5.2m boat in croc country: “The boat used to be so tippy”

“I’m a keen fisherman up here in croc country, and I enjoy getting out on the water as often as I can – sometimes four times a week when the weather is good. I’ve got a 5 metre aluminium plate, side console boat and though I’m not a great swimmer, who wants to go swimming up here where crocs are everywhere? But the other day I ended up in the drink, due to an unforeseeable accident.

“But before I get to that, I’d better describe my boat. Shortly after I got my 5m ex-government boat, I removed the built-in-seats to make for more room inside, but I ended up removing the only flotation the boat had. And not being a good swimmer, my wife used to worry whenever I went fishing or crabbing by myself.

“So when I found the Kapten Boat Collar, as an alternative to reinstalling internal foam, I was thrilled to solve my buoyancy problem. A mate helped me fit the Collar, and now my wife rests easy whenever I go fishing by myself. We’re so impressed with how the external flotation of the Collar has improved the stability of the boat, and my wife’s a lot more relaxed when the grand-kids come out with me now, too. It’s truly the best thing I’ve ever put on my boat, even better than the 1.34m Barra I caught last year.


“My biggest joy is how many safety features the Collar adds. Anyone with a family, especially with young kids, should definitely have a Collar on their boat for that reason alone. But the whole overall fishing experience is so much more enjoyable since the Collar turns all the spray down, softens the bang when driving, and makes driving in choppy conditions a breeze.There’s no better example of the Collar saving my life than what happened to me last month, when I fell out of the boat into a crocodile infested river. We passed several 4-4.5m crocs before we arrived at the mouth of the river to fish. My mate threw out the front anchor while I threw out the rear anchor. But I got my hand caught in the anchor rope and with the forward casting motion, I lost my balance and was pulled out of the boat, with the anchor.

“It was a second or two before I could get my hand loose, but when I popped to the surface, all I could think was, ‘Get out! QUICK!’It was an effort to reach up and try and grab the high side of the boat, but the Collar was right there, so it was easy for me to lift my knee onto it, and pull myself out of the water. I was back in the boat before my mate even got to me. The boat barely even rocked. My mate laughed and said, “Felt like a swim, did ya?””I’d never been so grateful for the Collar than at that moment. Before the Collar, the boat’s sides would have been far too slippery for me to get traction on, and the boat used to be so tippy, it probably would’ve tipped my mate in, as well, if he was trying to haul me out of the water. But the biggest realization is knowing, I would have been a croc’s meal if I had’ve stayed in the water much longer than I did!

Paul. B.

 Self-fitted a Regular Collar
June 2013
5.2m ex-government glass bottom & aluminium, side console boat
Townsville, QLD

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