Hi guys,

Looking to get into my first boat, looking at used boats.

I don't want to go over 5.5m in boat size and prefer glass boats.

A couple of boats that interest me and are currently on the used market locally are late models of the :

- Savage Tasman 5.2m Cuddy Cab

- Coxcraft RumRunner 5.4m Cuddy Cab

Both in the 20-30k range. 

I'd be really grateful for any advice from those who have any knowledge/experience of these boats and what conditions they are suited to.

Hoping on the right days to get out to Rottnest once I've gained experience inshore.

Thanks,

Joycey

I am a new member and would like feedback from anyone on Evoultion Boats.  I have seen a 5.5m walkaround and would like to hear any comments on these boats. Thanks

been trying to find some 25sq tinned copper wire for new anchor winch, live in mandurah can any one help

where to find  

                       cheers

hi,

looking to find an employer to take me on as a marine mechanic apprentice,

very keen and have worked on boats for a while

cheers

Ash

Hi all, I am in the market for a Barcrusher 560.  The boat is rated from 115HP but there is one reasonably priced with a 100 Yammy 4 stroke.  Is there anyone out there with a 560/100HP combo who could give me the heads up, or even 560/115HP (which is a common combo).

Thanks in advance

Chris

Hi all.

Im looking at buying a new or near new 7.5 - 8m aluminium boat.I have got a shortlist of builders in mind with Preston Craft currently at the top of my list.I have been out in a mates 7.5m Thunderbolt and was most impressed with the ride and quality of the build.I visited the Preston Craft factory last week to view any boats under construction to have a look at the workmanship before painting and again was impressed with the construction and professional attitude Greg Preston has towards his workmanship.I also viewed a 8m Mirage tri hull which Kevin has in his fit out shed - this will be one special boat when complete!They have a second hand 7.5m demo boat up for sale which I am keen on - will be fitted with a brand new engine.

Can anyone recommend any other builder to have a look at before I make my final decision in a few weeks time?

Thanks

Trevor C

Hey Team

Im after a quality and reliable marine mobile mechanic to service my Suzi 4S. I work away generally during the week so its hard to drop it off and pick it up. Can anyone recommend me some one?

Secondly i need to do a bit of trailer work, can any one recommend a good trailer repairs place as well....

thanks all brett

Im goin to cold gal my trailer after i get the rust from my trailer off with wire wheel oh drill now How many coats should i give it one or two? And after the cold gal is on do i just leave it like that or paint over itwith silver? Any other info will be great 2 cheers

Hi guys

I've got to take the boat trailer back to the manufacturer for some warranty repairs and he only wants the trailer. I've been trying to find someone locally who lives on a canal or has a pen that I can tie the boat up to, for a couple of days.

It was suggested that I drop the boat onto the back lawn....it's real easy, apparently.

Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing and if so, I'd appreciate a few pointers on what to do. I can imagine getting it off the trailer might be the easy bit, but there would be nothing worse than not being able to get the Trailblazer back onto the trailer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

regards
rusty...

Hi all,

I am toying with the idea of buying a boat from the eastern states.

Has anyone gone down this road before?

What are some pitfalls.

What is the neccesarry paperwork to complete and some freight costs?

It is a 6.0m trailered boat from Melbourne.

Chris

Just wondering if anyone has done minor gel-coat repairs before?

Ive got a couple marks ont he boat (mainly ones there before i bought it) which I'd like to touch up.

Anyone know where you can get a small amount of Gel coat? i wouldnt need anymore than 500ml.

Also how to apply it?

The small spots that need repairing are only through the gelcoat not into the glass itself.

It is a white hull.

Cheers

Bodie

Just thought you guys would be interested - i am going to order this app and am getting a new ipad...has some great reviews so lets see how it compares!

Would not want to be Raymarine, Simrad, Garmin.......

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simple-charts/id451093694?mt=8# 

Hey lads,

Now i don't have a picture of the seat im after however i saw one on a Hookam Dominator a few days ago.

I will do my best to explain them and basically im trying to find out where to buy one.

They are a pull in/out seat

They use two mounting plates on a vertical surface. (Seat must have metal tabs that slide into these mounts at the rear)

It then has legs that flip down to give support on the deck.

In the dominators case the metal brackets were on the battery access cabnets.

Any ideas? very keen to find one.

Just changes the Johno 2S 115 to a ETEC 115.

Now I use to be up with technology etc when I organised Rally Oz, but times a changing.

I have a wee little problem with the new gauges on the boat, and dont want to bother the marine guys up here to much if there is a simple fix.

