Quick recap. 25km off coast, sudden complete loss of power to GPS,Sounder & Radio, motor turns over but wont start, no mobile phone coverage, Emergency beacon activated.

Again let me clearly state that I am no expert.

Having been safely returned to base we quickly established that both batteries were extremely low despite being new & fully charged before the trip. We had been out fishing on two previous days without incident.

The motor problem:

A trip to Exmouth quickly confirmed that the high pressure fuel pump had died. Unfortunately no spare or after market fuel pumps are kept in Australia ( that we could find despite best efforts by a number of people) & delivery time from Japan is at least 3 months by quickest route. Trip cancelled & returned to Perth to further work out electrical issue.

The electrical issue :

Both batteries recharged & confirmed to be in good order.

The Voltage Sensitive Relay was no longer functional so the house battery had been gradually drained during the previous outings.

Lessons I have learned :

1) In my Yamaha motor in the VST (Vapour Separator Tank) there are two small fuel filters. We replaced these in March 2023 & noted they were both in need of replacement. We did not appreciate that the state of the filter attached to the bottom of the high pressure fuel pump ( which is inside the VST) possibly indicated carbon deposition from a failing pump.

The Yamaha booklet recommends inspection & or replacement of fuel pumps every 3 years or 300 hours. My motor was 13 years old & had 500+ hours on the clock. I still don't know how one would test a fuel pump easily.

The second clue I completely missed regarding the fuel pump function was a failure to achieve anything like full revs the previous day on a glass like bay when the throttle was briefly fully opened.

2) I had the battery management switched such that both batteries were connected. With the VSR not functioning the use of the GPS,Sounder etc were gradually draining the House battery & in turn the starting battery.

Conclusions :

I will now make sure that the Start battery & House battery remain separate except if needed.

I will, when appropriate, open the throttle completely & record the revs & speed. 

I will give very serious consideration to changing fuel pumps at 3 years or 3oo hours. I would definitely do this if the fuel filter at the base of the high pressure pump in the VST chamber showed evidence of carbon deposition.

Again our sincere thanks go to all those who responded to our call for help.

 
Enloy 

 Thinking of launching from Hillarys and pulling some lures and some rigged scaly macks out to behing rotto on the weekend. Has anybody gotten onto any tuna or other pelagics around perth metro.? cheers for any advice

 Thinking of getting a new outboard.

Looking at two cylinder Yamaha or the three 

cylinder Suzuki and Mercury.

May even go the 30 HP in those as they are the 

same as the 25's.

Any thoughts from the fish wrecked experts?

 Off to Japan later in the year,  can anyone recommend a guide for Lake Biwa? 

 
Enjoy 

 Hi all, am planning a trip to the gulf August 2025. As I have never fished there am seeking any advice about fishing by boat in the region. The boat is 5.5m and 115hp. Not wanting marks just pointers on were to head for a good bag out?

 Hi

Looking to store a camper trailer in Denham for 5 nights in December. Has anyone used someone up there recently. Thanks

 Always interested in reports of dhufish were there not supposed to be. 

So I know mates have got them off the cliffs at steep point, people catch them at Albany. I've caught them in 100m metro.

How far north and south have you heard of them caught? Ever in South Australia?  What's the deepest you have heard?.

 
Enjoy 

Went for swim this morning. Wanted to cook an occy. Got four real big ones ( water chilly). Kept 3 for bait cooked one . All of them went 2.5 to 3 kilo with heads off . Turned out really tender .

Got some thumpers today , it was a bit murky

Long shot but wondering if anyone on here or anyone knows the owner of the below Razerline. It was for sale at Boatsales WA but didn't sell so the owner came and picked it up. Wanting to get hold of the owner to see if we could negotiate a price. Would be a good project for my nephew and I to do up 

Cheers

Pig

 Hi All ,

          Would anyone have a contact number for Ian's winches please .

      Cheers Ray 

 
Enjoy 

 
Enjoy 

Haven't been out for few weeks due to 

work on the vehicle. Fishing at 10.30am

great vis . Had no trouble finding them

good winds .. using 3.5s all day . Bag

out by 1.30pm . Only few smalls . 
cheers pirate . 

