Catalina 28

Vessel Features:
Category: Yacht
Class: Catalina 28
Length: 28ft / 8.4m
People (Max): 6 people
People (Ideal): 2-4 people
Cabins: main saloon, 2 bedrooms, bathroom
Hot Shower: 1
Fridge: 1
Heating: yes
KONK system: yes (anti mossie system)
Toilet: 1
Holding Tank: yes
Motor: 21hp
Keel: 1.12m wing
Number in fleet: 3

Boat manual
On board, we supply a map and a manual. The manual is full of useful information, including:

Emergency procedures and contact phone numbers
How things work - the engine, the stove, the toilet, etc
For the yachts - some basic sailing information
Mooring and anchoring
Navigating
Using the marine radio
Guide to the Gippsland Lakes - lots of information about where to go and what to see
Itineraries suggestions

What's on board
Linen
2 tea towels, bathmat , hand towel, (you can order all your bed linen from us)

Saucepans
small with lid, large with lid, frying pan, kettle, toaster, baking tray

Crockery and cutlery
dinner plates, side plates, bowls, knives, forks, desert spoons, teaspoons, coffee mugs glasses

Utensils
vegetable knife, universal knife, bread knife, grater, vegetable peeler, wooden spoon
egg slide, tongs, salad servers, can/bottle opener, cork screw, large spoon, soup ladle small bowl, small mixing/salad bowl, large mixing/salad bowl, jug, colander, tray, chopping board

Miscellaneous
radio CD player, line/pegs, terracotta pot (heater), pot holder, 2 hot water bottles

Cleaning
dishbrush, dustpan set, broom/mop, toilet brush, detergent, scourer, dishcloth, rubbish bag, matches, small soap, toilet roll

Emergency
fire extinguishers, fire blanket, marine radio, torch, first aid kit, life jackets

External
mooring lines, bow anchor, boat hook, bucket, fenders, life rings, life ring light, winch handle (yachts) broom

Please Note

* We supply a safety pack of torch and first aid kit for emergencies only. For other uses, please bring your own.*
* We supply children's lifejackets - they must be worn by children under 10 years.

We can also supply, if requested, adult personal flotation devices.

Additional information

The Operator is recognised as one of Australia's leading tourism businesses, and for the commitment to quality, safety and service, has been inducted into the Australian Tourism Hall of Fame.

• The Operator has operated under continuous ownership for more than 21 years. That makes us, by far, the most experienced charter boat company on the Gippsland Lakes
• The boats are chosen for safety, 'forgiveness', comfort and performance and are maintained to very high standards
• The Operator operates on the Gippsland Lakes: safe, sheltered waterways that are perfect for learning the skills of boating and sailing
• The Operator is the only charter boat company in Australia willing to offer a written guarantee to back up the practice of high standards
• Over the years the Operator has played active and vital roles in caring for this amazing, natural environment
• The Lakes offer a variety of excellent destinations - national parks with barbecues and bushwalks, access to the Ninety Mile Beach, small port side towns and lots more

The Operator offers:
* Yachts, motor cruisers and day boats
* Friendly, helpful and professional service
* FREE fuel - a huge saving these days
* Exclusive start and finish times for longer holidays, better value
* Sailing lessons are available
* FREE insurance
* FREE on-water service
* A comprehensive briefing by trained staff
* Weekly 'Last Minute Boating Holiday' specials
* Holidays that are environmentally friendly
* House and boat packages

Before you board, the team from the Operator will have completed over 130 checks in the preparation of your boat - on the engine and all equipment.

The boat will have full tanks of fuel and water, the gas bottle will be full, iceboxes will have ice in them and the fridges will be cold. The batteries will be charged, the toilet holding tank will have been pumped out, and the boat will be clean inside, and scrubbed outside.

At the start of your holiday, before you cast off from the marina, the Operator will run you through all the equipment on board, including the use of safety equipment, do a complete map briefing and show you boat handling techniques.

The aim is to ensure you feel really confident so that you have a relaxing and fulfilling boating holiday.

