Boating/Engine - Information/Questions - Trouble Shooting - Quick Fixes
under floor floatation
Submitted by fishin mad on Wed, 2014-10-01 19:59Hi guys doing up a little 12ft dinghy and am putting a floor in it.Question is i have some foam which i might put under floor ,does it matter what type the foam is and do you think it will make a differant to the boat.i think the foam is the same as in coolroom panels about 120mill thick.also should i wrap the foam in something.
Cheers Davo
- 6 comments
- 4010 reads
Change of boat name
Submitted by Katman on Wed, 2014-10-01 16:18Hi
Have just changed the name of our new boat.
Have always been an AC/DC fan so it was time to pay my respect.
Not a superstitous person so no problem there , although I did say a words to the four winds and Neptune just in case.
Still getting used to handling a larger boat so if you see me getting it wrong at Hillaries, come up and say hello and laugh at my feeble boat handling attempts haha.
Cheers Katman
- 8 comments
- 2603 reads
Sea Rider owners
Submitted by Katman on Wed, 2014-10-01 16:08Hi
I know there are a few other SeaRider owners on this sight.
My questions to you are ...
What size boat do you have ?
What is the weight on the trailer ?
What size fuel tank ?
I have just bought a 5.5 mtr SeaRider and am not sure of what it would weigh
Thinking of taking it to a weighbridge soon to confirm.
Alternatively if you have another brand of plate ali 5.5 mtr boat , what does it weigh ?
Cheers Katman
- 2 comments
- 2829 reads
Water pump for 96 40hp Evinrude
Submitted by Adam Gallash on Wed, 2014-10-01 10:54Hi Crew,
A mate has asked me to chase this up for him, can anyone tell me where the best place to get this online is (delivery to Karratha)
Cheers,
Adam
I'm chasing a price for a new water pump for my 1996 40 hp Evinrude outboard.
- 1 comment
- 1768 reads
Red Oxide verses Galvanising
Submitted by eziliving on Wed, 2014-10-01 09:25Hi guys just wondering your thought on red oxidising a boat trailer. The reason being that the boat is based in port hedland and the trailer is 10mtrs long. The cost of transporting it to Perth and then back up for galvanising would probably put another $4k on the cost. I'm keen on using cold galv as I done some touch ups on my other boat in Perth last year and the rust has reappeared already.
I remember the old man years ago doing his but then he sold it so I don't know how long it lasted. Just chasing your thoughts and experiences with using it.
- 12 comments
- 6125 reads
Mercury internal fuel lines?
Submitted by anypuddle on Tue, 2014-09-30 18:00Dear fishwreckers, I need some advice on sourcing the fuel lines under the cowling on my 2002 90hp (90ELPTO) 2 stroke Mercury, the fuel line got a little leak so tried a fix with knead it style metal putty - worked but the line split again above the repair. Any advice on getting the lines and installing them myself?
Cheers...
- 3 comments
- 2131 reads
HIN Tags
Submitted by Katman on Tue, 2014-09-30 17:04Hi
Got an older boat that I am about to put up for sale but have owned it before HIN tags came in.
I need to get one fitted before I can sell it.
Does anybody know who I can go to North of river and how much it costs ?
Anything else involved ?
Cheers Katman
- 1 comment
- 2187 reads
Outboard advice
Submitted by Bunny on Mon, 2014-09-29 15:44At the risk of starting a Holden vs Ford type 'debate'
I'm thinking of repowering our boat. The original thought process was a 60HP Yamaha or Suzuki 4 stroke. But then the quotes came back in which also included a Mercury 60 4 stroke which currently sits $1300 cheaper than any of the others. I'm finding it hard to pass this up.
Any feedback on people on the know about Mercury these days will be greatly appreciated as I am leaning that way but have not heard too much about them in recent years.
Thanks in advance.
- 13 comments
- 2975 reads
Hardtop Windscreen with window insert
Submitted by Mitch88 on Mon, 2014-09-29 06:21Currently have a 200 model Razerline hardtop with windowns right upto the hardtop.
Looking into putting a window insert into one of the glass window to let the breeze through on them hot summers day.
Has anyone done this?
Could you just take the boat to a glazier and get it cut in or would you have to go to a boat shop?
Ive attached a photo as to what I would like.
Regards Mitch
- 1 comment
- 2151 reads
Wanted: Busselton boat inspection
Submitted by tincey on Sun, 2014-09-28 18:24Hey guys looking at buying a boat based in busselton, just wondering if anyone on here knows of anyone down there that I can get to go out, inspect it and give it a good look over.
Cheers
Todays project - Trailer Walkway
Submitted by sstevee on Sat, 2014-09-27 20:03So apparently there was some footy game on today, but i had bigger fish to fry (not literally because I can never get out to fish!!!)
I've been planning to get around to installing a trailer walkway since getting the boat about 2 years ago and today was finally the day.
My trailer is an older roadmaster with a long draw bar so when retrieving I either get a wet bum or try to do a circus impression which has nearly ended in tears a few times.
This is how it started out.
And my materials, 600mm wide aluminium walkway, 150x75x12mm Galv u-bolts and some 30x30x1.6 Galv square tube.
