I have an intermittent fault on a Suzuki 70 which has done about 150 hours in just over a year. Its been looked at by two marine mechanics after letting me down and today the same issue happened for the third time.

The following scenario is consistent with all three failures:

A longish run (around an hour) out to a fishing spot. Boat anchored and motor turned off for an hour or more. When trying to restart the motor it behaves as thought the shift lever is not in neutral and therefore no power. Repeated jostling of the shift lever does eventually get it the system to know its in neutral and the motor starts BUT soon cuts out as if there is fuel starvation. It will start repeatedly and run for 5 or so seconds before cutting out.

Both mechanics have been sceptical that the shift lever neutral issue is related to the engine stalling but the same thing has happened three times. I have had the boat out a number of times between these failures with no issue at all.

The motor starts and runs without issue from cold the following day.

Any ideas?

seen some boats with bunks made of a composite material (think it's about 100x50mm or 150x50mm) it avoids the need to cover the bunks with carpet or urethane strips, anyone know where to get this material from in Perth ?

cheers

mark

Getting my boat ready for a early morning fish on Friday and I've noticed my trailer lights are faulty. Firstly about half of the rear passenger LEDs are out. The main problem though is when I turn my headlights/running lights on the taillights come on but then the brake lights don't work. With my running lights off the brake lights work fine. The indicators work all the time. I suppose my question is are the rear passenger LEDS which are out somehow causing this problem or is it somehting else entirely? Do i just need to replace them?

My electrical knowledge is limited to turning on a torch or changing light bulbs.

Cheers

Pete

So who is going to spot me one of these to try out. Ive got the boat and will tip the fuel in for free . . . . http://www.globalsuzuki.com/marine/lineup/df350a/index.html

 anyone know whats happening to the shop in wangara. Has been closed for days and mobile is disconnected. No signs saying shane is on leave. Just hope he is ok. Top bloke and does a great job. 

 Hey! 

The Boss gave me permission to buy an upgrade boat to the old custom stabi, so found a seaswirl in Bunbury that we both love, and after a test drive put an offer in pending a mechanical inspection.

Does anyone on here know of a mobile mechanic who can do a pre purchase inspection in Bunbury? I did a quick google search and found bluewater, nash and sportsmarine. I also did a FW search but it seems Kris from Maritech is no longer in business. Help would be much appreciated. 

Cheers,

Josh

Also the old girl will be up for sale for anybody looking for a winter bargin!

Yesterday I had the anchor jam and while driving towards it and winching up some rope a larger than normal wave overloaded the bowsprit and it cracked and pinged one of the studs off the bow rail mount. It has probably taken a bit too much load from the anchor winch on too many ocassions.

Anyway long story short, I'm looking for recommendations on good glass repair business North of river. I can and probably will repair/strengthen this myself to save costs but I will probably need help with the gel coat. I want an exact colour match and the finished product to look OEM.

Any recommendations appreciated.

Looking into a getting 2.4 mtr VHF antenna and was talking to the tech @ WACB in east perth...well he told me that GME and ZCG/Scalar were from the same factory-just diff. trade names. Well I was a bit surprised!! Never had much time for GME stuff. I am looking @ spending the money on a Shakespere Galaxy 5225xt.
So the question is what VHF antenna do you have and are you happy with it's range ??

Has anyone had any expierience putting a seal kit through a ultraflex helm ? Have got a seal kit but can't seem to find a picture of a breakdown of the helm or a you tube video. I think it will be a fairly straightforward job but would prefer to have a picture of the breakdown or some form of instructions 

any info or help would be appreciated. 

Cheers

mark. 

General Information if anybody is interested - I have just insulated and water proofed my 2 under floor kill tanks so I now have the option for Kill tank or Eskys.

Insulated tank with Insulating paint additive into 2 pack. Rolled on 3 thick coats. Trick is to isulate the lid (blue board) high density foam and sealed with Neam Board.

Installed an aluminium strip to top of well for lid seal to seal against. added seal to lid.

Ice last for days now. No more eskys in back of boat and deck water no longer an issue.

Insucladd - Micro Ceramic spheres ls with air pocket

Blue board insulating foam

Nema board to protect and seal the foam

16 x 6mm Raven EPDM seal 

 Had to get a repower for the boat after blowing a cylinder, fuel pump, fuel sender on the Verado due to water in the fuel. Decided to get a new etec G2. First trip out today and was quite impressed with the power compared to what I had. Wasn't much difference in noise level so will be good to see how my fuel consumption goes. Went for a 200HO which should have the boat ticking along pretty quickly. 

