The Story of "PLONK"

13 years ago I retired and soon after I spotted a very well-used, 1994 model, 13ft, rear door caravan near Sydney and was so impressed by the layout and the available space that I made a spontaneous decision to purchase it. That little caravan  has proven its worth and has been my home for long periods since that day. It has taken me twice around Australia and despite its age and the fact that it was already pretty tired when I acquired it, it has been superb.

On my second circuit I was joined by a wonderful companion, Polly, and again it managed to accommodate both of us in reasonable comfort, despite some unfavorable weather on the way. I had met Polly around 40 years ago through sailing and somehow this caravan gave us a similar feeling to a small yacht due to its limited space and the rear door. For instance we would usually park each night facing the weather, which is just what a boat does at anchor. This prompted us to look at each river, dam etc with a view to the possibility of taking to the water. I did a lot of thinking and planning prior to arriving back in Sydney where sadly Polly had to end her journey and return to work. By this time we had at least come up with a name “PLONK”. This had mainly to do with the fact that we could plonk her in the water anywhere we chose. Some have suggested another connotation, maybe!

Prior to my return home to Cairns (where I lived at that time) I spent some time with my family around Sydney and the Central Coast and whilst there, I discovered a company who built punts for many commercial enterprises such as oyster farmers. A visit to their workshop and an hour or so of discussion convinced me that I would have them build an aluminium punt to a very tight tolerance to allow me to insert my existing caravan inside the hull. I then began the task of cutting my caravan off its rather rusty steel chassis and making a number of modifications including the addition of a window in the front and modifying the door to suit. The modification to the front proved to be a very major task as I discovered a vast amount of rot in the framework which was much worse than I had anticipated. The job was certainly made even more difficult due to the fact that I had to continue living in the caravan throughout the conversion. The entire conversion took only 9 weeks.

I had some very definite aims and probably the most important was to maintain the serviceability as a caravan rather than a houseboat which could be towed. However there had to be some consideration given to the comfort and amenity of this as a boat and it was quite obvious that small front and rear decks would not be enough so I decided to exchange the pop-top for a fixed deck on the roof, which can be accessed. This also meant that during the actual marrying of the caravan to the punt that following the removal of the pop-top I could insert lifting lugs into the floor of the caravan and sling from there. It also reduced the weight during the lift. The roof deck was built from the same material as the punt, hollow aluminium planks which are butted together and welded top and bottom. These are extremely strong and light, and being hollow and divided into small internal segments are totally buoyant. I also added a hinged plank along the starboard side to allow access from the rear to the front deck and to the roof via a vertical ladder. This plank folds up during road travel. I also had a small skeg welded under the bow to provide better control on the water.

Welded to the centre of the rear deck is a bracket to support an outboard motor. For various reasons I have chosen a 5hp, 4 stroke motor fitted with a low pitch propeller for extra thrust. I have made up a device which allows me to steer and alter speed from the roof deck, which is much nicer than trying to drive from the rear deck. In the front deck is a hatch accessing a large storage locker which houses the anchors etc as well as the table and railings for the roof deck ( the “Moon Deck”). On the top are 2 solar panels which charge 2 batteries to provide power for all the equipment on board, including a 47 litre frig/freezer. I also have a car radio/CD player and a television/DVD player which provide some of our entertainment of an evening, especially if the weather does not favour being up on the roof deck.

I have had to modify the position of the 70 litre fresh water tank and the LPG bottle which is now on the foredeck (because there is no longer a gas frig to run, I have reduced to a 4 Kg bottle). The craft is fitted with navigation lights as well as travelling lights for on the road (these are actually duplicated on the trailer). I have to carry life jackets, boat hook, ropes, paddle etc. I have provision for a grey water tank when necessary. On the port side of the rear deck I have made up an ensuite which utilizes the actual caravan door and can be used for the “portaloo” or for showering when privacy is necessary. A large solar panel forms a roof over the rear deck. A roll-out awning on the nearside provides shade when we are on the road and using “Plonk” as a caravan.

The rig sits on a submersible  boat trailer. I can comfortably launch and retrieve alone on any reasonable ramp. I recently converted the trailer to a tandem axle system which has resulted in much improved towing and a big increase in its load capacity allowing us to carry the motor permanently on the transom instead of having to stow it in the troupie.  The vessel behaves very well on the water. I have encountered reasonably adverse conditions and have never felt out of control. The hull is extremely strong and also buoyant.

