I am looking at a new boat and have honed in on a Redline 6.6 or Genesis in runabout configuration. Need tow weight under 2.5t (2016 prado) so pretty sure that rules out a hard top. Want something capable of getting to the Abrolhos. 400l fuel tank? But mostly day trips and chasing crays. Not after fancy crap that can break. Fresh water (container) or toilets (ocean or bucket). 

Anyone on here got one of these? Keen on feedback. Interested in how people made their choice and any features you consider a must have. Both look like solid rigs. Redline maybe more aggressive chines? Better ride? Any issues with corrosion from water remaining in these if they don’t drain fully?

Recent posts were very complimentary of the new merc 4 strokes so leaning that way also.

 I know, should be able to search this, but i click all I like on the Search function and nothing happens. So can people give me some names for fabricators who build a solid tipper. Needs to be strong enough for full size pro pots.

 Guys seen some previous posts on tips to free up steering on the motor pivot shaft where the grease has hardened, my motor is 90 HP Suzi 4 stroke. Interested if anyone has tried the following tip suggested via a you tube clip.

I have disconnected steering cable and confirmed no issues there.

The tip suggested heating up the area in between grease nipples ( I would suggest with hair dryer or the sorts) while trying to pump frsh grease in and turning motor. Any thoughts or recommendations.

Last resort is to remove power head to access the shaft?

I've got a Seafarer V-Sea with the max 90hp, 2x batteries, deckwash and a 90l underfloor fuel tank that starts at the bilge and finishes at the end of the deck.

Long story short she's bum heavy and the previous owner whacked a hydrofoil on it to negate this and I have tried to sort the issue with the foil removed.

I have since moved the outboard up a hole, then up another and back down one which has helped. I also bought a 4 blade prop which helps in smaller choppy conditions but the bow is still lifting too high over big chop and swells causing the hull to slap rather than slice through.

I put the foil back on and now with the 4 blade prop she slices through the  heavy chop like a dream (30knot winds in the Peel) but I just don't like the way the foil grabs when you come down a bit of swell or chop and pushes you in one direction.

Has anyone had a similar problem and negated this by putting some weight in the anchor well? I could chuck on an anchor winch with butloads of chain but looking for a cheaper option for now.

Cheers JF

Chasing any and all info i can for the boat builders that once were "HYDRA CRAFT" outta the Territory.

From what i can work out they have since closed doors, as i think they traded via GS marine??

im trying to get a bit of info for a hull before spending my $$$$. 

Feel free to comment here, or send me a private msg if wanna keep it secret :) 

Cheers in advance crew.....

 G'day all,

Just wondering if anyone can give any advice on applying flowcoat please. 

I hit the trailer when retrieving the boat just before Christmas and gave a real deep scratch to the gelcoat and also dug out a little fiberglass I believe, so over the last week and a bit I've scrapped out the scratch to fill it, and have also laid a little bit of new fiberglass where I gouged some out. 

Anyway I sanded the area back laid up the glass and when I was ready to do the gelcaot I went to get it at Whitworths, and the guy serving me there tells me I shouldn't use gelcoat for the job, he recommended I use flowcoat. He explained that gelcoat dries tacky and it is more used for making molds, and that flowcoat is for a finish over fiberglass. 

So I take his advice and buy the flowcoat, now I have taped up the area with double thickness masking tape (put 2 strips for every side of the outside area that I didn't want to get the new flowcoat over) and applied a thick-ish layer of flowcoat with a paint brush.... All good the flowcoat has gone off and I have left it 24 hours before sanding it, but the problem I am getting is I do the first bit of sanding with a higher grit snadpaper say a 240 or 120 grit and lightly knock of the rough brush strokes from the brush, I then come down to a 400 grit wet and dry, down to a 600 grit wet and dry, and lastly a 1200 grit wet and dry, and the main problem is before I've even hit it with the 1200 grit I can see the outside area of the repair has the fiberglass showing through, and the area I am working on is basically showing through also, its like not sanding too heavy handed, and using a low grit sandpaper, but I'm wearing away the gelcoat of the outside area and then also the repair area. 

I've watched a heap of videos on repairs to fiberglass damage, minor and major, and one thing I have noticed with most (american) is they use gelcoat, not flowcoat and their work doesn't seem to have the repair work show through, or they rub too much gelcoat off from the outside area of the repair. 

Am I possibly not putting enough flowcoat on? from what I have watched I believe I am applying the same amount as the guys in the videos, or should I overlap the repair area heaps more and try and blend it in? Or should I spray it on instead of painting it on, or should I use gelcoat?

Really stuck on this one and so wanna get my boat out on the water again, any advice very much appreciated. 

