Hi All,

I have some damage to the bow section of the planning strakes on my sea ray that I strongly suspect is being caused by the bunks on the trailer.  I removed the Teflon strip that the previous owner had on the bunks and replaced it with marine carpet but the damage still seems to be getting worse.

Could anyone recommend a good shipwright or similar that could diagnose the problem with my trailer, set it up properly and then repair the fiberglass and gelcoat on the planning strakes.

Cheers

Toby

 Hi guys,

I've bought a boat recently that came with a premix 40hp 2 stroke motor. I don't have the original owners manual to confirm correct oil/fuel ratio.. Dealer told me 50:1 but the manual I downloaded from Yamaha sais 100:1. The motor runs great. Is to much oil bad for the motor?

Would be great to get a confirmation from someone that has the same motor of similar age what does their original manual sais is the correct ratio.. 

A mate of mine has a Honda 40 HP four stroke outboard (2006) which used to run great but has developed an unsual problem. Under load on the way back in at about three quarter throttle the engine seemed to "Free rev" so he quickly backed it off to avoid damaging the outboard due to the over revving but once the throttle was backed off to neutral, the engine seemed to be fine and it was put back in gear but as the motor approached three quarter throttle the problem seemed to appear once again. So I guess to sum it up motor runs fine in idle, low revs etc but once it approaches three quarter throttle under load this problem seems to happen.

My mate limped the boat back in at low speed to avoid this problem but it has the two of us wondering what it may be so we were wondering if anyone has had any experiences like this with their motors?

This post was by Sealure but put in the wrong place. I have copied and pasted here where perhaps it has more relevence.

This is my first post and I really enjoy the discussions that take place.

My friend and I attended the Mandurah Boat show on Friday.

We are both enthusiastic fishermen and old hands at boat/trailer ownership.

I was obvious to  us that a number of the larger boat/trailer combinations on offer would exceed the 3.5 ton legal towing capacity of 4 wheel drives such as Toyota landcruisers.

We asked several exhibitors about weights.

We were repeatedly re-assured that a landcruiser would tow the rigs in question. The weights quoted never included fuel,water, electronics, anchor and fishing gear etc..

Their complete indifference to legal issues was frightening.

If involved in an accident insurance on boat,car and trailer is null and void.

A civil suit could see the owner lose all their possessions.

Criminal charges and jail terms are possible.

On the east coast boats and trailers are frequently subjected to weighing tests.

Sooner or later the Dept. of Transport over here will do the same.

In the meantime much more should be done to protect buyers from the sale of rigs which fail to meet legal requirements.

I followed a 5m+ stacer down the freeway yesterday and it must have had about a 3" pitch prop it was spinning that fast.
(I had a double-take as it looked like it was running)

It got me thinking, and I'm bored as shit in this crap weather at home so I thought I'd throw it out there to see what others think.

I've always knocked the engine into gear when towing, mainly just out of preference to stop the prop spinning its tits off.

I've yarned about it over the years with a number of people, some are against it just in case something hits it while travelling
- fair point, but chances are if anything hits in that area when towing there'll be a fair few other things to worry about.
 

Others go for the in-gear option to prevent unecessary wear. (I figured any load on bearings / gears would be bugger all so there'd be no heat to be cooled by water, so probably also dubious merit for this reason).

Probably neither are an issue if the leg is well rasied out of the wind behind the transom, but I try and tow with the leg lowered a bit to reduce transom strain (maybe I should get a transom saver thingy) 

I've got a 5.64m kayak (Hobie Tandem) and I want to avoid a dedicated trailer at all costs. My plan is to modify my 7ft x 5ft box trailer. Legally how far can the yak hang over the tailgate before catching the attention of the lawmen? I can also extend the draw bar of the trailer with a retractable drawbar tha slides out and is pinned (bolted) into position for when I am towing the yak around. Come garden refuse day I merely retract the drwbar so that the coupling is roughly where it is if the drawbar was never modified. Any ideas of where I stand with the law? I've tried finding info on the Dept of Transport website but no luck. Thanks   

 I have just started a full rebuild on a Swiftcraft Viking and currently it is in the fibreglass shop being re gel coated inside and out expecting quite a transformation anyone interested in following this rebuild ? I  have added some photos so far the Total build should be finished in about 4 weeks ready to fish. Call it crazy for spending $45K on a rebuild but I have had many fishing boats over the years and just love the ride these hulls give also the stability at rest. Swiftcraft made 3 variations of the 5.6m hull the Explorer half cab the Dominator Cuddy cab and the Viking runabout I chose the Viking as I am a serious fisho and hate valuable deck space being wasted with cabs. Some of the features of the rebuild include new 140 4st Suzuki,new windscreen,new seats,new stainless rocket launcher and bow rail,new canopies,new HDS 10 and Radar,new 27meg,VHF radios,new anchor winch,new dunbier twin axle trailer. Everything on this boat will be replaced except the Hull.

