anyone got one of these yet? if so how do they go? i  reckon it would be pretty good if there were no hiccups. just wouldnt be as stable to use as the steering wheel when punching through the chop and swell.

https://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/discover/outboard-tech/helm-master-ex

hi there.

I’m a new member and am wondering if anyone has any tips on replacing the lower mounts on a 115 erec. Seems mine have been acting as sacrificial anodes for some time and need replacing.

any tips/ advice would be appreciated.

Thanks 

 Anyone seen this before? I figure it's to force water through the motor? 

 Hi all,

I am in the process of mounting a new transducer (I'll post a thread about the install when I am done). I will likely have a few holes to fill in the transom from the old transducer and was looking to do more than pump in silicone.

What recommendations do you have for an easy to find epoxy product in Perth that would be good for this job ?

thanks !  

 Hello Everyone,

I've got a 5.3 mtr glass boat that I need to repair gel coat chips on the bottom, and buff and polish bottom. So I need to lift it off the trailer and do it on a lifter or up on a dolly or stands or similar. I can do the repairs myself  so looking for somewhere that will allow that and I just pay them for the time in the yard or workshop ,inside or outside is ok. 

Any ideas of somewhere reasonable $$ ? 
Cheers.

 Hi all,

Can anyone suggest where I can source some lead ingots or similar? 

Hoping local.

Cheers Greg

 hi guys..have a dt75 that needs the start ya bastard when cold..Did a compression test showing 90 over all 3 cylinders. Haven't done a warm test yet. Once its warmed up it doesnt miss a beat and starts first kick. Any ideas whether it needs a rebuild or maybe there is another problem somewhere.. Cheers 

 yet another Joke thought 77 was boat to boat

G'day all,

I've got dual axle Mackay trailer, about 6 years old. Been great until a couple of weeks ago when the brake calipers started locking on to the discs. Got very hot on a short trip home.

I've replaced the pads, freed and greased the slide pins and did the bearings while the wheels were off. Bled the hydraulics, all good.

Took it for a spin around the block today and two of the discs / hubs are still getting hot. They never have before. 

Are there any gurus North of the river that can fault find these? I've gone as far as I can with it. 

Thanks for any tips! 

Pete
 

 Does anyone out there own one of these. They make an awesome Cat but has anyone tried their new mono hull. Keen to take a plunge on one cause the look the goods but can't find any reviews other than dealer oriented ones. 

I used recommended 3 strand 12mm nylon and each and every time I use the winch it gets jammed as picture shows. Has anyone had this issue or found a solution other then going all chain as it's extremely expensive and would like to keep weight down 

Hey guys, after some advice. Checked the boat this morning and noted these marks. I'm assuming fuel vapours from the overflow thing , given the warm days, which have then condensed on the cover and dripped down the boat?

Haven't used the boat in 2 weeks. Always leave it with full tank. Could this indicate that I am overfilling? Water in the fuel?

it scrubbed off with a bit of dishwashing soap, but don't really want it happening again. 
has this happened to anyone else, and any suggestions on how to avoid? Or if it could indicate bigger problems?

cheers!

Morning team,

Quick request for an opinion/comment.

Current logo's faded and cracking.  Having a metallic content it's time to get it renewed before it affects the hull with spotting.

Looking at options for wrapping in a 3M Metallic Anthracite (Hull) with Black Camo (Cabin and rego number).

Also changing the name to War-Shep (logo will be in the shilloutte of a battleship (top down view)), as I bought the boat from my Uncle so I want to retain the Shep name and incorporate the first three letters of my surname and redoing the Searider logo.

Considering full hull wrap or just replacing existing, although a tad larger to cover the old one.

Has anyone wrapped their boat in this colour or similar?

Is the wrap durable (have fenders and aware of fuel spillage)?

Many thanks and appreciate any opinion/comments.

VKR

Brett

 Hi all,

       New member hoping for a recommendation  for a pre purchase inspection that has good knowledge on glass boats in the Mandurah region.

     I'm out of state in the NT so can't look at it myself. 

Cheers

 Those of you who have Reefrunners know that the two small access hatches beween the sets open into a large space below, with a divider. This divider is only starboard, screwed into place . it can easily be ripped out to make one long storage space. i've been using various fishbags with varying success. You have to pull the fisg out first, and its a bit of a squeeze to get a good bag like the medium madfish bag in--once in, fits perfectly. 

So I am getting a shipwright to make one long hatch to replace the two. The panel is easily removable so they don't need the boat. And look at the sheer size of the exposed tub--I was always under the impression that the top was not sealed when I tried to get fingers in there around the edges, but it is a fully sealed tub. Probably a good 250 litre capacity. 1520 long, 740 wide, 300 deep. 