So I basically cut the walkway into two sections, one long section for the front of the trailer and one shorter section for the space above the axel.
I also cut the square tube into 500mm lengths and drilled them so the u-bolts could go over the draw bar, through the walkway and through the tube to act as support and the means to clamp it all up.
The rear sitting in place.
The front sitting in place. I had planned to frame the entire walkway with U channel but the stuff I got when I bought the walkway turned out to be too small. The walkway was about 23-24mm thick and the inside of the U channel was 20mm. So i had to settle with just shaving the ends of the walkway with the grinder to get at least some channel on it to protect from losing the skin off shins.
And this is what it looked like just before I squared it all up and bolted it down. The picture from underneath shows how it was all mounted up.
Turned out to be solid as a rock.
Hopefully I'll get to give it a try soon enough!
Cheers
Steve
- 8 comments
- 6451 reads
Interference on VHF from the fish finder
Submitted by Leigh85 on Fri, 2014-09-26 23:56I have recently gotten a VHF radio and I am getting a lot of interference from the fish finder(lowrance elite 7). The cables originally all went through the dash through the same spot, but thought I would try remove them to see if it fixed the problem and it doesn't. Have tried removing the power only and the antenna only and both with no change.
even if the radio is on the opposite side of boat still get it, I have also noticed that it is only when the antenna is plugged in that I get the interference.
when the sounder is off I get good two way comms at a good distance but as soon as it is turned on alof of interference and can't receive anything, not even sure if it goes out.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions to fix this?
Cheers
Leigh
- 6 comments
- 3262 reads
Mercury150 Four Strokes
Submitted by Travisd on Thu, 2014-09-25 20:36Anybody running one of these on their tub.
Typically have run Yamaha on most of my boats but these look quite interesting
Old motor was 189kg and these aren't much heavier so the extra horses would be nice
They look simple to service too
Thanks
- 5 comments
- 2237 reads
VHF & AMFM antenna spacing
Submitted by Bluedog on Sun, 2014-09-14 17:57Hi All,
Just wondering if anyone has their VHF and AmFm antennas mounted pretty close together and whether or not it causes any issues in reception/transmitting?
My current amfm antenna is a crappy dipole one so I've purchased a proper one and the easiest spot to mount it is beside the VHF one, about 0.5-1 foot away.
- 3 comments
- 2104 reads
Dash wiring rearrange
Submitted by Rob H on Wed, 2014-09-10 19:50got a bit tired of looking at the underside of my dash panel, it probably started off good but then all sorts of addons have been fitted with inline fuses all over the place.
Bought a Narva 12 fuse panel of Autoelecau, and chopped, re-routed and replaced a fair bit of wire.
Still looks a little untidy to me but the only inline fuse now is the "always on" bilge pump.
Gave it all a test run to the islands last week with Dan (Bitten) and another mate, much easier if you need to fault find a dodgy piece of equipment.
- 6 comments
- 2785 reads
Question for Auto Sparkies
Submitted by Cruise Control on Sun, 2014-09-07 10:11I need some direction in wiring up a 12 pin flat trailer plug. I have just had a new tow bar and tekonsha P3 fitted to my vehicle. When Parkside fitted they recommended a 12 pin flat connector so that I could get power to recharge the backup battery for the Hydrastar brake system. So I have picked up a 12 pin male connector for the trailer end and removed the 7 pin round connector.
I am now presented with a trailer cable that has five wires in it and a separate heavier blue wire and an even heavier black wire. When I google the wiring diagram I get for the 7 smaller pins:
- Brown = tail lights on pin 7
- Green = right indicator on pin 4
- White = earth on pin 3
- Red = stop on pin 6
- Yellow = left indicator on pin 1
So that accounts for the wires in the trailer cable, I assume I don't need pin 2 (black) or pin 5 (blue) to be wired to the SMALLER pins. So which of the larger pins do I wire the blue and the black to ? From what I can see on the car end, pins 9 and 10 have been used but not sure which is for what?
Any help will be appreciated.
- 4 comments
- 3890 reads
Drilling stainless steel
Submitted by Mattyb84 on Sun, 2014-09-07 07:49Hey guys trying to work out how to drill some holes for spotties in my stainless bar work. I've tried fast with oil slow with oil and with good viper bits mad just seems to destroy the bit before I get even close to a hole. Any help would be much appreciated cheers
- 30 comments
- 4214 reads
where can you buy a lockable fuel cap to stop fuel thieves in perth
Submitted by joe amato on Fri, 2014-09-05 10:06just had fuel stolen from my boat recently in my yard,just wanting to know where i can get a lockable fuel cap in perth,have tried whitworths,allboats,boatcity and hitech marine,would even like to know if you can get custom fuel caps,even syphon stoppers cheers
- 7 comments
- 3339 reads
Advise on Dinghy Outboard
Submitted by Jackfrost80 on Thu, 2014-09-04 23:20I have a 3m Spindrift plastic twin hull dinghy and I bought a new 6hp Tohatsu to avoid needing a skippers ticket for my Wife and Dad who will also use it. When I'm out on my own or with my 4y old we have no problem getting on the plane and cruising around at the 8kn limit in the river but when I take my brother, Wife or dad she struggles and I only get 6kn out of her which can feel agonisingly slow.
