helliconia

If it is only an issue when moving it around why not roll the boat back on the trailer a bit to balance the weight more when your pushing it around. You could use the winch to move it back by looping it around a cross bar on the trailer and back to the bow point then winching it back slowly. Doing it this way you could balance it so there's barely any weight on the hitch, and still have it rigged for good towing performance by reverting the strap to its normal position and winching it back to the post. Might be a bit of a pain to do everytime but it's better than hernia surgery!

Actually the higher up the food chain a fish is, the greater it will concentrate contaminants like mercury in it's flesh. The exception to this could be spawners that enter contaminated waterways from cleaner oceans and do not feed extensively in that location.

I agree, the lower the tow ball weight the more upward force you will get on the winch post and tow ball which will result in instability while towing. I'm not sure of the car/trailer/boat profile you have while towing, but less downward force while towing gives the lift of the wind under the bow less resistance. If you want to run it like that I would be making sure the hitch has a good solid grip under the ball, and that your winch post etc is strong enough to resist the lift. You don't want the front of your boat bouncing on the trailer in transit either. I use a ratchet strap over the bow to the trailer just because I'm a bit paranoid about that happening. I figure the winch strap is holding it forward on the trailer and the ratchet strap holds it down.

There are also a bunch of How-To videos for SP's on YouTube. Just search "soft plastic techniques". Best way to learn is watch a few videos then get out and practice. It's a good excuse to go fishing too!

Thank Tuffy but I'm not that clever. I just realised I forgot to ask an important question. Is the break away for complete separation from the tow vehicle or just the loss of hitch when the safety chain takes up the load? The trailer jack might not pull out when the safety chain is holding it. If the safety chain is holding it you wouldn't want the trailer brakes to lockup, depending on the mass of the boat it could drag the ass of your car all over the road (or off it altogether).

I've got my dive ticket and I've dived a lot up and down the Sydney coast. We live on an amazing waterway! As for the sardines, there was a BBC documentary that showed the annual mass migration of sardines from Antarctic waters up the coast of South Africa for spawning. They literally filled hundreds of miles of coasts in shoals as thick as those in the story. They estimate the numbers in the 100's of billions. Predators like sharks, dolphins, and pelagic fish show up to feast on them and push them up against beaches and headlands to concentrate them further. That's probably what happened there.

Essentially the warning system would not be that complex, you monitor the trailer battery voltage, compared to the incoming from the car and if the car voltage disappears or battery voltage drops you signal an alarm. 2 stages would be better, one for loss of charge voltage and another for low battery. The break away system would not be difficult either. A simple solution would be to provide a looped circuit through the trailer adapter with a relay held open by the current, when current disappears on break away, the relay is closed and switches power to activate the brakes. I did a search on an electronic supplies site and they have voltage sensor kits for around $20 and 20-30A automative relays for under $10. PM me if you want some more details. This assumes you want to tackle the job yourself of course. Sometimes it's just easier to get it done professionally

I would imagine that would probably be a job they would outsource to a design firm rather than keep inhouse. If you think about it, you design the graphics once for a model then you wouldn't change them til the next year at the earliest. If you're looking for a career change the boat review photography might be a better bet if you can get a permanent role at a magazine, but even then I think they use free-lancers for a lot of that work too. Best bet might be to poll the manufacturers and magazines and ask them how they structure these parts of their business. Good luck, if this is your dream don't let a few problems stop you! Go for it and think how jealous we'll all be

Ditto tide, lets hope the world is as generous to the Japanese as it was to us and NZ recently with the floods and quake. The Japanese people will be feeling the effects of this for a very long time.

Actually, I believe he was calling us all puppets but really sticking it to 95% of us for our geographic ignorance and general wimpiness. Yet another reason computers should be classified as heavy vehicles with respect to drink driving laws PS I'd love to go but I couldn't find Weipa on Google Maps but my mate tells me the mozzies are so big they carry you away at night to feed their families. Good luck with the trip!!

Damn thing weighs more than my boat!! I'd also need headrests on my seats to prevent whiplash

Just got back form the show. Yamaha had a stand there so you'd probably be able to get a peek under the covers of theirs. (I didn't try since I just bought one and didn't want to start wishing for a new new one haha) Was a good show, lots of displays. My mate I was with commented that the big boat show doesn't really attract too many trailer boats these days so this one is good if you want a smaller boat, or are interested in bits for them.

Ditto, and you get a lot of baits off a bonnie. 3 of us fished for a whole afternoon on one bonnie a few weeks back with lots of bream, snapper, and flatties coming into the boat. Unfortunately I parked us over a nursery and had to throw them all back

Clearly displayed my ignorance with that question The current radio is a GME GX300 so its 27Mhz. So, I'd be looking for a VHF. Any thoughts on good models that are reasonably priced?