What to bring
Torch
First aid kit
Personal medications
Camera, film, memory cards, charger
Books
Sunglasses
Sun hat/woolly hat
Sunscreen - even in winter
Beach towel
Bathers
Mobile phone
Waterproof jacket and trousers
Shoes with white rubber soles
Fishing gear
Biro and pad
Binoculars
Bird identification book
Sailing gloves (yachts)
Bedding, pillows, towels
Food and drinks
Garbage bags

What not to bring
Pets
Too much perishable food
Suitcases
Eskies (at least not on the boat)
Too many clothes

Engine
Your boat has a diesel engine which is easy and safe to operate. There is sufficient diesel fuel on board for normal engine running over a seven day holiday (between 30 and 50 hours, depending on the boat).

Batteries
The boat has two batteries - one starting battery and one ‘house’ battery. These batteries are isolated from each other so that using accessories such as lighting will not flatten the starting battery.Both batteries recharge when the engine is running, and to keep them fully charged you need to run the engine for a minimum of two hours per day. Keep in mind that batteries, not mains power, run your accessories - it's not possible to run heavy power-drawing appliances such as freezers, and you need always to be conservative with power.The batteries provide 12 volt power, not 240 volt.

There is a cigarette lighter adapter for appliances that will run on 12 volts such as mobile phones, etc. Unfortunately, your 240 volt hairdryer will not work on board, but you're welcome to use the onshore power in the bathroom, or the sea breeze.

In the galley

Stove
All the boats are fitted with gas stoves with two hotplates and a small-capacity oven - suitable for casseroles in medium sized dishes, but don't try to cook a large turkey! The gas bottle is full when you start your holiday, with sufficient gas for a seven-day holiday. There are a number of safety devices on board to prevent or warn of a gas leak: a safety cut-off valve on the stove and a gas detector - which remains on at all times. The Operators recommend that you turn the gas off at the bottle before going to bed.There is no microwave oven on board.

Fridge
Some of the boats have electric fridges operating from the batteries, others have eutectic fridges powered by running the engine. For either type, it is important to run the engine for a minimum of two hours a day. For the electric fridge, this helps to keep the batteries fully charged; for the eutectic, this is when your fridge will be operating and getting cold.Electric fridges must be turned off at night, otherwise the battery will drain while you sleep. Your food will still stay cold. To conserve the coldness, keep fridge opening to a minimum.The boats don't have freezers.

Water
You have a limited amount of water on board - the boat’s not connected to a reservoir! The water is from the town supply and is okay to drink.As a good rule of thumb, with conservative use the water will last three days. You can top up your water tanks at base and at Paynesville. Please use just these two locations - some other places have bore water which is unpleasant to drink.Hot water: the water is heated when the engine is running. It takes about 1/2 hour to heat the hot water holding tank.

Heating
Not hi-tech but very effective, a terracotta flower pot can be placed over a lit burner on the stove and it will give off wonderful fume-free heat to keep you snug on cool evenings. It also helps to remove some of the condensation that can be a bit of a nuisance in winter.Please make sure you keep some ventilation flowing while the burner is lit, and that you turn the burner off before going to bed.

Barbecues
The Operator is very fortunate that, on the Gippsland Lakes, there are lots of public jetties for mooring. Docking against a jetty is easy, but if the Operator was to have barbecues mounted on the rails they could easily be wiped off. So instead, the Operator offers you the option of hiring a gas barbecue that you can take ashore to use. Also, there are barbecues at a number of locations around the Lakes.

In the bathroom

Toilet
Your toilet is connected to a holding tank to receive all the effluent - better than it going into the lake! If you keep use of the on-board toilet to a minimum (that is, use onshore toilets wherever possible) you’ve got a capacity of about three days - depending on how many people are on board.

Toilet pumpouts are available at the base, Paynesville and Loch Sport, and there's an emergency (manual) pumpout at Ocean Grange.To avoid blocking the toilet, please do not put any foreign matter (including tampons) into the toilet bowl. It simply cannot go through the system. And a blocked toilet can really spoil the mechanic’s day!If you notice a discharge from the vent pipe (it comes out of the hull near the waste deck fitting), or the toilet pump is under more pressure than normal, it means the holding tank is full and MUST be pumped out. The Operator stresses the importance of this, as continued use can create problems both unpleasant and dangerous, and the Operator will charge for any cleaning up.

Shower
A hot shower on a boat is a great luxury, but remember that showers use up lots of water.

