Fab1

It's a Stacer 439 barra elite.He fishes tournaments,casualy for all species using plastics.

Donk installed.interior getting there.Console/interior.Finished product and a job well done mate.

A friend allowed me to show his boat on here that he painted to give you all a heads up on what's involved. Here is the said vessel before the colour change.Outboard,electrics,fittings gutted from hull and paint removed to bare ally.In primer ready to be rubbed back.Topsides painted in red.sides in black.un masked. Cont pt 2 fit out.

Normally when people ask this question they are hoping for a answer to save them money.My best answer I can give you is learn to do it or part of it yourself. People are afraid of new technology but at the end of the day the internal combustion engine hasn't changed much in over a century other than being more orientated around electronic complimentary while the internals pretty much remain the same. I like how people use the term "tune up" when discussing modern cars or the term "panel beaters" both when out the door a long time ago. To me a tune up involves changing points,adjusting carburrretors,valve clearances etc. Not doing air,filter and oil changes and pulling a few codes etc. But yes to keep all parties happy(Read your wallet lighter) and keep any warranties valid it's best to get it done at the recommended intervals. I know this doesn't help much but it really isn't that hard. I don't know everything but I reckon 90% of what I have learned in my life is by doing the reasearch and putting in the time and effort to hone my skills. Id be interested to hear what others think also. Cheers.

And to think that there are scum that go around praying on people in these terrible times looting the little people have left makes me disgusted in humanity and ashamed to be part of the human race. Stay strong for you and the family mate.Hoping good fortune comes your way real soon. To the rest of us it really sends home the message that no matter how hard we think we have it,there's always people much worse off and in the blink of an eye you can lose everything including loved ones. Fabian.

Mainbar is a huge nipper gathering flat that is well known while still producing despite the hammering it gets.Can't comment on San Souci. I can tell you the best nipper grounds for you in regards to close proximity is indeed the Georges river as I've pumped nippers there before in a few places.The woronora river has them also. I just drove/drive around in the shallows looking for those telltale holes in the sand/mud assuming you have boat access also. The last time I went to the George's was probably about 8years or so and I'm assuming the nippers haven't gone overseas since then. Please take only what you need when you find them and keep to the bag limits putting any with eggs back. I will Pm you with a few places to try. Cheers.

The grip tape is self adhesive and comes in various widths on a roll.Simply peel the backing and adhere to the trailer. Use solvent to ensure your trailer is clean before adhering tape(I used wax & grease)but turps,metho will do at a pinch. We won't be the first or last that has slipped on a boat/trailer with wet slippery feet. Cheers.

Good on ya for having a crack.If your worried and want to dress the edges a little use some ally angle strips on the corners for that finished look. Another option is grip tape in future everywhere you walk. I've had mine on for 6 years now on my boat/trailer. good job.

Congratulations mate.Hope she serves you well for many years to come.

Perhaps this should be asked in the boating section.

Sounds like a great day out.Good company,a fresh bait supply and a top feed coming your way.Thats the trifecta if you ask me. Cheers.

I use to get the windybanks chicken gut at the local servos.Im sure I saw it at the servo where I live a few weeks ago here in Appin.I'll ask for you next time I'm in there.

I use to have a old glass boat on a similar tilt trailer in the 90's.I went from those useless 10" wheels to 14". I found the tilt trailer almost as useless and welded it permanently in the closed position. I had black rubber rollers on the trailer for the keel and carpeted skids. As long as you submerge the trailer sufficiently you will be fine. Remember when going from 10" wheels to 14" wheels you will only increase the height from the skids to the ground by 2" not four inches. Those 2 mods where the best things I ever did to that rig.Besides 14" wheels/tyres are easier to source than the 10" and will help the tyres and bearings run cooler also as the rpm they're doing for a given speed will be significantly less. Thats what I would do. Good luck with it.

