zmk1962

Hey Kiwicraig... could you forward details of the case... and were you purchased. Thanks Zoran

Nice rig Jim ! Very tidy. And here is BARRYCUDA ... just finished the conversion to hardtop in late Dec and this is what she looks like now in the driveway ... I am yet to take a good watershot ! Cheers Zoran

Hey Jim, We launched at Ermington 6am (the newbies wanted to experience the harbour scenic trip under the bridge and past the opera house - and I never get tired of it - we have such a beautiful harbour) so we hit Wedding Cake around 630am and had it to our self. A center console showed up at 7am (was that you?) just as we were reeling in our plastics and setting up the trolling gear. Great idea re some form of visible Fishraider identification. Perhaps instead of stickers - can I suggest a small pennant we can slip over our radio antennas and ziplock into place? It would be much more visible. Cheers Zoran PS - My call sign is SY404 (I sit on VHF 16 all the time) or boat name "Barrycuda" (big print on the boat).

Hi DMG, I can see the logic in that if there is deep water and structure - like a warf. A constant light would attract the smaller stuff, then baitfish, then predators as there is depth and structure and the shadowy dark areas for the fish to hide in - if they need to. You get the same effect squidding at night of a boat in deeper water. However, on a beach as there is ONLY shallow water my experience is that the fish avoid the shallows especially when its bright - eg during day time the beach shallows are almost a desert as bait fish are exposed from the bottom (predatory fish) and above (birds). So during day time beach fishing I would cast out to the deeper channels and holes. But as the light fades the fish move in closer as there is less threat. Many folks forget that and still cast out far at night. I have caught a bagfull of whiting in Jervis Bay in a 24ft radius around my feet standing at the water line in total darkness. I did not use my reel at all (12ft beach rod+ 12ft of line hanging out) - literally like pole fishing. As Short said - "they're feeding right at your feet". I discovered this by accident... a miss cast plopped the bait near and as I was figuring out what went wrong I hooked up. I had been targeting bream and whiting and I was casting right over them - DOH! Since then I carry 2 beach rods - heavy and light. The heavy gets thrown out and sits in a rod holder. The light fishes everything inbetween - in total darkness. BTW on a different note - night beach fishing was one of my and my wife's favourite past times - we'd hit anywhere from Palm down to Shellharbour) but I admit we have given it away for the last 15+ years. Not because of issues like Short is experiencing sharing the beach with others but because we just got very sick and tired of returning to our car to find it had been broken into. Is this still happening regularly out there? Cheers Zoran

I'll quickly jot down my top boating/Fishing related apps (I use them on an iphone 5s and iPAD so these are IOS based): Marine Rescue (MRNSW ) NSW Fishing (thanks jeffb5.8!) Seabreeze OZ Weather -- I like the radar function to "see" the cloud/storm formations tracking...(but I will check out windyTV) Knots 3D Navionics - AU&NZ Cheers Zoran

Great report fragmeister. I hit the harbour on Friday as well with 2 newbies onboard. Like you, nothing at wedding cake, nothing at North head, nothing in the two bays heading up to Manly (this is usually "bonito" alley for me), nothing at the FAD. Like you found the current is running around 1-3km/h at the FAD-- so we went further to 12mile (found water temp 26C) and hit a schools of mack tuna…. 2hrs of absolute fun followed...great sport about 20 hookups and lands/releases (kept 3 2+kg models for bait next trip)…. We tried a variety of metal and resin skirts but they were only smashing 6inch pink and zuchinni pakulas and only came up to play if we were trolling the teaser as well. As a bonus also caught a 66cm mani mahi in the mix (keeper), then after tiring of trolling we came back in to bottom bash the reefs at sydney heads (Leads Inner) and ended up with a 65cm flathead (keeper) and a couple of juvenile snapper over 30cm (keepers). So all onboard scored a feed and had a great day out ...(especially the two who had never been offshore before).... The pressure is on me now to reproduce this the NEXT time they go out with me -- and they have all already volunteered! Cheers Zoran

I was not aware of FishSmart NSW APP.... thanks jeffb5.8 !! Very useful. Perhaps there should be a section in the fora for us to document smart/useful proven boating related apps.

ok so gave the fridge method a go...no noticable smells.... just finished splitting up the block into 4 rectangular chinese takaway containers all good...seems to be the way to go... Thanks flatheadluke !

I'll give the slow thaw fridge method a go... keeping the missus happy is a must so will use the garage beer fridge - hence only my mates will be irritated by the fish smelling beer bottles .... could be a side benefit - maybe they'll drink less or bring their own to share !