I have a memory stick that plugs in series at the back of the dash, this setup I havent seen before, and if it is confusing I will get a pic when at home.

Compared with the old Johno the data is fantastic with fuel flow, oil level etc. The problem I have is when we stop to fish it looses its memory. But Not all the time.

Anyone got any ideas as to why. I do run a twin battery setup, and I have had the boat about 2.5 yrs, and prior to that it had 98hrs on the clock (with the Johno). Could it be that the batteries are just getting old.

Safety first and if I thought that was the case I would change them in a flash.

I know it sounds confusing, but thats just my untechno mind speaking.

Neels

Hi crew, I managed to get one job out of the way that i wasn't looking forward to . Removing the carpet and glue from the hull. Sorry to say i found no easy way to do this exept rip into it. I pulled all the carpet up to find lots glue and parts of carpet stuck to the deck.

The only thing to do was use paint scrapers followed buy the grinder with a wire cup brush.

Many hours later and a bucket full of paint and glue scrapings it was looking a bit better.

I removed the seat box and floor plate to inspect the fuel tank . Not a pretty site, Oily water and dark stains on the tank and inside the hull.

Also note the cables from the console on the floor. This had a cover over the top and i have tripped over it a few times already, so i will be organizing these under the floor with a removable cover to access them if needed.

With the tank removed i cleaned out the area as much as posible.

Now i have a problem, The fuel tank has worn underneath from sitting on the stringers in the hull. Over all its not too bad but there is a repair on the tank ( resin ) and i am thinking of just making a new tank for peace of mind.

The repair on the bottom of the tank

What i started to wonder was should i go with aluminium again or should i make it out of stainless steel ?

Has anyone ever had problems with stainless ? I have heard of issues with cracking.

Cheers Grant.

ANyone have some clever idea to get the Pilbara dirt out of the non skid areas, especially the front of the boat. Up here everything stains, and I know I should have a boat cover, which I have a canvas one, but we are always out fishing, and its a huge job putting it on and off every weekend.

Neels

Hey all just wondering how many of you own/have owned a Genesis and what you think of them

Cheers

Hi, due to work commitments, oversea holidays and shitty weather I have been unable to use my boat for about 3 months,I'm hoping to get out on Thursday Arvo for a snapper sesh, with the fuel sitting there for that long is. There anything I should do before using it? Have about 80L in a 120L tank,does it go stagnant or will it be ok?

Boat motor ran rough coming in last week and found water in the fuel filter. I have changed the filter, removed the top of the fuel tank and pumped fuel from the bottom of the tank. Covered the fuel inlet and checked the seal. Also added a fuel additive to remove any water. Is there anything else I should try. Unfortunately the boat is out in the open until my new shed is built in about six weeks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Has anybody compared the Raymarine A70D with the Lowrance HDS 5? Which is the best unit? Not familiar with Raymarine.

I have to store my boat for about 3 - 4 months and was considering adding some STAB-BIL fuel stabilizer that's been advertised on TV. My boat has a 70 litre under floor tank and as it is nearly full of fuel, I don't want to drain the tank if I can avoid it.

Has anyone used this product and know if it is any good?

Your ideas/advice/thoughts would be appreciated.

Now this is driving me bonkers. What I do is probably the opposite of wiring electrical things. Some wiring involved in my job but not this.

I have new led lights, with 2, 5 wire cables running into the 7 pin standard plug. Somehow one of the cables got pulled out one week after getting it back. Probably shonky from the start.

The colours are Red, Green, Yellow, Brown and White, so I have 10 wires running into a 7 pin plug. Y and G are indicators, and I have tried all the others in combinations in the "what I thought" correct posy, to no avail, and it is now driving me nuts.

I have looked at all the diagrams, and was going to take the boat/trailer back to get re-wired on Saturday, but up here everyone is at the FeNaClNG festival, and also an Army of Unfriendly non local cops so no good just running the Gauntlet. The local Cops will understand, Perth Traffic -- No way.

Any help appreciated, would love to go for a fish.

Neels

Hi guys

          As i work through this rebuild i will post pics and give you info on what i am doing and why. Some things i wil not share though as it has taken me 15 years to get this  knowledge and the laminate materials i use in certain areas though i will write down other fibreglass mat to go in their place.

