Liveaboard locations, East Coast of Australia

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Try south of Hobart but do make sure ya heater is working...

Good point mate. I should seriously consider that option. i'm pretty winter-proof. Do you know if many people live aboard down your neck of the woods?

[GILow]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

There are 4 moorings across the river opposite the village...... can't really call it a town. It's an 8 minute drive to Grafton. There are quite a few very good wharf's/docks along the river where you can stay for a few nights at no cost. There's no crime in Ulmarra. Our place is always unlocked.Not much worth stealing though.

Thank you, sounds lovely, and I can see the spot on Google Earth, and I can make out the four moored boats. I am thinking long term here, 6 month stay at least, so it would be mooring rather than night by night at a wharf, though I reckon shopping/washing day might be worthwhile moving closer to land.

More importantly, there's a high school in Grafton, and it looks pretty good. (I'll be looking to find work as a maths teacher so high schools and where I can get an offer of a position will be a major factor.)

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Matt,

Fwiw, I think Geoff was thinking about Kermandie Marina, where he keeps his boat. You could give it a look-see. i don't know what the rates are. Prince of Wales Marina near Hobart might be too dear, but you could check, and I don't know about whether or not liveaboards (of the semi-permanent style) are permitted. There are some spots up the Tamar that might do, and I'm not really familiar with much more than that on the north side of Tassie, but Rustic Charm is in one of the small places east of Beauty Point.
There may be somewhere on the Mersey R., too. And you could consider Strahan, and have a mooring put in.

There's a tiny marina up the Kiah Inlet out of Twofold Bay in Eden, don't know what happens in heavy rains.

Ulmarra might be good, but you'd have flooding concerns.

SE Qld is mostly too dear. MBTBC, where we stayed for 10 days, will be $930/month, with liveaboard fee, for a boat Manera's size, and I am not sure if they're even taking any more liveaboards.

There is a place named Monte's (or maybe, Monty's), tidal, small and friendly, but you'd have to check for space, permissibility, and depths.

There are moorings in Tin Can Bay. Possibly a way out for you.

You might check the little old marina in the mouth of the Burnett. I would not go up the river to a mooring, because of flooding.

Maybe Gladstone Marina, but still too dear, I expect. Maybe Yorkies at Townsville, or Cairns, but both of those are cyclone territory.

Sorry, gotta run now.

Ann

[Rivatar]

Mackay, Townsville, Bundy, even Hervey Bay, Tin Can Bay, all possible, all good.

[Captain Seaweed]

You could try here at the Gippsland lakes, (the entrance is about 110 naughty miles along the beach from Wilsons prom. I'm about to pay my $ 2,000 a year jetty berth fees.
Only neg might be the entrance which is tame these days as it is dredged properly but once outside you have 120 mile either west to the Prom or about the same distance east then north to Eden or south to Deal Island or Flinders, no ports in between.
There are a few vagrants around who pay no fees and go from public jetty to isolated cove on an annoying 48 hour hiccup so you might like to try that out to see if you like the joint. Main channels are okay but not a lot of exotic places you can go without sniffing the silted up shallows if you have a bit of draught and no HP to get you off.

Strange situation here on the Lakes is a prospective boat buyer will be told there is a long waiting list for jetty berths yet there are plenty of vacant private berths owned by locals on the forshores. And the vast shortage of berths was met by the boffins building a hi priced floating dock that catered not at all to the average people or battlers but lured the city millionaires into Paynesville and handsomely accommodated those that can afford to buy a dock for a few hundred thousand.

Oh yeah I almost forgot the reason I'm commenting here: there is an abundance of liveaboards here on the Gippsland Lakes but don't tell anyone, that's just between you and me cause I think its not legal or maybe its just not legal to hang yu washing on back stays or lifelines. I'm very law abiding and use a dryer.
Good luck

[picklesandjesse]

About Ulmarra and flooding. The 2 liveaboards have stayed for a few small ones but if there was going to be a major one then there's an inlet/lake called The Broadwater a few miles downstream that is not subjected to the flow of the river so there would be nothing coming at you and hanging on your anchoring gear. You can see it on Google Earth. This is where we intend to go when/if that happens.

[JPA Cate]

I agree with Pickles & Jessie that the Broadwater is a safe place to go, but you would not be able to go teach maths in Grafton if you were anchored in the Broadwater. It is a problem for shore access, and of course, the roads get flooded, too.

What Seaweed described at least offers a community, if clandestine.

In Jervis Bay, at Huskisson, there's an inlet that I have seen moored boats in. No knowledge of the depths.

Thinking of around Gladstone, there are pile moorings in Auckland Creek, but no facilities. There might be something up the Boyne R.

Matt are you okay with being north of 22? Are you okay with crocs? They are around as far south as Maryborough, and there are lingering reports of one as far south as Bribie Island, though that one may be apocryphal. If you're bringing your dog, the crocs are a real consideration.

Ann

[Fore and Aft]

Have a look on gumtree. There always seems to be a few berths advertised, not sure about the live aboard aspect though.
Cheers

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

I agree with Pickles & Jessie that the Broadwater is a safe place to go, but you would not be able to go teach maths in Grafton if you were anchored in the Broadwater. It is a problem for shore access, and of course, the roads get flooded, too.



Ann

The sort of flood we're talking about that you would head to the Broadwater would also mean that the schools would be closed I think. The Clarence also does not run as fast as some other rivers further to the north, maybe because it's wider but I don't really know why.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Captain Seaweed

You could try here at the Gippsland lakes

Good suggestion. Dad lives on the lake, just out of Paynesville, so I'd always have somewhere to take my washing. :^)

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Have a look on gumtree. There always seems to be a few berths advertised, not sure about the live aboard aspect though.
Cheers

Yes, I had a look, and without making a LOT of phone calls it is very hard to tell if any allow liveaboards. But if it gets to it, I will phone around.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

The sort of flood we're talking about that you would head to the Broadwater would also mean that the schools would be closed I think....

Just one of the positives about being a teacher really...

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

The sort of flood we're talking about that you would head to the Broadwater would also mean that the schools would be closed I think. The Clarence also does not run as fast as some other rivers further to the north, maybe because it's wider but I don't really know why.

During the two floods about which we have personal knowledge the schools in Grafton were not closed. However, the riverside roads that our friends use to get their kids to school were flooded for several days, and they couldn't attend (their school was in Ashby). I kinda think that folks in flood prone areas understand about the difficulties associated with flooding, and would not be too surprised if a teacher was unavailable for a while.

Of course, if Matt had a good dinghy, he might be the only one who could get there at all!

In many ways, life on the Clarence is sweet, and the location might well be attractive to Matt, floods or not.

Jim

[Marc1]

Originally Posted by GILow

Err.... that's alarming. I am seeing $324 per week for a berth, and about $100 per week for a swing mooring.

I am currently paying $75 per week for a berth, are the East Coast prices REALLY so high that $324 per week is a good price?

Matt

It is for Sydney. A friend is paying $2000 a week for a large house in Abbotsbury that is not even close to the city.

[simonpickard]

This is a very interesting thread to me. Hopefully this keeps filling in with details / locations. I was wondering if any of the liveaboards on this thread have blogs?

Regards,
Simon