Yesterday, looking at the forecast I thought I would head out for a fish in the morning and then do some maintenance at the marina afterwards when the wind got up. Needless to say, the fishing wasn't great for me with a few undersize flathead and snapper making a slow morning on the water less than satisfying. 

About 11am I headed back in, it was a slow trip since I have been having trouble with what I thought was a slipping prop hub on the starboard side when reaching planing speeds. By the time I got back to the marina the wind had dropped and berthing was a simple task to do by myself.

So I broke out the tools and started on some maintenance items. I replaced the engine hatch gas strut that broke a few weeks ago with one I bought in Repco. Found them on special on Saturday for $30. It fitted fine and was much stronger than the old one so it was a bit of a win. Next job was to remove the offending prop for an inspection to see what was required. I raised the leg and when I laid on the swim platform I was easily able to reach the prop. The trouble was my shifting spanner was too small. Off to supercheap auto up the road for another. Managed to find a 1 and 1/16th spanner as well so back to the boat. The prop nut fought me all the way due to drowth on the threads but eventually it was released from its resting place and onto the boat. The hub actually didn't seem too bad but the prop was in terrible condition so not sure if exhaust leaking out near the leg is causing cavatation instead or if the culprit will be the engine coupler.

The plan was to leave the prop off and then scour around for a used replacement to get me by until I could finalise plans for rebuilding the transom assemblies and a noisy leg. Things went a bit downhill when after feeling victorious and taking some pictures of the prop and then I heard the bilge pump come on. Ok, maybe a bit from the normal leak but then it went again. Opened the engine hatch and I can hear water running. Uh oh.

A quick call to the guys at Hillarys lifting service and I was motoring my way down the coast from Mindarie to get the boat lifted. It was a beautiful afternoon with light winds and a slow old drive down at 7 knots. 90 minutes later the boat was in the soothing grip of the slings at Hillarys. I figured it best to be safe than sunk in the pen.

So she needs some love, might have a lead on some second hand drives and transoms, need to fix the oil leak, clean the bilge, tidy up some wiring, new antifoul, a new toilet and I can finally install my sounder. Might even be able to get the bent section of bow rail replaced!

If the rebuild gets significant I might make a new thread and document it that way.

Hi all,

During last Mondays stormy weather, I had a solid object hit my outboard causing some scratches and gashes. Being fibreglass, can a smash repairer tackle this problem?
Decals can be obtained directly from Yamaha.

Thank you

Chris

Hi guys.

Just wondering if people know the value of a good used tandem trailer, suitable for boats up to 5.8 metres? I'm planning to upgrade my trailer so want to know what i can sell my old one for? Fully registered, all led lights working, minimal rust etc..

Thanks

Just wondering what type of petrol people use for their 2 stroke outboards? The place where I got my OceanPro fitted reckons unleaded 91 is fine.  Does anyone know if using 95RON will make a difference? 

 Hi, I have a milky colour grease on all the little arms and joints and on carby on my outboard, what would be the best way to remove it so I can grease them up with new, and something that's not going to discolour the alloy also what can I spray over the block to protect it. Thanks

 Hi I have a stacer nomad 420 and it has a tiller steer at the moment, and I'm converting it to a side console with another motor I just bought witch has front steer, and the lengh of cable is long, i would like to know does it mater if the steering cable is longer and can I roll it up, or do I have to buy a shorter cable. Thanks 

Hi gang

Wondering if fellow members can assist or advise the following;

I'm thinking of adding 2 additional batteries to my boat. The current ones are Century Marine Pro 720, on an isolator switch (1,2, All, Off). The two new batteries will be 100AH deep cycles. What I want to do is keep the existing batteries/switch in place for starting purposes and use the 2 new batteries (in parallel) for all the boats electricals & electronics. I plan to install a VSR to isolate the 2 battery "banks". Is that an ideal configuration? 

Also, I would like to mount the 2 new batteries further up the boat, eg; in the seat boxes, instead of at the rear. Is it ok to run long battery cabling back to the VSR which will be mounted at the back?

Thanks in advance!

Not sure if this is in the right forum, but i am currently looking to buy the above. Not sure if i want to buy locally or overseas as yet, i'll let the numbers make my final decision.

so does anyone know where i can source these locally and overseas? i know allboats have/use to have them at around 1200.

thanks guys

 After a swiftcraft if anyone has one for sale 

Hi Guys,

I am considering buying a new dinghy. something along the lines of a 3.7 / 3.8. needs to be able to be car topped ontop of a trailer or caravan. Would prefre something with deep sides so i might be able to stand up a bit more.