Well done once again mate.If you ever put out a book on Cracking the ports secrets ,I'll take the first book released. From following your posts I'm getting the best time to fish it is before sun up and a few hours into the morning before the boat traffic,noise etc. Cheers.

I'm glad you enjoyed them Jim. Thank you for your kind words Neil.But seriously it's no big deal putting up these posts as I enjoy them probably more than the people reading them too.The biggest reward/award I get out of helping someone on here or in real life is a simple thanks and knowing that I've helped that person while teaching them something they may have not known. As everyone's aware people are struggling in this day age.The other day a woman and child where at the shops in front of me at the checkout and she was nearly $20 short.I offered to give her the $20 and I tell you she thought all her xmas's came at once.Did I need the $20?Perhaps. Would I do it again?Absolutely. Why?Because one day that person could be me and no child deserves to go without. Cheers.

Anytime mate.Hopefully it will help my brother in-law out a little as I can't be there to help him and any raider in the future.Like I said these are only the basics on what to look out for.Some are minor things to fix/repair and some can go well into the thousands of $$$ for more of the severe faults. Thanks for following the post everyone. Cheers. Thanks BN. Your welcome Dave.

I feel your pain mate.Insurance cover bugger all of a lot of the tools and things tradies carry too.

Exactly Rick,I'm not painting all tradies with the same brush at all.At the end of the day anyone could of taken it and like you say tradies get to see more of people's belongings in their homes and yards than the average joe. Don't think for one minute that people aren't watching an know what's going on.I don't care if your boats on the street,driveway,yard or garage,Trust me people know those people own a boat or whatever and will take it giving the chance. Saying that I can understand Flicknmad is upset as many tradespeople are great and the rotten ones spoil it for the others and it's not going to change anytime soon with the cost of living etc continuing to escalate.

Theft doesn't discriminate against anyone mate.Of course it could be someone that followed the owner home etc as much as those tradies there that day themselves or some crooks they know. Don't take it personal mate as there is some top tradies out there and some real scum bags just like there is in any field of work. Tradies/service people that come to your property really get a good layout of the land when they come to do work for you though you would have to agree and if they are crooks they have one up on anyone else. Cheers.

Good idea mate , a spare and having the tools and knowledge to change it on board wouldn't go a stray either. A lot of guys these days with electric motors have the peace of mind to being able to make it back to the ramp although quite a bit slower.I wouldn't personally like to be a few k from the ramp relying on a electric I tell you but each to their own I guess and they would certainly beat oars hands down as I think those things would have to be the most useless things on a decent boat with a bit of size/weight. Mine make great ornaments as I tried rowing with the bloody things on my small tinny and found them to be absolutely useless.

Linkages-Check all linkages/cams look like they are connected and operational.Are they well greased? Spark plug wires-Are they secure and tight?Bend them slightly and see if you can see fine cracks along the insulation. Pull them off by twisting and pulling looking at the insides.Is there any corrosion or signs of burning inside?On four strokes pull out the dipstick and check the fluid levels.Are they correct?Does the fluid look reasonably clean?Does the oil filter look like it has been changed recently and not leaking from around the base? Things like this you need to check. Always before your deciding to commit to buy a busy I'd ask to take it to a mechanic to pull engine codes if newer technology and have a leak down test performed or at a very minimum a compression test done. Those few things I suggest should be checked on every outboard as a minimum as some of the things I mentioned are often not checked by the potential boat buyer of which can all add up to extra $$$ after purchase to rectify. Ill make a post on interiors next and as always feel free to add anything you wish to add to help out anyone with their next boat purchase. Cheers.