I'm looking at a seaswirl striper 1851 

Has anybody been on one? 

I am looking for some feedback. 

I know they are a wide American boat, apparently 2.57m according to the internet. So maybe needs permits to tow. 

Only has 115 on it also, so maybe underpowered slightly? 

Cheers in advance. 

 Just had some clears fitted to the sides of the existing bimini . They are zipped on at the top, but with the dreaded press studs along the bottom edge. In my experience, these go to *hit very quickly in a marine environment if left alone. What are peoples' opinions on the best way to keep them working? Silicon spray, silicon grease, saw vaseline touted once? 

Hi all,

On my last trip out I had to retrieve my anchor manually as the stressfree anchor winch kept slipping.

Once home and upon further investigation I noticed the shaft collar was damaged. 

Now I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction on where to get this fixed. It appears that it may of been pressed and then welded to the drum.

Any help will be awesome. I'll be contatcting Stressfree on Monday as well, but if I could find someone local that would be better.

Cheers 

 As requested, how to get ya boat off the trailer for whatever reason.

I have done it onto tyres on the ground with the Trailcraft, which isnt hard if you have a good winch and a roller trailer.

The following way works with bigger boats and is easy to get back on also.

It took me about 40 min this time, alone but is the second time Ive done it.

If you look closely, in all the pics the boat is actually already off the rollers and ready to move.

I happened to have 7 4wd tyres/rims that I chucked under there also in case the worst did happen like some asshole up to mischief, cant fall on concrete at least. 

Step 1/

Choose a solid spot, obviously concrete etc is best, and/or spread the load as wide as possible at the base, even concrete that is thin may not like the load over a tiny area, like stillettos on a timber floor.

Measure the height off the ground at the transom at both the chine and the keel., then also near the front.
Get an idea of where the centre of gravity is by looking at the trailer, roughly its going to be about a foot or so in front of the axle or centre of the 2 axles, it may suprise you how far back it is.

Gather enough blocks, preferable solid jarrah or similar ones.

I definitely dont recommend concrete blocks or bricks, if they shatter its all over red rover.

However if you do (and in any case) try and use soft pine as the last block against the glass, this crushes a little and spreads the load out.

Step 2/

If you dont have a good jocky wheel, put it on a skate board like in my pic.

Lower the towball as far as possible to the ground.

Step 3/

Chock the back up, making SURE that at least one of the chocks will provide lateral stability, also chock under each chine.

Its a bit of trial and error, and this is where the softwood helps as the crush spreads the load across 3 points (keel and chines)

Wind up the jocky wheel whick lowers the stern onto the blocks, after a few goes youll get it right, making CERTAIN all blocks are tight.
Pretend you are the ratbag kid of the house and boot all the chocks and shake the boat. Still on the trailer at the front it cant fall anywhere.

Step 4/

Once you are happy with that, wind the jockey wheel as high as itll go and chock under the front (just aft of a trailer cross member) then lower down to level and after a bit of trial and error youll have the boat about an inch or 2 clear of the trailer

Now if you need to, let some air out of the tyres to lower a bit more and pull the trailer forward by hand until the front block touches the next crossmember.

Use a trolley jack to take the weight (with wooden blocks) and move your front chock around the crossmember.

At this stage the boat is still over the trailer so not much to go wrong really

step 5/

Keep moving trailer forward and juggling blocks until its clear

Tomorrow in the daylight Ill take some more pics

 OK fellas ,

Thanks for the help on the other post , here is another one for you. While going through google yesterday researching boat catches etc i came across a product called Keel Gaurd . As i have a few chips in the bow of my boat ,mostly from clunking the trailer whilst driving on, and before you start its not easy to get the right depth for the trailer everytime epecially when there is a bit of surge but mostly i blame the deckie lol. Question is has anyone ever used it ? and is it any good? Lots of stuff about it on the Hull Truth but i wanted to know if anyone local has used it and if there is an Aussie made or equivalent or distributor for it.I reckon i would only need 5 ft or so just to cover the leading edge of the bow.

