Hi All

I have a 2004 Mariner 30 hp. Starts fine, cruises fine but if I have been cruising at speed for a while it stalls as I back the revs off.

Im thinking it could be crap in the tank?

Thoughts?

Thanks

Jamie

Evening all,

I recently bought a 02 Chivers Predator 650. Since owning it there has been a lingering and sometimes overpowering fuel smell.

The young fella was ill when he fell asleep in the cab a few weeks back and more recently a couple of friends have asked about the fuel smell. When you lift the covers in the cabin, one side of which houses the incoming fuel hose, the smell is incredible. Both sides however, not just the breater and fuel hose side. 

I took it to the mechanic today who tipped the boat up on the foklift and a very small amount of water and fuel came out the rear. There is also a very small residual amount of fuel in the cabin, which I only noticed later today. 

The fuel tank is a fully sealed fibreglass unit, in the hull with no inspection hatches to check the hoses/ connectors at either end. 

My question is really, how the hell does anyone find a potential leak without basically drilling holes throughout the floor until you see something amiss? I rang Chivers to see if they could help but all the boys working there have only got experience with the ali boats, I understand Luke Chivers has moved on now? 

Surely there are other options available short of paying thousands to rip out the fuel tank and replace it? The whole floor would need to come up to do it! 

Any help/ thoughts/ experiences would be gladly received. 

 hi anyone using 2 stroke sail outboards? any info available? thanks

Built right here here in Geraldton (again) by Xtreme Marine, biggest Cray boat in WA at 86’

19 tonnes of plate, 700kg of wire...

 Hey guys I am looking at putting a floor in the tinnie i just bought. how hard is this to do?

Any Advice would be appreciated

 anybody out there know of a good mobile outboard mechanic (nor) 

 Hi All

Im looking for recommendations for a pre-purchase inspection service for a trailer boat in Freo.

Who is the go-to person?

Thanks

 A question for you car mechanics please, who deal with this stuff regularly

Cleaning of petrol fuel injectors-what works and what doesnt?
Im not talking tipping 200mls of wonder juice into the tank, rather insitu such as Carbon Clean or removing for cleaning.
My Suzuki outboards have close on 1000hrs, and probably due for a look but not keen to replace them for $250 eash x 8 = $2K

Anecdotal but I reckon Im using more juice than before (or maybe carrying more shit!) at the islands and reckon Im about 200rpm down at full bore.

Otherwise they start, run, idle and load up perfectly.

I know there are plenty of reasons to lose a little top end including cable adjustment, filters, prop damage etc

But just after some specific injector advice
 

 Hey guys and gals, doesanyone know anything about boat collars? How much they cost, if anyone in bunbury supplies or fits them. If they are any good? 

Had a problem last Tuesday out at sea. Couldn't start my Suzuki DF250 motor.

Managed to start easily back home with a different battery connected directly to the motor, and then started easily on the existing battery/ies connected directly.

Pulled out the old cables and found severe corrosion on the lugs particularly on the earth cables so I have decided to replace all cables from the batteries

Question would you use 25mm2 (3 B&S) tinned cable or 2 B&S (32mm2) not tinned.

I believe both can handle the approx starting current of about 100 amps. I intend to solder the cable, crimp with an hydraulic crimper and then solder the open end of the lug to exclude moisture and will also seal over the sleeve of the lugs with glue lined heat shrink.

Also have a 180 watt solar panel which is currently connected in parallel on a 2nd battery switch. Can anyone advise if this is the correct way to connect a solar panel

Thanks in advance for any answers

Eric

Not sure if this has been covered before but the mrs and i are in the market for a boat, she has asked me to get some figures on cost of ownership (service, insurance, gear, misc) for each year. Im completely new to boat ownership so any help is much appreciated. Looking for an ali around 6m something the family is comfortable on. Spending around 35-40k. Just need to get a budget sorted before jumping into anything.

 Hi I need to put some rod holders in my fibreglass boat but only have 85mm of room on the gunnel and all the rod holders ive looked at have flanges that are bigger. There is a grab rail along the edge so I could use rail mounts butI dont really trust them. What do you guys use any suggestions would be apreciated. Has anyone used this slide in type of holder.