Hope you can follow the rebuild over the next 4 weeks will contantly update the photos stay tuned

Brought the boat for $2000 the following 2 photos are when I brought it.

This photo is when I striped her back ready for Gelcoating

Hull upside down and being gelcoated

*

Having some problems figuring out why my outboard(2005 25hp 2stroke Johnson) won't run right... Am losing fuel pressure somewhere but i can't figure it out. It happened suddenly of point walter the other day. have changed the fuel tank & line and still having the same problem. Thanks in advance for any help:)

Just wondering what tools you carry on your average trip out,  or whether you'd be completely stuffed should your motor cut out.

With todays modern motors , what can you realistically check before calling on sea rescue?

Personally, I'm no mechanic and would have no idea what to check before making the call.

I just make sure my motor is fully serviced and the battery's are good. Then it's all hope.

I have a Trophy 2052 that has been Antifouled and it makes the boat look rubish and gets on everything including the cover and now it has got dirty black stains all up the side of the hull.... I want to remove it but after googling the process I can't tell if it would then have to be re-painted/ gel coated- am I being thick or can you just blast it off and away you go?

Does anyone on here do soda blasting? Maybe someone has had the antifoul on a trailer boat removed and can give me a bit on an insight into what needs to be done....

Thanks... Winta...

Im looking around for a fiberglass pole so I can make up something like this- basically its a poor mans power pole but I want to use it as a shallow water pole and a stake down as well. 

www.wanganchor.com

My boat can get through surprisingly shallow water for its shape and I enjoy fishing shallows in Walpole and Albany and in Geo Bay so something like this would be sweet.  The pole is the hardest thing to find.  Ive thought about broom handles pushed up iside PVC pipe and a push in steel tip but just thought I would put the feelers out for anything fiberglass or composite locally.

 hey guys 

im looking to purchase first boat and wanting to fish cockburn sound and maybe near rotto on calm days. 

what is the minimum sized boat to comfortably go out for a days fishing. iv looked at the quintrex explorer trophey sc but not sure if it would be able to handle the chop when the southerly comes in. 

any advice would be much appreciated.

 off shore  would you go, well maintained 70 on the back and a fairly experienced skipper

Im looking for some advice from anyone that has a Suzi 150, i have a s/s prop, 3x16x21.5, i have been told by my marine guru that the motor is overproped, this evident by the leg oil?? I have the motor on a 5.8 Coraline Oceanrunner and get around 36kn @ 5500 rpm, the motor peaks at 6000rpm WOT but i can never get to that rpm. Any ideas on a prop size? I hear good things about 4x blade props, keen to hear back from the Fishwrecked comunity, cheers.

How long do you keep your trailers before changing them?  I am sure the sun kills the tyres.

 Hi All,

I know it is a long shot but I am chasing a power trim and tilt unit for a v4 130hp 1999 model yamaha 2-stroke. Was just putting it out there in case anyone is wrecking an engine in this vintage or anything similar. I know that this same trim unit was used in the 115, 130, 150 and 200 2-strokes. Any help on tracking one down at a decent price would be much appreciated. I have uploaded a photo of my current unit which has a hole in the side of it.

Cheers,

How old is too old for a motor ?

I am selling my dinghy, had it for a year and was given to me as a present, barely used it, the motor (9.9 i beleive) is very old and doesnt even have a brand name on the hood (on the motor itself it has the mercury sign) motor works fine. Gets a fair bit of pace with one person and plenty with 2, good for rivers and close to shore in the ocean. It comes complete with trailer but wasn't sure what price tag to put on it, do people tend to stay away from purchasing motors that are in my situation id say over 20 years old ?

 Hi, I'll cut straight to it .

Been working in the pilbara for nearly a year now, been out a couple of times with the boys from work. Now got the bug for fishing.

The question is What type of boat do i need to get out to the islands and find some decent fishing spots to catch some Emperors and Coral Trout ?.

Im thinking I want a Stacer Nomad Fisher or 509 Baymaster Mainly stacer any thoughts?. 

