1. Beam — widest point, outside to outside.
2. Cockpit floor — transom/splashwell to the back of the seats; and gunwale to gunwale.
3. Gunwale height above the cockpit floor (knee/thigh support when fishing).
4. Hardtop — floor to underside (do we bump heads?).
5. Cabin door — width and height.
6. Cabin — door to the bow tip of the V-berth, along the centreline.
7. Each bunk — length along the hull; width at the head end and the foot end; height above the cabin floor.
8. Sitting headroom — bunk top to cabin roof.
9. The gap between the bunks at the door end (infill cushion size).
10. Under-bunk lockers — usable depth (fridge? battery? Porta Potti?).

• Who: the person in charge of a powered boat (over 5hp). Passengers don't need one — legally one licensed skipper is enough, but the boat sits idle if only one of us can drive it.
• How: do an approved course (online is quickest — some are free, some ~$100–150), sit the knowledge test ($33.70), then take your certificate to VicRoads/Transport Victoria.
• Fee: $42 for 1 year or $210 for 5 years. New licences come in 1 or 5 year terms.
• Easiest path: all do the online course the same week, sit the test, one trip to a VicRoads centre.
• VicRoads — marine licence

• Everyone who fishes needs their own (it's per angler, not per boat). 2026–27 online prices: 3-day $10 · 28-day $24.70 · 1-year $40.80 · 3-year $111.20.
• Buy instantly at service.vic.gov.au/fishing or the VicFishing app — it lives on your phone. Exemptions apply for some (age, concessions) verify.
• Tip: the 3-year licence is cheapest per year — and part of the fee funds fish stocking and better ramps.

• Every powered boat on Victorian waters must be registered, renewed annually (~$104.50 for powered vessels over 4m verify).
• First, find out if Uncle Uncle renewed it in Nov 2025. If he did, it's current to Nov 2026 and we just do the normal $21.50 transfer. There's no public online check for boat rego (the VicRoads checker covers cars and trailers only, and Service Victoria's renewal page rejected AS479 — consistent with it being cancelled or simply not due). Ask Uncle Uncle for a 2025 receipt or to look in his myVicRoads account, or ring VicRoads on 13 11 71 with rego AS479.
• ⚠️ If he didn't: the rego expired on 23 Nov 2025. Vic boat rego must be renewed within 3 months of expiry or it's cancelled — and after 90 days it can't be done online. So we register her fresh in our nominated owner's name (ID, bill of sale, proof of address) by phoning VicRoads on 13 11 71 or in person. The old number is probably gone. She can sit on land unregistered, but can't touch the water (not even a test run) until it's done.
• Normal transfer (for reference, when rego is current): seller and buyer sign the Vessel Registration Transfer form; lodge within 14 days with the $21.50 fee.
• Paperwork: a signed bill of sale (price + date — even if it's mates' rates), current rego number, HIN if available.
• PPSR search on the HIN or motor serial at ppsr.gov.au — checks no finance is owing. Even with family, it's a few dollars well spent.
• No stamp duty on boats found in Victoria verify.

• Light trailers (under 4.5t) transfer for $7.20 in a private sale; no roadworthy needed. Annual trailer rego is separate from the boat rego.
• Check the Dunbier's plate/rego first. If it lapsed more than 3 months ago it needs an inspection before re-registering. To tow it to a mechanic or weighbridge meanwhile, get an Unregistered Vehicle Permit — towing an unregistered trailer risks a ~$1,427 fine.
• While you're there: check the trailer's compliance plate (ATM) — we need it for the towing maths.

• Not compulsory in Victoria — rego includes no insurance. But uninsured, whoever's driving (and the registered owner) is personally liable for injury or damage. Don't launch without liability cover. Don't assume home & contents covers the boat — ask in writing.
• Who to ask (none publish age or hp limits — you have to ring):
  • Club Marine (Allianz) — has a lay-up option (~5%/month off when stored in a shed or fenced yard), no-claims up to 25%, minimum premiums apply.
  • RACV (underwritten by IMA) — covers cruisers; trailer included; agreed value; liability up to $10m. Fibreglass boats over 10 years may need a condition report from the last 5 years.
  • Nautilus Marine (Melbourne, 1300 780 533) — "subject to underwriting"; some old boats accepted, some declined.
  • Youi (comprehensive / third-party fire & theft / third-party only, $10m liability) and NRMA/CGU — both reportedly tightening on old boats.
• Age is the catch: rule of thumb, insurers get twitchy past 30–35 years and ask for a survey or seaworthiness report. Ours is ~40. Expect to need the mechanic's report and possibly a survey.
• What it'll cost est.: roughly $600–1,500/yr comprehensive on the water; $300–700/yr laid up / ashore. No reliable published figures — get quotes.
• Plan:
  1. Now, while she's being fixed: ashore / lay-up cover (fire, theft, storm, trailer), motor declared non-running. Fallback: fire & theft only.
  2. Before the maiden voyage: at minimum third-party with $5–10m liability and an agreed hull value. Full comprehensive is optional on an $8–15k boat.
• Have ready: photos (hull, deck, cabin, motor, trailer, builder's plate), bill of sale or valuation, the mechanic's report, storage address (Bouncing's, Seaford — on a trailer at a house usually rates well; say if it's behind a gate or in a garage), rego.
• Ask each insurer: age limit? Any issue with a 200hp two-stroke? Ashore-only for a non-runner? How do we name five owners when the rego's in one name? Minimum premium and excess?
• Co-ownership: declare it, and name every owner (or "any licensed operator") so a claim can't be knocked back because Flash was driving. Mention the Commodore's Folly.