I plan to head out to Parmelia Bank, just off Hillarys, Palm Beach etc when the conditions are really calm and am considering trading in my 7 week old outboard and buying the 9.8hp. The builder's plate says 6hp but the 9.8 is the same weight as the 6 so I can't really see a problem there and the manufacturer said they use a 10hp on theirs. The 9.8 is that it is the exact same engine as the 6 but with different head, carby etc so I can put a 6hp decal on the cowling to avoid the need to only have a skipper driving it.
What is everyone's thoughts on upgrading the outboard i.e. will the9.8hp be enough to get two adults or two adults and a small child planing or is the trade in not going to be worth the $780 it is going to cost me? Stupidly I've now realised that I should have just paid the extra $200 for the 9.8 initially and whacked a 6hp sticker on a it.
- 10 comments
- 4448 reads
penguin phantom
Submitted by Jayden20 on Wed, 2014-09-03 05:35gday guys
- 2 comments
- 2285 reads
wiring a brake actuator
Submitted by skipjack on Tue, 2014-09-02 19:59im wiring my new brake actuator and controler and i have wired the blue/ controler to the number 5 pin in the trailer plug as per the wiring diagram from the red ark contoler but it dosnt say anything about a 12v wire to the actuator but in the diagrame for the actuator it says you need a 12v supply and you connect this to the black wire on the actuator do you just wire it to the reverse light pin in the trailer plug as it would be the only one left?
- 5 comments
- 2158 reads
2-Stroke oil ratio
Submitted by mr_meks on Sun, 2014-08-31 09:58OK so I have an old 96 evinrude 115hp thats had the oil injection system disconnected and I'm running 50 to 1 premix. Trouble is she smokes a fair bit at low speeds and it kind of kills the enjoyment factor of cruising around rivers slowly with the family. I was planning on filling my sub tank with 100 to 1 ( half the oil ) , and making sure I dont go over 5 knots. Anyone think this is a really bad idea?
- 12 comments
- 3276 reads
control box beeping
Submitted by cell on Sat, 2014-08-30 19:06hi guys my father in law and i were working on the boat today we have changed the impeller the gear box oil and done new batterys etc etc bla bla and all that jazz, what i would like to know is has anyone ever had a problem with the control box continuously beeping at us, has anyone ever had this problem and worked out what the fix was. The boat is located in ellenbrook and the area has low water pressure but could be wrong, i have even tried to call Shane from hayway's but to no avail. any info will be very helpful, as we were planning on going out tomorrow
cheers guys
- 9 comments
- 2618 reads
Buying a boat
Submitted by Percula on Fri, 2014-08-29 23:20Hi all
Seriously looking at buying a boat, and was wondering about private buying.
How do you check if there is money owing on the boat? What else should I be looking for in terms of owner actually owns it etc? Is the HIN on the paperwork?
Any by other tips welcome. :)
- 2 comments
- 2472 reads
anchor winch
Submitted by paul d on Thu, 2014-08-28 17:00Hi , Does anyone have a south pacific anchor winch on their boat ?
Are they any good ? Any info/feedback would be great .
Cheers Paul
- 2 comments
- 2502 reads
Battery rejuvenation
Submitted by collin g wood on Thu, 2014-08-28 11:20Hi all, recently found some info about using Epsom salts mixed with des tilled water to rejuvenate car/ boat batteries, all info I found was from the US, just wondering if anyone here has tried it? And does it work? Won't go into detail of how it's done but it's easy enough to find on the web. Cheers
- 2 comments
- 2072 reads
connecting gps to VHF?
Submitted by Rob H on Thu, 2014-08-28 10:35Im trying to get my Navman DSC to work with input from my Lowrance without success, has anyone done this?
Its a Lowrance LCX37 to Navman 7100.
Googling doesnt gring up an installation manual for VHF, ops manual doesnt cover connection. Navico no help either.
Anyone got any practical tips?
- 18 comments
- 4871 reads
Bias Boating under administration :(
Submitted by Grumpysmurf on Thu, 2014-08-28 10:11 Another sign that Retail in Australia is being hurt by our high dollar and no GST on imports under $1000? 
- 16 comments
- 4420 reads
Type of anchor to suit retrieve float
Submitted by craig scott on Wed, 2014-08-27 22:39I have just bought a float attachment setup for my boat.
My current anchor is a sarca #2. A good thing it is.
Are the retrieve floats designed soley for reef anchors or will I be ok using the sarca?
Hoping someone who has used the float can chime in.
Cheers Craig.
- 8 comments
- 3060 reads
Help Please. Need Hydrive bleeding hose/bottle/nipple
Submitted by Grumpysmurf on Wed, 2014-08-27 11:46I am hoping someone has installed a Hydrive hydraulic steering recently and still have the refill / bleeding kit (bottle cap with clear hose and nipple etc) lying around.
I need to bleed mine and cannot find the kit.
- 12 comments
- 4964 reads









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