Cheers

Willo

 Just after opinions on how well these work and what brands are the best. For a 6 metre Ali    cheers Ace

 Hi Guys , 

Well after a successful solo effort last week , couldn't find a deckie .I bit the bullet and took the boat out solo , first time in about 6 yrs . Managed to bag out on dhu , snapper and K George. After that i am revitalized and will be doing more. Which brings me to my question.  I have a 5.8 Haines centre cab , it's a heavy f@$% and it took me a while to launch and retrieve,  luckily it wasn't busy at the ramp but if i am going to be going solo more often i would like to streamline the launch anf retrieval times , usually with a deckie i can do it in undet a couple of minutes. Do people rate the boat catch and are there any better methods ?

hey guys just after people's opinions on the pros and cons of skid type trailers. Looking at a new trailer for my 5.9m seafarer , but always had wobble rollers on my trailers. Do skid type trailers make launch and retrieve harder ? Any advise would be great. Cheers paul. U

I need the services of a marine mechanic who knows his way around a Mercruiser Alpha 1. I live in the Northern  suburbs. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 So the bait board i have is a custom made moulded white teflon style.  Its looking pretty ratty and was thinking of trying to recondition it. Does any one know of a liquid or spray on product that can give it a new look. 

Hi All, wondering if there is some wonder product out there to get rid of Pilbara dust stains on white boat cushions? slowly getting worse and probably attack it before it gets really bad.
Cheers

I need some ally welding done ie, extensions to the hand and guard rails, some extra tube bending for additions to guard rails. Need a ladder custom made. All in 25 mm ally tube. Any one recommend a welder/shop or maybe a member here does it privately. I am NOR (Karrinyup) boat is on trailer so can go to a home or shop or come here. Regards.

 Hi all, 

My first post on fishwrecked, if i'm digging up old news please let me know.

I've been looking at upgrading outboards and i came across this website. http://www.yamaha-outboardsale.com

I'm always wary of online scams that seem too good to be true, so i'm here to ask if anyone has seen this site or bought from there before?

Thanks in advance

Jimbo.

 Does anyone use the navionics app? If so what's your experience been like? Is this a viable alternative to a gps unit?  What does a plotter do that the app on an iPad can't? Looking at this as an alternative to a combo unit. 

 Hi All,

As some of you will know, I'm very new to boating.

I'v been up the river 3 times, mandurah once, and cockburn sound twice.

Im in a 4.8 Meter Half cab.

Last Saturday afternnon I was on D9 anchored up, there was a slight swell 0.5 to 1 meter at most.

Anyway, just 2 of us on the boat, and Im sitting on the built in seat at the back on the starboard side by the engine, and my mate is working on tackle on port side. Anyway, he stands up, and takes a big step over to the starboard side in front of me to grab something.

I dont know if we has just gone into the trough of a wave or something at the same time, but with the weight of both of us on the starboard side, the boat suddenly raised up a lot on the port, to the point where I grabbed the side of the boat thinking this might not end well.

Anyway, nothing happened, and I might just be being a big princess, but I was wondering how easy is it to tip a 4.8M half cab ?

If for example, I jumped in for a swim, and my mate gave me a hand getting back in, could that tip us ?

If I had 3 or 4 people on board, would it be pushing my luck ?

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After just over a year my Lowrance Elite 5 suddenly played up today. The first issue was that it lost the Navionics chart. GPS working and all waypoints available but no chart. Then it intermittently started rebooting itself.

I checked the connections and removed and cleaned the card but the problem remains.

Any suggestions or help greatly appreciated.

Ok guys and girls, IV taken on a baron 16 footer as a rebuild project with a friend. Neither of us have experience in most tasks involved which is half the reason why we chose to take it on... Plus we have a boat at the end.

Couple of questions on the paint side though, I'm looking through the Hempel website and there are way too many options on there for the untrained eye. I'm chasing some info on what products to use where. IV gathered I can sand down existing old gel coat and use a high build primer over that for a couple of coats then topcoat over top, I'm also thinking I can do this with the hull? Can I use a topcoat under the waterline ? Any product info would go a long way and process crash coarse would put my mind at ease

just wondering if there is someone who can tell me the weights of above.

boat/trailer/motor/gear etc.

hoping someone who has one of the above has been over a weighbridge.

I know I can find out OL cruiscraft sites etc but stated never seems to be right.

 Hi Guys

I recently imported a boat from the states and it only came with two meters of chain?

Im wondering if anyone has around 14 meters of 7mm short link chain for sale or where I can get some?

Cheers