The claim on the side of one of the sheds, to be 'Australia's Greatest Boat Yard' is a big call but not in the least unfounded. This facility had so many recommendations from cruising friends who'd been before or visited each year that it became a no-brainer to select it for our by now, overdue, annual lift. It works as a 'one-stop pit-stop' for yachts and other watercraft. It's owned by a fellow who was involved in motor-racing and he's transferred much of that sport's maintenance practices into a well-oiled extremely professional operation that's service oriented, punctual, impeccably orderly and clean. It was a dream to be there.
We estimated that 75% of the boat owners up on the hardstand during our visit were living aboard, as we would be. Dedicated ablution suites for the live-aboards (cleaned twice daily) and free use of washing machines and dryers made the 'day-to-day' easier, as did the complimentary use of loan cars. Even though the on-site chandlers and other trades (mechanics, trimmers, sign shops, electricians etc...) simplified the purchase of anti-foul paint, rollers, boat polish, electrical equipment etc..., there were inevitably trips needed to Bunnings, fuel stations and re-provisioning shops. No problemo. The pirate themed cafe/restaurant became a refuge for reviver coffees and some free wi-fi. The only disappointment was that their sausage rolls were not worth rating. It did however become a great venue for group meals when we were all just too overwhelmed to cook. Tables of 19 exhausted but 'happy campers' assembled a couple of times!
In the midst of a tourist zone, we awoke one morning to the whooshing of propane burners overhead.
Easy Tiger is at present on the dry storage area with a couple of dozen other vessels.
A visit needed to be made to reassure Steve and Leanne all was well in their absence -even though they knew it would be.
Painted ladies.
The Bloke took care of business below the waterline, including a small repair to the epoxy coating to part of the keel as a result of the 'keel wrap' incident. It was my task to polish up top. To enable that, we bought an electric buffer and hired some scaffolding from Kennards at Oxenford. Not realizing that we could have collected the scaffolding ourselves, we had it delivered but saved ourselves the $60 return pick-up fee by borrowing one of the Utes.
L-R - David/SV Lavinda, Rick/Sailing Cat Swaggy, Brenton/SV Promise II,
The Bloke, Chris/ SV Bilbungara and Garry/ Sailing Cat Chances, who gave valuable fishing advice.
As usual, The Bloke was a ring leader and the planter box of palm behind our bay created a cozy nook for those 'end of day' sundowners to wash down the dust in everyone's throats.
The Boatworks have a terrific deal whereby you can be lifted on a Wednesday or Thursday and stay over the weekend at no charge. Being 'Shaggers' (members of the Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club in case you think The Bloke is bragging) entitled us to a further 10% discount. For those jobs that don't need to performed 'on land', The Boatworks also have a limited number of pens for half the cost of the hard stand. In the end we spent a whole week with them out of the water and in.
Sun setting after a long day on the tools.
We were almost beyond speech most nights.
Can we recommend The Boatworks?
You bet!
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