zmk1962

Awesome ... simple fix... hope the motor gremlins are all behind you. Now re ORANGES or LEMONS .... Don't you dare bring any citrus oil anywhere near my bait board, fishing gear or onboard when fishing ..... clear enuff? 😡 🤯 🤬 😤 Cheers Zoran

Yes... the gas is ethylene - produced by the conversion of sugars and starches. Ethylene is also highly flammable and and can cause a number of symptoms if breathed in - which supports the crew got sick statement as well. So in essence .... we do not recommend taking a crate of bananas on the boat - especially if you are a smoker. But one or two in the lunchbox are aok .... and if you run out of bait - Rick has a way to rig them as bait ! FR does it again. What fruit or veg do we discuss next? Cheers Zoran

There it is ! I knew I read it somewhere - must have been one of your posts Rick. cheers Z

It has some basis of truth ... but by and large is a myth. Many on FR swear by NO bananas on boat, others (me included) have no issue ... some have even gone to the point of trolling a banana skin and hooking up to prove their point of view. So each to his own..... Now for the truth part - as I understand it: Apparently in the days of sailing and steam boats (when cross ocean journeys could take weeks or months depending on prevailing winds and currents), bananas like today were a lucrative and sought after commodity. However, bananas were also highly perishable - they were the first to ripen and in the process would set of the rest of the valuable cargo. So many merchants chose to transport this highly perishable good separately to the rest of their main cargo - and because the transport it self was risky the bananas were often loaded onto cheaper cargo vessels - ie second rate, worse for wear, beyond use by date. Being less seaworthy, these boats were more likely to succumb to the perils of any ocean crossing ... but when a ship disappeared, the first question asked was what was the cargo (BANANAS !) and no one bothered to ask about the sea worthiness of the boat... hence the much maligned banana became the nautical symbol for bad luck, because according to statistics boats carrying bananas were more likely to go down. Cheers Zoran PS - sorry to hear you had boat issues !!!! and glad it was purring for a while. Consider it a teething problem.

Great stuff. .. we live in a magic city. Hey .... we may have passed each other ... Cheers Zoran

Agree 100% - I'll borrow @wrxhoon1's saying : "you gotta feed the horses" ....and add... "to go fishing" ! ... 🥇 🤣 I've gone to some detail on my Merc for two reasons. a) knowing the consumption stats gives me a lot of confidence in planning trips (range, duration etc) under different conditions (I am limited to 240L fuel onboard), and b) this is the type of data that is gold when someone is planning a repower. I wish I could have laid my hands on it when I was searching. As the motor gets fully run in, (and the water warms up) my posts will lean more toward the fishy topics. Cheers Zoran

Well done .... you set out with a plan and executed .... you can now learn of the successes and refocus on where you missed plan. Regarding cleaning boat and gear - since it needs to happen every time... my suggestion is to find a way to enjoy - it will make it so much less of a chore ! Maybe crank up the music and crack open a cold one .... Cheers Zoran

I have an ally marlin board which is very similar in concept to @frankSstep. Mine also has a simple fold down ladder which could be easily retrofitted to Frank’s design. The ladder swings up and I secure it with an occy strap. An additional benefit is I also use this platform to hold my live bait tank and free up deck space in the boat. Just sharing ideas. Hope it helps. cheers Zoran

Love the excitement and anticipation of a planned trip. Hope you got some sleep and best of luck 🤞 tight lines Zoran

Awesome @back cruncher ! The 675 Haines with the Merc 250 v8 would be like a destroyer- slicing through the seas. Just on the rough stats you gave that’s about 1km/L or 1L/km .... pretty amazing eh. Opens up so much range and so many options for fishing. One of the problems I now face is which fishing gear do I NOT take along. The bottom bash gear, spinning gear, trolling gear, deep drop gear, down rigger gear.... they could all be used on a trip. Makes the boat look like a a shop store as @kingie chaserand @61 crushercan verify. Like you I do not drive for economy - max for the conditions and nature of boating - anything else would detract from the fun. cheers Zoran btw - your smart craft gauges would give you all the stats at the press of a button

