Benb

Thanks Pete, looking forward to putting some faces to names Cheers Ben

Nice catch, the 76cm king would have been a lot of fun on light gear I think i will be bring some prawns to the Kingie social just in case my livies get scared to death

Hi Guys, Can you please add Nailit + 1 deckie to the kingie social Thanks Ben

Dont worry Stumpy my top speed is only 32knts and 500L of fuel to keep me there so you can put the order for the 2 x 250 Evilrudes on hold

Hi Tricks, Should not be a problem if the angle of the trailer is not to low at the front otherwise it could be harder to launch your boat and the towbar and trailer can bottom out if going into a steep driveway. Also like Flightmanager said the weight on the towbar is something you should consider when you are choosing your new springs, i hope you are getting new springs not just doing a chop job on the current ones because if you cut them it will reduce the load they carry and will not preform properly. If the angle is a problem after dropping it you may be able to change the goose neck of the towbar to counter act it. Best of luck Cheers Ben

i just spoke to Stumpy and he was spewing when he found out Ross that is a good question, the donks have just been rebuilt with about 50 hours on them now and the fuel consumption is getting better. A typical trip to the harbour from Half Moon Bay (Iron Cove Bridge) and back will use between 50L to 70L at 20knts cruse and depending on how much you move around once you reach the fishing grounds etc. From the stats that i have read i think it uses about 40L/Hour @ 20Knts but i am running 4 bladers at the moment and i dont think they are very good, a bit like a washing machine Cheers Ben

Thanks Ross Stumpy has sent me a PM Cheers Ben Thanks and it does have twins 2 x 165HP 6cyl, love the power and the ride hate the fuel bill Cheers Ben

Hi All, I am looking at installing a anchor winch on my Bertram 25 because i am sick of pulling up the 8m of chain and the heavy anchor that is almost impossible to retrieve by myself once it is set well. Can anyone recommend a reliable anchor winch with good availability of spare parts ? I am realistic and understand that nothing lasts forever and it will be used often so availability of spares is important to me. Any comments for or against any winch would be helpful Thanks Ben

21ft Clinker Half Cabin called 4SURE, it has that sinking feeling - 2 bilge pumps working almost all the time just to keep her floating, i was always very happy to get back to the ramp Bertram 25 called DARE II, i just need to stop going fishing so i can afford to put the stickers on the boat , twin 165hp inline 6ers keep me honest

Nothing like salt water and steel coming together, i reckon you could see the car rusting away before your eyes

Parramatta river is very very brown I might give the harbour a go tomorrow on the incoming tide

Nice dollie, shame about the one that got away but thats fishing i guess Better luck next time Cheers Ben

Good to see brooke got her first King, your goal was met. I got my first one yesterday so i know how she feels Nice catch Cheers Ben

Bad luck on the king, looks like they are in the harbour at the moment, wish i was out there today Better luck next time but a least you got a feed Cheers Ben

Nice Jew, you never know what is down there Cheers Ben

Nice catch and a good feed, i should have been out there today Cheers Ben

Nice kings and great vids, good to see people catching their first kings. Looks like i should have gone out today Well done

Well after reading many posts of kingy action and getting the live bait thing down pat i finally got some action myself. Hit the water late about lunch time, i was only going to check if the boat had sunk and pump some water out when i thought why not go for a fish now that i am out here so off i went to get some livies. Managed about 10 in 15mins so off i go to the closest marker i could see and dropped one down and within a few minutes the rod was bent over and i was on to my first king yeeee haaaa i thought as i was trying to hold the rod a move the boat so i did crash into the other boat near me. After taking line and me getting some back a few times i was busted off so i re rigged and down with another, it was not to long before i was on again and this time i was not going to be busted off, took my time and did not let him get to far away and after 5 mins i had landed my first king of 66cm I had one more livie left so down he went and got taken within minutes but all i had on my hook was his lower jaw Back to get some more livies and back i went, sent one down and within a minute i was on again yeee haaa, this one kept heading for my anchor rope and went around it and i thought that was it but i managed to pass the rod under the rope and he was free and i landed him lot long after, this one was 66cm. At one point i could see half a dozen kings going around and around the marker on top of the water which i was very excited about. Back at the mooring by 6pm and a big smile on my face, this will keep my father in law quiet as he is always asking "where are the fish". I will try and post the picks later, they are on my phone and i cant find the cable Cheers Ben