Communications

The marine radio
The marine radio on board (27 MHz) is for your safety and convenience. It can be used to relay messages to the base, to obtain up-to-date weather forecasts and to talk to other boats. Calling the Operator: the Operator ’s base station’s call sign is VH3 ENK and the Operator can be contacted on channel 68 ONLY. The Operator is here to take your calls during office hours every day.During the day, keep your radio on channel 68 so that the Operator can pass on messages and weather information to you. As the Operator asks you to be moored by no later than 5 pm, there shouldn't be a need to call us after the office has closed. However, the Operator can still be contacted - through Coast Guard Loch Sport (until 7 pm), or by phone.

The Operator supplies a list of emergency phone numbers on board.There are a few spots on the Lakes from which the Operator has problems receiving your call: the cliffs on the Mitchell River, Paynesville and the Duck Arm. If you can't raise us, ask Coast Guard to relay your message, or use your mobile phone.

Weather forecast
You are very welcome to call the Operator at any time for a weather forecast. The Operator receives a weather fax each morning and updates during the day.The Operator conducts a radio sched at 2.00 pm each day. The Operator starts with updated weather information and then call each boat in alphabetical order. This is a good time to ask for advice regarding evening moorings. If you miss the sched, please give us a call before 5 pm to let us know your plans for the night.

Mobile phones
Mobile phones work well on the Lakes, and your boat is fitted with a 12 volt cigarette lighter adaptor. If you are telephoning the base, please remember that we’re here only during office hours; there is a separate after-hours telephone number.

Navigation

Red and green markers
The red and green marker poles around the Lakes are there to guide you away from shallow water. The side you pass them on depends on whether you are coming into harbour or going out of harbour.On the Gippsland Lakes, the harbour starts at the entrance near Lakes Entrance. The entrance, and right up the Lakes system to Sale, is considered ‘into harbour’. So long as you are heading in this direction, you leave all red (or port) markers to your left hand side. Conversely, you leave all green (or starboard) markers to your right hand side.When you turn around to go towards the entrance you are going ‘out of harbour’. Then all red markers need to be on your right hand side, and all green markers should be on your left hand side.Here are two maxims to help you remember:
There’s no red port left in the bottle when you’re coming into harbour. AND Red and green - go between.

Beacons
Beacons are scaffold-like structures or poles in the water that act as lighthouses. As with lighthouses, you leave them on the land side. But because this is a lake system, with shores on more than one side, sometimes it is difficult to work out what side to leave the beacon. In such cases, the beacons also have a red or green light, or a red or green marker. Always check your map to be sure which side you have to pass.

Cardinal markers
Cardinal markers are used in places where there are already red and green markers and to use another would cause confusion. They are yellow and black with two black triangles on top.

Depth sounders
The boats don't carry depth sounders because the sandbars shelve very steeply and give no warning that the water is getting shallow. If you follow your map and the navigation markers you will always be in water deep enough for your boat.

Rules of the road
The basic rule is that skippers must take every possible action to avoid a collision.The rule for passing oncoming vessels is opposite to that of the road - with boats you pass port side (left side) to port side. If in doubt, turn to starboard sufficiently to let the other boat clearly see your intentions.
A faster vessel always gives way to a slower vessel, so in nearly all cases, boats under motor give way to boats under sail.
An overtaking boat keeps clear.

Food for boating
Life on the water is simple, and good, simple food that’s easy to prepare and wonderful to consume is best. One of the real pluses about the Gippsland Lakes is that you can easily stock up with fresh food along the way.

Breakfast
You have the time to enjoy the luxury of a long breakfast - anything from fresh fruit to the full works of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, etc. Plan to make the start of your day something special.

Lunch
Bread rolls (there are bakeries at Metung and Paynesville), selection of cheeses, salami and ham, sun dried tomatoes, olives and lots of fruit - all served up on a platter for extra ease
Soup is another good standby for lunch, with those semi baked bread rolls

Dinner
Pasta - pre-prepared sauces makes it really easy, for example, your homemade pesto or favourite tomato sauce, or the commercial varieties
Barbecues - there are many barbecues around the Lakes.
Pre-prepared casseroles, such as lasagna, prepared in tin foil containers that cut down the job of washing up
Chicken breasts to lightly fry, served with green salad
Stir fries done in the fry pan on board
Fresh seafood that you buy locally
Caesar and other salads
Or dinner at one of the many restaurants or hotels in the portside towns

In between
Fruit cake, lots of fresh fruit, chocolate, tea, coffee, soft drinks, and perhaps the odd bottle of wine for gentle evenings in beautiful places

Stocking up before you board
For last minute shopping there is a general store in Metung, and there are major supermarkets at Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance.