 Hey All

Am thinking of getting hydraulic steering for my boat, its a 5.25m western craft with a 115hp mercury optimax, just wondering if this would be suitable for my rig and is it pretty simple to fit it yourself.

Cheers  Darryl 

 Hi all

Anyone selling a decent fishing power boat for under $30000. Plenty of deck space, mainly to be used for fishing off shore?

Show me what you got?

regards Don

Hi Guys,

I need to replace a small section of my acrylic boat windscreen. Just wondering if anybody could recommend someone North of the river?

Cheers,

Mitch 

I bought a second hand BW however didn’t come with deck hose. Can someone please confirm correctly female attachment size to screw onto hull fitting?  

Hi All,

What do the brains trust here use to display registration numbers and, for those that don't use as a tender, annual stickers on their inflatables?

I have picked up an inflatable boat (2.8m) and 4HP motor that I plan to use for camping/inshore fishing and also occasionally as a tender to my main boat. A big bonus is that my oldest will also be able to use it without a skippers ticket as it is under the 6HP limit.

I've worked out that while I wouldn't have to register if I used it exclusively as a tender, the camping/inshore fishing use means that I either run the gauntlet each trip out using my main boats rego and play dumb if queried by authorities or just register the boat in its own right and bend over every year paying more in rego than what the boat will be worth after a few years.

Either way I still need to display a set of rego numbers on the boat. I'm assuming the stick-on variety won't cut it so some form of flexible paint will be required. Any tips? What about the rego sticker? I can't imagine those lasting more than a few trips on the side of the tubes. Placing it on the outboard would last longer but since you rego the boat and not the motor that probably won't go down very well.

Brett

So I’ve learnt a lot from this forum and its time for me to tell one of my embarrassing stories… Especially after reading the bearing thread a few weeks back!

So after a mediocre and gusty boys week in Coral Bay (Big thanks to Crano for the advice for when we could actually get out) we set off at 5.30am ready to do the big drive home in one go, changing drivers religiously every two hours.

I had changed the bearings 9months ago and prior to the trip north, removed the bearing buddies, checked each one and gave them all a pump of grease. All of the grease was clean and blue and no adjustment needed.

Every time we stop to change drivers, I always do a lap of the boat and touch each hub checking for heat. After several stints, we pull into Jurien around 3pm and head to the IGA and fuel station. It was actually my wedding anniversary so was going to be in the good books to come home early, flowers and wine in hand with an Indian takeaway. All hubs cool to the touch, flowers bought and wine in the fridge, time to roll on…

About 1.5hrs later as we are approaching two rocks, we pull over for me to takeover the final drive into the city traffic, I do the lap of the trailer and find the rear wheel cocked over, only hanging on by a half chewed castle nut. 40kms left to go!

I carry tools and spare bearings with me so get to changing the bearing in the fading light. The bearing was completely destroyed. The inners had disappeared and the hub was basically running on the shaft/castle nut only held together by the chewed up split pin. The bottom of the castle nut was worn down to about 2mm of material. Unfortunatly taking a photo was the last thing on my mind at the time.

Whilst being pleased with myself for having tools/bearings/grease with me, I soon realise my tool kit should include a new castle nut and washer. I called my may mate who my now is nearly back in Wanneroo and they unhitched their boat, remove a castle nut and washer and drive it back out to us. I removed all of the chewed metal and old races from the hubs, prep the bearings and reassemble waiting for the nut and washer to arrive.

Unfortunately the threads on the shaft was so damaged it didn’t look like we were going to get it rolling again. We couldnt get the nut to bite on a thread. We ended up filling approx 10mm of damaged thread from the end of the shaft so we could get the nut to engage with some decent thread. The pressure from the bearing pulling up was just too much to let the nut get started so we needed to drive the bearing up using a socket and hammer and the we finally got enough threads engaged to get the nut started. Not great for the bearing i know.

Once the nut started engaging the rest of the bearing assembly went normally and I was pretty happy with the job. I drove at 60km/hr and stopped after 5, 10, 20kms to check it, but it was running perfectly.

Finally pulled into home at 10.15pm, wife in bed and no chance of a takeaway or any dinner, but at least the boat and I were at home…

I’m sharing this story for a few reasons:

1) I am genuinely surprised how quickly this failure happened… The temperature was not above ambient in Jurien, 140kms earlier. I was unaware this could happen!

2) Spare bearing are not enough. Nut and washers added to my kit at a minimum.

3) I was so glad I had a decent tool kit with me including a file, hammer, vice grips, large sockets and big adjustable etc.

4) Another 10km further and the wheel could have come off that could have been really serious for us or any other road users.

5) I’m surprised this happened to me. I am the one of all my friends who is anal about my bearings. I change them every year and always check them before long trips.

