zmk1962

Again, top job Jeff. The safety and be prepared message is crystal clear. Both be prepared with your safety gear and safety plan, but also as a boatie be prepared and on the lookout for others that may need help. In that vein, I personally yesterday just restocked barrycuda with 8 new AS4758 compliant life jackets. So I now post the below with some caution as I do NOT want to detract from those important messages above or from your and Adam's awesome effort. But regarding the sinking ... I checked and current formosa craft are built with foam filled subfloor floatation ... its one of their selling features. https://www.formosamarineboats.com.au/features/safety-performance/ So for the boat to go down in 30sec, it appears someone has removed this floatation - for what purpose we do not know. But I'm sure formosa and the insurance co will make every effort to have the truth come out. I guess in all that, there is one more important message - and that is that we need to carefully consider the impact of any modifications we make to our boats. Cheers Zoran

Hahaha. All boats drift at different speeds and trajectories.... just a fact of life .... but it makes you want a spot lock leccy eh? 🙄 cheers Z

Fantastic job Jeff and Adam. That’s the Raider spirit at full throttle. Those lads would have been ecstatic to see you guys. 👍👍👍 I’m with KC on this raising so many questions - I thought current build craft had to have level floatation to be compliant with codes - esp a 2019 model. cheers Zoran

Thanks Gordo! We were at the ArtI for a while before starting our run to 12mile. But it was a parking lot. We must have passed each other at some stage. Our catchup is long overdue. cheers Zoran

Very very tasty bag there mate ... but again just imagine if you added some S* .... nah won’t go there. More left for me the way it is. BTW, what is going on with joints - my left knee has been giving me curry for last two weeks as well! cheers Zoran

Hi Dave, I have a MIG/TIG/Arc welder and Argon set up. I have previously welded ally plate, mild and stainless steel. I get by, but I don't have the fine skill to weld thin wall tube .... I know my limitations !!! As you said, which ever way I'm going to go, I have to cut and rework that ss Bow railing. So if I have to get that done, my thought is I might as well just focus on the one craftsman to rework the bow rail into a platform. Doing that I'll also be able to reuse the existing front bow rail holes through the foredeck. I'd be ok to have that platform include a metal plate onto which I can bolt the leccy base so that it sits lower than the cruise craft set up. I think cruise craft focused too much on curved ss work, which has raised the whole set up too high. Anyway, there's no rush. Speaking to the local chandler, the next shipment of kota's and mg's wont be in Oz until mid March and I'm not on that waiting list .... still time to ponder and fine tune the design. Thanks and Cheers Zoran

Hey Raiders, Does anyone know where I could buy fiberglass panel in various thicknesses ? Say 1200x600x10mm, but anything between 5-8mm would do? Cheers Zoran PS - I'm Sydney based, and don't mind jumping in the car for boating reasons !

Just for cross reference I checked my Merc 150 ... ram 170mm ....new boat project .... I'm all ears ! Cheers Z

Looks like I have to change all mine .... off to a shop I go. Thanks for the reminder Donna ! Cheers Zoran

Nothing brought home but at least you got out and still sounds like a top day on the water... can’t complain about that. Kings are definitely string pullers and lots of fun. 👍 cheers Zoran

The warm water is making it happen for sure. Top report Gordo ... glad you got out there. Sam and I were out as well. Probs trolled straight past you - why didn’t you wave?? Cheers Zoran

You’re an absolute kingfish star Pickles ! I’ve let fish swim off with jewelry (lures) but thankfully I am yet to donate a full rig. I dare say blue fish point is going to get a dredging now. cheers Zoran

Yup. That’s a reasonable number to aim for. Bear in mind there is variations between compression test kits, so if yours hasn’t been calibrated in a while you may read higher or lower, the important thing to look for upfront is that you have similar pressure across all cylinders. cheers Z

As a welder I’m a fantastic grinder ! But I get by. But welding thin wall ss tube I can see lots of heartache.

