Hi, I'm looking for feedback from Leisure Cat 6000 Islander owners. Keen to get thoughts on handling, towing etc.

thanks

G'day Everyone,

I thought I would enlist all your help for something. A friend is currently fixing up an old plate ally hull that he bought of someone.

Looking through a magazine a couple of years ago I remember seeing a picture of a boat with a roller door/shutter closing off the cabin (instead of a normal plate door, a bit like the one below).

He doesn't want a big door on his cabin because it takes up space when open, so I suggested one of these doors but trouble is I don't know where to get one. So does anyone know someone in Perth who would make something like this up or even somewhere eastern states that we could order one from?

Cheers all!!

hi all,

took my boston whaler 255 conquest out yesterday and noticd water was gushing into the hull bilge area. after spending time  inspecting im pretty sure its gushing in from both the port and starboard trim tabs on each side of the transom. i think the issue was that the trim tabs dont appear to be aligned properly and the pressure when they rub against the firbeglass may have ripped the seals apart.

anyhow, i need a good repairer who can come down to freo boat park and inspect the boatto confirm the issue (will be on a workrack) and then for them to be able to fix the leak and potentially the trim tabs also. the repairer must be mobile and able to come to the boat and i reallymwant someone with strong experience on similar type boats as i had someone come out for a different issue recently and they did a shocking job. recommendations for this type of work would be appreciated, thanks! john

hi would anyone be able to tell me what this boat is? i was told 1900 pacific?

What grease are you using and do you recommend it?

I have been using that blue castrol stuff in the tube from MTP.

Found it to be rubbish.

Any heat at all and it melts out.   ( as in a 40 deg day and a short tow to the ramp)

Looking for something with better heat resistance. 

Cheers

Hi All,

had a little incident today before I took my boat out. I have a steep drive way and being to excited to get out on the water I took off without raising my motor.

Is there an easy fix to this or am I up for replacing the bottom of my leg?

It still ran fine and I didnt notice any difference in control.

All advice apreciated.

Hi all

I just bought a second hand boat.
its a 6m ali with 140 yamiha 2 stroke. It has hydraulic steering fitted. The steering seems to be very hard and not at all what i would expect from hydraulic steering.

Has any one come across this problem or have any ideas of what i could try to loosen it up.

cheers

 Hi fish-heads

I have a Poly frontier 599 with a 175 opti. Love it. Rides amazing, great to fish out of.

Done a number of trips out 60k area off shore, caught some decent fish and am having a hoot.

When I check my smart guages as I'm belting along say 4000rpm around 40-43km/h (sorry bout the lack of 'knot' terminology), I'm covering between 1.5 and 1.9km/L, depending on conditions. I think this is pretty good for a 940kg hull, fuel etc........

I only head out that far when the conditions are nice (got a young bloke to look after...10y.o), so I am sure I could do these trips safely in an ally around the 5m mark, with a 90/100 hp four stroke or opti/etec.

Would I use much less fuel in such a craft?

I'm thinking hard about this as I also do a ningaloo station trip each year and would like to take something other than my dinghy. A lighter boat to tow, that I wouldn't have to cart an additional 200L of juice.

Or would I not get much of a saving.

I'd love to hear from you guys some fuel useage figure, some real life examples, to see if I'm dreaming or not.

Cheers, Craig.

 Just an update and some pics of my project boat. It's a late 80s Savage Lancer 530 aluminium runabout that I picked up pretty cheap and am trying to turn into a neat, useable, multi-purpose (mostly fishing) boat on a fairly tight budget.

As purchased

Structural condition of hull seemed pretty good. Came with 80s 90hp JOhnson, which had supposedly been running up until parked up 3 yrs ago but seemed pretty tired to me so sold it on. Paint was faded and chipped. Ply deck was rotten. Windscreen in pieces with bad corrosion and perspex panes stuffed. Trailer seemed good (all stainless frame) but unlicenced.

Copy of 2013-01-26 12.11.03 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

 Completed hitch

2013-02-17 16.07.35 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

Dropped boat onto drive to replace axles, springs hubs& fit brakes

2013-02-10 09.53.54 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

 Finished Trailer

2013-02-17 16.07.09 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

Stage 2 - (Ongoing) Strip-down boat, touch up paintwork and fit out

Stripped out as many of the fittings as I could. Cleaned out bilge and blasted resident spiders with the pressure washer

 

2013-01-28 13.35.14 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

Cut out new plywood deck sections - these have now also been sealed and carpeted

 

 

2013-02-25 18.42.02 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

Decided to strip to bare ally below waterline. Turned boat over on drive (surprisingly easy, even for just two people). Used paint stripper, scrapers and jet washer to remove the paint (very messy job). Then used aluminium cleaner (phosphoric acid type) to clean off the green primer and shine it up.

