why i didn't make it to the swap meet .

[Davo_Dinkum]

well the plan for the weekend was ,go fishing and go to the swap meet .

Scott and his family where going camping darlington park ,we where temped go camping there too .

darlington park is not a bad bush spot to camp on the river and fish for bass .

but i really wanted to go out in the boat fishing and crabbing too.

so i had idea late Thursday arvo ,why not do camping ,fishing ,crabbing ,boating at wave brake island.

so after a busy Thursday night finding the camping gear and Friday morning packing /shopping off we head to camp at wave brake island .

well its always a adventure .

made it to oxley and Scott rings me ,pull over your wheel looks funny .collapsed wheel bearing on the trailer ,so he is just in a car no trailer so he head to my home to grab another hub off one of the other trailers .

so its doesn't fit ,ford hub /ford axle on one boat trailer the other boat trailer is ford hub /Holden axle .

bugger .

so over to super cheap ,grab a bearing set and a tub of grease .

side of the road fitting and off we go .

so we get to the boat ramp a bit latter than planed .

decided to use the little ramp on biggera creek as its closer to the top of wave brake island we had a few trips to do with all the people and gear .

we took 2 boats ,DilliGAF and the tinny ,transported the tinny upside down and on top of the boat ,1 trailer 2 boats .

so boat loaded and off we go.

nope

no reverse or forward on the evinrude .

so have a look ,snapped sheer pin in the prop .

so look for the spare ,nope bought a spare prop but no pin .

so we made one out of a tent peg and off we go .

so we did ok on the trips over ,1 in the tinny and 2 in the boat ,all gear and people moved .

so we end up getting there a few hrs later than planned ,but all good we are there and set up and relax for the night .

we where going to put pots out and fish Friday but it was to late after setting up .

so we sat back and had a beer /dinner and a fire .

so Saturday we fished ,crabbed ,the kids played ,swam and fished and had a great time ,fire and beers at night .

annoying thing Saturday the boat started running rough again,so we just used the tinny to get about .

so we had decided to stay another night ,so Saturday Scott went for supplies and stop at my place and grab a sheer pin ,coils and plugs .

well dropped them at the ramp ,just got out of the river and in the open and the tent peg /sheer ping goes on me .

so with a paddle and the electric i make it back to the ramp ,i make another pin out of a allen key .

that got me back to camp and the ramp later that arvo .

when scott got back ,changed the coil and the allen key/ sheer pin,lucky i did as it was about to snap .

so after that the boat went good no dramas .

so other than a few little annoyances we had a top 4 days /3 night at wave brake island .

the weather was ok for the weekend too ,little windy at times and a few showers but not much hard rain .

few pics of fish caught .

nyomi with a 28 cm bream .

25 cm bream colleen caught .

a butter fish that Rhys caught .

i didn't really fish ,but did end up with a few sand crabs .

i had to work for them a bit .

8 different spots ,lots of weed / agile crap clogging the pots up and one lost pot .

i did fish one night as there was some entertainment on one of the house boats .so i fished /watch the entertainment .

so that's why i didn't make it to the swap meet .

[Cowfish13]

Nice one mate. Great ingenuity with the tent peg

[51MPL]

seems like you had an awsome weekend anyway! good work on makin the engine work over and over lol =]

[tugger]

haven't heard an adventure from ya in a while dave good to see you made it dispite the hicups sound like a great camping weekend

[dan25]

Always enjoy the reports davo, sounds like a fun few days camping. Good stuff

[1800amix]

Davo, do you ever get away WITHOUT a mishap on your expeditions? LOL

[straddiebrad]

mate realy enjoyed the read good to see you pulled through the upsets and had a good weekend,i didnt make it to the swap meet have a few too many the night-morning before.

[grant h]

fair enough.

[Davo_Dinkum]

Davo, do you ever get away WITHOUT a mishap on your expeditions? LOL

i do have trips with out mishaps happening ,but there to boring to report about .

most of the time no mishaps = no fish or adventure .

over the 20 years of owning old cars ,i have repaid /patched up all sorts of stuff on the side of the road .

used to carry 2 tool boxes ,almost the same amount of tools i had at work .

plus duct tape ,cable ties ,wire and assorted nuts and bolts, etc.

my mates used to say i had enough tools to do a rebuild on the side of the road .

my motto was better prepared for the worst .

these days i;m slacker and carry minimum tools ,figure if its to hard get it towed home .

it was a hard slog fixing stuff with a 2 x shifter spanner ,hammer ,2 screw drivers ,pliers and side cutters .

used the jack handle as a punch to knock bearing cups out and sheer pin in .

bush mechanics ,fix /patch up almost anything and keep travelling .lol

[Davo_Dinkum]

fair enough.

the title : why i didn't make it to the swap meet .

is just for something different too my usual : fishing sat 23 /11 or it was a adventure etc .