Metung Village Store
Metung Village Store sells a good range of local wines, and they now also have cryovac gourmet meat - perfect for on board because it keeps well and tastes terrific.

During the prawning season, you can usually get fresh prawns at the village store, straight from the trawler.

No experience required
To charter a cruiser, you need no boating experience at all. The briefing you receive at the start of your holiday will make you feel confident in handling the boat - and we're always just a radio-call away.

For the yachts, however, you do need to have some sailing experience. Or you might like to turn your holiday into an opportunity to learn to sail.

Learning to sail as part of your holiday is a great way to gain real skills. The Operator will spend time with you at the start of your holiday to teach you the basics. Then you’re free to keep practising at your own pace. And you learn quickly because you’re in charge (and we’re always just a radio call away for more advice).

There’s nowhere in the world that matches the Lakes as an ideal place to learn to sail. Sailing lessons are good value, and usually 3 hours with the sailing master is sufficient to get you started.

Dogs and boats
Unfortunately dogs are not permitted on the boats. And as many of the places you will want to visit are national parks, your dog would not be able to go ashore. There is, however, a very good boarding kennel in Metung.

Boat operating licence
Although Boat Operator Licences have been required since 1 February 2003, you will not need a licence to charter one of the boats. The Operator worked with Marine Safety Victoria to develop a system to ensure you are well trained to handle the boat, and the Operator provides plenty of backup support to overcome the need for you to have a boating licence to charter with us.

By attending the briefing, given as a normal part of your charter, and then correctly answering some simple questions at the end of the briefing, the Operator can sign you off as complying with the legislation.

In other words, the Operator effectively licences you for the duration of your charter.Each person who will be steering the boat will need to answer the questions and be signed off. It should only take a moment or two longer than the current briefing.

Guarantee

When you book your holiday with us, the Operator guarantees to provide a quality yacht or motor cruiser, fully equipped as specified in  brochure and on this website, that the vessel will be reliable, fully maintained and ready for you by the scheduled charter start time, that the staff will be friendly, fully trained and will provide personalised attention and care to provide prompt, professional on-water service to give you security in the event of mishaps during your holiday.

Should the Operator fail to honour this commitment, the Operator will compensate you by either:

1. Upgrading you to a higher class of vessel, if available

2. Give you your choice of one of the following, equivalent to the time you have been delayed or inconvenienced: extending your charter, if the boat is available giving you time to the same value on your next charter, or reimbursing you for charter fees

This guarantee is subject to your complying with the terms of the Charter Agreement, and nothing in the guarantee makes the Operator responsible for factors or circumstances over which it could not reasonably have control.

Holidays that don't cost the earth

Boating holidays leave the smallest of environmental footprints. You automatically need to be conscious of water consumption and use of power - in fact, that's part of the fun of boating, the way your 'home' environment is so different from the everyday. Apart from the fuel you use (and that's certainly minimal with a yacht, but even with a cruiser, you're not belting around in the car), and the tiny amount of gas for cooking, you really make the smallest of impacts on the environment.

For a family of five to drive from Melbourne to the Gippsland Lakes and return, the carbon emissions from an average car, based on a generous 10 litres per 100 km, are 0.14 tonnes of CO2. For that same family to fly return to the Gold Coast, the emission load is 1.52 tonnes of CO2 - more than 10 times the load!

Then think about the energy required to support the normal daily operations of a hotel - all those lights, airconditioners, plasma TVs, computers, etc, etc.

Any way you want to look at it, a boating holiday comes up trumps against almost anything else you can image. If you decide to travel to the Lakes by train, you save the earth that much more.

Winter on the Lakes

It's a special time of year. Sure, the days are cooler, but the mild maritime climate means it's still terrific to be enjoying the great outdoors. You'll find the Lakes all but deserted, so if you love peace and solitude, a jetty all to yourself, an ocean beach without a footprint, a wide expanse of lake without another boat in sight, then this is the time of year for you.

In the evenings, the boats are warm and snug. You can moor at a port-side town and enjoy the warmth of local friendliness and roaring log fires at a waterfront pub and return to your boat for a restful, silent night of sleep.