Which brands do others have or could recommend, Quintrex, Seajay, Makocraft, Bluefin ?

Has anyone got pedistal seats instead of benchs ?

Any adivice is much appreciated

josh

for those interested, there are some new rules coming into play within the next few weeks.

What used to be known as the "off season notification" has been changed to a year round notification.

Meaning that whenever you are heading over on your own vessel you need to submit a notification either online, email or in person.

I havent heard anymore other than the letter WAF has sent to fishermen but I believe they will be running an "education campaign" starting now.

 looking at a johnson 115 two stroke saltwater edition, anyone have one or heard much about them

Hi All,

Looking at a 2008 300 Etec with about 500hrs but would really appreciate feedback if anyone has any experience with them?

Thanks, Shacked81

Hi All,

I need some advice / expertise on what I can do with my trailer (import from the US by previous owner).  I have a four wheel disc brake trailer that is in need of some TLC.  The main problem is that the disc’s and hubs are very rusty (flaking rust).  I removed as much rust from the discs as I could but the surface was still so corroded an uneven that it has chewed through the pads in about six months.  

I was planning to buy four new discs and be done with it but when I contacted the original manufacturer (brakes are called DB35 from a company called UFP) they have told me that the hubs are purpose built (not off a car or truck so no easy replacement) and that UFP don’t have any Australian distributors but I can buy in America and ship to Australia.  This is OK for the small items like bearings and seals but the four brake rotors are going to cost $950 in shipping alone due to their weight.  With all of the USA boats going around this must be a common problem but I don't know the solution.  I am not sure what to do next and so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Toby

Hi all,

I'm looking into getting a targa bar w/rod holders fabricated for the tub (a voyager LTD) to go with a new canopy and clears.

I had a look through the site using the search function and i couldn't find a clear answer on the benefits of aliminum or stainless steel for this application.

Can anyone recommend one over the other?

Also I haven't ever had anything fabricated so if anyone can recommend someone to do the job it would be much appriceated (I live in North Perth but work in Freo so anywhere sort of metro would be suitable).

Cheers,

Dave

Attached is a flick of the boat from saturday morning.

Well these new motors look ah interesting. Bit like a transformer.The new steering system looks pretty cool but!

http://www.boatsales.com.au/news/evinrude-e-tec-g2%C2%A0world-launch-44090

Well, 300 hrs has popped up pretty quickly since I got the Boston Whaler 235 / Mercury Verado 250 hp last April with only 46 hrs on the clock. Racked up 250 hrs in 14 months with a 200 hr service I did in between, which is pretty simple, engine and leg oil.

The boat and motor have been nothing short of sensational. Cant rate the Whaler high enough, I love the boat and the motor. I was not a fan of the Verado prior to getting one, with concerns of them being too complicated, but in reality, they are quiet, very powerful, quite simple and I do all the maintenance myself.

Below is a bit of a pictorial and commentary of the 300 hr service, showing it is easy to do yourself BUT does come with a few potential issues........

1. Got quotes for a 300 hr service, which is the biggie with new spark plugs, all new filters (oil/fuel) and new water pump. Eye watering amount....stuff that, I will be doing this myself. Saved a packet BUT I did have a few issues.....

2. Got most of the parts local. Most parts are reasonably priced compared with on the net so I support local firms where possible. Only exception was spark plugs.....I refuse to pay $36/plug........$10.50 on the net for the exact same top end iridium plug, delivered in 4 days. Got a manual (CD) off ebay for $29, well worth it, full workshop manual. Very easy to follow down to pulling the entire engine to bits. Yanks make great manuals!

3. Changed engine and leg oil, did filters, a few new anodes, cleaned up all the other anodes, easy peasy.

4. Ripped the leg off......easy.

5. Snapped one of the water pump bolts off......easy..........phark!

6. Had a few beers over much swearing. It seems the factory does not apply any grease on the threads, and the recommendation is to pull out the water pump impeller at 100 hrs mainly just to get some grease on the bolts before they sieze up.....they are only M6 bolts, and stainless, so gutless.....