Cheers....

 I just got a little runabout, 13-14' really old fibreglass hull and I was looking at a sounder.

Narrowed it down to 2- Lowrance Elite 5 or HDS 5 G2, both @ $849 include 83/200khz 500w transducer. The Elite 5 includes Navionics Australia gold charts. The HDS 5 does not- best price $329 delivered for platinum chart.

Does anyone have experience enough to offer an opinion on which is the better option. I believe I could expand the HDS5 with a 200/500 txr for DSI for $600 odd, but application is for Warnbro Cockburn Sounds, maybe Coventry/5FB in real nice weather so not sure that is so important as I believe the better sonar would suit my application.

I am led to believe HDS 5 is a much better more user friendly unit whereas the Elite is more than suitable for me and includes the maps. I'll post a wanted for a Navionics gold card in case someone upgraded to platinum and has a spare one going at a good price.

Thanks for any replies or opinions on this. Like everything so far, my budget was $400 and I'm comparing 2 x $849 units...

PS. I don't know how to stop the two following photos from appearing 

Hi All,

Here is a custom arch I had installed on my latest rig a Grady White 208 Adventurer I had this made up at Modlins Welding in Farmville NC for $1650usd The arch is also foldable so it folds back into the boat, I did this for towing and storage purposes but also because the boats being imported and they charge by the cubic metre. Let me know what you think! I know its different but I like the idea of having a bit more to hold on when getting around the side and also to wakeboard behind. I sent Keith the owner a quick paint image knock up of what I had in mind and he whipped this up the same day! I couldn't believe it! He still has to add the gold rod holders, spreader lights and tow point with anchor light.

Modlins welding by James Mullins1, on Flickr

Grady arch Keith Modlins by James Mullins1, on Flickr

Guys
have noticed a few people talking about imported trailers, both buyers and sellers and i thought in the interest of looking out for my fellow fishermen/women i would share some important information that should not be overlooked.
Please note -i am not providing advise here -just relaying information i have learnt and trying to highlight to everyone potential issues regarding imported trailers. (this is not a bash on imported trailers either!)
When importing a trailer under 4.5t ATM you need to get import approval - suggest most people would know this but in case you have not read the approval I have attached a copy of a recent one of mine below. Importantly i have highlighted the points that in a nutshell state you cannot sell or use the trailer until it meets WA (or other states) vehicle standards.
I have been advised by an independent legal resource (who had no vested interest in the outcome) that if you sell an imported trailer that has not been modified to meet our standards that the importer could be liable if for example that trailer was the cause of an accident.
This sounds a little crazy as you may sell the trailer as a jinker -however the import approval is pretty clear that if the trailer is not modified to meet our standards then it could be an offence to sell it and must be destroyed or exported.
It was suggested (please note this is not advise just relaying a suggestion made by someone) that if the trailer was sold as scrap and had the vin removed that it may escape these clauses - I would suggest you do you own research and do not rely on this as advise -i just wanted to highlight a potential problem!
cheers
Clint

So what are you all polishing your boats with?

Hi everyone,

Need some advice on what others think about how versatile the bowriders are. I currently have a Quinnie 420 Dory, does the job, but am thinking of upgrading to something a little bigger and family friendly for the future ( 2 year old at moment ).

I am fron Busso and regularly go out crabbing and venture out a little further fishing. would really like something  to go out 10-15km in for some bottom bashing ( not with family out this far ).

For general use is a runabout style or bowrider more versitile with 2-3 people fishing?

Do you really loose a lot of fishing space with a bowrider? have seen a couple of 500/530 freedom sports. look good but are they fishing friendly. maybe a little mroe comfortable for the family though.

Might have up to 20k to spend.

Any advice would be great

Well I thought I might as well document this while Im sorting out my trailer to help others.

I will add to this post as time goes by

Firstly: Background info

I bought a Trophy 2352 WA recently from a private seller in perth and it came with an magictilt US unlicenced trailer from New jersey

Unfortunately I wasnt fully aware of the headaches to follow, bearing collapsed on the way home only about 10 mins after picking up the boat.

Forcing me to do the following to get it home

Costings

This is what I have priced up so far

12mm Aus approved safety chain roughly $25

3500kg Trailer Coupling $60

Hydraulic Disc brakes x 2 for each axle (specified by the DPI) $800

Hydrastar HBA1600 PSI breakaway system and incar controller $1100

Flexible Brake Lines $250

LED Autolamps lighting Kit $200

New spring..?