Thanks 
Geoff

 Spotted this boat at the Skyshow, "Yampi Lad",

Anyone know why designbed/built it?
Good looking hull on it

gday all, Just noticed the vhf radio in my boat was working properly just wondering if I am up for a new one or it is a simple fix. Was working fine till yesterday. Now turns on, but cant read any numbers on the screen, and only hear static. cant change channels or seem to be able to transmit or anything. Its a GME brand probably about 10 years old.

cheers for any tips

 Howdy all

just chasing a bit of info from the gurus or techies on site, I have a 1990 90hp v4 evinrude 2 stroke outboard.

when I start it at home with the muffs on I can get up to 3000rpm when using idle lever, but when I'm in the water and at ramp starting it I can only get about 1000-1100rpm with idle lever which makes it hard to warm the ole girl up as she stalls a bit if I can't get the revs up any ideas as too why cheers and thanks.

 Hey guys, I posted on here a few weeks ago about my motor beeping only when in reverse, and only on the water. It's now started beeping when in neutral as well, but again only when in the water. The deep goes away when you put it into gear and take off a bit. I can't get it to beep at all when flushing with the earmuffs at all. I've had the mechanic plug into it and it's not throwing any alarms at all. I'm going to take a video when on the water next for him to have a look at it. But, anyone got any ideas to try?

Startng to toy with the idea of a new motor for my 625 Cruise Craft.  Currently has a 200 Opti but would go 4 stroke on a new one.  Any thoughts on Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda or Merc?  

Startng to toy with the idea of a new motor for my 625 Cruise Craft.  Currently has a 200 Opti but would go 4 stroke on a new one.  Any thoughts on Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda or Merc?  

Am going to relocate my  Airmar B164 through hull transducer further torwards the back of the boat (was never installed in the right location) and install a new Airmar B75 2nd transducer to connect to a 2nn combo unit, HDS carbon 9. This will leave a nice hole in the hull where the current through hull tranny resides.

John F has offered his skills to fit the current and new trannies, but i need a good fiberglass person to patch the hole fwhere the current transducer comes from

Anyone happen to have anyone they could receommend?

Cheers

Bodie

Hi all.

Been rewiring parts of my boat and came across this component which was connected in-line with the ignition power supply from the outboard's wiring harness (2009 Suzuki DF250).   This supply had the NMEA2000 network backbone, trim tabs control unit, and a compass lbacklight connected to it.

It was in a sealed plastic sachet.  A few checks with the multimeter shows it's not a diode and has a DC resistance of ~15 Ohm.  Given I still had no idea what it was, I then decided to cut open the sachet and was greeted with this component which looks like a resistor.  A Google search on the printed number on the component has come up with donuts.  But that 15 in the part number probably means 15 Ohms.

Everything appeared to be working fine on this power circuit before I went for a re-wire.  The resistance seems too high to be an in-line ferrite bead, but what has me stumped is how this resistance hasn't caused a significant volt drop given NMEA2000 backbones are generally rated up to 3 Amps.  Even 0.5A load would see a 6V volt-drop.

I'm an EE and I'm stumped.... Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Tom.

 https://www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/power-boats/swiftcraft/227464

Would love a new Sportsman 21

Hi all,

Over the christmas break I managed to hit a submerged rock with my propeller which has caused a small dent in the blade.

The motor is a 1996 175 hp Mercury Offshore and is counter rotating (the boat has one engine, I anticipate the previous owner purchased a used counter rotating motor from someones twin rig).

I can't detect any change in the performace of the boat or vibration of the motor since i have damagd he prop.

The code written on the prop is: 48 16545 A40 21P. I have been able to find a used on online for about $100 but I want to make sure it is counter rotating prior to ordering - is there something in the code which reffers to counter rotating?

Given that i am unable to detect any change in the performace of the boat or vibration of the motor since i have damagd he prop is it nessecary to replace the prop/would it be a good idea to file down the dent to reduce its profile?

attached is a photo of the prop code.

Hey all,

Looking for a bit of advice.

I have a Southwind 655 which had a hydrofoil on the outboard when I bought it.  The reading I did sugests the hulls were prone to porpoising and hence a lot of people put hydrofoils on.  Anyway 6 years later and I just left it there as the boat's always handled well.

I noticed about a year ago that the cavitation plate had cracked right through, and basically broken off.  It was only held on by the hydrofoil bolt.  I had it welded up and it broke again within a few weeks.  I assume that the hydrfoil is probably putting a far amount of flex on the plate and the weld wasnt strong enough.   The attached picture shows what I mean (an example, not mine).

When climbing back in the boat after a dive on the weekend a boat went past smashing me with wake (good to see everyone keeping a distance with a dive flag up), and I grabed the hydrofoil to stop breaking my face on the boat and it broke off in my hand (had gone a bit brittle).

SO... Has anyone successfully had a cav plate  welded up before?  If I get it welded again, and scrap the hydrofoil, will it hold up?  The boat seemed to handle ok with half of a hydrofoil so Im willing to give it a crack without one at all.

Or should I replace the hydrofoil along with the chunk of my cav plate?

Or... someone's no doubt going to tell me to replace the lower leg.  :P

Cheers,

Lavs

 Hi guys, 

Picked up a great condition 560 charger a month ago and have just started to put it all back togethor now after gutting all the old gear out. I am a little hesitant to make a call on the new outboard size at the moment with recommendations either side of the fence. 