Thanks noelm...yup tried that previously as well....I'll keep experimenting. Cheers Zoran

Hey Raiders, Has anyone figured out how to easily split up a 2kg frozen squid bait block?? I've been told there's a general shortage of frozen bait squid in Sydney . So the local bait supplies near where I live are only stocking US sourced food grade 2.2kg blocks of squid at $27 a pop. For me 2kg is way too much to take out on a trip and its a waste to throw the unused portion out... so I'm looking for best advice on how to chunk this down without losing the quality of the remaining bait chunks. I've tried a few things like smashing the block on concrete ...but looking at any shared experiences! Someone is sure to have cracked this problem with a simple and effective solution. Cheers Zoran

Hi Nick, Having done a fair bit of wiring (my dad was a sparkie) it sounds like you have more than one problem and are seeing the compounding effects. eg car lights coming on - sounds like something is feeding back to the car through the trailer or trailer wiring - some old trailers are wired to use the trailer as earth - a bad practice. So, as others have suggested you need to start isolating the problem - so start with your car plug and establish that it is wired correctly. Simplest may be to test your car with someone else's trailer that is known to be wired correctly or arm yourself with a 12v test light (<$5 at any auto shop or bunnings) and have someone operate the vehicle brakes and switches while you test the car plug pins. Use these diagrams .... If all is ok with the car... then work your way through the trailer wiring...again using the same wiring diagrams. Cheers Zoran

Hmmm.... have not had that problem before with hydraulic steer - but have had similar ones with plastic fittings shrunk tight over metal fittings..... I'd hit it with a bit of heat. Hairdryer or hot air gun... or carefully flick the flame from a cigarette lighter over the plastic. Plastic should soften / expand and be able to be pulled off. Same for putting it back on if its tight - little bit of heat. Cheers Zoran

Lead cell batteries......KEEP IT CHARGED ! .... I have written up the science behind this in a previous post if you want to search for it. Running a lead cell battery to flat before re-charging is guaranteed to shorten battery life. I always keep mine trickle charged to full and as proof have a Century Marine Pro 650CC that is 10y.o. and still working. Cheers Zoran

Don't confuse a retailer's packaging with the legal requirements. Inshore and Offshore are retailer packages. Enclosed Waters and Open Waters are RMS definitions....and they are not intuitive. eg. In Sydney harbour Port Jackson, You would think Open Waters are east of a line between North Head and South Head....after all this is the open ocean beyond the last land.....BUT according to RMS ..Open Waters in Port Jackson are East of a line from Cannae Point and South Head. Check the map free on RMS - http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/maritime/usingwaterways/maps/boating-maps/9d-port-jackson.pdf So research from RMS site what are defined as Enclosed and Open Waters in the areas you typically boat in. Then for NSW... The RMS site is clear... http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/maritime/safety-rules/safety-equipment/safety-equipment-table.html For Enclosed Waters - No flares required. For Open Waters - you need 2 Red (Distress flare (red hand-held, in date)) and 2 Orange (Distress flare (orange smoke hand-held, in date)) Cheers Zoran PS - Thats the minimum requirement from RMS...but take with you whatever you think will help in an emergency. Ultimately your are the skipper and responsible for the crew. Personally I view RMS as a minimum and I carry extra flares etc.

Hi Tag.... PM sent. Cheers Zoran

Have you spoken to Malki at LSM?? I was told I could not fit a drum into my HH 635L but then the LSM website had a picture of my model HH fitted ! Here's the LSM web link for the Haines gallery .... http://lonestarmarine.com.au/haines-hunter/ cheers Zoran

Hi Fab1, I had that same concern re scratching when I mounted my first wiper on an Acrylic (plexiglass) screen. But I never used it when the screen was dry only when it was raining or there was significant salt water splashed across the screen. I replaced that screen after 10yrs with another plexiglass one (not due to scratches but because plexiglass starts to craze from UV exposure). I did not use polycarbonate (lexan) as its softer and more flexible than plexiglass and I am sure that would have scratched (even though it does not craze from UV). So overall my experience with salt/plex-glass/wipers has been quite positive. I am now upgrading to plate glass (again much harder then plexiglass), and installing wipers/washers mounted directly onto panto-graphic arms... so when the screen is dry - a squirt of fresh water, before activating the wipers will make sure the rubber is sliding across wet glass, not dry salt. It's the system commercial vessels use. On a related topic - having been caught out in some ugly weather I cannot imagine running a half cab without wipers. They significantly improve your visibility. Cheers Zoran

Thanks for all the replies guys... ran each of the leads down and eventually found - TruVision - a supplier of heavy duty windscreen systems (Brisbane) who put me onto the local Sydney distributor ACE Mobile Bus Services (at Blacktown) - they carried the exact parts I wanted in both plastic and brass. As I caught him on the road - he diverted and home delivered ! How good is that ! Cheers Zoran PS: They are called Barbed Bulkhead Fittings or Through Body Connectors.

