Canal Rocks boat ramp.
Submitted by Howard George on Mon, 2017-10-16 10:16
There are plans afoot for the Department of Parks and Wildlife to close canal rocks boat ramp because they claim it is too dangerous for boaties to use. This is the only boat ramp that Marine rescue can use on the west coast and have strongly opposed the closure so DPaw now say that it could be gated so that you would need a key to use it. A lot of recfisho's use this ramp in the summer time and us rec fisho's need to come out strongly and object also to the closure. I suspect it's got nothing to do with safety but more to do with protecting the Marine parks. Don't sit back and be quiet on this issue or else we will lose it.
timboon
Posts: 2924
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Thanks for the heads up
Thanks for the heads up HG,
Canals is not alot dif to the Gnarabup ramp nor Hamelin as all 3 are shitful in swell. The only ramp that is any good really is Cowbay but anyone that doesn't understand how Northys and Centres breaks could find themselves in strife soon after getting the boat off the trailer...
How/Who are you speaking to about this issue?
I've been due to upgrade my Hilux but each time i half drown the old girl launching around here I realise its prob not worth upgrading....
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8045
Date Joined: 07/05/12
My guess is that the proposed
My guess is that the proposed closure would be a maintenance/improvement cost issue rather than a safety one. That being said I've seen a boat get slammed onto a trailer on that ramp and it wasn't much fun for the skipper
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
yes howardread a article on
yes howard
read an article on this issue just on the weekend ..i think this is absolutly disgusting action by dpaws
they are worried about litigation here and expenses etc this is a sign of things to come with them ... they have had a lock it up and shut it down mentality for some years now...
unless its used by surfies they feel free to close access to it
canal is not good in any swell over 2 metres ...... but they could redesign that out with the right breakwall there
about 20 years ago they used some uni grad marine engineer to re build the finger jetty and ramp there ,that was a total waste as well
bit like geo bay marina rock wall , they wont listen to local users and think they know best
i firmly believe it would be very possible to build /add to the rock on the canal bridge side and curve it around in a n easterly direction then back to a s/easterly direction back towards the downhill road about 100-150 metres ,aiming at the water tanks on the lookout there ... if they did this in local granite it would work ok and look integral to the enviroment there AND TAKE THE SWELL off that ramp on 90 % of days when it could be used or needed
its deep enough around the old mooring there to handle that type of breakwall and provide protection to launch and load from
given there is no/minimal sand beach there at the ramp or on that coast close by , the impact as far as erosion goes would be minimal ...dpaws could do this with a great result ...
they will need alot of pressure to respond to the request though
busso shire need to get involved as do a host of others here
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8045
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Not many boat trailers in the
Not many boat trailers in the carpark this arvo
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Mulie
Posts: 546
Date Joined: 20/02/11
I was there on Saturday,
I was there on Saturday, there were about 15 boats out.
Used to be my choice of ramps in the good weather and if people couldn't use the ramp efficiently or safely in the not so good, they seldom went back for another go.
Bloody nanny state.
Mulie
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
jack your pic illustrates the
jack your pic illustrates the issues
the old ramp on the right hand side was narrower and shitty , but shorter and it did allow you some choice on launch /retrieve ..with the odd sand spit at the end of it in summer and small sandy bit of ground to dry dock if needed ,,, .the new one with ''finger jetty ''on the left is high sloping , , slippery and forces you to go right out to drop your boat in and retrieve it ... the finger jetty is useless to short , too high and dam dangerous
todays swell is 4-6metres down there so ti will crack right across the bay as per that pic ... but if a wall was built from left to right about half way it would stop that
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Conditions like that are damn dangerous and frightening
To me, that is down right dangerous and you would not see me trying to launch in such conditions, if you were late getting in and got caught in conditions like that in the photo I think you would be in a very very dangerous situation.
Sadly you will just about always find some one who thinks they are Thor Hyadal and will attempt to show (those of us that would stand at the ramp and say "no way" )just how great a seafarer they are. When they find themselves in a life threatening situation smart logical thinking people then put themselves at risk to save damn fools.