Update 4.10.12

So I started to pull off the other side last night

Bearing was good and greased up but I wonder if anybody could spot whats missing from the picture?

Yeap there are no brakes left what so ever!!

Then also noticed this little doozy

Lucky I had the pre-purchase inspection done her......NOT!

So Im adding a new spring to my price list

Update 8.10.12

3 springs and shackles have now been replaced

Chain welded on and holes have been drilled for the coupling

Bolts have been located at a suprising struggle and im just going to get some flat plate washers to distrubute the bolting load a little better

Just a little Photo showing the old to the new

Update: 10/10/12

Ok so the update goes like this

Went to a bearing mob and could not get bearings to fit the US axle and aussie hub.

After much thinking Im getting new Aussie 45mm stub axles welded on, make this much easier if Im ever up shit creek and need bearings or other parts fast.

Bought a LED autolamps trailer kit, fantastic bit of kit and cost $200 all plug and playwith no solderings etc and all plugs have silicon inside. This also came with side markers all ADR approved.

Purchased Hydraline flexible brake line kit as well got them from a store in perth so started running those lines as well.

Just waiting for the axle and will be putting the first set of brakes on that arrived yesterday

The trailer Coupling is now bolted in as well

Update: 15/10/12

Another weekend down and she now rolls on all 4 wheel again

The new stub axles are welded on have we ground down the sleeve inside of the old axle, photo below shows new to old

Axle has been rubbed down and painted with some killrust, a nice marine blue colour

so no the hubs are on brakes are all set up just waiting on the rear axle brake kit and then ill be pulling the other axle out and be repeating the same proccess.

Update: 17.10.12

Recieved the Hydrastart Kit and brake controller yesterday

Started to wire up the Car Brake controller which looks pretty easy

signal reciever, signal sender and the POS and NEG cables

just have to finish of running them to the trailer plug and that parts sorted

Also started up getting the Brake actuator and battery mounted so I bought a piece of RHS sliced the bottom edge off and slid it over the trailer coupling and started to drill some holes and welded 2 bits of flat plate to the side to mount the battery.

Pictures to come

 Hi guys,

just wanted to see what people's opinion on servicing a 2006 mercury 2 stroke 15hp outboard were?

the motor had done very little work before I bought it as it was an auxiliary that never got used. Since putting it on my dinghy I've maybe racked up 20 - 30 completely trouble free hours and would like to service it/get it serviced before the warmer months kick in so I can get out for a fish and crab with confidence.

question is should I service it myself of pay someone to do it? I'm a refrigeration mechanic by trade and would say that I have slightly above average mechanical knowledge so feel as though I could tackle it myself, probably with the aid of a workshop manual, and maybe buying a couple of specialist tools for replacing the leg oil....

or should I just take it somewhere and get it done? If so can anyone recommend somewhere near Morley or madeley (actually quite close to all boats)

cheers

steve

unfortunately this is not a tutorial but rather a question!

I am buying a few parts for the yam out of the US at the moment (anodes/water seperator a few other bits an pieces) and want to replace the front cowling sticker as the "clear" or see through part of the sticker has gone yellowish and cracked (looks pretty ordinary)
does anyone know how to get the old stickers off without damaging the paint underneath? - dont think acetone would be a good idea, the surface is curved slightly so razor blade not ideal.... attached a pic -not sure if its clear to see.....

If all too hard i wont bother -just seeing if anyone has done this before with success!
cheers
Clint

Sooo the story goes i bought a new boat on the weekend

Ill do a full write up of it later including steps i did to get the US trailer compliant

I had a Pre-Purchase done on the boat 2 days earlier before I picked up the boat

I wont be naming and shaming just yet until I have heard back from the mechanic

Problem goes that the inspection reports that the wheel bearings were "good"

This did not compute when the wheel fell off about 10mins up the road

I ended up getting the boat and trailer home after and extra 3 hours of driving time.

What would you do?

I am under the impression that the mechanic should at least be refunding the "service"

as by the looks of the rust hole in the backing plate would have been a clear giveaway that shit aint right

and this also give me very little confidence that the rest of the 40 thousand dollar boat I purchased is actually good.

Yippy  floor done ! Now for the wiring..

hi guys was just wondering i have a 1998 115 mercury that runs on 2 cylinders at low revs was just wondering if there anyway i can make it run on 4 all the time i no its meant to run on to but surely would run smoother on 4? also would it use much more fuel? thanks