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Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 6:43 am
by Matt Flynn
Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

If yes, do tell :D

And if yes, don't feel bad, the experts do it, even in this high-tech age ... https://www.facebook.com/abcfarnorth/po ... 0304525411

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:27 am
by Matt Flynn
Can't say I've hit one hard but I did hit the one just below Goat Island "medium hard" :D

Was planing past Point Margaret near Tapa Bay years ago and I looked over the side and it was about 18" deep to rocks :shock: ... and that was in a fairly big 'glass boat :shock: :shock:

It always pays to carry toilet paper.

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:17 pm
by jeffish
I spent the night on the sand bar near Two Fella a long time ago when I only had a basic sounder. Managed to miss a few rocks but was stuck solid until the tide came back in.
Only damage was a bent prop blade a broken finger and a bruised ego .

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:59 pm
by mickkk
I haven’t, but dodged a bullet a few times. First time I went to the blue holes, I wasn’t having much luck, so decided to get out before getting stick in. I thought I was clear of the reef, in deep water, and put the hammer down to head out to a shoal. My sounder on my old boat would drop out (had transducer in poor spot, fixed it after this trip haha)
Driving along, was a glass out, but pretty glarie. Seen this shark swimming about with fit and tail out of the water. Thought it was odd it was swimming so high. Then I thought, maybe it’s not as deep as I thought. Slowed down, and come off the plane, and we were in 500 mm of water. My prop was just touching the top of the reef when off the plane, and 8 couldn’t get back up on to the plan. Had to trim it right up and limp slowly to the deepest looking water on the sounder. It was very very close. Very early in my boating days, but very lucky.

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:19 pm
by dannett
I have never hit a rock bar hard, but found the sandbar at the mouth of buff creek hard enough to hit the steering wheel and almost go over the console. I too have raced across one of the larger flats at the blue holes, chickened out and not been able to get back on the plane because it's too shallow.

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 4:27 pm
by Matt Flynn
Good stories. There's a couple of big flat-topped bommies inside one of the Blue Holes that would have caught someone, as they come straight up out of nowhere in the deep water.

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:38 pm
by theodosius
Nope and hope I never do!

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:35 pm
by dannett
Matt Flynn wrote:Good stories. There's a couple of big flat-topped bommies inside one of the Blue Holes that would have caught someone, as they come straight up out of nowhere in the deep water.
There's a few on the corner of North West too.

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 1:53 am
by newfisherman
An oldie but a goodie

The Darwin pilot boat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIZ3Wc6sjRE


First boat I hit a bommie at low speed on the south eastern corner of Knife Island... think its the only bommie there, cracked the gear box housing all in the first hour of a 4 day trip to Crab Claw, it was fishing off the beach after that

Second boat never hit anything for 3 years , not even a ding on the prop

3rd boat I hit the tip of the reef off the bottom of Grose Island on a trip to Bare Sand Island at almost full noise = very small ding to the front of the hull and no engine damage

And I hit the sandbar on the left hand side of the mouth of Sampan on the way out going pretty fast too , missed the channel by about a meter and spent 6 hours high and dry, was a very relaxing day and we felt better as we did not see a fish caught by any other boat. I had always though it was a mud bar but its sand and firm to walk on. One second I was in 2 meters of water nexminit its beers on the beach.

Got my mechanic to pull out the gear box and check it for any obvious damage in the next service but got away with it.

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 8:38 am
by Dinger
Had a close call in my then brand new Hooker glass boat when flying upriver above goat island , big right hander & a few boats waiting there for tide to get over th rocks not me , picked th line perfect :shock:

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 12:37 pm
by cjgp
Fkn oath! It's like my style.. if I didn't hit something it was cause I was at home or paying attention!

Last big thing I hit was the rock bar on the Daly at full noise..

Me and a friend were headed down steam as fast as we could go. All of a sudden all the blokes from the comp were up my arse. It was the first year the bouy had gone missing that guides you through the little channel..

As we were maybe 60 metres from the opening one big boat overtook me. Unfortunately we had about 8 boats up our butt and we were too committed to pull out of of following him through
And we were real close to the back of him because of the way he dived in front of us so I was forced to keep my line but the sphincter was pumping....

As we entered the small Channel on the left of the rock bar, old mates wake hit the bank and came back. Picked my boat up and swung us around and dropped my prop onto the rock bar. As we crashed down, I was already fighting the wheel to straighten up, which we did. I also applied more throttle somehow which was lucky, because I managed to get us out from under the bow of the bloke behind me who was struggling not to run me over with the rest of the pack mere metres from the rear of each other's boats behind him

Totalled my prop, amd I have a small mark in the cowling from the boat behind where his winch eylette clipped us..

Funny thing was I had said to my mate as we cleared Browns I had forgotten the spare prop in the car... dammit.

Trolled all the way back re propped amd smacked a log later in the day on the low tide at mid sped..

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 6:23 pm
by NinjaFish
Never high speed but have the usual adventurous scratches and gouges. The odd occasion of a white ashen look though :)

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 6:35 pm
by Matt Flynn
More good stories. Jeff, that area outside Two Fella looks like Mars on a spring low.

Not that I have ever been to Mars, but I've seen the pix :D

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:40 pm
by NBN
Saw a unit on the Daly a few years back; 3 times in one day. Each time he had a frosty tin in hand. The 3rd and final time he was at full noise heading up river (centre) while we were casting the edge of the main rockbar which was circa 1 foot below the surface...As he got closer we started to wave and signal stop, he simply gave us a nod and raised his tin in salute. 4 seconds later after his forehead collided with his targa support pole he disappeared below the gunnel. Still at WOT, up came his tin like a periscope followed by the remainder of his shuddering body and off he flew.
Didn't spill a drop...

:bonk:

Re: Have you ever hit a reef or rockbar hard?

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 5:45 pm
by NinjaFish
I've seen that on the McArthur and in the Carrington a few times over the years. Nothing more annoying when on the plane with a full load of supplies heading out and you gotta stop for them.