Great Australian Trailerboat Adventures

Men and women have put to sea in small boats since time immemorial. But some of the greatest Australian small-boat adventures seem to be forgotten or, perhaps, buried in history after being considered foolhardy by today’s standards. Time to reflect if not resurrect the feats.

Take the mighty De Havilland Sea Topper that two men took by sea from Sydney to Melbourne, a distance of 700 miles, in mid-winter. The narrow-gutted pop-riveted 12-foot tinnie was billed as a sea-going boat, with the usual safety proviso accompanying subsequent ads.

Today, authorities would consider you foolhardy to attempt such a voyage. But my grandfather was among the many who subsequently bought a Sea Topper based on this promo trip. (A 1969-model with Johnson 7hp in trailer is selling for $2300 neg. on our boatsales pages).

In Sydney, Leon Simons and Brian Dodd from De Havilland Marine pulled the cord on their 9.9hp Johnson outboard on July 8, 1965. They planned just two overnight stays -- in Batemans Bay and Eden -- preferring to run the boat in four-hour shifts.

A modified-vee hull, the Sea Topper was touted for its smooth ride. I know from experience it also broached. The boat features built-in foam floatation, while the crew wore Taft life jackets and had a two-way radio.

Eventually, they made it to Melbourne and in such fine form their tinnie was put on display at the Melbourne Boat Show that opened two-weeks after they set off

Fast forward to 1970 when Danish-born Australian adventurer Hans Tholstrup circumnavigated Australia in a standard 17ft Caribbean Cougar open runabout called Tom Thumb. (Second-hand rigs fetch as little as $5000 with outboard and trailer on boatsales).

He had a 500-mile range, which necessitated a rendezvous with a tanker in the Gulf of Carpentaria. But it was in the Great Australian Bite that his 80hp Mercury was swamped and he had to limp ashore using the 9.8hp auxiliary.

Buoyed by his success, maybe basking in the media spotlight, Tholstrup returned in 1976 with a Mini Moke lashed to a rubber ducky that he “motored” across Bass Strait.

Not to be outdone, he was back in 1999 for a 7500-kilometre island-hopping voyage from Darwin to Japan in a Haines Signature 540. (The 540F based on this hull sells from $25,000 for a second-hand 2000 model to $50,000 as a new 2012 rig).

Tholstrup’s 540 cuddy cab had a custom 250-litre fuel tank and foam buoyancy throughout. Except for these things it was standard production boat. His outboard of choice was a Honda BF90, a four stroke known at the time for its reliability and efficiency.

Well-prepared, Tholstrup departed Darwin solo, travelled 350 kilometres of Timor Sea to Indonesia, and relied on GPS and weatherfax to ensure a smooth route to Japan. Oh, and he made it.

Of course, that loveable (now departed) outback rogue, Malcolm Douglas, staged many a backcountry trailerboat adventure. His Melbourne to Hobart, Bass Strait Adventure by inflatable boats sticks in the memory. So, too, the many Kimberly adventures where he slept in his swag atop his tinnie’s hardtop to avoid being eaten by crocs.

Douglas even had boat named after him, the Trailcraft Sportscab 6600 Malcolm Douglas (rigs for $44,000 second-hand), which we tested and published at this site in November 2006. You have to love the airbrushed hull sides with Kimberly scene.

Of course, after 62 days of paddling, James Castrission and Justin Jones made history in 2008 by crossing the ditch to New Zealand in a custom-built sea kayak.

More recently, the Honda Over the Top Expedition -- to raise funds for prostate cancer research -- saw brothers Peter and Phillip Jenkins take an 8.6-metre RIB some 9500 kilometres from Sydney to Perth.

After 67 days at sea, dodging more than 1500 whales and 134 turtles, travelling 10,100km, using 7500 litres of fuel, catching 52 fish for dinner and suffering 57 sandfly bites, the intrepid brothers made it.

All of which is by no means a complete list of great small-boat adventures. And it’s not to say you haven’t had a few yourself. So while we’re on the subject, what are you favourite small-boat adventures?