North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Hi All,
So in 1997 I purchased my first boat, a special order unpainted OMC Stacer 370 Proline V nose punt from Lewis Marine in Hobart. At that point in time I didn't have the skill sets I have now so I paid them an obscene amount of money to fit it out with a front casting platform and flat floor between the bench seats, built a trailer to put it on (Ok, so maybe I did have the basic skills just no confidence to hook into a brand new hull or a dedicated aluminum welder), conned my old man into giving me the outboard out of his shed an 18hp Mercury "Super" that puched way above its' weight, hocked my soul a second time to buy a 27lb(?) transom mount Minn Kota that I eventually modified to mount on the bow and the rest is history.

At the time this style of boat was extremely rare if not unheard of in Tasmania and for a number of years I constantly fielded questions at the boat ramp about the hull, where it came from, and of course, the electric motor. The response "I had it modified (boat and motor) to be like this raised many an eyebrow and locally spawned a slew of similar rigs in short order. Over the years the hull has recieved 4 refits, 3 trailer rebuilds (For one reason or another I've always been too tight to buy one). Several electronics and electric outboard upgrades and 2 motors the first having to be replaced due to theft. The second motor, a Mercury 15hp, in reality a rebadged Tohatsu has countless hours on it and has gone through almost two 20l drums of two stroke oil at 50:1 plus random 1l litre bottles with "damn, I forgot the oil" moments if that's any indication of the k's it's done.

In the 20 years I've owned it the boat has fished everywhere from the reed marshes of the Huon river to the Mud flats of Bynoe Harbour and caught countless numbers of fish.

Some of the more memorable experiences are a circumnavigation of Bruny Island in Tasmania in exceptional weather (For those of you from Tassie I stopped for fuel at the Adventure Bay store and they were a bit nonplussed to say the least), a 20 fish Solo day on the Huon on Sea-run Trout all between 3-10lb, chasing Tuna out of Eagle hawk neck in Southeast Tas and taking waves over the bow 5km wide of the Hippolyte rocks after the seas picked up. ( A poorly conceived plan, I thought I was going to die, but I did score a Bluefin!). My first trip with the boat in the Territory, a week long trip to Corroboree and Bynoe Harbour resulting in a heap of Barra and an epic evening popper session on Trevs in glassout conditions behind Knife Island. Sight fishing Barra on the crystal clear flats of Hinchinbrook Island is also very much a standout, as is my pb of 121cm. There are countless more moments like these and when I look back on it most have been solo missions not necessarily as a conscious choice but more I think as a product of the way I feel about fishing as a whole, For me the perfect day is a morning where the conditions are so perfect it's just the sea and the sky and you in a boat and it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.

Anyway, the whole point of this post is in the end despite having talked about getting rid of my boat I just can't do it, it's family. Added to this is the fact that recently I have found myself in the harbour wishing I could go just that bit shallower and a bit more low key to nail flighty flats Barra. The old girl is currently in disrepair though from being out in the weather and lack of use. So, with that in mind here's some before shots and watch this space....

Looks like a good stable rig for fly fishing, was no doubt perfect for the Huon marsh areas. Have to pull finger out re those sea trout. I took theodosius out at Franklin and we both almost froze, twaz one of the coldest mornings I've experienced.

Hope the boat keeps producing good memories.

geez you're keen to do the run around Bruny in it. I did it years ago in a 5.5m and got smashed

should look good with the outriggers fitted

Perfect for the creeks and billabongs up here bet it could run all day on 20 bucks too.

Matt Flynn wrote:Looks like a good stable rig for fly fishing, was no doubt perfect for the Huon marsh areas. Have to pull finger out re those sea trout. I took theodosius out at Franklin and we both almost froze, twaz one of the coldest mornings I've experienced.

Hope the boat keeps producing good memories.

You've been missing out Matt, sight casting Searun Trout feeding on Whitebait is right up there on the list for me. I must admit I don't miss the cold though! The plan is to give the hull a new lease on life with a refit to be a one up flats weapon.

nomad wrote:geez you're keen to do the run around Bruny in it. I did it years ago in a 5.5m and got smashed

I was a bit younger and keener back then but as mentioned it was in epically good conditions. I wouldn't like to be caught on the ocean side of Bruny Island in bad weather.

jeffish wrote:should look good with the outriggers fitted

That's the one thing won't have Jeff! At this point the job list is as follows:
All hatches to be water proof
7 foot 8 rod locker
Seat that folds down to become part of the rear deck
Poling platform (already done)
Underdeck esky
New design drop in florida flats style sighting platform
Lockers for fuel, battery, tackle and dry storage
Shallow easily accessible "day" locker for all the random small stuff you use all the time,
New brackets, transducers and nmea data cabling to enable hds7 and 12 and motorguide from larger boat to be utilised
Pop up electronics console at the main helm station to house hds12 and be part of deck whilst not in use
Pop up front mount for the hds7 that retracts to protect from spray when not in use
New paint job

I have a whole heap of aluminium left over from another job for the framing and a sheet of 2mm for the bulkheads and rodlocker hatch but I think I will probably use sealed ply for the decks and smaller hatches due to ease of fabrication. Yet to make up my mind as to whether or not to pad the deck on this one, I may just do the front.
Cheers,
John.

Hi All,
Here's a photo update, stripped out and ready for paint removal.

Fast work, will be fun to watch

Good 2 see someone that doesn't need the 50 K monster reef runner setup ( all the gear and no idea for a lot of the blokes up here) hope u get into a few baz in the buildup mate keen 2 see the finished product we had a 12fter with a 2 stroke yammie enduro 30 it'd drag race a lot of the muppet crew at 68 km/hr and usually win... too funny .