          So cut the floor out this weekend which is 12 mm ply with a layer of chopstrand mat over the top and extra layers over the edges rein coated on the bottom you need a 4 inch grinder with thin metal cutting disc,pinch bar ,hammer and chisel cut down the chine where the the floor meets the hull just pierce the fibreglass press to hard you will cut through the hull it is easy done.Cut across the trany and front then down along the inside stinger where it meets the floor once complete leaver up from one of the inside corners and pull up the floor once this is done you are ready for prep work.Cut out the side pockets same principle place the blade against the hull side and apply light preassure there will be avoid where the timber meets the slice all the way then bash out with a hammer. 

          This hull has a monocoque box beam stringer system the stringer system performs the duty of preventing the bottom running surface from deforming and creating stress that would destroy the structual integrity of the hull if this was to be rotten some boats use ply encapsulated strigers and are usually rotten after 10 years depending how well built and looked after.This can usually be found by deformed running surface stress cracks in the hull and by tapping stringers for soft spots.Glass stringers can be prone to splitting and delaminating from the hull this is where proper use of materials comes in to play . 

         To grind the boat out i use 24 grit sanding discs  you can use a 8 inch machine for open spaces 4 inch for tight areas this is messy make sure you have appropriate safety gear dust mask,earplugs,safety glasses ,disposable overalls and most people will find this quite itchy work at the end of the day so hot shower opens the poures in the skin not cold then talcom powder your self.

         This whole procedure took me 5 hours cut floors out 1 bulkhead,sidepockets and full sand down of stringers side walls and trany now this is a 18 foot runabout  i would normally allow 7 for this and obvisouly if we had to do front cabin another hour for v berth top if stringers were to be cut out that would be around 6 hours and a trany another 8 so that is a labour estimate i am pretty fussy on my grinding i like to have a clean preped surface for the rebuild next stage will be changing the drainage system as this boat had around 15l under the floors then mark out floors bog and glass them here are the pics for stage 1.

Next week is the Avon Descent spectacle and this year the event is part of an international Championship.

Who is going and or participating?

Question;

Is the Swan river on day 2 closed where this event is happening or are other boats able to moor off and watch the spectackle from their Gin palace and roar around in a dinghy filming etc the event?   

Hi crew, I picked up my new rig on Wed and put it inside my workshop to get her ready for the big blue.

All looks ok in tis picture but the bimini was broken. ( I knew this at the purchase )

First thing to sort out was the bimini, that was broken right through the two front poles.

The aluminium tube was fractured and old, so i decided to take it of and make a new one. It was also a bit low for me and needed to be raised about 15cm.

The electric system was also removed to be organized and replaced.

I would realy like a new sounder + plotter and would appreciate some advice . ( budget up to 1500 combined )

I am installing some tackle storage box's and other modifacations overall before i hit the water. ( going to take a few weeks ) I hope to update the progress and get some advice as well .

Cheers  Grant

Can anyone tell me what is special about the 1993 Johnson 150hp Silver Star Series? I have just bought one and want to know if there is anything I need to look out for. It will be going behind a 19ft Douglass Craft which we are remodelling.

Hi all

Wondering how everyone keeps their batteries charged/maintained over winter when not in use. Have dual batteries and dont want to keep swapping a charger which keeps battery in float, like a CTEK charger, from one to the other constantly . Can you connect them in parallel or in a bank system ? I have seen chargers in the US that you can connect both batteries to as a bank with individual wiring for each battery but not in Oz.

Boat sits oustside and althoughhave a solar panel, still same issue changing it over (and for security reasons dont want to keep panel outside in view)

Have same issue with the landcruiser which is now parked up in the garage as have a work car. Jumped into it and dead flat.

Cheers

 Hey guys

Anyone out there know the easyest way to get boat carpet out of fibreglass boat that has been glued down.

Any surgestions would be great. I want to rplace it with stuff i can remove

tilbs 

Any sugestions on what and how of fishfinders in small dinghies.

Hi

Having some trouble with a steering ram on a boat.

It was weeping some oil, so going to take it off and get it looked at by somebody.

I have unbolted the lines from it, and taken off the bolts that hold it in, but the ram itself goes through a bracket on either end, with a nut on the end of it (see bolt on the ride hand side of the photo).

To get the ram out, I assume I have to remove the bracket from one end, to allow me to manoever it out. I have undone the nut (left hand side of the shot), but the little bracket bit will not come off the shaft.

I've tried persuading it with a hammer and a few other bits and pieces, but it doesnt come off. It doesnt look like it is seized up, and when force is applied, you can move it up/down/left right very slightly, but it wont go forward and backward (ie - come off).

Is there a knack to this?

Cheers!

Dan