Well done Antony ! ... upsized as you went .... Cheers Zoran

Thanks Donna ... wasn't a hard decision to make they are entertaining ! .... and as a bonus it helps to keep the VicePresident of HR, Home Affairs and Finances happy with the boat 🤓 Cheers Z

Couldn't agree more KC ! ... thanks. Thanks Dieter ! ... Look forward to our next fishraider sesh guys when the warmer currents arrive ... hopefully with a bit more scale to show for the effort. Cheers Zoran

Idle at 1100 out of gear is definitely too high... on some other outboards you would not be allowed to shift into gear... 660-800 is where I have seen idle normally which ties into your takeoff in gear RPM. Sounds like your timing settings are off. There are settings that advance spark etc once you start to take off. Has any work been done on timing or on the timing flywheel recently? Cheers Zoran

Thanks Sam ... can't complain for sure. .... and I had 2 good eyes to see the action to boot. Cheers Zoran

.... and sips like a teetotaler .... Hahaha yes who would have thought such a thing existed ! Speaking from experience? Cheers Z

Hey Raiders, With the offshore action being reported as slow, and the water temp still being reported around the 17C mark, last Sunday I took the opportunity to take the family whale watching. So while we had no fishing gear on board, It was a good opportunity to test the 150HP 4st pushing the Haines 635L with 5 onboard. So net, we covered 136km on the water - launching at Ermington Warf for a scenic harbour run, and then chased whales up to Pittwater and back. I forgot to switch navionics off at the ramp, so it recorded the 15km drive home and shows 151km total track. The motor now has some 38hrs on the clock and has loosened up. Picking up holeshot and top end as expected. Offshore cruising was in the 25-60km/h range. As many of you know, whale watching should be renamed whale chasing - 30sec uptime and 5min down time - pop up anywhere ! So the day was spent cruising, idling, accelerating to the next spot. Overall consumption was 96.7L for 136km on the water : avg 1.4km/L or 0.71 L/km. So still no negatives to report - and still blown away by the 150HP beast pushing the 6.35m Haines. For those interested there's a short video below ... ignore my family's antics please ... Whales are just majestic creatures and seeing whales in their environment always brings out the adrenaline - so expect lots of ooohs aaahhhs and squeals of delight from the crew .... ! (suggest you watch in HD setting on youtube) Cheers Zoran PS - have to get a better camera set up ... gopro hero 5 is not cutting it anymore (1st world problem) !

Carbie or EFI model ? Cheers Zoran

Great stuff @DerekD ... paying it forward is an awesome endeavor. Enjoy your new skills @FishyMcFishFace and thanks for sharing. cheers Zoran

Lots of FG boats are on skids... and many folks are changing from rollers to skids 'coz of the lower maintenance. Just focus on correct support for now... and then on ease of riding on /off trailer. Cheers Zoran

By doing something like I have you are not changing the balance of the trailer ... the wheels can stay exactly where they are. You are just adding support to the transom. The boat is already balanced where it is, its just using the hull to carry the load, rather than the trailer. Cheers Zoran

In my experience that is too much overhang. The transom is carrying all your motor dead weight. Ideally you want a roller or some other trailer support just under the transom or as close to it as possible. The way yours is set up, the weight is carried by a section of the hull. If there is a stringer at that point, then all may be good. If not, then it's essentially the ally or fibreglass skin that is carrying that weight. It will flex and eventually fail (crack). I have a very similar boat with pod / trailer set up. This is how far my trailer extends... but note the rollers that are pretty much under the transom providing support. Cheers Zoran

@Fab1 has an unpainted ally boat that looks shiny new in every photo he has put up ... maybe he can pitch in or you can PM him. Cheers Zoran PS - if you search the forums there are other entries discussing this ...

Great report and top effort. You’ve really got into the swing of this sport - congrats! I can see you offering guided tours of your spots in the near future! 👍💪 Cheers Zoran

I had a few minutes after lunch so located it for you... download the PDF from this link: http://www.hedges-uk.com/boat/Merc/outboards/2-stroke/2-stroke/70-75-80-90-100-115/70-75-80-90-100-115.pdf Cheers Zoran