Well done on your fist catch of those species I have driven past Windamere Dam many times on my way to Mudgee and thought mmmmmm i wounder what i would catch. I think i will stop next time i go past, what did you catch them on ?

MMMMMM its Kingy time, sounds like they are everywhere at the moment cant wait to get out

Hi PPSGT, I was one of the many boats at the sambos this morning and had no luck as i have posted, i should have used a pilchard What boat were you in ?? Ben

Hit the water by 5am and was at the heads by 6ish, out went the lures on the troll but nothing so we start heading towards north head to see if there was any action ..... and action there was with a school of sambos busting the surface . Cast after cast with no luck so we change the lure to a SP and still nothing and nothing and nothing even after trying a number of outfits, this goes on for an hour or so before they are gone, did any raiders hook up ?? Was doing the same thing two weeks ago with no problems hooking up, landed 2 lost 4 with the same rigs as today ...... anyway thats fishing ..... If any raiders hooked up i would like to know what they were using After all that we went to sow and pigs and landed 4 trevs, kept 3 so all in all an ok morning Sorry no picks Ben

I have a VS V6 Ute and towed a trailer with tools approx 1500kg from Sydney to the Blue Mountains on the M4 and i cooked the auto, it got so hot that it started reving out in drive at 110km/h and i thought it had slipped into neutral but when i looked down to see it in drive i thought mmmmm time to stop, opened the bonnet to see smoke coming from the auto cooler lines (i have the large cooler fitted) and thought s##t i have done it now. After letting the car idle for 5mins jumped in and put it into drive and to my amazement no probs off we go, now i should explain a few things first: It was a friday afternoon It was 32 degrees My average speed was 120kmh/h I had been doing this drive every day for 4 months, most days with the trailer at the same average speed I was not using the power button (V8 button in terms of fuel consumption ) All of the above is what contributed to the overheating auto so as long as you take it easy, use the power button, you should be fine. The problem with autos is the torque converter, the commies have a locking torque converter which locks effectively turning it into a direct drive which is much better for towing as it produces much less heat when locked, a VS will lock at 60km/h with the power button on or when in 3rd and 80km/h when off or in drive, a VT onwards will lock at at about 50 to 60km/h in drive, 3rd and power mode which is even better which is good to see they improved them as they are a bit of a week point (the torque converter) for the VS and earlier but was greatly improved from VT onwards so you should be fine. Just to let you know i cooked it 3 more times each time just backing off for a while allows the auto to cool a bit and you can get back on the juice again, the problem is it cooks the converter and it stopped locking which made it overheat easier and the oil would only last about 5000km before it needed changing. I did about another 30,000km including towing my 21ft timber half cab 2500kg shot distances before i did anything about it and when they pulled the auto out the converter was blue from the heat, the mechanic said he had never seen one like this before and all they did were autos so they had seen a few. So dont stress even if you cook it all you need to do is stop and let it cool down for a few mins and she will be as good as new. Good luck with the tow P.S if you need a new auto i can put you onto a good guy

I think that is a great idea, how can we make it happen ? Does anyone have any contacts .....

Thanks Domza, yes i think there will be they are a great boat, i got stuck in the gale force winds last Thursday with the and it took it in its stride no probs at all so yeh i think they will be around just make sue there fresh water cooled from my experience or be prepared to replace the blocks or repower, good luck. Ben Yes that is a nice way of putting it Yes the pressure cleaner has been used but to my amazement it did not shift the hard stuff so a paint scraper did the job, i think i will need to cut an access hole it the front half of the take and do the same just to be sure. Cheers Ben