18 February 2009

Powered boats on the lake

| johnboy
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In recent weeks I’ve been seeing more and more powered fishing boats out on Lake Burley Griffin.

It seems our recreational boaters are taking advantage of improved electric engines for boats and the NCA’s free permit system for them.

If they don’t make any noise and don’t pollute then does anyone have a problem with them?

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I’m not in favour of public motor boats on the lake. Noise would effect a lot more than Yarralumbla.

I think only four stroke motors should be allowed for the boats that are there now. Put a two stroke motor in a forty four and run it for ten minutes. You might be surprised at the amount of oil in the water. Ban all two strokes from the lake regardless of horse power.

lets look at this fairly.
Private School rowing club,various:petrol powered boats used all year round
Sailing club:petrol powered boats for regattas ,races training days
recreational sailing:petrol powered motor,emergency use only(Yeah Right)…NO wind!
Tour Operators:petrol powered boats,revenue!
Water Police:petrol powered rocket ships..
Recreational Fishpersons:ELECTRIC MOTOR!!!
what gives ACT government,why are all these groups allowed,and we are not.If you put a HP restriction on the motor size,that would eleminate the yahoos,and noise would be kept to a minimum!under 5HP which brings inline rules in other states where you dont need a boat licence.There also should be a speed restriction put on the AFP WATER POLICE,these guys are the most dangerous and most disrespectful boaters on the lake.

Duke said :

Not sure we’re talking about the same lake tyler – I’m talking about LBG. Take a cruise by LBG today and tell me how many row boats are out there.

Hopefully there weren’t any boats out there yesterday because the lake has been closed to boating.

You will usually find many boats out on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings during summer as well as Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I have friends and family members that are on the lake at least once a week in their boat. I’m talking about LBG, that big one in the middle of Canberra. Maybe you should have a look sometime.

SammyLivesHere said :

The noise of a single Jet Boat for the pleasure of 1-person and the dis-pleasure of many others is not justification to have allow it. If the engine is quiet why not have one, but who polices that engine when it gets older and noisy?

The noise of a jet ski is not just going to affect Yarralumla “rich residents” as said by a reader, but many other people from Old Parliament House gardens, the Portrait Gallery gardens and other suburbs nearby – noise carries up hills from a valley doesn’t it?

ahh…shuddup….

Would you like some cheese with that whine princess?

Typical NIMBYism at it’s worst.

SammyLivesHere10:54 pm 19 Feb 09

The noise of a single Jet Boat for the pleasure of 1-person and the dis-pleasure of many others is not justification to have allow it. If the engine is quiet why not have one, but who polices that engine when it gets older and noisy?

The noise of a jet ski is not just going to affect Yarralumla “rich residents” as said by a reader, but many other people from Old Parliament House gardens, the Portrait Gallery gardens and other suburbs nearby – noise carries up hills from a valley doesn’t it?

I meant Cranky. D’oh.

Crank your 200hp electric boat would probably sink because of the weight of the batteries. Clarkson didn’t like the Tesla. I like the idea of electric boats on the lake after all there’s nothing like messing about in boats.

They have the jetski race every year.

Mostly the electric requirement is due to noise/pollutants entering the lake. Yes pollution is a crud argument as all urban lakes are designed to reduce/prevent pollutants entering the Murrumbidgee. And breed carp.

You are allowed to have your petrol motor and fuel tanks fitted when on LBG, unlike on Googong, which you are prevented from swimming in. However, you can take a whizz over the bow rail in Googong without penalty.

Allowed carte blanch powerboat usage on the lake benefits no-one, and yes I’m a boatie as well as a kayaker. There is no requirement for owning a boat that states “you cannot be a complete nob-end” which is sad, judging from some of the things I’ve seen.

PeterH, there are plenty more fish in the lake than carp, most Tuesday or thursday nights I give the place a good flogging, e @the office across the deadly pedestrian crossing except I’m never there dot something. Ask the otehr e for the email addy and I’ll take you for a quick lure session.

deezagood said :

What on earth is the point of allowing motor boats if they can’t go fast enough to tow a slalom skier (grins)?