Hi Raiders, I am upgrading my rig to plate glass screens and panto-graphic wipers. The wipers also have washers and I need to run the washer lines through the cabin bulkhead. I presumed this would be a simple task requiring some barbed bulkhead fittings to take the standard 3/16 wiper washer tubing... but the last 3 days of googling and visits to repco/autobarn etc have been fruitless in locating an Aussie supplier for wiper fittings (although heaps of US / UK / China retailers online). Anyone know where I can get two of these fittings in Castle Hill or NSW or Australia ?? Don't want to wait the 4-6weeks to ship international. Here is a picture of the parts I am looking for and a google search: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=windscreen+washer+bulkhead+panel+connector&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&imgil=npDVCcQhclz85M%3A%3BAPDnq49pSwsiOM%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.a shop.com%252FWindshield-Washer-Hose-Bulkhead-Fittings%252Fdp%252FB00A2THQN8&source=iu&pf=m&fir=npDVCcQhclz85M%3A%2CAPDnq49pSwsiOM%2C_&usg=___n9qHuwf4IBSbIHddLkNFd4VVv0%3D#imgrc=npDVCcQhclz85M%3A They can be straight or elbowed...I'll take what I can get. PS - Apologies if I have posted this in the wrong place - if it is wrongly places I would appreciate one of the moderators moving it to the correct forum. Cheers Zoran

Your trailer is spotless !!! Thanks for the tips re 50:50 mix of linseed oil and turps ... and Vinegar for cleaning. Will keep it in mind. Regarding your round axle - just check if its compliant to brake a round axle - I recall my trailer manufacturer telling me we had to go square axles on my trailer - but I'm not sure if it was because of the overall tonnage or because of the brakes. But I can imagine caliper plates transfer all the braking torque onto the axle - and it would be easier to stop a square axle from twisting under the u-bolts than a round. Cheers Zoran

I have electric hydraulic disc brakes on my twin bogey 2.6T rig. I service them annually. I have had minimal issues inbetween. This is my procedure on each trip: At boat ramp (takes 5min): 1) launch boat 2) park trailer 3) walk around trailer with WD40 can and spray caliper slides, discs and calipers (try not to hit the pads). Everything is pretty easy to reach with the boat off...max 5min job. At home after trip: 1) wash down trailer, brakes and springs with copious fresh water. You don't want high pressure waterflow as it just forces the salt further in. You want lots of water that dissolves the salt away....the shower setting on your garden sprayer - not the jet. (Fab1 your portable set up would probably work great.) 2) hit the caliper slides, discs and calipers (again try not to hit the pads) with Silicon/Lanox/Inox spray lubricant. It's much harder to reach some spots now with the boat on the trailer ... but it's sure easier to do this lubrication job in my driveway then freeing up a red hot stuck disc brake along the side of a busy road....besides its justification for anther beverage as I complete my wash down :-) . Note: I also hit the leaf springs with the same lubricant spray (Silicon/Lanox/Inox). My trailer was built in 2001 and I am running original springs and discs with just minor surface rust present. A little maintenance goes a long way. Fab1, I just went outside and measured - my caliper plates are 10mm thick welded onto square axle. Cheers Zoran Pictures below after sitting in driveway for 5mths (still waiting on hardtop and new screens to be fitted :-( .