Hey guys,

we are having an EOFY Sale - 20% off our entire range with code “EOFY20”

Some of the great deals in our sale

BKK octopus hooks 25pc from
1/0 - $8.40
4/0 - $11.20
6/0 - $12
10/0 - $14

Boxed BKK 2012006 hooks
6/0-7/0 - $32

Underdog hybrid rigs from
100g - $10
150g - $11.20
180g - $12.40
250g - $13.20

125mm soft plastics 5pk
$4 pack

120mm vibes
$8ea

Squid jigs
2.5 - $3.20
3.0 - $3.6
3.5 - $4

Various Lures from
Floating minnow $5.6
Trolling minnow $8
Stick baits
60mm $6.4
100mm $8

Plus much more, see the full range at https://www.mackdogtackle.com.au

at use “EOFY20” at checkout

Get in quick- Stock is limited!

Ends midnight Sunday 30th.

 
Enjoy 

 a few fish this couple months big varity of things off the rocks even an occy thats pickled in my fridge. havent been to the shops in a while witch has veen good

Hey all. Trying to get this going for my sister to sell. Put a car battery on it and disconnected the fuel tank, emptied the filter under the cowling and ran the fuel line straight from the bulb into a jerry can and it tried to kick a couple of times but no joy.

It's been sitting in a paddock since 2019 but was regularly serviced before that.

Can anyone please give me a tip on getting it to turn over?

Its a Yami 115hp 4 stroke

 Darwin is treating us well.

The weather is stupidly good during the dry season but not so good during the wet when the fishing is going off. Hence my decision to delete the flybridge from my Sharkcat and bring the the helm downstairs into the cab. Back in the day there was a helm station both up and down but since we've owned her there's only ever been the upstairs one. 
 

The flybridge is cool for visibility yet it's a pain in the rear to be running up and down the ladder all day whilst your out having fun. Strangely enough I've never fallen down it.... 
 

The weight factor for the Centre of gravity has been playing on my mind for a while and it's good to get all the weight down nice n low. I did some rough numbers and worked out by removing all of the top section and just leaving the roof we'd be removing a good 350 kg ( two people included ) from upstairs. This should change the way the boat handles in a pretty positive way. 
 

Having a hardtop over my head will keep me a bun load drier during the wet as before it was a canvas topped bimini upstairs. Once the top section has been removed I'm going to install a Caravan airconditioner in the roof of the cab and will be running that from the generator. This is going to be a game changer in the wet to be out on the water when it's stupidly humid yet hanging in comfort in the cab.

Heres a piccie of the stuff that I've relocated from upstairs down into the new helm area. It's a work in progress at the moment and next on the hit list is two make two new main bench seats on either side of the cab. Ill add some more images as the work progresses.

 
Enjoy 

 Hi everyone

Looking into getting an electric motor for the tinnie and planning on doing it on a budget.

Have a 4.0m tinnie so really only need a lower thrust motor,

Options are haswing 55lb, water snake stealth 54lb and water snake fierce 2 54lb.

Will I be plagued with problems by buying a cheapy and making it worth buying the more pricey motors, And if anyone has any personal experience with these some advice on these would be great

 Hi guys, just wondering if anyone out there knows where (preferably online or somewhere that will post)that I would be able to get one of these pots, I'm not fussed if it's the 10lb or 20lb version, just can't seem to find anyone who has them in stock, I know there are similar products available but the amount of sinkers that I will be making I just can't justify the cost

Cheers Yewie

 G'day everyone

My first post here so I thought I'd better say hello

Live in Broome and Fish in and around the bay with a bit of offshore if the weather suits

Once a year trip to Wyndham for 3 -6 weeks looking for the big girls in and around the five rivers.

Currently speaking to a wonderful young man from Genesis Craft by the name of Matt who believes he will be able to help me spend my money, such a nice chap ;)

Never actually owned a boat before though I am a fair deckie so have been in and around them most of my life :)

I'm looking at the Genesis Craft 580 Islander with a fair bit of fruit subject to having my wallet confiscated!

I have checked around and there aren't many of these things for sale second hand and those that are present pretty bloody well so I'm assuming they get a lot of love from their owners?

Anyway looking forward to the whole process tbh and will let you all know how I get on

 Hi just wondering if theres any tracks to get to swanbourne drain by car. Wouldnt mind hitting it up for old times sakes, havent been there for many years and had to walk there at the  time we use to fish it. Cheers for any advice

 
Enjoy

 Hey guys, my best mate and I in our 50's love our fishing but have been spoilt with access to some awesome creek and off shore fishing in the Pilbara. We made a pact to dedicate a week a year for a boys trip fishing. I've got a good 4.5m runabout but just wanted some suggestions of location to fish reasonably easy, beach is still good with 4x4 but not camp out.