BASIC BOATING EQUIPMENT
Safety is paramount with all boats 
and especially in smaller craft, and 
every year people die on the water 
in ways that are highly preventable. 
Invest in completing a Day Skipper 
course with Coastguard as operating 
a boat on the water comes with 
rules just like operating a car does. 
You do not want to ignorantly put 
yourself in danger because you 
don’t know the rules of the sea.
FIRST AID KIT
I would also highly recommend a 
PLB (Epirb) if you can afford one and 
take a flashlight in case something 
happens and you are out in the dark 
when you didn’t plan to. PLBs can be 
hired so consider this for longer trips.
Do a few ‘practice trips’ so 
you get familiar with your boat 
and engine and using your gear. 
Make sure the oars fit and work 
properly. Try a bit of rowing and 
the exercise won’t hurt you! On 
one of my trips, I just couldn’t get 
my engine going so rowed 200m 
into the harbour and caught my 
dinner under oar power only.
Another tip here when out on the 
water. If you are driving along and 
the engine starts to splutter and 
then stops working it could be one 
of three things: you have either run 
out of fuel, the breather on the fuel 
tank is tightened or your hose may 
be split and not feeding fuel to the 
engine. There is a little valve on the 
top of the fuel tank cap that you 
are supposed to loosen so the fuel 
can flow. Loosen before you start 
the engine and tighten when you’ve 
finished. I have had my fuel line get 
bent in the bottom of the boat and 
eventually split. Fortunately, I had 
some electrical tape to help keep 
it together so I could get home.
EXPERIENCED BOAT BUDDY
If possible, ask someone who is 
experienced with boats to take you 
out on your boat. They can quickly 
get you started and learning the 
necessities quickly and help give you 
confidence for when on your own.
Make sure the engine has recently 
had a service now that spring has 
arrived. Spark plugs (especially) 
on two-stroke engines eventually 
stop firing after oil/carbon build 
up with use. Make sure the hose 
connecting the engine to the fuel 
tank is connected to the right end 
as you can connect it backwards 
and you end up sucking fuel out 
of the engine instead of the petrol 
tank. I have been in the surf trying 
to quickly start an engine and the 
hose was the wrong way around. It 
took ages to get it working properly.
When you go to launch and retrieve 
your boat, pick an easy concrete 
boat ramp preferably when it's not 
busy like early Saturday or Sunday 
morning. A weekday is best or 
on the weekend go mid-morning 
or midday and even though the 
closest car parks may be filled, you 
won't have a long line of impatient 
boaties staring at you while you 
figure out how to back the trailer 
down the ramp and into the water. 
The pressure is real, believe me!
Choose a ramp with a dock or 
wharf so it’s easy to lead the boat 
off the trailer and tie up while you 
park the trailer (if possible). Some 
ramps have a specific launch and 
When fishing from small boats, 
always take and wear lifejackets.
Feature
24  FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE

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