7. Drilled and easy out.....not so friggen easy. I hate easy outs and they don't normally work....this was no exception, ended up drilling the bolt right out, stuffing the thread.

8. Re-tapped next imperial size up (1/4).....looked dodgy but after a few beers looked OK.

9. Put it all together with a new impeller....after 300 hrs the old impeller appeared almost brand new. New impeller cheap insurance.

10. Back together. All good......

11. Could not sleep that night.............thoughts of being out at the shelf and the water pump crapping itself had me a bit nervous.......phark.

12. Buy a helicoil kit the next day.

13. Leg back off.

14. Drill, tap, helicoil.

15. Re-installed......only took 1.5 hrs to pull the leg off, install the helicoil, put the water pump back in and put it all back together.....easy second time round.

Well, it did take me a bit longer than expected, but I saved over $600 by doing it myself, have a few more tools I did not have before and know a lot more about my motor. Recon the 600 hr service will only take a few hours.

Good fun!

I inquired at a local supplier about the Grey tube matting for my boat and I want  the grey colour tubing, I don't like the dark blue or black tubing they have in stock.

If I want to buy the grey colour I have to buy a 10 metre roll at 1200mm wide.

I need 6 metres for my boat, but I will have 4 metres left.

Is there any interest for the other 4 metres?

Aprox cost would be $250  for 4 metres 1200mm wide.

Cheers

Ken

Ok, Ive put this together using my own words, no cut and paste etc. Turned out to not be as easy as I thought and Ive chopped it around alot.

Its intended for those in say Cockburn Sound, Dampier and Port Hedland where there is heavy commercial traffic (both volume and displacement)

Its NOT comprehensive and as skipper ONLY YOU are responsible for your safe navigation.

Im assuming that you know the basics in daylight, otherwise this will be total gobbledy gook.

There are others here who know more than me and may spot an error or  something missed etc, more than welcome to comment or better (to save confusion to others) shoot me a pm. That way I dont look stupid if Ive overlooked something as well

In the Colregs, there are some simple (ish) patterns to understand which once understood make it a lot easier to interpret not so much exactly what is going on but when you should stay back.

To make it simpler I am assuming you are just a powerboat with no other special circumstance and have a basic knowledge of the Colregs in daylight.

You should always make your intentions obvious and clear with course changes in plenty of time.

Keep VHF on 16, and if you hear 5 short blasts on a horn it means someone BIG doesnt know what someones elses intentions are-LOOK AROUND YOU NOW!!!

Any blasts for that matter.

1/ simple rule-in a close quarters situation GENERALLY, you should take evasive action to stb not port whether in the right or not.

Turning to port will usually make it worse as you will be turning into the other vessel whether crossing, headon or being overtaken.

2/ simple rule-any steady white light, give way.  

It is either a boat at anchor, or the stern light meaning you are overtaking. Either way you arent the standon vessel. It could also be a boat under 7 meters-but you should still be cautious due to swamping.

Lastly it could be the floodlite at the end of a jetty hence you should also give way :-)

A black ball from the mast is the day shape for anchored

3/ simple rule-if the mast (christmas tree on bigger vessels) has anything lit up other than a single white light-it is telling you something you need to know. STAY CLEAR and make it obvious you are. They are not party lights :-)

Could be restricted ability to manoeuvre-due to draft, towing, under pilotage, damaged steering etc. Its not important except that they are telling you to stay clear.

The most important thing with this though is to make your manoevers obvious and DO NOT pass behind without ensuring it isnt towing a barge. You likely cannot even see the tow wire as it will disappear into the water 10 meters aft and reappear at the barge. But it could be 50mm wire under 20-50 tonnes of tension, might as well be a brick wall.

If this vessel has to effect a crash stop in a channel due to your actions-the consequences are likely to be massive. Barge grounding or up the tugs ass, either way could easily be in the $1M's.

Read this report if interested

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2010/mair/277-mo-2010-006.aspx

4/ simple rule-a steady red or green alone or one above the other should be a vessel under sail or similar.

It may also be confused with configurations in (3), either way STAY CLEAR

If you are just a powerboat he has right of way no matter if you see red or green or both.

If he is under power he must show a white light above it (steaming light) and is a powerboat regardless of whether his sails are up or not.

5/ There are no marine vessels which have any sort of flashing navigation light.

The only mobile flashing light I know of that is a possibility is a hovercraft, which isnt a boat as such. It will show a yellow flashing all round light.

