The Steamtug Blog

Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

I was rostered to start work 24th December. So all my family from Geelong decided to come to Brisbane and do Christmas at my brothers house up here. He was recently married and his new wife likes to cook.
Then at the last minute, my boss reminded me that he owe me 4 days off. So he encouraged me to take them! So instead of being stuck at work, we rented an appartment at Coolangatta on the gold coast. I remember this place from my teen years because my uncle ran the caravan park just down the road, and my family came up here often for the christmas summer holidays and stay there. My cousin and I would misbehave all around Coolangatta. Best of all was cracking onto the young chicks at the caravan swimming pool.

I really like Coolangatta and find it hasn’t changed much over all these years. We stayed up on the sunshine coast and thought it too busy, touristy and fake. But Coolangatta which has some high appartments on the beach front, but behind that is just the same as it was in the late 70s.
So we had a great Christmas! All the family together, then boxing day they all came to our appartment and over the road for the beach. Nice! I had to start work on the 28th, but things were relaxed and nobody pushing anything. So this swing has been good for me.

I brought a Jeep!

I am still trying to get the trailer sorted for my steamboat Eidelweiss. It’s down at Murwillumbah, just over NSW border. (My uncle had a caravan park there too, so I know this town well) The trailer is made in the USA and will arrive late January. But how do I tow it home? The problem is, the boat is very heavy and could possibly make up a combined weight greater than the maximum that can be towed by a car, of 3,500 kgms. But we won’t know until we get the boat on the trailer and find out. The boat was built in 1909 and never intended to be put onto a trailer. So this is something new for her after 116 years of being in the water.

So I brought a Jeep! Well, actually its a Landrover Discovery. A $4000 rocket with 1 specific job in mind. All cars now are rated to tow only 3,500 kgms, but somehow the 1997 &98 Landrover got their specifications passed here in Australia with a 4,000 kgm towing capacity. There are not many cars that can do this, and my mate Tommy reckons it was left over from a specification that the British Army put on these vehicles when they signed a contract with the makers. Old Bill who owned her, had 3 Landrovers in his driveway when I went to his house to look at it. Before doing anything, I got the manual from the glovebox and looked up towing capacity braked. Yep, 4000kgms! I then told him why I wanted the car and the serious job she had to do. He said that his newer Landrover would be a better tow vehicle, as the old girl only has a 2.5 litre diesel, and his new one has a bigger engine making it a better tow vehicle. But I told him it will not do it legally. He challenged that point, and we got the book from his glovebox and looked up to find…. yep, 3,500 kgms max towing capacity. So I was right!

My brother is wiring up the brake controller for the trailer while I am here stuck at work, and we will go and pick up the trailer from the port of Brisbane when I am up here next. But then, the next clear window for the journey home, will be March, because I am going to the wooden boat festival in Tassie, first week in February. Should be fun!
Hope you had a great Christmas as I did!
Mark