On a recent trip up North I found out my VHF would only work within say 3nm ish. It used to work fine, could talk to Geraldton sea rescue from the Abrolhos no issues.

As it was a cheap GME setup d ~5yrs old I replaced the VHF and antenna with a new ICOM VHF and Pacific 2.4m 5db antenna.

However I am having the same issue with the new setup, VHF only works up to say 3nm. I am thinking there is 3 possible causes but any tips for narrowing down the cause would be appreciated.

1 - Dodgy power connection to VHF unit so that it isn't getting enough power. Visually checked the wiring, there was a slightly dodgy connection which I have fixed but haven't had a chance to test since. Not sure if this would reduce the receive ability (we had the VHF on all day at direction bank, monitoring 16 & 73 and heard nothing).

2 - Dodgy fitting the antenna plug. The pacific antenna came with the plug not fitted so the cable could be cut to length. I followed the instructions and thought I fitted it correctly but maybe not?

3 - Faulty antenna or VHF. Probably unlikely but I have been caught a few times before with faulty new products so can't disregard.

Any tips?

 Hi All

The finance minister (who shall be obeyed) is keen for the family to upgrade our boat. During our recent boat yard crawl we discovered an Ocean Master Enterprise 590. It is essentially a bare hull sitting on blocks/tyres in a boat yard, no outboard or trailer. A GME VHF radio and Lowrance hook 7 have been previously installed and that is it.

I thought I'd ask the FishWrecked community their thoughts on the essential items required to make the "new boat ownership" experience a good one. While I dont have endlessly deep pockets for all the goodies that make my eyes widen and my wallet cringe I do want to get the basic set up right from the outset. I can add extras later.

The boat yard is offering a Yamaha outboard in 130 or 150hp. What is the general view regarding outboards? Four stroke or direct injection (ie evinrude)? 

Thanks in advance

Matt

 Anyone had success buying an "off the shelf" cover for a cat?

7.2m Leisurecat

 Hi Guys,

I just realised I haven't put the new rego sticker on my boat I from a while back and can't find it anymore :(

Do boats still need the rego sticker on them or is it like cars now?

Thanks!

 I recently did a trip to Coral Bay and decided to have a mechanic service my trailer brakes.

After leaving the boat there for a few days, I was advised that the caliper pistons were stuck solid and couldn't be freed on some of the calipers and that the easiest solution would be to but=y new calipers which I did, but I decided that I would not throw away the old ones and that at some stage in the future, I would have a go at freeing the pistons myself.

That day arrived yesterday and after much searching on google / youtube etc. I came across 2 articles on using a grease gune to free the pistons. 1 simply pumped grease into the caliper. It worked but I reckon woyld leave an unholy mess in the the fluid channel so I decided to try the other route. Modify a grease gun and use brake fluid.

This entails clamping the grease gun in a vice with the plunger drawn back and the lever at the bottom. Fluid was then put in to the gun till I had a reasonable amount covering the grease gun piston. 

I had a few couplings made up so I could attach a line to the grease gun - then - crucially to a check valve so that fluid passing the check valve remained under pressure upstream and then a line from the delivery side of the check valve to the caliper.

after a few pumps with almost no resistance, the piston moved and was freed easily. I continued with the others and they too came out with no effort at all - even though the machanic was unavle to move them with compressed air

Will now clean up the old stuff and have rebuilt calipers ready for the next major trailer service

Feel free to contact me for further details if required

Eric

 I'm thinking about replacing the bow rail on my haines traveller 5.3 due to it having a bit of a bend in the front. It still does it's job so it's more for cosmetic reasons than anything. Can anyone provide any advise as to what it might cost in stainless? I'm not flush for cash and tossing up wheather it's worth it. Any advice will be appreciated.

 Has anyone bought from first-outboards.com.au before?

im looking at a new outboard up to 150hp but these new prices are cheaper than second ones I’ve seen advertised?

website seems legit etc but sheesh a new zook 150hp for less than 9k?

I was rear ended a few months ago. There was damage to the trailer socket on the car and the socket needed to be fully replaced. It was replaced with a geniunie toyota socket. I believe they needed to replace it with a full new wiring harness.

