cruising Level 2?

[Rehabilitated 41]

47 minutes ago, B00B00 said:

My new boat draws 2.15m and I will be keeping it up the river just past the stillwater wharf. Pretty keen to hear more of your thoughts on the bar depth and the best way to go. 

I am delivering it down this weekend.

Try asking that question

On this site go to forums.

https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/stillwater-wharf-8-6_topic14662_post194893.html

Cheers b kind

[Black Panther 653]

8 hours ago, B00B00 said:

My new boat draws 2.15m and I will be keeping it up the river just past the stillwater wharf. Pretty keen to hear more of your thoughts on the bar depth and the best way to go. 

I am delivering it down this weekend.

All you have to do is stay behind BP🤣

 

It's a good idea to visit the entrance at low tide in a dinghy and carrying a long bamboo pole.

[Fish 594]

10 hours ago, B00B00 said:

My new boat draws 2.15m and I will be keeping it up the river just past the stillwater wharf. Pretty keen to hear more of your thoughts on the bar depth and the best way to go. 

I am delivering it down this weekend.

Another boat? don't you have enough already?

The kids are on the laptop with the tide programme at the moment, and as that is keeping them quiet and their mother happy, it is def not worth me trying to get them off it. I'll check the times for Sat and Sun later. The bar is 0.6 m below the tide / chart datum, so if you have an app that gives you height of tide at a particular time, its fairly easy to work out. the depth at a particular time is your tide height plus 0.6 m. take off your draft and that will give your clearance.

The deepest water over the bar is easy enough to describe. There is a single outer (seaward) port hand marker post. There is another port hand post and a starboard hand post opposite each other, these are inside the bar. If you line up the outer port post with the inner starboard post, and go fairly much directly between them, you will be over the deepest part of the bar. It is easiest to see on a calm day with an outgoing spring tide. The fast water scours out the bar, so shows the deepest part. It easier to see the fast water when its calm. Conversely, if there is good wind over tide, the bigger waves are in the deeper part.

After that, go just to the south side of the two moored boats you can see just before the bend. One is a heavy motor cruiser, Endeavour, the other an ocean going trimaran. The bearing is about 290 or 300 true, but I can check if its important.

Going from the bar to the first bend, a sandbank runs parallel the whole way. It shelves quickly and is kind of hard, so don't wander south of your line.

Around the first bend is the Weiti moorings. That is fairly straight forward. At low tide there is the odd shallow spot on the South side, where the creeks fan out silt into the river.

Toward Stillwater above the Weiti moorings is pirate country, you' probably know more about that than me. I've only taken my paddle board up there. I've seen you out teaching the boys to sail while I've been paddling. Its a great spot at high tide. I usually see one stingray, and often see up to three. So many fish its like paddling in an aquarium.

[Black Panther 653]

Later on i might show you a wee mark on a couple of channel marks which when covered magically mean there's enough water for BP

[Black Panther 653]

I did consider replacing the mark on the outer pile with reflective tape. I could sit at anchor at Atkles and occasionally hit it with a spotlight.  When it stopped winking back I could head up the river.

But haven't done it. 

 

 

Yet

[Rehabilitated 41]

2 hours ago, Black Panther said:

All you have to do is stay behind BP🤣

 

It's a good idea to visit the entrance at low tide in a dinghy and carrying a long bamboo pole.

Get with tech. A handheld deepth Sounder.

[Fish 594]

2 minutes ago, Rehabilitated said:

Get with tech. A handheld deepth Sounder.

My Father first sounded the bar with a lead line in the dinghy at low tide, when he first moved the boat to the river. It is very difficult to have calibration issues with sticks or lead lines. Apparently they don't need firm ware upgrades and sh*t like that as well...

Tech can be good, but there is nothing like hands on knowledge and mark 1 eyeball familiarity, especially if you are going to be crossing the bar regularly for a number of years.

Most people use a rule of thumb or something, like 3 hrs either side of high tide etc. I've gone to the increased detail so I can push the boundaries a bit more. When the tide is running, 10 mins either way can give a substantial change in depth.

[Island Time 771]

Most modern sonars can do 300mm increments. Some can do 100, but they are pricey. Easiest way to calibrate is use use a stick or a leadline. Once set once, they don't really change. But many owners dont know how far under the surface the transducer is, and some dont know if its reading from the surface or the depth under the keel, or from the transducer! Its pretty easy to set up, and if you have a reasonably late model Navico (Lowrance, Simrad, or B&G)  you can make your own accurate charts every time you go in or out - this video is a bit old, you can do this on the cmap charts as well now...

 

[Deep Purple 212]

12 hours ago, B00B00 said:

My new boat draws 2.15m and I will be keeping it up the river just past the stillwater wharf. Pretty keen to hear more of your thoughts on the bar depth and the best way to go. 

I am delivering it down this weekend.

Tease...

 

[Rehabilitated 41]

I first came into contact using a held  deepth finder in Vanuatu with a Australia guy. He used it to fishing holes and reefs. Bought one myself and was accurate. Compared it to this boats calibrated deelth finder I was on. No difference. Real Hassel using a lead line then measuring by dinghy. Hand held had other functions like water tempature, current speed. Could use in side the boat as well in conjunction with the installed  Sounder. Big plus when anchored in a confined space near a reef in a large boat like 70 to 80 ft. Have a Wind change, lean over the stern and bingo got a deelth reading when boat swings to be stern on to shore or reef on the anchor. 

In side the boat put deepth Sounder in a plastic with water and hold it against the hull and have a reading also.

$200NZ. Another advantage you turn it on its side under water, point it forward and get a reading in front of u  or do a 360 deg survellence. The thing could read to 60 meterd