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To Yak Or Tinnie... That Is The Question!


Danielle

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So here are my thoughts...

Id LOVE to own a watercraft. In an ideal world this would mean a boat for myself and the kiddies and friends/family. The logistics however have me feeling it is a pipedream ie. Initial cost, rego, motor maintenance, inexperience on the open water, 4cyl hatchback, oh and not yet having a boat licence. Obviously the licence is an easy fix. The cost of a boat isn't unachievable but the other issues aren't ideal.

A Kayak on the other hand feels like a good start. 

I could google to my hearts content  but I need objective advice/opinions.  Please tell me everything you feel I should know. It's especially important I can lift, carry and launch alone. Getting the draggy trolley trailer thing would assist in getting it to and fro the water I understand but can I lift it onto the roof (what kind of roof racks??). A pedal powered and Oar or forget the pedals?? Or attach a small outboard?

if I'm on and it's a decent size will I be dragged to New Zealand? Do you anchor yaks?? If I pulled up a stingray who would come and calm me and cut the line? Could a shark tip me over/eat me?

IF Someone has the time, patience and a spare yak would you take me for a driving lesson?

 

This kind of helpful relative advice!

 

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Good question Danielle. Firstly, how old are your kids and how many? This will determine to some degree what sized boat you would require and/or determine where you could take it (ie. creeks/rivers, close in Bay - Wello Pt for example - or further afield). If you went the boat option you should be able to pick up the experience/confidence pretty quickly - the main key is drive within yourself to begin with and take a safety first approach. 

Tinnies are cheap to run and depending on how often you use it, in my opinion (based on what I do but I'm no motor expert, in fact quite the opposite) you could probably service the motor (prob $150-200 for a small tinny motor - 15-30hp) every 2 years and be fine.

You should be able to move a 2.7m kayak around and get it on/off a hatchback fine. Roof options are either install roofracks or use 'soft racks' which are removeable, like a neoprene (I think?) covered long thin bean bag that sit on your roof and the straps go through the windows and clip together inside your car. I have heard that they aren't great for roofs however so depending on the quality of your car you may want to research that.  If you get a kayak definitely get a trolley as they make things easy (I'm yet to use my 4.1m kayak, which is obviously heavier than what you'll get, but the trolley makes moving it easy).

You can anchor kayaks and you certainly can attached an electric motor. There was a post on here by a new member that Angus knows who owns/runs a kayak and fishing store in Jindalee and organises come and try kayak social days so that would be a good option to try some out, ask questions and get an idea of the extra equipment required.

If you decide to buy a kayak you'll find good second hand deals on Gumtree if you look regularly and are patient. You can also get cheap package deals in the 2.7m size range on Ebay - 'Chinese' made but for the price may be worth looking at. Freak kayaks have/do support the site (not sure which currently) and have good kayaks also.

If you decide to buy a boat you'll get a good package for not a heap of money, again the more often you search and the more patient you are, the better the deal/package.

Good luck with your search.

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A small tinny around 3.5m is suitable for calm waters but you do need to be aware of the wake of larger vessels.

You only need a license if the motor is greater than 4.5kw.

If the motor is 3kw or less you do not need to register the boat.

 That size is quite capable of being towed by your car.

Trailer rego is aprox $100.

I personally would not advise trying to car top a tinny.

There are loading devices available to assist loading a yak on to roof racks

Cheers

Ray

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Things to think about
(may or may not be an issue)

If you look around can get a small second hand tinnie in good nick cheaper than you would get one of the peddle kayaks new,

Cost you between 3 and $500 to fit a tow bar.

A Box trailer is my chosen method of transporting kayaks rather than on the roof of the car, lot easier to handle, no salt water on the car.

4hp motors and smaller (those you dont have to register) tend not to have reverse, you have to turn the motor 180 degrees in the mount, some it works well, some it is a pain.

If the boat is registered, your kids will have to wear life jackets all the time it is not anchored (unless you go larger than 4.8m)

plenty of small estuaries etc around more than suitable for a small tinnie, but be careful taking one on the bay. Wind can get up and make things unpleasant pretty quickly.

 

My recommendation - you want to involve the kids, a tinnie between 3.5 and 4m with a 15 to 20hp motor would give you lots of options.

 

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Hmmmm... See I would only want something very small not much power to do out the front of the bay, pin, The spit, the Broadwater, dams, rivers. So probably  less than 4.5... I would make the children wear a life jacket anyway lol.

Seen a few on gumtree around $800 inc trailer... That's still a lot of money for me but for the amount Id use it excellent value...

what about the inflatable dinghys? Lots of them about.

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Hi Danielle,

A number of years ago I asked myself the same question (minus consideration for the kids)

I was extremely limited on funds, so I ended up with a cheap kayak. To be honest, I got sick of it pretty quickly. It wasn't a very social experience unless I made the effort to link up with other kayaks and I could only use it in creeks and small rivers. I Capsized it once and I lost all my gear (didn't have it tied down) which put me out of action for ages.