Of course a Police/Patrol/Fisheries Boat may have flashing lights but these are not navigation lights.

So other than that if you see a flashing light of any colour except the above it is some sort of fixed navigation marker and not a boat-identify it from your chart or its configuration.

6/ At night ship bigger than 50 meters will usually have his sidelights and masthead (white) toward the stern in your typical aft wheelhouse bulk carrier. At the bow will be another white light which indicates it is probably over 50 meters.

He doesnt have any special priveledge other than if he is showing other lights such as restricted by draft/manoeverability etc. But let common sense prevail and give him a wide clear berth.

7/ Tugs in any harbour-may look quite small but carry serious horsepower and draft due to Zpellor drives that are vulnerable and may draw up to 6 meters. They may need to stay in the channel and could easily be showing lights to indicate this.

Recognising and avoiding a collision situation

Forget for a moment whether you are standon or giveway vessel.

1/ If you see a vessel coming closer to you but still well clear, hold your course, sit still in your seat and line him up against a part of your boat- window frame, corner of the bimini etc and after 30 seconds he is still in the general direction(relative bearing unchanged) you are going to come close to colliding eventually.

Doesnt matter which direction he is approaching you, this stands til someone changes course.

If he moves relative to you in either direction you should clear.

2/ As right at the start, unless there is a specific reason you shouldnt take evasive action to port for the following reasons 

-in just about any collision situation if you turn to port just as he does what he is supposed to do, the situation has been made worse and you may be blamed.

This goes whether head on or crossing from either direction.

3/ We've all seen it-some gumby coming up a channel on the port side because he doesnt know better. You move across and he goes further. Theres no use arguing, he wont realise he was wrong until after your all dead.

In my opinion the best bet is to stop, and let your vessel show him a port (red) sidelight.

If you cross to the wrong side and he goes to the right side-BOOM, your in the deep end.

You wont be able to go to stb unless you can leave the channel.

By stopping-the collision damage is reduced by both speed and making it a glancing blow, and he will hit where it is obvious who is at fault.

 looking at a fiberglass run about boat. 5-6 mts something that isnt going to rock at rest. looking at spending around the 15 grand mark. if anyone has surgestions or something for sale would be great 

 Im curious as to whether there is any interest if I put together a simple guide to the Colregs-not the full bottle but a few simple rules that may help those in busy places like Cockburn work out which is what?

I know most are (or should be) aware of a simple nav lite, but there is a method to the madness of lights that can help to understand when you should be staying clear despite seeing a green etc.

 Hi guys I have recently purchased a 24ft 80s Blaxell flybridge and am in the early stages of attempting my first nautical refit! 

Im looking to move the drive console as it currently in an awkward position for my planned refit and I would like to get the whole tub professionally rewired in the process as it is an absolute mess at the moment!

does anyone know what it is worth to get an auto elec to rewire a whole boat? 

And how hard/expensive is it to extend/replace the hydraulics for the steering, throttle and gear shift?

Hi Everyone,

Since my last post. I have trolled for various Dinghy's that can carry up to 6 people. My budget was around the 15-16k mark but was told that may not be realistic. I found this boat on Gumtree and was wondering if it was worth the money or not. Is this boat to old? will it need more money spent on it? This is where I need advice badly or some links to see other particular boats I should be looking at. Honestly sitting in front of a computer monitor is no fun for the eyes at the end deciding on nothing because of my lack of knowledge. The reason I was talking about 6 people was because the relatives will be over later in the year and I wanted to take them to a few spots in that 2-3 weeks they are here. After that the boat would at most have 3 people on it. So I throw this post open to all who would like to help. I look forward to hearing from you soon. My link for the boat is as follows

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/thornlie/motorboats-powerboats/leeder-710-23-ft-a1-condition-don-t-pay-30-k-or-40-k-/1045484759?utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ActivePlus-boats&mpch=ads

Cheers

Kim

Hi Everyone!

I am calling on everyone that can give me valuable advice on buying a second hand boat to be used for open water eventually. I have never owned a boat and I have been told a long time ago I should look at a 5m minimum size. Half cabin to protect from the weather would be good. I have been looking on Gumtree at lot of boats as well as Ebay Australia wide to find something fairly inexpensive to start with. A lot of them are around the 5k mark and aged. This is where I need the help and guidance as I am not sure of make, year, etc.. If you can help me I would be very grateful!

