There’s been somewhat of a hiatus on www.electrofishing.net, due almost entirely to my ‘electrofishing time’ being spent preparing a new boat. Based at the Australian Wetlands and Rivers Centre at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney’s eastern suburb of Randwick, Lord Faraday (named in honour of the electrical pioneer Michael Faraday) provides exciting new research and management capacity. Freed from the scheduling demand that sometimes hampers access to boats, UNSW researchers will now be able to respond quickly when rainfall brings new life to wetlands and rivers in the State’s west.

Lord Farday fishing the Macquarie River, NSW with generator cowling removed.

The hull is a 3.4m v-nosed aluminium punt design, custom built by Chris Veal and his team at Baldwin Boats, Mildura, Victoria with input from Clayton Sharpe at the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre. Powered by a 50HP 4-stroke Mercury and featuring the following luxuries, the boat is faster and much more stable (albeit no lighter) than the rather agricultural design of FRV PoleVolt:

• insulated generator shroud;
• side console steering with electric tilt & hydraulic steering;
• electric generator start wired into console;
• integrated live-well with fill-pump, overflow outlet, side-drainage and carpeted cover;
• deck wash;
• navigation, deck & spot lights for night fishing;
• 12V accessory port for charging your 3G iPhone (safety first); and
• an OH&S-lovers bow gate (my personal favourite – so civilised!).

On the plane in the Macquarie River, near Warren, NSW.

Burke O’Neill, director of ETS Electrofishing, supplied the MBS-1DP-COL-SR high-peak current control box, developed by Colton Perna for Australian conditions. This unit is designed for nominal 240 VAC, single phase, 50 Hz operation, from a portable alternator – in this case supplied by a 6.5 KVA Honda from Powerlite – and is capable of delivering 4.8 KVA to the electrode system. Unlike the standard MBS-1D, the safety interlock pad/switch on the COL-SR may be used to directly switch the high voltage output on and off without resetting the front panel START/RESET button. In laymans terms, this combines with the full ETS volt and amp metering to provide more effective and efficient fishing than the 5.0 GPP Smith-Root systems. It’s also about 2/3 the price and user serviceable!

Fishing the Warren Weir pool, Macquarie River, NSW.

Colton Perna completed the wiring of the boat to meet the rigorous Australian standards (which I will post in our resources section the near future), with waterproof safety switches and the ubiquitous quick-release anode fittings. The anode themselves are a relatively new design aimed at eliminating the hassle of setting-up the industry standard Wisconsin arrays – droppers can simply be clipped on and off using the stainless carabiners to change electrode resistance. A new, finger-friendly system of  anode attachment and rotation system, designed by Clayton Sharpe, is also fitted – instead of drop-in holding pins, two frilled circular plates mesh together under a large circular nut which can be adjusted while wearing gloves.

A tagged Murray Cod about to be released.

Our biggest teething problems have been with the trailer. Baldwin Boats supplied a Dunbier trailer, with beefed-up leaf suspension and a third-wheel. This set-up is perfect for launching recreational boats on standard concrete ramps into deep water. However, as any freshwater field technician knows, in the world of research these facilities are available at about 5% of sites visited. On the steep, muddy banks of Western NSW, retrieving Lord Faraday is quite an undertaking, especially if the trailer and boat need to be retrieved from the bottom of a steep bank separately (as is sometimes the case) – the extended corners of the front deck mean that the trailer has to be tilted skyward and the boat scooped onto the trailer, otherwise the deck corners smash into the trailer lights. The deck is also wider than the side skids which hug the hull once the boat is fully retrieved. Lastly, the roller adjustment stems hang down too far, which reduces 4WD clearance dramatically for no reason. We’re currently adjusting the set-up to resolve these issues.

A 3rd wheel winch launch at Warren Weir, Macquarie River, NSW.

Overall, Lord Faraday presents a big step forward in small boat design for Australian river and wetland electrofishing operations. So many great features have been packed on board, while still providing ample space for other gear and a 2- or 3-person crew. Once adjustments to the trailer are complete, I think one would be hard-pressed to find a slicker unit on Australia’s waterways (mind you, I’m slightly biased).

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