Hi guys, I currently have an in-dash VHF radio and am thinking of updating it to a UHF in preparation for getting the boat offshore. I was looking at actually replacing the VHF and ditching it. It's one of those low profile ones only about an inch or so deep inside the dash. Any thoughts on what brands or models are best and what sort of money I should look at spending on a reasonable one? Current aerial is a stumpy 3 foot model, do I need to update that to something longer as well? Cheers Brian

Also depends on how you drive too. I picked up the following info googling fuel economy towing tips. * Accelerate smoothly and gradually, not suddenly * Don’t drive too close to the vehicle in front, drive at a safe distance * Judge traffic flow to reduce the need to be constantly slowing or speeding up * Release accelerator as soon as the need to slow down becomes apparent * Increase vehicle speed on the approach to a hill so vehicle is not slugging up the hill * If the vehicle is fitted with a trip computer, use the instant fuel consumption readout as a guide to the most appropriate gear and speed * When going up a hill, change down gear early to maintain road and engine speed * Reduce speed if there are strong head winds * Cruise control is beneficial on flat roads when steady speeds can be maintained and when weather conditions are favourable * Have your vehicle serviced regularly as specified by manufacturer Have a look also into boat covers as they improve the aerodynamics of the boat and reduce fuel consumption. The looser and flappier the cover is the less effective it will be. The tonneau type covers that tightly seal the open areas are probably most effective. They'll also keep the rubbish out of your boat like dust etc. Getting rid of a boat full of red bull dust out of your boat will be a major pain. Also look into the towing bra options that attach between the boat and trailer. They can deflect wind and improve the aerodynamics of your rig while towing. They sort of look like the picture below but attach to the boat. They also prevent stone chips to the hull of your boat. As a safety precaution I also run a ratchet strap over the anchor sprit to the winch post and tighten it down to prevent the nose lifting if the wind gets under it. It also reduces strain on your winch strap. I'd look at removing any bits that increase the height or profile of the boat too, like bimini's etc. Anything that reduces wind resistance will be beneficial. How much you spend on all this will depend on how much fuel you think they'll save of course. Boat damage and cleaning should also be considered though. Enjoy your trip!

60 seconds x .316 = 18.96 seconds. I'd round up to 19 seconds. You'll be closer to the mark than rounding down. Otherwise your conversion looks fine to me. According to a calculator, 1 second is only about 11 metres anyway... or maybe I got that one wrong haha Bit more googling and the distance in one second is dependent on the latitude and altitude of the point, which makes sense. At the north and south pole the distance between a second is zero, at the equator it is the largest, and as altitude increases so does the distance. Of course now it is just getting too complicated! Just round to the nearest whole second

Budzsta, Found a couple of reviews online for you. Offshore 610 Offshore 630 Hope that helps mate.

If you own one and it is still under warranty I would be requesting it be fixed before those circumstances arise. I can "almost" understand them not doing a product recall, but if it is a known defect they should be fixing it before it happens to people. I wonder if it's possible to get an official description of the defect so members aren't stuck with a huge bill after warranty?

Buy two 3m tinnies and attach them as outriggers if you don't like the floaties

Thanks everyone I'm thinking of going with the cardboard mold idea, cause it sounds cheaper and lighter in the long run than a wooden frame. Once I get started I'll post pics to show you how it goes.

I have a disc-lock I got for my motorcycle. I'll drill a hole in the post the winch sits on and arm it to that. It is set off by movement or shock (like being bumped or dropped). It's freaking loud too. Set it off on the bike a couple of times accidentally and it's hard to think when its right in your ear.

Thanks again guys. I like the cardboard idea, although I'm picturing myself with a saggy mis-shaped esky Wishing I hadn't been so quick to throw out the box that came with the new fridge at xmas! Someone in another post mentioned a fibreglass shop in Seven Hills. I might try there since I work not far from them. The weight factor and the strength of the fibreglass was why I thought of the thinner ply/MDF sheets at 6.5mm or less, that and its a cheaper Now, what tools and equipment will I need? I'm thinking so far I'll need: plastic scraper to spread the resin - or should I get a resin roller? heavy scissors to cut the cloth gloves goggles (cause I'm bound to have stuff flying around) breathing mask sacrificial container to mix the resin in What do i use to spread the flowcoat? I just bought a live bait tank I have to fit to the back today so I'll start looking at this one over the weekend

I hadn't considered molding because this is my first venture fibreglassing and I didn't want to overly complicate things for myself. That said, how do you stop the fibreglass from sticking to the MDF mold if I went that route?

Yes but I was going to fully enclose it in fibreglass so there would be 2 "sides". The outside will face down into the recess, the inside will face up and it will be all one piece. Then the lid will be separate. How thick will/should the fibreglass be so I can allow for it in outside dimensions?