We have spent many delightful nights on the water aboard “Plonk”. Apart from the obvious benefits of being on the water (such as avoiding noisy generators or inconsiderate smokers) there are some less obvious ones such as the freedom to drop anchor almost anywhere you wish and not be forced to move on by the various authorities who do not tolerate people who like to “free camp”. It is just such a treat to wake during the night or early in the morning and look at the reflections on the still water or to see the mist hanging mystically by, the moon glistening on the water or the sun rising!

Our adventures on the water include a 9 day journey down The Murray River from Echuca to Swan Hill, The Hawkesbury from Windsor to Brooklyn, The Hunter & Patterson Rivers near Newcastle, The Darling, The Barron River in Cairns, The Mary River at Hervey Bay and The Thompson at Longreach as well as many lakes including Myall, Tinaroo on The Atherton Tablelands, Dalrymple in central Queensland, Saint Clair, Tuggerah and of course Lake Macquarie. Also Sussex Inlet, Port Douglas etc. etc. We recently listed close to 50 different waterways on which we have slept at least one night. In many cases, such as Lake Macquarie, it amounts to many more. We could list many more waterfront sites.

On the road and the water I am constantly stopped and quizzed by interested folk wanting to know more about  “Plonk”(average at least 6 per day!). I could have sold her many times over! Although I don’t wish to interfere with my retirement by considering building these aquavans, I did decide to give myself a trademark………”aquadisiac!” I would be very willing to discuss the possibility of co-operating with a caravan builder to get him underway building these craft in return for having a new one built for my own use. Meantime we love “PLONK”. I did consider building another similar version this year but have opted to simply refurbish the interior of “Plonk” and continue to make good use of her. Both Polly & I are currently living on Lake Macquarie near Newcastle….a beautiful area!

John Hogan

johnhogan1943@gmail.com

Murray River Trip

Imagine driving along a very picturesque highway bordered on each side by very extensive State forests (each in a different State) whilst relaxing on a sundeck on the top of your car with a cup of coffee in your hand and travelling at around 6Km/hour so you can take in the scenery and the wildlife (without provoking the temper of other motorists) on a very smooth surface which moves calmly in your direction to reduce your fuel consumption. The forest is dominated by massive, old  River Red Gums that are punctuated by a variety of other vegetation types including irrigated farmlands. Every now and again you stop for an impromptu skinny dip or towards sunset you stand on a small deck in the setting sun and have a delightful hot shower. Then at the end of each day (there are nine in total!) you pick a nice quiet spot to pull up on the verge and relax with  a glass or two of wine whilst you prepare a wonderful dinner chosen from the variety of fresh food carried in the frig/freezer on board. The nine days sees you covering a total of 300Km and you arrive totally relaxed!

If you think this is impossible I can assure you that my partner, Polly and I have done it in what we regard as the ultimate off-road vehicle.......”PLONK”! The difference is that our highway was in fact The Murray River......the section we chose for this voyage was from Echuca to Swan Hill which took in The Torrumbarry Weir and Gunbower Island wetlands. “Plonk” is the product of two circuits around Australia in a 13ft, pop-top caravan when we realized that we were missing many very special bits by not being able to take to the water. So nine ears ago I converted the ageing caravan by cutting it from its chassis and marrying it to a very rugged punt which was built to a very tight tolerance and substituting a sun-deck for the pop-top. The result has proved to be fantastic! By adding a tandem axle boat trailer we now have the best of both worlds. By keeping the unit relatively compact we are able to get off onto bush tracks etc., in fact with care we can venture anywhere our trusty old “Troupie” will go.

The start of this trip saw us suffering cold, wet weather through the Blue Mountains area and with a forecast for continuing rain we were afraid that weather on The Murray may not be any better than when I travelled The Hawkesbury River last year. However by the time we arrived at Echuca a couple of days later we were delighted to see a clear sky and lots of sun. We called at the shops and bought our perishable items (we couldn’t carry fruit etc from N.S.W.) and after launching “Plonk” we began loading our heavy items including the outboard motor, fuel (22litres), water (100litres) and our trusty “Cobb Cooker”. As we weren’t able to take our troupie and trailer to secure storage until next morning, we proceeded upstream past the historic wharf and a number of paddle-wheel steamers and as we drew close to a couple of very large house-boats which had folk on board I had them join in as we sang “Happy Birthday” to my “first mate” Polly, and we cracked a bottle of very cold Champagne........nice timing!

