zmk1962

Well then I am either truly screwed or blessed .... as in my case I have a dear wife that is into -- boating fishing, 4x4 and skiing .... so everything has a 2x or more multiplier .... but it works for us ! 🚤🎣🚙✈️⛷️🎿

Floor above tank well is a carpeted panel that can be unscrewed and removed. A glassed in chamber runs down each side bow to stern. The tops of these are carpeted and form the floor on the side of the tank well. Below the tank well is another chamber that runs bow to stern. cheers Z

475lts !!! Nearly double my boat’s capacity. Long range, lots of horses or both. Nice! What craft if you don’t me asking? Yup sounds like 97+45 in the cruiser. cheers Zoran

Hahaha ... but I think your hairy faciatis was prior to LD so makes you an observer and evaluator or new symptom developers !

Do you have a backup plan?

Yup great feedback! I was worried about drop back until I did the driveway test. My observation was that the rod rigger didn't release until the rod rigger tip almost touched the rod - that was a pleasant surprise ! It implied the rod rigger managed the hook up and handed over to the rod with about 30cm drop back. I'm hopeful it worked out just right - but the ultimate test is the blue water hookup. I'll report back positive or negative. Worst case it's kept me busy and consumed in my hobby for a few hours in lockdown - how bad can that be? Cheers Z

Baz, are you sure fartus tobesureus is a symptom .... it sounds more like a preventative measure ?

Maria has a partial solution with her hairdresser - who prepared the correct colouring formulation, packaged it in a brown bag and left it at her front doorstep - for my wife to pickup as essential supplies. All payments were cashless and contactless. We have a daughter at home who is proficient in applying said formulation. I was asked to, but quickly rejected as I could only vouch for my capability with Dulux products.

... sadly not going anywhere in lockdown 😪

Hey Raiders, I believe I have discovered a so far undocumented new symptom of COVID - I think the offical name for this symptom would be "hairy faciatis" ... but it would most popularly be known as "virus whiskas" ... I have observed that this symptom occurs during lock down and when significant time is spent in the man cave /workshop ! So far it does not seem to have any ill effect (the mrs is still talking to me and happy to stay close) so I am curious if its contagious and if any other members have experienced the same. I am aware a similar condition existed prior to COVID (eg @rickmarlin62) so perhaps the members that had it prior could assist in rating or classifying the intensity of the symptoms for those of us that are just experiencing this now. Also are there any documented cases of recovery ?!?! Here is a photo of the symptom: Cheers Zoran

Hey Raiders, Ok this post is more for the ones that are into deep dropping and more specifically Diawa Tanacom/Tanacom Bull electric reels. As I discovered from the Fathoms Friday trip losing a significant amount of braid is a real possibility, and that it may happen more frequently then I expected. So this presents two subsequent challenges: 1) creating a convenient set up to top up the reel with braid - you need power to the reel and somewhere solid to fix the relatively heavy rod/reel combo 2) creating a convenient set up to help re-calibrate the reel - so that it can accurately report line out - for depth and retrieve. Most of us have the electric rod and reel connection set up in the boat, which means topping up the spool requires us to work from the boat - all good if the weather is fine and you have a mate to help with providing correct tension on the new line spool - but what happens if the weather is crap and your are in COVID lockdown (and the missus does not want to stand in the rain holding tension - like your best mate would for a beer or two !) Well, you have to get creative ! First thing was to solve power supply! Quickly I realised that my landcruiser has a battery (which could power the reel) and a pretty solid bumper bar to hold a temporary rod mount that could take the strain of the braid being spooled on under load. Also I could nose the cruiser into the garage and work out of the elements in the relative comfort of the garage (which also happens to hold the beer fridge!) So here is what came out of the workshop: And the line spooler .... (a couple of dumbell weights on the base hold it down)....the two levers on the right drive reversed wing-nuts to tension the drag system. They lock against each other to hold at the set tension .... Now for the line calibration ! The Diawa Tanacom line calibration procedure basically requires you to load the spool to full, then peel off exactly 50m, press a button and then peel off another exact 50m - so that the reel knows what has come off is exactly 100m.... then reel the 100m back on and check against the spool reading. Peeling off 50+50m is somewhat easy to measure if you had colour change braid but even then you have the hassle of handling 100m of loose braid. The problem is more compounded with solid colour braid that I prefer to use for deep dropping. Fortunately, many years ago I had previously purchased a cheapo line counter that fitted onto a rod and I had used ONCE to measure how much line went onto my game reel... so using that this is what came out of the workshop: And the final calibration task in process .... which was actually a bit of an anti climax as I was done and dusted with only 1 beer / rod ! Well I hope I never tangle with the bottom again and have to use these but if it happens I am ready ! Hope this inspires others. Cheers Zoran