I mentioned speed restrictions as a way of appeasing the noise nazis, but they should certainly have special days on the lake for water skiing.

tylersmayhem said :

What leisure do you see going on in the water?

Sailing boats, people having chilled out picnics on the shore, row boats, etc etc. I’m glad we don’t have noisy petrol powered boats flying around disturbing the quite. Can you hear the serenity? 😛

ignoring the row boats, paddle boats picnickers, etc, etc, I would prefer to be able to use a 5hp petrol motor when i am becalmed near scrivener dam. the electric motors just didn’t seem to shift my trailer sailer. (apart from in circles, looking really stoopid) having to get the water police to tow me back into the wind is embarrassing, too. and if there was pollution from motor boats, why is it that many other lakes in nsw allow their use, even though they are in the catchment? What pollution does the ferry put out?

What on earth is the point of allowing motor boats if they can’t go fast enough to tow a slalom skier (grins)?

Not sure we’re talking about the same lake tyler – I’m talking about LBG. Take a cruise by LBG today and tell me how many row boats are out there.

The lake is massive. They could easily designate one end, say near the Governor General’s residence, to motor boats. No boats need to be flying around – they impose a speed limit, as i’ve mentioned in several other posts.

tylersmayhem11:50 am 19 Feb 09

What leisure do you see going on in the water?

Sailing boats, people having chilled out picnics on the shore, row boats, etc etc. I’m glad we don’t have noisy petrol powered boats flying around disturbing the quite. Can you hear the serenity? 😛

Boats aren’t particularly noisy at low idle – just impose a speed limit. Also people will mostly be fishing from these boats so many will be anchored.

Lake for leisure? You’re kidding me. What leisure do you see going on in the water? It’s friggin deserted!

Pollution is a nonsense argument. Canberra is crammed with cars – a few motor boats would make no difference.

tylersmayhem8:50 am 19 Feb 09

I think it’s great more people are using the lake but I have not heard one decent reason as to why regular petrol powered boats are not allowed

Because they are f**king noisy and polluting and dangerous on a lake designed for leisure.

Pickle said :

The power boat alternative at Molonglo is cute too.

We were obliged to have the boat registered in NSW, be licenced in NSW, obtain an ACT permit, just to be able to Ski on that narrow river. The cute bit is that water skiing on any equivalent narrow river in NSW is illegal.

Ok it has been a few years, things may have changed, but that is how I remember it…

It hasn’t changed – no way that we would feel safe skiing on that skinny stretch of river, especially with little kids in tow. We go to Good Hope (Yass) instead.

i spent years fishing the lake. the electric motors are awesome. not built for speed, id say the max speed of mine is about 5kmph. there are plenty of good yellowbelly and murray cod in lake burley griffin and some fairly big redfin. it’s also a lovely place to spend a few hours on the water. i personally like that you can only use electric motors on there, creates a really nice relaxing place. i moved up to darwin with fishing being a major reason, but i still miss fishing the lakes in canberra and when i was in canberra over xmas/new years i made several trips to the lake with a rod and some lures.
just a little note on boat licence and boat rego, funnily enough in the NT you dont need a boat a licence, or boat rego. boat ownership up here is pretty high and introducing licences and rego would be a nice cash cow for the gov but for the moment they have held off. boat licences would be a good thing.. although most of the boat drivers i see driving like dicks are the water ski/wakeboard people or the jet ski riders. not too many of them up here, i think the crocs keep them in check. theres also no drink driving for boat skippers too.. but i think the cops can charge you with operating a vessel recklessly or something like that.

Spoilsports.

Big block Chev V8 powered ski-boats FTW.

ummmm… if the lake gets a jolly good stir, does that mean the Blue-Green Algae Bacteria won’t be so active!?! If so – I am all for the ‘lectric powerboats…

isn’t it dangerous to dangle the power cords in the water though?

I’m sure a mechanically minded bloke could build a 200HP electric boat, along the lines of the Tesla on Top Gear the other night. Quicker than the Lotus it was based on.

Sweeet. 100klicks on the lake in silence.

The power boat alternative at Molonglo is cute too.