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
meg ...jacks pic above is to
meg ...jacks pic above is to put it in perspective taken on a day like today with a 4-6 metre swell running down there , so it simply a no go zone today and that pic above is at its worst breaking right across the bay
you would not launch in geo bay today for the same reason ...
having had the experience of using canal rocks as a deckie back in the 80s and early 90s it was ok on most average days if you know your stuff ... and used arope to push hold the dinghy out of the ramp
iv also had my worst experience their retrieving a boat ...arrived swell was 2 metres and we left with a forecast of a decreasing swell by our return ...fished out deep for about 6 hours , flat calm seas all day ..returned to find the swell had pumped up about a metre or more ..... not enough fuel to go back around the cape to dunsborough ... no mooring to tie off on overnight ... which in hindsight was probly the best thing to have done .....so I decided to pick a ''flat spot ''and go for it .but with that ramp you cant even dry beach it now ... so you become vulnerable to being hammerd on that concrete slope as you try to load it on the trailer .with waist height + breakers you get pounded , boat fills up becomes water logged , even with self draining deck water cant escape fast enough ..you end up with a 2 ton dead weight being shoved around badly with every wave that breaks on the ramp ...
sometime that is just how it goes ...but it could be modified and improved if they had reason to do so imo
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8045
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Aye Hez. I wasn't being a
Aye Hez. I wasn't being a smart arse but was pointing out that conditions are fucked and nobody is there trying to take them on. Just leave the choice to use the ramp to the skipper ffs. Agree about the potential for a breakwall there too.
Even Old Dunsborough had a 2 foot wave breaking across it today.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
allgood jack i took a
allgood jack
i took a similar pic about ten years ago on a day with an 8 metre swell forecast down there
it was cracking 2.5 metres high at the base of the ramp !!
on a normal day [ 2 metres ]it is possible to launch witout too many issues ...but there ramp design definitly makes it harder
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8045
Date Joined: 07/05/12
This was Canal Rocks last
This was Canal Rocks last year on a 7m swell. Nature at her scarey best. And yes those insane kents were jumping off the bridge into the surge.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Know it well
Know exactly what you are talking about Hezzy, been dumped on that ramp more than once, nothing worse than getting back in from fishing outside and having to drop the decky off to swim in and collect the ute so you can head round to the other mooring at Quindalup with the dinghy in tow rather than risk getting dumped again and losing half your catch.
timboon
Posts: 2924
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Wait until a kid or mum with
Wait until a kid or mum with a pram gets reversed over at the Gnarabup ramp and that will be another ramp we loose....
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8045
Date Joined: 07/05/12
I was there this morning Boon
I was there this morning Boon and I can see the potential for some airhead to walk in front of a reversing trailer, it's been happening to me all week at Old Dunsborough.
Also checked out your home ramp which is much more protected but how many boats have lost gelcoat on those rocks at the end of the ramp?
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
timboon
Posts: 2924
Date Joined: 14/11/10
The jetty is your friend
The jetty is your friend Jack, Dont go off the line of the jetty until your out a bit.....
How long you down for?
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8045
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Last full day tomoz. Weather
Last full day tomoz. Weather is shithouse today and our saviour in the form of the tavern with a playground was closed for maintenance.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
timboon
Posts: 2924
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Give me a shout if you are
Give me a shout if you are about down this way tomorrow....
timboon
Posts: 2924
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Could be worth a look at
Could be worth a look at North Point tomorrow if the wind goes south and drops like the forecast is suggesting it will, worth a look as in worth watching the surf with stubby in hand....
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8045
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Will let ya know Boon. That's
Will let ya know Boon. That's about the extent of it for me these days. My sliding doors monent was that I should have been surfing Boneyards the afternoon Kyall was taken but for a broken bodyboard leash and me being a tightarse and not wanting to pay $60 for a new one at the Dunno surf shop.
Haven't entered the water for a surf since
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
timboon
Posts: 2924
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Been plenty of biteys around
Been plenty of biteys around from what i hear, has anyone seen the vid of the recent 5mtr GW hassling someone in Geo bay?
Apparently there is a video of it online but i can't find it....
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Big White
The video of the big white was taken about 10nm off the huts south of Bunbury, good mate was on GWN news tonight talking about it.
He has had plenty of experience with Canal ramp and no doubt will fire up when he hears about the planned closure
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Nick Lucas.
Good to see he's a rec fisher these days and not a pro.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Blowie
Even though he works offshore think he still has an interest in pro fishing.
Rob H
Posts: 5743
Date Joined: 18/01/12
.
Big nick Lucas?
If it is yeah I did a few swings with him offshore
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Same One
Same one, known Nick since he was a little nipper, big a bit of fishing with his father and most of his uncles
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
☹️
I never put there alone, even with 2 people it was still difficult.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
Public Rally
11am Sunday morning at Canal Rocks Boat Ramp.
Be there if you care.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Public Rally.
The public rally is planned for 29th of October at 11 o'clock, haven't heard of any other actions taking place.
Dreamtime
Posts: 645
Date Joined: 21/09/09
Sweet
I'll be there.
timboon
Posts: 2924
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Cheers Matt
Cheers Matt