September 2016
Queensland Sporting Hovercraft Club
A branch of the AUSTRALIAN HOVERCRAFT FEDERATION Inc (Vic)
Dear Air Cushion Vehicle enthusiast,
The Queensland branch of The Australian Hovercraft Federation held a planning meeting on Tuesday,
20th September 2016, at the Coopers Plains Library in Orange Grove Road.
This meeting was attended by:-
| President:- | Ben Woodhead |
| Treasurer:- | Phillip Audsley |
| Secretary:- | Steven Odgaard |
| Publicity Officer:- | Steve Stephens |
Other members attending were Angus Kerr, Kim Allen, Dieter Renisch, Arthur Stead, Gunter Prischl, Micheal Stephenson and Les Taylor. Visitor for the evening was Kerri Audsley.
Apologies: Peter Venn on his way to Perth - curently in Kakadu National Park.
Cruise report - Muriel St, Redland Bay - Sunday 18th September 2016.
The last club cruise was held on Sunday 18th September 2016, launching from 96 Muriel Street, Redland
Bay courtesy of Peter and Elaine Venn with runs to Russell and Karragarra Islands.
Those attending the cruise with craft were:-
| Angus Kerr | Viper 4 Cruiser | |
| Les Taylor | Turbo 235 Superwedge | - Phoenix. |
| 3.7m Alycat Barra Boat | - 30hp Tohatsu Outboard engine |
Angus, Lucas and Cameron Kerr set off at 10:08am in the Viper 4 Cruiser followed by Les Taylor and Takashi Shirato in the Phoenix Turbo 235 Superwedge and Neil Budworth, Ben Woodhead and James Allen in the 3.7m Alycat Barra Boat with 30hp Tohatsu Outboard engine.
The three craft travelled between Macleay, Lamb, & Karragarra Islands toward Russell Island and headed toward the Logan River when the Phoenix melted a piston and had to be towed in by Ben Woodhead in the Alycat. Les Taylor deployed the tow mat and allowed easy passage achieving an average speed of 6 kilometres per hour with a maximum of 10.3 kilometres per hour.
With light rain, the attendance was down, but the northerly breeze remained light to moderate and helped to maintain warm temperatures. Back at base Kim Allen and Steven Odgaard put up the marquee and lit a smokey fire from the wet kindling and wood in the pot belly barbecue just to keep the sandflies and mosquitos away.
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| The Phoenix | Viper 4 Cruiser | Phoenix being towed | Ben's barbeque |
With Peter Venn away, Rob and Sue Wakefield from the Rampager catamaran were house-sitting and
David Venn and his mate were welding up a trailer in the hovercraft shed. Angus returned first at
11:40am and then went back out to bring James Allen and Takashi Shirato back. Ben, Neil and Les
returned at 12:15pm. Ben Woodhead had his barbecue simmering on the back of his ute and most of us
enjoyed a sausage sizzle before packing up and heading off home at around 12:45pm.
Thanks to Les Taylor for setting up the port-a-loo tent.
Attendance:
Angus, Lucas and Cameron Kerr, Les Taylor, Takashi Shirato, Neil Budworth, Ben Woodhead, Kim &
James Allen, Steven Odgaard and Rob & Sue Wakefield from the Rampager catamaran.
Balonne River Cruise - St George - Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd July 2016.
Peter Venn and Arthur Stead cruised on the Balonne River at St George. Arthur travelled up the boat ramp and onto the caravan park property in the Revtech Renegade stopping alongside his motorhome.
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Other Local News:-
Joe Smeets is selling Des Goss's old craft as he hasn't had time to work on them.
Call him on 0431 563 563 or e-mail joesmeets@hotmail.com for more info.
Kim Allen has cheap cable ties @$5-6/ packet, and BP Powerstroke oil @$5/litre.
Phone 0434 287 615 for more info.
"Baffle" is back in business after some major fibreglass work.
"The Norm" has also been getting some work, and its subaru engine monitoring system is getting sorted out by Larry.
Steve's "No Wheel Drive" has been getting a lot of practise with high-speed drive-on trailering. This has
resulted in a few new "P" clips, many zip-ties, and a few skirts being replaced before a couple of long
strips of shade cloth were attached along the trailer sides to guide the hull between the wheel arches.
The cross-winds are less trouble than uneven ground under the trailers wheels. Any sideways slope
causes the ACV to slide left or right for the last ½ meter before the lift dies off. The faster I drive onto
the trailer, the more accurate the steering, as long as I time the throttle really well.
Arthur suggested cutting a vent in the trailer's floor, just before the skirts reach the winch. That way it
will loose lift rapidly even if the throttle is still open. Trouble is, I have to be able to slide it closed to
enable full-lift to drive off the trailer. Still working on a sliding hatch.
Qld Recreational Boating Council news:-
Qld Recreational Boating Council consists of delegates from many clubs, marinas, and most government
departments who are involved with recreational boating, fishing, and other on-water activities.
At the meeting on 14/09/16, the following items were mentioned:-
Four whales have been sighted around the Southern Moreton Bay Islands including 2 calves. So you can add them to the list of dugong, dolphins, and turtles which need our protection by keeping a really good lookout while cruising. Please report any sightings to Steve on 0408 743 231 and I will pass them on to QPWS and the local ferry nd barge skippers. Location, direction of travel, number seen, time and date, and pix would be nice.
The Colmslie boat ramp is now open after upgrades.
Queensland has over 245,390 registered recreational vessels and more than 761,321 boat licenses issued.
Interstate News:-
Steven Odgaard got permission to rename the next National Rally to "The Sam Waugh Memorial
Hovercraft Rally 2017" from Lorraine Brighton 9th July 2016 and Rob Waugh 15th August 2016 and the
AHF committee.
Australian National Rally:
The next Australian National Rally will be held from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th July 2017 at Lake
Coolmunda near Inglewood in southeast Queensland. This rally is being organised by the Queensland
Sporting Hovercraft Club on behalf of the Australian Hovercraft Federation.
Check the rally site for details - rally.qhover.com
Next club cruise:-
The next club cruise will be held on Sunday 9th October 2016 at Torquay St E, Point Talburpin.
Meet at 9:00 am at Point Talburpin for a cruise to either the western end of Karragarra Island or the
south eastern end of Russell Island (depending on the weather) for a Ben Woodhead Barbeque.
UBD Reference - Map 246 R-6.
Contact for the event is Steven Odgaard on 0400 798 404.
Next Queensland branch meeting:
The next club meeting will be held on Tuesday 18th October 2016 at the earlier time of 7:00pm to allow
some time for planning the 2017 Australian National Rally.
It will be held in the Coopers Plains Library at 107 Orange Grove Road, Coopers Plains.
There is plenty of parking at the rear of the library building via Bosworth Street off Orange Grove Road.
UBD Reference - Map 200 D-13.
Anyone with an interest in air cushion vehicles is welcome to attend.
We discuss technical topics and plan cruises.
Regards
Steven Odgaard
QSH secretary