Cheers

Kim

Need some help with recommendations for both LED strip lights for inside and onto the deck plus a decent handheld spotlight for my 6m boat. I was think of going LED for both. I have a cigarette Socket at the front.

Would prefer not to wire them to the boat batteries. Was thinking of a rechargeable spotlight (That can utilise the cigarette plug) and Strip LEDS that are powered by a 9v, AA batteries etc.

Any experiences or advice welcome.

 Curious to hear anyones thoughs on these tubs & hulls especially previous owners...

Also curious to hear any boat builders opinions on possibly removing the stern drive adding at fiber pod and mounting outboards on the hull

is the 27 trailerable?

trying to find any info on changing to an outboard but cant find anything on the net...

thanks all

Dear all

The following site has CTEK battery chargers at what seems to be nearly half price, has anyone had any experience in purchasing from this site.

www.autoelec.com.au
https://www.autoelec.com.au/ssl/public_autoelec/store_v2/product_detail.asp?id=415&cat=45

Cheers

 Hi guys, after a bit of advice on boat options.  

Currently have a 4.2m dory.  I am just thinking of upgrading to something a little bigger, deeper and more h/d. The back doesn't like having to sit down all the time in the current boat.

most of the fishing is around busso, coral bay etc. if I could beach launch that would be great.

was looking at options in the 4.5 - 4.8m

Can anyone recommend  a brand of boat. ( quintrex, mako, goldstar, etc ) that would suit. 

Would I be better to stay with a open dinghy or look at runabouts?

josh

Hi crew,  With work slowing down i have had some spare time to work on the boat. Ive been doing this for nearly 3 years but in reality have only spent about 8 weeks on the project. Unfortuantly work comes first but i hope to finish it off over the next month.

There are too many things to cover all of them, but i had to strip the whole boat and flip it over to repair the hull. Some of the stringers had broken and punched holes in the bottom, so I had to cut out sections and repair the damage, then weld in plates to finish it off. (sorry no pictures )

The fuel tank was in bad shape with holes and pitting so i decided to make a new one . I had to stay with the same shape to fit it under the floor but made it alot thicker using 4mm alloy .

Fuel tank in progress

All the inside joins were welded on the bottom section

The top section was welded from the outside only , the bottom section was welded from inside and outside.

The lap joins welded

By the end i was getting some nice welds.

Here is the tank with all the fittings in place,Sender unit and pickup . It has been preasure tested and ready to go in the hull.

I cant aford to replace the motor yet and being a 2 stroke i realy needed to sort out the remote oil tank. It was broken and the plastic was too brittle to do a cheep fix up.

So i went to get a new one. Found one at a dealership and got the price. At $980 complete, or $280 just for the plastic container , i prompty told them to go f@ck themselves and returned to my factory to make my own. Now i know boating parts cost alot, but that was just taking the piss. IMO

I removed the pump and fitting to see how bad they were. Just surface rust on the pump so applied a rust convert and paint. Then came up with a design so the tank would fit into the side pocket on the boat out of every ones way.

I fitted sender unit , the filler cap, and the pump went into the back of the tank exactly like the original. 4 hours later i was glad i still had a grand in my bank.

Another problem to over come was the gauges for the motor. They had sun damage and scratches so bad you could hardly read them.

Again i thought , I'll just replace the covers. No you cant get them, you have to buy new gauges. Ok so i'll price them up, $700 thanks mate. Again, I not so politely refused their mates rates offer and bought a lense pollish kit from an auto shop. A couple hours later and some elbow grease they were good to go. Not perfect , but good enough for me to use for a couple of years.

Went to buy a bait board, again came back and made my own complete with a 3 tackle box rack.

I repianted the hull last Xmass . For my first try at this ( I got alot of advise first ) It came up pretty good for and old boat.

I now started on the T-top. After looking at ideas online i got the frame work in place . I made it bolt on, so i can remove it if needed. I reinforced the console inside to prevent it moving around and tearing the aloy.

I fitted the marine radios up high and gave it a lick of paint.

The console is starting to look good with the in struments in place.

Many other items done ( too many to list ) but she is starting to get close to the final fitout.

Thanks for reading and i have more to add, but will post some more pictures on a new thread as this is aready pic heavy.

Cheers Grant .