6) The driver didn't notice a thing leading upto it. Its lucky we stopped!

I’ve pulled the axle today and now need to get a new stub shaft welded on or replace the whole thing… Its an easytow trailer that uses a Trojan 84" 1750kg Overlay Axle.

Any recommendations?

 Can anyone tell me if it is easy to replace the internal anodes on a Honda 75 outboard? It is a 2005 motor & I am confident enough to service it myself. Aparently they are on the cylinder block but the service manual doesn't explain where. If it is best left for a shop to do I will take it in. Thank you.

There is an awesome looking boat down at Elizabeth Quay right now at one of the jetties. Looks about 35 feet (hard to judge), cente console (sort of) Niaid (sort of).

From up in my building its hard to tell what it is. All I can say its it looks fast standing still. Grey hull and top decks...very nice.

After having a leak in my stearing hydrolics I went to a boat shop asking for a seal.  I was told it would cost $150 as you would have to buy the whole kit.  I then did some enquiries and found that you could buy the seal from a seal place in Belmont for $1.  It pays to make enquiries before paying out for no reason.

 Just reading some information on vehicle tyres and apparently only serviceable for 6 to 10 years. This made me wonder how people go with boat trailer tyres. Do you change them after 5 years or on inspection notice cracks in the sidewalls or they normally last the life of the trailer?

Given my setup is 3.5t I’m not particularly keen on waiting for a blowout before I change them out. Also I don’t know of anyone who would tow enough kms to wear out the tread. 

Hey guys.

I am looking to get a winch and pot tipper setup on the reef runner for this season. Im getting too sore to pull by hand, and am concerned about gouging the boat now that im in a fibreglass. I am using 3/4 size single basket wooden based pots.

from what ihave researched, then anchormax winches seem good, and a fishwise tipper seem ok.

a lot of the time i will be going solo, and was unsure of the best way to  set this up. best to have the winch and tipper on opposite sides or on the same? also, are the gunnels likley to need reinforcing?

i am not in a position to be able to do it myself, so would love to hear if anyone has any reccomendations as to who to use for the install? I am north of the river, but am happy to travel to ensure its done well. I love this boat, so really want to make sure i get things setup right.

any advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks heaps!

goat

hi guys.

was chatting to a mate the other day about radar, something  have no experience with.

just wondering how people find them as far as a safety tool? are they likely to reliably pick up floating bouys form craypots?, floating debris in the water etc?

in the future im hoping to do a lot more trolling, so looking for birds etc understanbdably would be benficial, but was wondering what else people use them for?

im interested in anything that potentially improves safety.

cheers!

Goat

 I'm probably going to complete covering the deck on the Reefrunner this year. I left it standard when I launched, as it was something I could do later with no reworking if needed. The starboard hatches between the seats were very hard to keep clean, so I covered them in Z-tread. With the leftover, I also covered the livewell lid in the transom, where people tend to stand, the moulded footrests, and put a couple of patches on the sloping slippery bit in front of the windscreen for people to safely climb up top. So I am sort-of committed to continuing with Z-Tread if I  want to complete the whole deck. 

I haven't had any problems keeping the white deck looking good so far--long handled scrubbing brush with truckwash, gets most of it off, and Domestos ,lightly applied and scrubbed in gets the rest. Any one who knows me, knows I treat this thing hard--it's had multiple trips into Tamala, not to mention 3 trips so far into Winderabandi. It goes into the water filthy, gets a saltwater clean, fished hard for a month or so, then back over the dirt road again. 600 hours of engine time in just over 2 years. To add to it, this year I continued onto Exmouth, and used it up there for about 12 days. I was lucky to score a berth in the canals, which let me avoid the school holiday ramps insanity, but then you are treading red pindan into everything. 

Just about to go down, unload everything, then start cleaning. I don't really think she will come back perfectly this time, so I may have to finish the deck off with something. My question is this--is Z-tread harder to hose down than Octogrip? Z-tread is a very closed pattern, with no natural drainage lines . Octogrip is a much wider pattern, looks easier to hose. Can anyone with Z-tread comment? 

I'm about to replace the perspex in my windscreen. I'm tossing up whether to go clear or stay with tinted. With the new bimini I will have about a 400mm section of clear above the windscreen to see through as well. 95% of my boat use will be in daylight hours. Any advice one way or the other? 

 G'day all,

Have repaired a few chips, screw holes and spider cracks in my boat have filled and sanded smooth and I am now ready to paint over them. 

Do I use flowcoat or Gelcoat to paint over the repairs please? Also is it best to spray the paint on or is it ok to paint with a brush? I am concerned that either way as I sand the paint job back the paint being so thin that I will sand back the coating and I will see the repair work under the coating. 

Any advice and tips heaps appreciated. 

Thanks

Geoff