To Tinnie or not to Tinnie

A boat adds alot of weight to your rig which in turn costs more to tow. If you fished regulary I'd definately take a boat as there are plenty of opportunities with a motor. Just oars would be a waste of time & for occosional use too much trouble to carry. I agree a few fishing charters combined with beach & jetty when available your best option.
Cheers Craig.....................

There's always the option to hire a tinnie in lots of places as well

Cozzie

Hi Carreen

Save the weight and leave the tinny home if you are not on a dedicated fshing tour. If you take charters, they know the waters and where to catch the fish. Just about anywhere you would use your boat, you can hire one of the right sort and size for the conditions anyway.

Motherhen

I took my tinnie on a trip from Adelaide to Darwin, with a fair bit of off road detours on the way up and back. (Eyres Rock & the Olgas, Kings Canyon via the Mereenie Loop, West McDonnell Ranges, etc.)
Only used it once, on the Daly River and caught two beaut Barras.
The extra weight wasn't noticable.

When we were camped in Darwin, our friends and us decided on a guided fishing charter on the Mary River. This was in a largish sized tinnie and cost us $400 per couple.
What did we catch for a days trip?
1 salmon and one sea snake!@##.

There is something about using your own gear and finding your own fish.

Make sure it's got high sides.... READ


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A tinny will cost you at least 1klm per lt in drag , oars ? you've got to be kidding , the tides can run faster than a 15hp motor can overcome , charter or boat hire with local knowledge thrown in is a lot easier / safer and productive.

Hi Carreen

Depends where you are going and what you intend to do...

Is an inflatable an option for you? We have two Quicksilver’s, one is a 2.4M job that weighs in at about 20kg, and the other a 3.4M that weighs in at around 60kg. We have the 2.4M in the vehicle, along with a 5hp at all times, and can be on the water within about 5 minutes of deciding to.

Mind you we don’t use it in Croc country...although know people who do.

Cheers, The Landy

HI Carreen,

I know the Post heading refers to a tinnie but would not a good option be a Porta-Bote? These are made of kevlar I think and fold up to about 100mm thick. A small outboard would be desirable to be fitted somewhere for transport.
Cheers

Having taken a tinnie on two of my many trips from Perth across the top my advice to you would be to forget the tinnie.Unless you are going to stay in one or two fishing spots for an extended period I found that the hassle of carrying, unloading and loading for a day or two here or there is just not worth it.It is not only the tinnie but everything else that goes with it---safety gear,oars,motor, fuel, rope anchor etc.Imust admit I do a lot more shooting on my trips as I get a lot better fishing trips offshore here in Perth so no more carrying tinnies up north unless I am going to stay in one place for a while.As you say you can always hire a boat or do a charter if need be but if you are not that overkeen on fishing use your time enjoying something else.Only my opinion from experience.

Hi there

We too are hoping to set off in 18months time and we bought 2 inflatable kayaks instead. They arrived the other day - havent tried them yet but we figured as we a not keen anglers we could go fishing is some low flow rivers/creeks or dams as well as just going for a paddle.

Only reason we bought them was because we got them on special for about $40 each on something like deals direct or something. They do weigh a couple of kilos and the paddle is plastic (so we are going to upgrade the paddles) and we have the air compressor in the car already so it wont be a big deal to pump up. As i said however - we havent inflated them yet (bit hard when you live in the desert :P)