors disappearing, never to be seen again.
We have assisted people who just don't realise that a boat uses several times the amount of fuel at full throttle that they do at cruise.
For instance, my Stabicraft 16 foot has a 90hp Merc motor.
At 20 kts it uses about 18 liters an hour
at 45 kts it uses 68 liters and hour
If I take it easy I can travel from one end of Lake Mac to the other and back on a 1/4 of a tank
At full throttle I can barely get to the other end of the lake without running out of fuel.
then there are the other boaters.
Honestly, about 10% know the rules and even less know what the navigation aids are telling them.
So many run aground because they don't know how to read the Cardinal marks or don't know what they mean.
Back in the 50's an old Kapok Mattress and a timber paling had us sailing across Botany Bay several times - always had to swim back to shore when our "Boats" sunk.
They used to have a range of Kyeemah to Ramsgate OK, Kyeemah to Bare Island if water was calm enough, tried Kyeemagh to Kurnell a few times ended up swimming the end bit.
Kyeema was always the launch base as it was near the rubbish tip where we got the old mattresses. They were dumped by the hundreds when everybody changed over to innerspring types (they had a range of about 50 meters best).
Corrugated tin canoes were sometimes used as well - they tended to be a bit unstable as we didn't affix any keel - a couple of lads made outrigger floats that helped keep them upright.
It's miraculous that we survived our adventures with little more than jellyfish stings and sunburn.
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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
After learning all I know about boating by paddling about the Bremer River in rafts made from old aircraft belly tanks, a mate & I decided to build a plywood 'Sailfish'. At least that's what I think the surfboard like hull with a single sail was called. Not much different from today's sailboards, except that you sat down on it & hung on for dear life.
It was a speed machine.
We had a great time on it, one or two up, racing flat chat around and through the fleets of mouldy moths of the Moreton Bay yacht clubs. I don't think that we were very popular, but it was great fun.
That's the only watercraft that I owned until I discovered Kayaks. I just wish that I had done so 20 years or so earlier, so that I could safely paddle in a touring type Sit Inside kayak. I just have to make do with my Sit on Tops.