Then I bought an old 2 person sailing catamaran and trailer for peanuts, put an electric motor on it and started getting around in that. It was only capable of handling creeks etc

Then I bought a **** tinny for $1200. It had a **** motor and I broke down all over the place. Over time I needed to upgrade every aspect of the tinny. New motor, new trailer, new sounder etc etc etc. Bloody expensive exercise to get it to a usable condition.

Now I am finally biting the bullet, spending a little more and buying something that is reliable and will get me to the places I really want to go. 

My advise would be consider the places you want to go in the boat and save the money to do it right the first time. You will spend way less in the long run.

In my opinion a 12ft tinny with a 15hp is the perfect place to start for anyone new to boating. You will be able to get a good example for around 2k. With something of this size you can cover heaps of ground and explore all over the Southern bay in the right conditions. It will also cost very little to run and you will be able to enjoy the water with a friend or two.  

 

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When i was in the market for a new water craft i was really keen on getting a hobie peddle powered kayak so i took a friends out for a test run and wasn't all that impressed, the turning circle on them is crap unless you have a small paddle handy and i do a lot of my fishing in extremely tight country so that wasn't going to work. I saved a little more for another 6 months and bought a 3.5m tinny (bought it off this forum actually!) It is perfect for all the fishing i do mainly in the dam but occasionally broad water and canal stuff. Having the ability to stand up and not have to worry about falling out all the time is a real bonus plus all the extra storage you have in a boat compared to a kayak. I think if you want to take the young ones out the tinny would be the go and you can put a bimini top on for shade! ( picked mine up with a minn kota electric motor, trailer, 3.5 tinny and 15hp yammy for $2300 down from the original $3000 price tag. There were a couple of other costs including boat license and tow bar which was another $400 roughly. Yearly running and rego costs are bugger all.

 

Cheers, Glenn.

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@sax that's all extremely helpful, honestly thank you for taking the time to respond!  I do like the idea of being able to Kayak during the day when the little people are getting an education as I'm told I'm unable to work (what a load of BS what do Doctors know lol) so being able to just jump in the car and head for a paddle. I'm not bothered that it's not overly social as by the time I drop the kids off I don't want to talk to anyone anyway haha plus I'm a dopey hippie and I can see myself being distracted with chatter and capsizing if others were around!  It would be an awesome way to get fit.  However it would be a totally selfish purchase and the budding fisherboy and fishergirl would hate me lol. Although I could always tow them on an inflatable flamingo bahaha. A Tinnie on the other hand would mean lots of family fun times. The main issue for me is cost - as a single mumma when the account isn't in debit it's a good day lol.  So now I'm thinking a cheap Kayak setup OR a small Dinghy/tinnie/trailer combo with a tiny 4kw outboard and get my sea legs...  I'll put it in the classified thread too but if anyone has either of these they wish to sell, I'm in the market!

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Question time ..... :)

1. Maximum budget?

2. How many and age of kids? A 1 adult to 1 'young' kid is preferable as a minimum (in my opinion ...)

If you think (for now anyway - you can always upgrade later, it's written in the by-laws of entering boat ownership ..... well, at least that's what I've told my wife ...... ;)) that you'd be happy in a small tinny (let;'s say 12 foot and a 4-6hp motor) then that would be a good, cheap option that would still allow you the chance to tangle with a variety of species (eg. off Wello Pt). Bare in mind however that the boat would move quite slowly so going to the Pin for example, you wouldn't be covering much territory (well, not quickly anyway ....). You'd also have to pick your weather well - especially in exposed areas, even like the Broadwater and even dams.

Don't let that put you off however - you'd soon gain experience boating/fishing a variety of places and depending on the weather forecast for a day you wanted to go fishing, you might just need to be flexible (ie. if it is blowing 15knots, instead of fishing off Wello Pt, you could fish Tingalpa Creek, etc).

I'm thinking a small tinny may be your best option (pending number/age of kids). If your budget allowed and you were patient and snapped up a bargain (they do pop up) you may also be able to acquire a small, cheap kayak. BTW the one you put up is pretty much standard for what you can pick up - for the $350 if you were patient you would find one that also has a sounder already installed.

Good luck :) 

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I agree with what everyone has said here.  A second hand kayak is definitely the cheapest option, but you are limited in what you can do with it, especially with a family.  I believe a tinny would be a better option.  I know cost is an issue, but I would also look at larger motors.  You can go as slow as you want with a larger motor and you have the power there for when your confidence grows.  Some places you mentioned I wouldn't tackle with a 4-6hp motor, the tide just runs too fast.  My grandmother is looking to sell my late grandfather's 3.7m stacer 15hp Evinrude.  PM me if you are interested and ill get some pics and a price. 

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Wow you guys are amazing!

I have 2 little people Boy 11 and little girl 6. So I'm a little outnumbered in the ratio department unfortunately.

what you have all said is right... A 3-4m Tinnie with smallish but not useless motor. Ideally with a trailer.

As for budget, $800 is around my limit. There is a chance my Dad would go halves with me though.

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