2013-03-02 13.52.42 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

Found the existing paint was single pack - couldn't face stripping the whole lot so decided to just overpaint with single pack marine enamel. Sanded above waterline with orbital sander to rough up existing paint and feathered edges of chips/scratches.

2013-03-03 12.57.18 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

Primed bare ally areas and painted (roll and tip method). Once coat done, one or two to go depending on my enthusiasm

 

2013-03-04 17.01.41 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

 

Stage 3 - Repower and fit-out (still to come)

Have bought a 90hp Honda 4st outboard to repower (carby model around 2000)

honda ob by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

Once paint is done, will work on refitting windscreen (had new perspex cut - just need to renovate and repaint frames). 

2012-12-16 14.01.36 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

Then will need to install all wiring and controls, refit fittings (rod holders etc), install electronics

 

Picked up a cheap used combo gps/sounder and a dual frequency sounder as a starting point until I can justify some better gear.

2013-02-23 17.04.16 by Tigerfish2012, on Flickr

 

 

 

Got back almost to ocean reef road after a trip to Lano , when another boat pulled alongside. Let us know the wheel bearing was "gone!"

Too true.   Think the caliper was the only thing stopping the wheel and hub flying off.

Hi guys

Went fishing on Saturday morning, clocked up 40nm round trip for 1 skippy. Came home, cleaned the boat, flushed the outboard...all good.

Went out again yesterday, same area, same distance...1 charlie court. Came home, cleaned the boat, went to flush the outboard....it won't start. Cranks over but won't fire. When I wash the boat and flush the outboad, I park the car/boat on a slope so the water can run off the deck and out the scuppers. Mrs gates suggested that because the main fuel tank was pretty low, maybe the pickup is not got any fuel in it....however, the fuel bulb is rock hard.

Switched the fuel changeover valve to the other tank (which is half full), still the same result. Backed the car/boat onto flat ground, same thing.....it cranks over but won't start. I thought it might be because the DFI oil reservoir was low, so I refilled it....still the same.

It's a Mercury Optimax 125hp, just had its 2 year/200hr service last December, just clocked up 200 hours on Saturday and has been a star performer from day one. This outboard will fire first kick, even when its been sitting in the shed for a month. 

I've had the cover off it, looked intently at it, even swore at it, but it still refuses to fire...I know, it could be any one of a dozen things causing this, so I'll be calling the Mercury shop tomorrow for a chat.

In the meantime, anyone got any ideas on what I should be looking at, looking for, poking, pulling, etc. I suspect it's electrical.

I'm only glad that this happened at home and not while I was out fishing yesterday (or Saturday).

regards
rusty... 

Nasty surprise this morning when I pulled off the transom plywood packing on my project boat. There is a crack in the aluminium 'skin' of the transom. It runs horizontally and lines up with the bottom of the main support spar that runs accross the transom where the top outboard mounting holes are. I assume that the outboard has been slightly deforming the spar when under power, and over its 30yr life this has fatigued the attached aluminium skin to cracking point. THe crack runs for about 500mm in the middle of the transom, a bit wider than the ouboard mounting bracket. All the structural spars (not sure if that is the correct term) and supports on the inside of the transom seem to be okay.

I realise any transom damage shouldn't be taken lightly, but just wondering if anyone can tell me just how serious this is and also offer any advice on repair strategy. Would it be okay (possible) to seam weld along the crack and possibly along the bottom of the spar on the inside to reattach it? Or would it be better to weld a bracing plate accross the whole back of the transom? I've attached some photos to try show where the crack is. The first is from the outside of the transom and the second from inside the 'wet well' looking backwards.

Any advice from those with boat building or repair knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Any recommendations for repairers would be great too. (ideally NOR). I've put in so many hrs on this boat already, not to mention $ and I'm really hoping this is not too serious or expensive....

I have a question relating to horsepower rating on a hull.

My hull is currently rated to 270hp - what criteria drives this rating ? is it actually the rated horsepower of the engine or is it the weight of a typical engine rated at that horsepower ?

What options exist if I want to exceed the hp rating without risking any insurance fallout

cheers

Hi guys,

Looking at grabbing another drift anchor 'for fishing only'. Price is not an issue, as i'm more interested in quality. It will be going on a Boston Whaler 255 conquest, so a reasonably heavy boat about 8.20 meters all inclusive.

I currently have a paratech sea brakes (for 33ft boats) http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/para%20BB4.htm that I am extremely happy with. However, I will keep this on another boat. Hence why I need another one. I tried to get another of the same type, but it appears they don't ship to Australia anymore. So my fall back position is currently the para drift anchor http://109.203.107.60/~paraanau/ . Thoughts would be appreciated by people with similar sized boats, or if there is anything better out there.

I had a look at Bias Boating, Yacht Grot, BCF and Whitworths and wasn't happy with the quality against my existing one.

And just to clarify, this is only for drift fishing. It will not be used for rescue/storm anchoring (i have a seperate one already for this)... so please don't incorporate this in the discussion.