I am looking at the three motors below but am a little unsure if the transom can safely take the extra weight of a 150. Have spoked to one of the members on here who has the df140 and was quite happy on the back of the same boat, but also have been out on the same boat with a F175 which handled really well off and had an unreal top speed and good economy for getting out wide! 

I do a lot of trips to shark bay and exmouth and do some long trips to get too the areas i like to fish, likely to do runs out too the trench for marlin/YF when the water warms up as well. 

Suzuki DF140 approx 50kg lighter and significantly cheaper 

or 

Suzuki DF150 / Yamah F150 much better torque and better cruising speed. 

Any advice or experience going through the same decision process would be much appreciated! 

Hi fellow fishoes.  I am looking at some advice please on mooring a boat. I am looking at mooring my 18 ft runabout in geographe bay for 3 months. I will be using the boat some weekends and was wondering how the motor copes with not being flushed after every use? Is mooring adviseable? Any advice would be greatful.. cheers Don 

Was chasing some info about the CruiseCraft Outsider 625, more specifically a 2001 model. Most of us know the good reputation that CruiseCraft has, however with the 2001 model, was there anything in particular that was a problem? Or any general info or opinions about the 625 would be appreciated.

Cheers

Woodsy

 Does anyone know what the older Savage fibreglass hulls were like such as the 18 ft Commanders and Escorts...were they any good?

 i am chasing a powerhead for my vintage johnson motor 1975 25hp can anybody help me maybe somebody may have an old johnson sitting in shed gathering cobwebs 

 Hi all,

I'm in the proccess of purchasing a Haines Hunter 650 classic and i have an issue with the kill tank set up. It doesn't have a bung to release water, so you either sponge it out or pump it out, I suppose with a bildge pump. What do people do with the same kill tank set up as this as I've seen it on quite a few boats while searching?

I use to have a boat with a flooding kill tank. It was so easy to clean when there was blood in it and it was easy to drain. 

My solution is I could cut a hole into the back wall of the kill tank and put a bung in it (but all the blood and crap will end up in the bildge) and then pump it out which really dosn't turn me on. This is about the only gripe I have concerning this boat,, but tts not a deal beaker for me.

Are there any owners of the Haines Hunter 650 classic who have a flooding kill tank, and if so, I'd and would like to know how they have achieved it? Other questions....how does the boat go? and if anybody has been on one are they as good as the reviews say they are? The boat I'm getting is going to be used mostly as a fishing rig with the odd stay at Rotto or wherever.

 G'day all.

We had a little bit of an issue with our hydraulic steering the other day, however we had a spare fitting on board and limped home. (Had to use two stroke oil). It got me wondering about what extras you should have on board (apart from safety gear of course). 

There's obviously a limit to what you can carry to cover all eventualities. Your mechanical knowledge, the possibility of an "at sea" repair and so on will also restrict what you can do.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             My question is - What do you carry every trip in the way of both spares and tools?

In addition, what's the most complicated "get home" fix you've ever pulled off, either at sea or remote area when you make it to land somewhere?

 G,day all. Does anyone know what the specs are on the oil in helm pump hydraulic steering systems?

We had an olive on our helm pump let go yesterday but were able to limp home using 2 stroke oil. We flushed the system using in Hi-Drive oil at home (I was concerned some of the additives in two stroke oil may damage seals in the unit) but didn't have enough to fill and bleed the system.

 I can't imagine the manufacturer of the unit would actually produce their own oil and last time I looked it was well over 20 bucks a bottle. It's not so much the cost, but I like the idea of being able to try Pirtek, Enzed or similar if I got stuck.

Opinions about the use of auto trans fluid are varied enough to worry me so I won't use that, and from what I can see in the manuals of some of our machines at work synthetic fluids are not always advised. Any specialist advice would be much appreciated.                                  Thanks,    John 

Hi All . Hope someone can help me . I have just purchased the boat. The wiring on the barron is mess under the dash . I have hooked up a new lowrance . Radios and all worked fine then .
Checked port and starboard lights zilch. Wired them up to a toggle switch . Turned on power and now I have nothing . The instuments on the dash still work . Radios , lowrance & lights etc now wont work .

I am not electrical minded but think there is either a short or the original wires are done wrong . Need this sorted out before the 8th jan as need a report done for insurance for club marine .

Could any one help please I live in High Wycombe .

Cheers

 Anyone Know a good place thats fair on price to purchase a steering cable. In rockingham would be ideal but willing to travel.

 Howdy all

i have a 1990 v4 2stroke evinrude motor on my western craft I seem to be using more fuel lately, I used to get about 3 trips out to check the craypots out now I am only getting about 2 trips before I have to fill up again, I had a service done in October, is there anything I can do to get better fuel economy or is just tuff titties it's an old heavy two banger cheers and merry Christmas to all

 After some information of anyone who was done a through hull transducer on a 670 commodore. 

I just picked up a 2007 commodore attitude 7000 and it has a m260 linked to a furuno 585. Works fine although have fitted my simrad evo3 and was looking at putting a SS175M in to cover all bases. 

Any help or ideas appreciated.

Cheers