NickF

This is my pride and joy. 1994 Haines Signature 600BR, 175hp Mariner Magnum V6 2.5L EFI 2-stroke. Comfortably fits 7-8 adults and does well fishing outside considering it has a flat bottom hull. Top speed at the moment is 53mph.

Just some updates on this. According to the SMH there are petitions at around 1200 service stations around the state. They need 10,000 signatures to force a debate over the issue in Parliament (They already have 6,000 signatures) and hopefully stop the mandatory use of Ethanol in unleaded fuel. Please sign the petition if you see it. There is also a Facebook group started called "STOP Mandatory Ethanol Blended Fuel in NSW" so maybe join that group and help give voice to the issue. The more noise we make the better chance we have of getting this reversed.

Mercury 60hp BIGFOOT.

Even easier, rent the carpet vac from any Woolworths store, the same one you use for your home carpets, costs about $40 to rent for a weekend! Put the shampoo in it and off you go, boat smells ace afterwards and the carpet gets a good shampoo.

I don't need to drill new holes, the ones in the transom are fine, the outboard just needs to be moved up 2 holes on the outboard mounting bracket. The only issue is that the steering cable has no stretch so I would have to unscrew the cables to allow the outboard enough room to come off the bolts and be lifted. Make sense?

I gave it a try but the steering cable doesn't have enough length to allow the outboard to separate. Will have to give it another try when I can disconnect the steering cable.

My boat is Fibreglass.

At the moment there is silicone around the bolts and washers and also the outline of the engine bracket. It is just some sort of clear silicone which looks decent. Any ideas on what sort of silicone that is? It would have to be UV stable I would say.

Hi All, I need to raise my 175hp outboard 2 holes on the transom. It is currently on the upper most holes meaning it is at it's lowest setting. If I unbolt the 4 bolts and lift it 2 holes what sort of silicone/sealant do I need to use to ensure no water gets into the timber in the transom over time and have peace of mind knowing it is sealed properly? The reason for the lift? : The cav plate never sees daylight unless I am running at WOT which is VERY rare as we cruise alot. The boat is backend heavy and there is excessive drag and better performance is achievable. I tried a SE Sport 300 foil but even that rides under the water all the time so the motor is definately too low. Anybody able to give me some advice or feel like helping with the exercise? Kind regards Nick

Hi All, I need to raise my 175hp outboard 2 holes on the transom. It is currently on the upper most holes meaning it is at it's lowest setting. If I unbolt the 4 bolts and lift it 2 holes what sort of silicone/sealant do I need to use to ensure no water gets into the timber in the transom over time and have peace of mind knowing it is sealed properly? The reason for the lift? : The cav plate never sees daylight unless I am running at WOT which is VERY rare as we cruise alot. The boat is backend heavy and there is excessive drag and better performance is achievable. I tried a SE Sport 300 foil but even that rides under the water all the time so the motor is definately too low. Anybody able to give me some advice or feel like helping with the exercise? Kind regards Nick

Do you just drive out of Sydney heads until the sounder reads 65m and then start a burley trail and drop baits down and just drift? I'm not much for offshore fishing but really want to get into it.

I own a fibreglass bowrider (Haines Signature 600BR) and do everything from family, skiing, offshore etc and it does all very well. Being fibreglass it handles the ocean quite well and is extremely stable at rest and also on the plane. With a 175Hp EFI 2-stroke on the back it does around 80km/h at full noise and cruises very comfortably at 3500-4000rpm. I have had it fully loaded with 5 adults and 6 kids (Capacity of 8 adults max) and it handled us all perfectly well. Couldn't recommend the bowrider highly enough!

Looks like some preventative maintenance could have avoided all that. Looks pretty buggered, something I wouldn't do. Looks like a job for Huey.

It should be hot enough that you can only keep your hand under it for a short time before it hurts, but not cold enough you can leave your hand under it forever. That said smaller outboard may produce less internal heat therefore cooler telltale temp. Mine is a V6 2-stroke so it may be that it runs hotter than others. Either way if you have 50C water coming from your telltale that's a good thing as long as it's not cold.

Or....... you can do the smart thing and ring Blakes first and sort it out and make them remedy any damage/mistakes without spending a cent. Huey would do an amazing job but best let Blakes make any fixes you shouldn't have to spend more money with another dealership. Next time though I would recommend using Huey, he did a fantastic job with my boat!

Well if you think about it, cold water is being inducted into the cooling system to reduce the temperature of the engine, and therefore should come out hot after running through the cooling channels inside the head. Can't imagine why the telltale would spit out cold water still after going through the head unless the thermostat was stuck open or had been removed. This would then mean your engine may be running under optimum temperature.

Go stainless for peace of mind, much more durable and stronger than alloy. You get what you pay for.

The water from my telltale is always quite hot, you can't leave your hand under it for long. That's normal 2-strokes need to run hottish.

Try and stick to 30lb braid or even 20lb. Casting with 50lb when you don't have a serious weight on the end of your leader can be a pain, especially in the wind.

I prefer to have multiple outfits with different line or different setups, the last thing you want when you're on the water is to see a school break the surface or have something happen and then be sitting there trying to swap spools and tie on a new lure etc. It's easier just to pick up the next outfit which is already rigged and start casting, nothing hurts more than a missed opportunity.

I spoke to a guy the other day, who has a line tied from his EPIRB switch to his wheel rim, if anyone drives off with it, the line goes tight and flips the switch on the EPIRB and he gets a phone call and the boat can be tracked via the GPS in the EPIRB. Smart thinking! Wouldn't take much to set that up with some fishing line and a few knots or basic fittings. Don't know how true his story as I don't know him from a bar of soap but it sounds very feasible.

The Hawkesbury would be good, half way between the central coast and Sydney so easy for everyone to meet half way.

When the swell is up, or the ferries are out in force along with lots of pleasure craft, and you wanna go anywhere near the lower harbour or heads you start pushing the limits of a 4.0m tinny. 5.4m is never overkill when you want to poke your head outside the harbour, or get home in the late morning or afternoon with the harbour chop. Or even take a few mates along for a day or overnight camping trip. Yes, costs increase but so does the satisfaction. Whole new horizons open up for you, when you go can go outside trolling looking for Marlin or tuna, jigging up kingies or fishing some of the reefs close to Sydney. If you upgrade to any larger size boat costs will increase as there is more HP required to push it and same goes for fuel. That is just part of the deal. If you like fuel economy and low costs then stick with the tinny and work within the restrictions that boat offers. Don't let the talk about extra expenses scare you off, if you have a $40k+ budget, spend $20-$25k on the boat and then the rest on a repower to a new fuel efficient outboard and you'll never have to worry. The E-TEC has 300 hours with no required service straight from the box and even the big beasts like the 200Hp burn something like 700ml an hour at idle and have really low consumption figures. I'm sure Huey can fill you in on the rest!

Just keep in mind where your bait ends up after you cast. If you use a ball sinker the bait will move in the current and may end up outside of the strike zone. You might need to try a small star sinker or even a snapper lead to keep you in the right spot. Fishing areas where there are drop offs or rocks surrounded by mud/sand and weed beds are also a good spot.

No, you want lower power for deeper water therefore slower pings. 200hz gives greater detail but has a shallower range, 50hz gives less detail but works in deeper water.