Look at the flywheel and starter teeth.Are they all there?How worn do they look?Is there any missing,chipped broken ones?Same thing under the cowl as before in regards to fuel hoses. Check all hoses to carbs,filters,fuel pumps etc. Are all connections secure?Do the fuel hoses show signs of ageing like cracks,dry rot etc. Gaskets-Check along all gaskets for signs of seepage,breakage etc. Cont pt 13

Doesn't matter if your talking a four stroke or 2 stroke under the engine cowling there's a few simple things to check there also. I start with a good visual of the engine as a whole asking myself these questions. Does the engine look it's age? Does the engine look relatively clean as a whole? Does any wiring look neat and tidy? Are any fluid reservoirs in good condition and toped up? Can you see any blistered/peeling paint on the engine block? Is there a white substance that looks like salt corrosion? Are there any rust stains/water leaks? etc,etc. Again a well cared for outboard should look nice,clean and tidy under the cowl.Don't worry if you don't know what your looking at does just perform a few simple checks I'll show you below.As the photo above shows outboards have all sorts of wiring and electrics in different configurations but one thing that doesn't change is connections,wiring and components can and do fail on all of them. The simple things any layperson can do is inspect anywhere there is an electrical connection to ensure it is clean,tight and corrosion free. I like to wiggle and gently pull all connections to check their security looking along the length if any wires for signs of burning,rubbing etc. Ask yourself questions as you go.Does the wiring look neat and tidy?Is it secure?(Give it a gentle pull)Is there what appears like green powder on any of the wiring terminals,posts etch? Look at the top of the head for discolouration,peeling paint(both can indicate overheating).Tool marks,chipped paint on bolts indicate part removal at some stage during the engines life.(This can indicate the engine has been serviced).The paint should be uniform in colour on the entire block. Cont pt 11

Check here at the tilt tube for signs of corrosion,play etc also.Again grasp the engine and try to forcefully jiggle it up/down side to side. You will notice the tilt tube usually has two grease nipples as shown. A misconception among boaters is they think when they have stiff steering that greasing here will alleviate their problems. Wrong! The tilt tubes function is to support the outboard itself to the transom bracket allowing the outboard to tilt up and down in the process.It also houses the steering cable on a manual steering system. The tilt tube has two (usually)nylon bushes either side that need to be lubricated periodically to prevent friction(wear)between the metal tilt tube itself and the transom bracket where it mounts.You will find these two grease nipples fitted directly in the centre of where those two bushes are located.The purpose of those grease nipples is to grease THOSE BUSHES only and will do nothing to help with steering effort. If you have hard steering on a cable system you either have an issue with the swivel bracket bushes or the steering cable itself. Moving to the exterior of the outboard I like to check things like any throttle/gear linkages for wear/fraying broken cable strands etc. Any fittings such as electrical/steering/fuel cables etc and that the engine cowl itself is in good condition with its seal in good condition also.Check throttle and gear cables are in good condition for now.Later down the track we will check them for operation. Check any fuel lines/electric cables etc for loose connections,cracking,fraying,chaffing etc.If it's a pull start inspect the rope for wear as they do wear and snap usually at the worse time. A little tip from me if you own a electric and pull start outboard like I have is to see if you can physically pull start it before you are stranded somewhere to find out you can't.Some people can't due to physical limitations,bung shoulders etc. Another tip is to always store your outboard with its drag link rod in the fully retracted position to help prevent corrosion. We'll look at under the cowl in the next pt.

Next I check the bushes in the swivel bracket,tilt tube and that engine mounts are in good condition and don't need replacing.Again,using my outboard as an example there are bushes in the top and the bottom of this portion of the swivel bracket that can wear out causing steering binding or slop.To check for excessive movement here I keep the outboard in the fully down position(Vertical) grasping the lower leg giving it a good firm wiggle side to side and fwd and backward.You should feel no to very little movement. While I'm here I also check that the transom bracket mounting bolts are in good condition and tight. That the trim pin on a manual trim and tilt engine like mine is there and not missing. The shallow water drive bracket is there and functional. The idea is to look at and operate everything making sure it all is where it should be and in good condition. Above is a shot of a rubber engine mount.You don't want to see any splits,cracks or dry rot in these.I have a steel pry bar encased in a rubber hose to pry in between the engine and bracket to check for movement here. Cont pt 10