We were obliged to have the boat registered in NSW, be licenced in NSW, obtain an ACT permit, just to be able to Ski on that narrow river. The cute bit is that water skiing on any equivalent narrow river in NSW is illegal.

Ok it has been a few years, things may have changed, but that is how I remember it…

PsydFX said :

It probably has something to do with the extremely rich residents of Yarralumla not wanting the noise to drive down their property prices.

And in conjunction with animal liberation nuts terrified of boat noise upsetting pelicans.

Easy solution, apply a speed limit. Boats at low idle make little noise.

Duke said :

I think it’s great more people are using the lake but I have not heard one decent reason as to why regular petrol powered boats are not allowed (unless they’re police, emergency, or belonging to wealthy private schools).

It probably has something to do with the extremely rich residents of Yarralumla not wanting the noise to drive down their property prices.

I think it’s great more people are using the lake but I have not heard one decent reason as to why regular petrol powered boats are not allowed (unless they’re police, emergency, or belonging to wealthy private schools).

tylersmayhem said :

The point is HB that ANYONE can get a licence for an electric boat, and there are good ones out there now.

So you’re saying an 8 year old can get a boating licence?

No, the minimum age for a license is 16, that said, under 10hp you don’t need a license. Thanks to that I’ve been driving boats since I was 8 (supervised) and since 12 un-supervised. This has been on both a 9.5hp and a 8hp. But they don’t go fast (20k/h is about their limit)

I’ve got no problem with electric boats, I’d even open the east basin up to all craft subject to speed limits. The Canoeists are the people I have problems with – always making straight for the fishing line (and I love catching carp – kilo for kilo they’re a great fighting fish on light tackle, now where do I find an asian couple with a spare $50?)

Is there power limits and speed limits for these electric boats you speak of?

And are there restrictions on sleeping on boats on the lake? I’m thinking cheap rent, close to work…

If you have not time for it peter, perhaps best not to be opining about it?

Now back to the subject of electric powered boat use….

Ari said :

peterh said :

not that there is much to catch in the lake. carp, carp, carp.

… and heaps of redfin, lots of golden perch, Murray cod and even the occasional trout.

Obviously you don’t fish the lake much, Peterh.

who has time to fish?

last time, i got a few large carp and $50 from an asian couple for the carp. buggered if i know why, i was just going to bin them.

Hells_Bells741:44 pm 18 Feb 09

Think the electric part just dawned on me. I think that’s gr8, and it would be interesting to see the lake get the extra use if the masses were allowed some power action.

Sorry, I should definitely shut up before it becomes a sea of me hehe. (wondering why my boatless self even cares lol)

Hells_Bells741:32 pm 18 Feb 09

Thanks JB..

I must’ve mistook it a bit. I didn’t get the bit that said I could have one if I asked for a free permit and showed my boat, just cause I want to fish or float faster.. It just appeared to me there were certain things allowed and you could get a permit for those purposes only.

My bad 🙂

70cm Murry cod was mentioned on 666 yesterday. He was released again.

peterh said :

not that there is much to catch in the lake. carp, carp, carp.

… and heaps of redfin, lots of golden perch, Murray cod and even the occasional trout.

Obviously you don’t fish the lake much, Peterh.

not that there is much to catch in the lake. carp, carp, carp.

tylersmayhem1:17 pm 18 Feb 09

The point is HB that ANYONE can get a licence for an electric boat, and there are good ones out there now.

So you’re saying an 8 year old can get a boating licence?

The point is HB that ANYONE can get a licence for an electric boat, and there are good ones out there now.

Hells_Bells7412:49 pm 18 Feb 09

Oh it doesn’t bother me one bit if they do or don’t btw.

Hells_Bells7412:48 pm 18 Feb 09

Well theys makes the rules! I read it, it’s not that they aren’t allowed like the common belief, you just gotta prove you’re working for the elite first! (rescue, coaching and judging boats and for lake management work)

Although like everything, where there’s a will there’s a way for the rest.

tylersmayhem12:44 pm 18 Feb 09

Hell no, as long as they are no high powered and noisy, which is sounds as though they are not.

Just kinda sad really than anything else!

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