An EPIRB isn't mandatory inside the bay but is cheap insurance. Check expiry dates on any flares and extinguishers that come with the boat. Display the ST173 minimum-safety-equipment sticker. Safe Transport Victoria — safety equipment

The Commodore's Folly is CoPCO's co-ownership agreement — a tontine. The deal: last one standing owns the boat. No selling out, no buy-outs. When an owner dies, their share passes to the surviving owners. The final survivor gets the boat (and the fuel bill).

A tontine was originally a 17th-century investment scheme: everyone paid in, and the payouts were shared among the survivors until the last one took the lot. They're banned as financial products today, but the "last survivor takes all" idea is legal for jointly owned property. In Australia it's called joint tenancy with right of survivorship: when one joint owner dies, their interest passes automatically to the others and doesn't go through their will. (Yes, it's also the plot of the Simpsons' Flying Hellfish episode.)

Draft clauses

1. Ownership. The vessel, trailer and gear are owned by the members as joint tenants. Interests: Merv 25%, Ace 25%, Bouncing 25%, Flash 12.5%, Northy 12.5% (Flash's and Northy's interests take effect when they sign — until then Merv, Ace and Bouncing carry them).
2. Survivorship. When a member dies, their interest passes to the surviving members in proportion to their shares. The last surviving member becomes sole owner.
3. No exit. No member may sell, mortgage or give away their interest. Membership ends only by death (or by unanimous vote of the others).
4. Pay your way. Costs are split by share through the CoPCO kitty. A member who's more than 6 months behind loses their vote on spending until they catch up. (Optional harder version: unpaid for 12 months = interest forfeits to the others.)
5. Wills. Each member tells their family that the boat is not in their estate — it goes to the survivors.
6. Rego holder. The boat is registered in one member's name as trustee for all members. If the rego holder dies, it's transferred to a surviving member.
7. The ding rule. If someone damages the boat, they pay the insurance excess.
8. Skippers. Members need a marine licence plus two supervised trips before taking her out without another member aboard.
9. Disputes. Settled by a majority vote of the shares. A tie is settled over a beer at the Patterson River ramp.

Not legal advice. Joint tenancy can be "severed" (for example by a written notice from one owner, or by a bankruptcy), which would turn that share back into an ordinary saleable share. So have a solicitor turn this into a one-page signed agreement, and get every member to note it in their will. Cheap, worth it, and great for the merch.

• Lights + indicators work · safety chains crossed and shackled · coupling latched and pinned · jockey wheel up.
• Wheel bearings — the #1 killer of old trailers. Check for play; repack yearly. Old tyres perish at 6–8 years regardless of tread (check the date code).
• Tie-downs and transom straps on; winch strap not frayed; motor supported.

• Hand on the bottom of the wheel — move it the way you want the trailer to go. Small inputs, go slow, use a spotter.
• Practise in an empty car park before ramp day. If it jack-knifes, pull forward and start again — nobody's judging (they are).

1. Rig in the prep area, not on the ramp: straps off, gear in, lines on, BUNG IN.
2. Let the hubs cool 10 minutes — hot bearings into cold water suck in water.
3. Reverse down, someone holds the bow line, unclip the winch last.
4. Float it off, walk it to the pontoon, clear the ramp, then park.

• Drive/winch on to the stop, safety chain on, pull out and tidy up in the car park.
• Pull the bung to drain. Flush the motor with fresh water (muffs on the hose) for 5–10 minutes after every salt trip, and hose the trailer.

• Off-the-shelf polyester (BCF, Whitworths): $150–450. Loose fit, needs a support pole, 1–3 years in Melbourne sun.
• Semi-custom (sized to make/model): $400–900.
• Custom-fitted marine acrylic (Sunbrella-type): $1,000–2,500, lasts 7–10+ years.
• Bimini (shade over the cockpit): $600–1,800 fitted or $250–600 DIY kit. Zip-in clears +$300–900.
• Who: Trim Industries (Mornington Peninsula), Westernport Trimming (Hastings), Quality Craft Covers and A Grade Upholstery (Melbourne). Many will quote from photos + measurements. verify

Tricks from people who've done it: strip and paint the old fibreglass rather than re-line; replace just the saggy foam, keep the covers; contact-glue thin ribbed marine carpet over ply panels (it hides glue and bumps); recolour tired vinyl with vinyl dye; ask a local canvas shop to cut foam to your paper templates.