Next morning I secured the car and trailer and then discovered that good friends were visiting Echuca and about to head out on a paddle-wheeler cruise for an hour, so we were given a very special send-off for the first leg of our journey. This section of the Murray down to “Torrumbarry Weir” is fairly wide and although there are many snags along close to the banks, these were clearly marked as there was a water ski race about to take place at Easter. In fact the only problem we incurred at this stage was with a type of ski boat called a wake boat! These are deliberately designed  to generate a huge wash for the benefit of the person following on a wake-board but to the detriment of all other water users. This wash is also extremely destructive to the banks of the river........why are they allowed????? Although the wash is not likely to capsize “Plonk” (although it could possibly capsize a canoe etc.) it was very annoying and we had to take special action to secure items when they passed. They often came much too close and this seemed to give them great delight. As a result I lost my walking sandals overboard at one stage........an item you can’t replace along the way!

At Torrumbarry Weir we were required to negotiate a lock in which we dropped 5.5 metres. This lock was huge and “Plonk” looked like a toy. It is truly to the credit of the operator  that he went out of his way to make this a special experience, even ensuring that Polly could  come ashore to take photos. We were able to top up our fuel at this point which was nearly one-third of our way to Swan Hill. Once past the weir the river became much narrower and so flowed somewhat faster (I estimate on average about 2Km/hr), and contained a lot of snags, as the authorities will not permit any fallen trees etc to be removed from the water. Consequently we often had to dodge between snags and also be cautious of obstructions underwater. We have a draft of only 200mm and a beam of about 2 metres so we were able to avoid most of these, but I would not like to put a larger craft through here, particularly as we were often committed to go through with a chosen course due to the little rapids which flowed through the narrower sections. Stopping or turning around were not available options!

Every 2Km along the N.S.W. Bank of the river were markers indicating the distance from the river mouth. These were invaluable, together with a compass, in allowing us to follow the charts (which we obtained before leaving home). We push “Plonk” with a 5hp Tohatsu  4-stroke outboard motor with a high-thrust propeller (more power, less speed) and with the aid of a small skeg which I had welded to the bow of the punt, we had good control at all times. We used about 30litres of fuel for the entire journey. Obtaining potable water is a big issue, but as we could use river water for many purposes we managed to get through on about 100 litres. Hot showers were provided by dropping the immersion pump of our “Hot Water On Demand” into the river. This unit uses a small gas cylinder and is excellent.........nothing better than a nice hot shower, even though the river was warm enough for frequent swims along the way.

Polly loves good food and after our trip around Australia has become very adept at preparing fantastic meals in our rather small galley. We also used The Cobb Cooker to do a beautiful roast dinner which was made unforgettable due to the use of smoke created with twigs and bark from the River Red Gums.....superb! We have on board a 47 litre frig/freezer which is solar powered via a 100 amp/hour deep cycle battery. Lights, radio and TV/DVD are run separately via a 65 amp/hour battery. Apart from a problem with a faulty plug this system worked very well once again. I must point out that we enjoyed excellent weather throughout the trip....lots of sun for the solar systems.

Along the way we visited the historic town of Koondrook where they still have a timber mill. This is adjacent to Gunbower Island, (Australia’s largest inland island), which features wonderful wetlands. Unfortunately we soon discovered that it was “duck shooting season” so we didn’t hang around there. We towed our inflatable kayak much of the way and were going to go for a paddle here but due to the duck shooters thought better of it!

We had an anxious moment on day three when our 10Kg “Bruce” anchor became badly snagged and despite trying every trick I know to retrieve it, we had just about  given up when finally it came free!!!!! Although we carry another smaller “Danforth”, it would have made life a lot more tricky along the way. One disappointing issue was that we did not see as much wildlife along the way as we anticipated. Even the birdlife was not as prolific as we expected, but still very wonderful.

We look forward to a future visits to investigate other sections of “The Mighty Murray River”.