[bootyinblue]

Few little annoyancers??????

I would have been curled up in the foetal position rocking back and forth after all that!

[Malcolm]

Good stuff Davo

Was there many others camping?

[Davo_Dinkum]

Few little annoyancers??????

I would have been curled up in the foetal position rocking back and forth after all that!

it comes with the territory ,talking a motor form the 70's a boat from the 60's and the trailer probably form the 60 or 70 too.

the tow car (the old 60 series landcruiser) is 1984 its all seen better days and done a million hrs /miles .

the last few months i have been real lazy on maintenance.

usually i would check /replace /repack bearings ,moving parts etc .

[Davo_Dinkum]

Good stuff Davo

Was there many others camping?

about 6 camps on that side of the island and 15 to 20 boats moored up ,pretty quite for a weekend i think .

the bit of wind and rain kept most away i think .

[daveylad]

Good on ya Davo, thanks for the read again, mate if I ever go Bush youre the bloke i would want with me for a mechanic :laugh:

[Keen-as-fisho]

Sounds like a good getaway despite the hickups. Whats the safety like for leaving boats out the front over night? I don't think I would be really keen leaving my car at any of the Gold coast ramps over a weekend. I have left the car/trailer at Rudy mars over a weekend a few times, to camp at coby passage.

[Davo_Dinkum]

boats out the front of camp no dramas ,u can have your boat right out front of cam in eye site .

i set a sliding anchor set at low tide mark over night so always afloat .

boats moored in front of the camping area ,so most of the traffic is on the other side of the moored boats .less waves

i reckon the ramp near the grand hotel or sea world would have more lighting .

but the ramp near the grand hotel mite have more piss heads walking pass too .

but not last wavebreak trip but the one before every1 had there cars there no drams .

but my car is a old banger so if some 1 steeled it would be a blessing .but the cars (Scott's car a later 90's model falcon) and trailer was not touched over the 4 days .

the car / trailer park area was pretty much full every time we where at the ramp ,a lot nicer cars and trailers then mine .some where there for more than 1 day ,so they would have been left over night .

[mick fillet]

despite all the bush mechanics looks like a bloody fantastic week end davo

a good camp set up you got there

[Davo_Dinkum]

despite all the bush mechanics looks like a bloody fantastic week end davo

a good camp set up you got there

if the forecast is there could be some wind and rain a big tarp and a lot of poles ,ropes etc to keep it up are top on my list .

took me 2 bits of shade cloth too ,it helps block some of the wind and rain .

can't really see it well in the picture ,but see how u can't see the tent .that's cause there is 2 bits of black shade cloth up .

there about 5 foot high 10 foot long ,nothing fancy no eyelets or stitched sides .i just tied some rope to the ends and hook it over the tent poles .it dose the job .

stops wind and rain but still lets some breeze through .

[ellicat]

Looks like a top few days, Davo.

Is there plenty of fuel to burn or would you recommend taking your own firewood ?

[Davo_Dinkum]

Looks like a top few days, Davo.

Is there plenty of fuel to burn or would you recommend taking your own firewood ?

there was a fair bit about the camp site ,but it was green .but a cup of 2 stroke got it going .

Saturday the kids where on firewood duty ,in a hr and a bit they found enough dry wood for 2 nights .

i think if u have the room to transport it a bag of mill off cuts would be the go .

just so u have some dry wood / starter wood .

[ryanyoung]

Good read mate, and here I am selling you a dodgy boat ha ha ha!!!! Good work on the repairs,

Ryan.

[Davo_Dinkum]

hahaha ryan .

boat been ok ,just a few bugs / maintenance / mods to be sorted and all good .

[fergie]

hahaha, u crack me up davo. if there's one bloke on here that has adventures, it's you. lol.

by the way if you have pic's of the other scenery. don't be afraid to share.:laugh: :laugh:

[Davo_Dinkum]

i tried but the camera would not work ,they where to far away .

only got a small and medium distance lens ,but i'm going to get a long distance lens .

so i'm ready if i ever see it again .:)