Cheers

John 

 Hey all,looking for some advice from knowledgeable types regarding mounting the outboard on my project boat. When i bought the boat it had an 80s 90hp Johnson on it, and in addition to a piece of ply transom packing, there was a wooden wedge between the motor and transom. it was about 2 inches wide at the top end and i assume that it was used to allow more 'negative trim' on the outboard possibly due to the boat riding bow-high or struggling to get on the plane? anyway,i will hopefully soon be mounting the late 90s 90hp Honda 4st that i have bought for it and i am wondering if i will need to use the same set up or if the Honda may have a greater trim range? anyone know much about these wedges?

hi guys im looking at buying a boat and i have had the pre purchase done and a few things have come back. trim rams seals are leaking, trim sender not working and throttle and gear shift cable beginning to split from rust the report says. now the boat is cheap so what do use think is this a major? also does anyone know what the compression should be on one of these. thanks

 Can anyone tell me where I can the 38mm fuel filler hose for my fuel tank fitting. Or do anyone here have some left over that I can buy. Roughly need about 600mm long. Any help appreciated. Tight line everyone....

Ken

Hi guys, was out around east freo last night when I came across an unlucky guy who's sundancer 245 had slid off his trailer and was half sitting on the road with a lovely white mark extending for about  10 meters behind where it sat.

Let this be a reminder to us all to secure out boats properly. I didnt see it happen so I can't tell wether speed or the winch and safety chain  failing was the cause. I also couldnt tell wether the saftey chain was even attached.

Either way, an unfortunate end to the rotto swim for one family, and I would presume an expensive one. 

Anyone know a good evinrude mechanic prefer north of river on the older 2 stroke. Have 1995 150hp needs some work. Cheers

Hi All,

Looking to get back into a boat again and having previously owned a Whittley Sea Legend 7 mtr with a 225 Suzuki on the back was hoping to find another one of these or a 6.5mtr with an outboard but not having any luck. I can find plenty with petrol inboards but have never had anything to do with an inboard and I am a bit hessitant and was hoping that you guys can give me information on inboards, which ones to stay away from, which ones are good, is the fuel economy similar to that of an out board, is the service cost similar to that of an outboard, what can go majorly wrong with an inboard, or even if I should just keep waiting and hope that one comes up with an outboard before we start our trips out to the GBR when the wind starts to settle down in a couple of months.

Thanks for the info in advance.

Cheers

Mark

HI Guys ,

I have a 35hp Mercury 2 stroke outboard that requires carby and fuel pump work , looking for an outboard mechanic who still works on these , as every one im asking is saying no .

before the spamming starts yes a 4 stroke is prob a better option , or buying a new one , unfortunatley is not in hte budget.

so helpful idease would be great im currently living in bayswater , but happy to drive pretty much anywhere to a decent honest mechanic,

Please help id like to get boat in water by long w'end

Hi

I am seconding a group of swimmers on the Rottnest swim (if the weather plays ball)

I am planning to sleep on the boat on Friday night and wondered if anyone could suggest some safe / calm place to moor or anchor overnight

Thanks for any suggestions

 Hi does anyone know what the deadrise is on a Trailcraft Trailblazer 660. Looking to purchase a thru hull transducer but haven't got access to the boat at the moment to measure it.

Ive got an older fibreglass boat which is solid (transom has been replaced at some point and the floor is rock solid) but its a little bit rough around the edges. I was thinking of going the full rebuild but in reality its not really worth it and being a fifo worker its quite hard to organise and I really want the boat ready to go when Im in town. Does any one have any recommendations for products for patching any small holes , cracks and chips in the gel coat? Also since Im a bit time poor Im hoping to do small parts of the boat here and there so do these kind of repairs need to be painted over or sealed before heading back into the water or are they sound right away?

hi all

i have just bought a second hand boat and have noticed the skeg on the bottom of the motor is bent. has anyone had a go at straightening one. i`m not sure how brittle the aluminium is and don`t want to force it and snap it off.

cheers

keg

thinking of powering a 6.7 barcruser with a suzuki 175 4 stroke

just chasing peoples thoughts on this motor

 Hi guys does anyone know where you can get a bung that goes into the yank boat. They are different to our size bungs thread wise etc. 

cheers sammy

 Hi all,

Looking like I have finally narrowed down my boat of choice to the two above. I have been aboard both and love the layouts - leaning slightly towards the cruise craft due to WA (albeit tight). I was hoping some previous and current owners could provide some insight into the handling / ride of these rigs off our Coast. I know both are fantastic bluewater hulls - have not had the privellage to head out in one yet. Would appreciate the opportunity to accompany someone in one of these rigs (even for a quick moment) to aid my decision.

Thank you in advance

Adam

http://youtu.be/Rfm64xkRU3o

Wadda Ya think of this!!