Hahaha. Jacket??? Previous Blue Eye PB. cheers Z

Just thought I'd report back and close out on this topic if anyone else starts looking at this. Prior to installing the gas instant hot water, the gas ran some of our heating and most of our cooking - this load accounted for 2 x 45kg gas bottles per year. We added the gas instant hot water in May2020. So have now experienced the extremes: some months in winter and now summer. With hot water added, we are now getting 7weeks out of a bottle in winter and 9weeks in summer. So on an 8week average, that means we are using 6.5gas bottles per year. An increase of 4.5 gas bottles due to the hot water. At current gas cyl prices and electricity offpeak prices this represents a 25% saving on our hot water running costs. Thanks again Dieter ( @61 crusher) for a top installation job. Cheers Zoran

With older motors like that .... one of your key considerations should be how readily available are spare parts and if you can still get them. If you have the make and serial number, you should be able to narrow down the year and parts availability. Search around on sites like this one: https://www.crowleymarine.com/ It is US based but offers great exploded view diagrams and part numbers. Once you have a part number for say the annual consumables (thermostat, impeller, and for others such as pump housing, low pressure fuel pump etc) .. call some local parts dealers and see if they have any in stock or how long it would take them to get the part. Things will break ... you will need to fix them. No dealer parts => no wrecker parts => you'll be selling the motor for parts or use it as an anchor. Cheers Zoran

Hey Sam, Fill spray bottle with water and add 3% hydrogen peroxide solution (H2O2). Spray the leaves. You may also spray around the soil and let some soak into root system to kill mould spores there. Google hydrogen peroxide and plants. Cheers Zoran

Hahaha KC. I’ve seen this vid. I've just about seen them all I think. 2 issues with the OutOnTheReed - crooked pilothouse approach compared to mine: It’s not a curved foredeck he mounted it on a flat part which I don't have and also I have not found one retailer in Oz that sells king board or whatever he called it. I'm pretty sure I will have to cut the bow rail as New Signing said, especially if I decide to go auto deploy. ... and if I do, then I might as well have the leccy mount made out of the bow rail ss tube. Something like the cruise craft solution, but I'd prefer the mount to be much lower to foredeck so that I do not have to go to an 80in shaft.... and ofcourse for the leccy to clear the hatch when at rest. https://www.teamcruisecraft.com.au/cruise-craft-watertesting-the-first-factory-fit-minn-koto-electric-bow-mount-motor cheers and thanks Zoran

Thanks Dave. The compound curves that make fglass great for boat building certainly add major complication when you want to bolt something on. I need to settle on a design first hence why I’m after ideas. The modified bow rail mounts look simplest but they add shaft length. I’ll keep searching. cheers Zoran

Thanks Fab ! ... I didn't realise I had left my inspiration in the picture ... sadly 1 bottle was not enough to solve this. I have done a fair bit of internet research - but a lot of solutions and materials are USA ... so looking for some local inspiration hopefully from folks that have done it already. Thanks Rebel, the two I have spoken to just want to palm me off to a fabricator "who can do anything I want ". That path has not been that helpful at this stage. --------- Here's some things I have found: USA ..and the Australian cruise craft factory fit approach - And one guy documented his fglass approach But I'd really love to talk to any Raider that has it fitted on a hull similar to mine. Cheers Zoran

...ahh yes I recall .... but you didn't even hint at just how much better it was ! ... BTW, please don't mention bait too much otherwise Yowie will get all excited. Cheers Z

What an awesome report and photos. Congratulations on a very successful trip and top job reporting on it Brendo ! 🤙 I know of at least one raider that's going "to need an ocean of calamine lotion" for his itch after reading this 🤣 Thanks for posting. Cheers Zoran

G'day Raiders, I've got the spot lock electric motor bug but before I make a decision or purchase I'd really like to narrow down how to install the motor on my fibreglass half cabin with curved foredeck. The electronics look pretty straight forward, but the physical mounting of the motor has me scratching my head. I would really appreciate if any raiders could post or PM pictures of how theirs is mounted on a hull shape similar to mine. Also is anyone aware of any off the shelf brackets or mounts that are out there? Here's a pick of barrycuda's foredeck (with a 72" pole leaning against the hull representing the leccy shaft I'm considering). Cheers and Many thanks.... Zoran

Excellent result..... congrats on a session of “Tight” Lines Out. Happy for ya. cheers Zoran