Mate, unfortunately I'm not in a position to comment on that - I haven't owned a webster or been in one to be able to make an educated comment. As many folks have said above, there are many factors to consider - is the hull properly set up and trimmed, is it adequately powered (ie can you hold your position on the back of a wave, can you climb over if you need to etc), is all the safety gear working etc etc....and is the skipper experienced. I've had my Haines 635L since 1996 and repowered re-configured that hull to suit me and what I do. I also put quite a few sea miles on it in many many varying conditions - and because of that experience I know that hull and my set up well. My best advice before you spend your cash is try to arrange to tag along on offshore fishing trips on different boats. Get a personal feel for them. Don't rush in. Prior to purchasing the Haines, I had access to a 4.5m Quintrex from the local fishing club, I also owned a Savage 4.3m glass hull runabout. I have also fished from a 6+m Mustang, spoke to LOTS of fishos and boaties etc etc. In fact just like Sigma, my wife and I were caught out fishing at Jervis Bay heads in the Savage. This was back in 1995 - I had just repowered the Savage with a new 40hp electric start Tohatsu , fitted swivel seats and a new bimini and fitted the battery in a closed battery box. We were fishing just on the east of Bowen Is. and saw a squall coming way offshore. By the time I had pulled in 60m of anchor rope the squall was on us, the outgoing tide and incoming squall produced 2-3m waves at the heads. We were caught and had to ride it out, the waves were so close that it was impossible to turn the hull without being side on the the wave - so had to ride it out - crossing one wave at a time at an angle to keep the prop in the water and looking for the top of the next wave that was not breaking. We had water in the boat (thank god for the battery box), my wife was on her knees bailing etc etc. Not pleasant at all. 40min later squall passed, the sun came out, the waves eased and we raced to Murray's Beach boat ramp. Put the boat up on the sand, rolled out exhausted and drenched as rats. People were launching their boats asking us what happened !!! I asked my wife then - "do we give this sh*t away - it was a close call"..... and her answer was golden - "Nah! - we get a bigger boat !" After a year of searching and trying out other rigs we bought the Haines...it suited us and what we wanted to do - and its still working for us today. Cheers Zoran

Nice days change - very quickly. I have a 635L Haines Hunter with a factory pod....so it has a waterline like a 7m hull. I have a 200HP main motor and 15 HP Aux. I have 3 batteries etc etc etc. My only single point of failure is the 250L fuel tank shared by both motors. I do go to the shelf and Browns. March 2013 the forecast was for smooth seas and a 5kt NE on 1m seas in the afternoon. Great conditions to go wide and PERFECT return conditions from Browns...a tail wind with light following seas - I'd normally come back at 50km/h in these conditions making it a sub 1hr trip. Travel out perfect and start of return journey all perfect...up until we reached12mile reef. Then from 12mile to Syndey heads (the last 20km) took me 4.5 hours. We hit a squall. The 3-4m waves and wind gusts were the worst I have experienced. There was no pattern to the waves. They were coming from all direction. We surfed and porpoised through many a wave - I know first hand my hull does not broach sliding down the back of a wave and the half cabin and bimini certainly deflected many a wave that crashed on the bow !!!! Note there was NO MARINE FORECAST WARNING for the day !! ... this storm came out of nowhere. It caught us and Marine Rescue off guard. Personally I was in radio contact with Marine Rescue Sydney from 12mile (VHF and 27mhz on board)...told them I was doing it tough but OK... but I was worried about the tinnies I had seen at Brown's that day. They sent a launch out - just in case to help escort them back. The net of the story is...relying just on a weather forecast is asking for trouble. Things change and change very quickly on the water. You have about 10km visibility to the horizon standing at water level -- a squall you see on the horizon traveling at 60-100km/h will be on you in minutes. Know your boat...gain experience, prepare your boat and your crew for the worst and stay calm is my motto. Some people are comfortable in smaller craft... I consider mine borderline in situations like I described above. My experience is not isolated - here's a youtube clip of a bunch of guys up near Terrigal in 2014 - they had a 10min warning on radio that the storm was approaching. After seeing their clip - I noted it was a similar size if not identical rig to mine (Haines 22ft) - except they had a hard top - and since my bimini was due for replacement I have actually decided to upgrade mine to a hard top on this go round. I don't think my existing marine canvas bimini would have held the 100+km/h winds they experienced and I'm sure the hardtop contributed to their good fortunes - so I figure all add that to my equation. So the forecasts are just that... they are are forecast and may not be reality. And my advice is which ever water craft you choose - get to know it in all conditions - as you build your experience certainly venture out - be prepared - as you are the skipper responsible for all the folks on board - and never stop learning from other's experiences. Cheers Zoran

Hi Dave, The hydraulic Tilt and Trim mechanism on my large horsepower mercury has 3 hydraulic rams, one is a lifter - the Tilt - and the other two are the Trim. The Tilt ram does the main lifting to get to maximum Tilt and is connected at both ends. The Trim rams stick out free they are there to spread the thrust when under way with the larger horespower on the back. I have attached picture from the web to better explain. If your motor is a smaller capacity, I think you only have the center Tilt ram. So back to your question, when you lower the motor down onto a chock for travel on the road, you do it until the chock is held in place. Because the Tilt ram is attached at both ends it is both pushing and pulling on its fixed points - so you don't want to put undue pull force on its top and bottom mounts - all you want to do is pinch the chock in place so that it does not fall out. You are actually not taking any weight off - your stern was built to take it, you are merely trying to keep your lower leg off the bitumen incase the hydraulics fail and your motor is inadvertently lowered.... Cheers Zoran