• Convertible V-berth/dinette: drop-down table + filler cushion = seats four by day, sleeps two at night.
• Galley box: a removable ply box holding the stove, a small basin and the kettle — lift it out when fishing.
• Toilet: no sewage discharge is allowed anywhere in Victorian waters, so either a Porta Potti ($150–250, empty at home/shore) or a fixed toilet with a holding tank ($600–1,000 installed) and use marina pump-outs.
• Stowage: under-bunk lockers, hull-side nets, a rod rack on the cabin roof lining.
• 12V panel with USB sockets ($20–50) — phones, fish finder, speaker.
• Look: white/grey lining, navy cushions with coral piping (CoPCO colours), warm-white LEDs, teak-look cup holders.

Power: a compressor fridge averages 1–3A. Add a second battery (100Ah AGM $300–450, lithium $700–1,200) with a DC-DC charger (~$400) so the fridge never flattens the starting battery. A small solar panel ($150–300) tops it up. Simplest start: a fridge on a portable lithium power pack ($400–900).

The cheap way to toasties and fresh-cooked fish: a portable butane stove in the cockpit, a cast-iron skillet and a jaffle iron, plus a good esky. Save the lithium kit for later.

Gas safety on a boat (important):

• Cook in the cockpit, never in the cabin — LPG/butane is heavier than air and pools in the bilge, and burners make carbon monoxide.
• Don't put an oversized pan or griddle over a butane stove — if it covers the canister compartment the heat can blow the canister. Pan no wider than the stove.
• Store canisters in the shade, in the cockpit, not in the cabin or bilge. Take empties home.
• Stove on a flat, non-slip spot, out of the wind, away from fuel lines and the fuel tank vent. Fire extinguisher handy.
• The old stove in the cabin: work out what it runs on (metho, gas?). A 40-year-old fixed gas setup must comply with the gas-on-boats standard (AS/NZS 5601.2) and be checked by a licensed gasfitter — otherwise disconnect it and use the portable one in the cockpit.

Gas vs lithium: gas is ~$150 vs ~$1,500–2,800, cooks fish properly, and never goes flat. Lithium gives you a real fridge, no flames, and you take it home to charge. Plan: gas + esky now; add the power station + fridge once the motor's sorted and the kitty recovers.

The idea: one portable lithium "power station" (a big battery with 12V and 240V outlets built in) runs a 12V fridge all day and a sandwich press at lunch. No generator, no wiring job. It lives in the cabin, and you take it home to charge, or camping.

Will it last the day? A hot day out uses roughly:

• Fridge, 24 hours: ~300–500 Wh
• 4–6 toasties (sandwich press ~15 min): ~150–250 Wh
• A 1-litre low-watt kettle for a cuppa: ~100 Wh
• Total ~600–850 Wh → a 1 kWh station does a full day with a bit spare. For overnighters or a two-day trip, add the solar panel or step up to ~2 kWh.

Skip: induction cooktops and 2,000W kettles (they flatten a 1 kWh battery fast — a 15-minute fry-up is ~300 Wh), and petrol generators (noisy, fuel, carbon monoxide, no room).

Old-school backup: a cast-iron jaffle iron on a butane stove in the cockpit (never in the cabin — fumes and gas risk). $30 and it never goes flat.

Boat rules for lithium: keep the power station in a dry cabin locker, strapped down, off the floor where bilge water sloshes; salt spray kills electronics. Charge it at home, not unattended on the boat. LiFePO4 is the safe chemistry — avoid cheap NMC packs.

Later, the "proper" install: a fixed 100Ah lithium house battery charged from the motor via a DC-DC charger, plus a 1,500W inverter, wired in by a marine auto-electrician — ~$1,500–3,000 installed. Neater, but the portable unit is cheaper, needs no install, and a co-op can share it off the boat.

Small runs (5–10 of each) are fine for embroidery and DTF printing (usually a 10-piece minimum, no screens). Embroidery has a one-off digitising fee (~$50–80 per logo). Screen printing only pays at 25+. Stubby holders and golf balls have 50–100 minimums. Prices mostly ex-GST — add 10%. Close to Heathmont: Fully Promoted Mt Waverley; also Melbourne Merch (DTF and embroidery from 10 pieces). Jacket: Gill OS3 Coastal ~$350 — buy the jackets, then have them embroidered. The crest and retro patch embroider cleanest; the full badge prints best.