Since then the trailer plug has been a very snug fit. So much so that today when removing the plug the casing of the plug seperated from the wires. I needed to use pliers to pull the inside of the plug from the socket to remove the trailer. I have managed to fix the plug, although the casing is a little loose.

Is there a trick to loosen (and tighten) the socket to allow the socket to securely fit without being too tight. I noticed there is a screw beneath the socket, is this a screw to tighten the connection?

Howdy All

Question regarding securing radio aerials...

For radio aerials... in this case a GME AE346H
https://www.gme.net.au/catalogue/antennas/27-mhz/ae346h.aspx

A) Given that these exist as a separate item > https://www.whitworths.com.au/gme-replacement-aerial-knob-for-ae346-aerials
Due to them shearing off...

B ) And that these also exist as a separate item > https://www.gme.net.au/catalogue/antennas/27-mhz/aw346h.aspx
Due to them falling off, if you haven't tightened the knob up enough (in order to not shear the knob off)

Should I create a leash to secure the aerial to the base in the event of either A or B happening?
Thinking of using either >100lb mono or plastic coated wire trace?
Would the wire trace create any interference issues?

Example idea...

Don't ask me how I know about either A or B...

Knowing what I know now... I would have gone for a different type, but there were already similar bases installed on the deck so...

My trim and tilt relay has shit the tin. Was wondering if anyone knows where I could get an after market one from as a genuine part is quite exxy. Have searched eBay and don't have the exact one I am looking for. They have one that looks exactly the same but the part has an extra two 0's on the end. My part number is 63P-81950-00. The one they have is 63P-81950-00-00. Does anyone know if this is still compatable or should I stop being such a cheap arse. Thanks in advance fellas

Hi All

Does anyone know where I could get some SS Oval Head Machine Screws from in Perth? I have tried West Coast Fasteners in Balcatta and a couple of boat shops but everyone only has the regular countersunk type screws. I need the rounded/domed ones for a rod holder.

 Hi All,

New boat owner here, when I flush my Yamaha FT60DET with muffs on, I get a strong stream out of the tell tale but also another stream just under the cav plate at the front of the motor. I have taken a small video to show this, is this normal? 

 Hi guys,

Looking for info on the pacemaker 210 offshore. Are they prone to rot?

Whats the max hp rating or outboard weight? Pod vs no pod? Hull weight etc.

Cant seem to find much online so any info would be appreciated.

Cheers - Jim

 Hey there fishwreckers,

just wondering if anyone has any recommendationss for people/ compaies that do repairs and maintenance on small boats. I have a 5.8 meter Genesis Craft that desperately needs some tlc with a few small  issues. (New seat swivels anchor winch repair/ replace, new stereo speakers etc ).

unfortunately I have found no companies that are interested in understanding these small fiddly jobs and I lack both the time and the skill to do it myself. 

Cheers in advance!

 I’m thinking about buying an older savage gannet and wondering wat people’s thoughts are about them as in handling and stability 

 Hi,

Im looking at purchasing a late model Stejcraft - Monaco 610, offshore 640 or Islander 580. The models im looking at are all now made in Australia not the previous chinese models. 

Wondering if anyone owns or has been in one can provide feedback on how they handle and expected fuel economy with a mid power 4 stroke or Opti. 115hp Opti on the 580 and a 150hp 4 stroke on the 610 and 640. 

Most of my fishing is within 20kms but would do the occasional 50km trip 

Anyfeedback would be appreciated

 Hi everyone ,

im hoping that some of you guys who are way more experienced than myself can clear up a doubt that I am having with my boat? 

In a glass boat - should an aluminium fuel tank be grounded to a negative battery terminal ? 

Not sure if it matters but the fuel tank does have a sender hooked up to digital gauges ?

Thanks in advance 

Joel 

 Hi tech gurus -  96 Etec 75 -  my trim/tilt gauge and taco are not working properly - taco is only going up to about 1500pm and trim  has stopped working - should I be looking for an electrical issue there is power to both as the light is working in both - or is there a mechanical possibility? -Thanks in advance