Catching up. Just another consideration. I had never ending problems with my Aux 4ST 15HP Mariner carbie - float/ float chamber / jets needed constant cleaning. The fuel ran of the same filter that serviced my EFI main motor - which is way more sensitive to clean fuel then the carbie motor - so fuel supply or fuel filter was not the issue in my case. I started to run the carbie motor dry by disconnecting the fuel line during the last phase of wash down and have not had any problems since. This is a good 4+yrs now. The problem for me was the stale fuel left in the carbie and low pressure fuel pump evaporating and leaving behind gunk which would then block the carbie. Just a thought. Cheers Zoran

Yup $400 pays for lots .... I'm going to stick with giving my peg-clip a solid go on the water. It allowed line to be fed in and out in the drive way test. Just need to confirm it will hold the varying load of a skirt or popper making its way through the waves. The peg has two small holes. The lower hole (closest to peg mouth) provides lower tension, the upper provides more tension - so I have some built in adjustment. If that does not prove enough the fallback is to use an elastic band to add to the peg spring tension. Anyway, it's something to play with. BTW, if I get it right, you're welcome to offer me way less the $100 per clip ! Bahahaha .... remember patent pending !!! Tight lines! Zoran

Good job(s)! Yeah a bit of light gauge reo or even chicken wire wouldn’t have hurt but if it’s thick enough and on stable ground and not load bearing will be fine. I love the handprints preserved for posterity! Most of our slabs are marked the same - even with puppies paws. My lockdown home DIY projects weren’t as grand. Eldest daughter had moved out with her beau just prior to lock down. So Maria took the opportunity to convince me to buy paint just before lockdown and to repaint both girls bedrooms - well make one into a sewing room - so I tackled my most hated DIY (painting) with gusto and completed the task. Now I’m still waiting to hear what sound the sewing machine actually makes! - but happy to report Maria now has the sewing room she always wanted. cheers Zoran

When’s the movie coming out ? cheers Zoran

I can speak for the 80 series and 100 series. Both had a 96L main tank and 45L sub or there abouts. I'll add a 3rd ... alpine skiing ! But what fun ! Cheers Z

Hi Adrian. No special mods. Just standard petrol set up ... with main tank and sub tank. ... and unfortunately no outback trips either - but thats on the bucket list ! Cheers Z

Thanks @New Signing, I use the elastic band approach with my downrigger. In the trolling case I did want to be able to feed the troll line in and out to adjust the lure position so I could not figure out how to do that with the elastic band approach. Cheers Z

Hey Raiders, So with the lockdown in effect it has given me the opportunity to tackle some of those fishing related workshop projects I have been planning for a while. In the past I used to troll with 4 rods and achieved a good spread and separation using side mounted rod riggers. However, since experimenting with a 5 rod spread I have found the shotgun lure running down the middle has been the most productive. The following picture gives you a view out the back with 5 rods in action: The only problem being the 5th rod has cramped the line spread, and even though I'm running different lengths there is the increased possibility of a tangle when making turns or if fish takes a run. I didn't want to install outriggers - they just seem to create a lot of additional hassle - but I thought if I could raise the shotgun line higher it would give me the separation I was after - hence the birth of the "rocket launcher shotgun rigger" concept. So being the DIY type guy, I used a defective 27mhz aerial, some old spare guides, a length of 30mm PVC tube and left over flow coat resin to create this baby: I have a fixed length of 100lb leader that runs through the rigger which hangs within easy reach so that it can be quickly clipped to the line, before being hoisted up. The leader ends in a crimped loop to which I attach the release clip. This is what it looked like in the drive way trial test raised at half mast !.... The release clip itself was yet another project. I wanted the clip to be made from materials I had on hand and to allow me to release or retrieve line so that the lure could be positioned correctly on the following wave. The picture above shows an early prototype - using a 200lb leader loop - which failed miserably - 3 pulls on the braid and it had almost cut through the 200lb mono... But below is the clip design that I have settled on - works great in the drive way - but still needs a blue water test. Materials: clothes peg, and a length of stainless wire rescued from a broken coffee plunger and bent to my (patent pending) design below. The stainless wire is threaded onto the 100lb leader loop so it can slide freely, and the loop is threaded through the peg. The stainless hook is passed around the troll line and clipped in place by the peg. Troll line can be fed in and out, but it takes quite a strong tug to release the clip and free the troll line. Well, the Rocket Launcher Shotgun Rigger is now built. Ready for the water test. I'll post how it performs once I get back out on the water. Cheers Zoran

Well it was such a small hole and there was a product that was made just for that repair - which meant I could do it myself DIY on the spot (5hr cure time) and still go fishing the day after. Welding would require so much more effort - drain the tank completely, remove tank from boat, probably have to fill with non volatile liquid or inert gas, then weld, then test, then drain non volatile - refit tank etc ... would be a job for a specialist. I actually started searching for tank repairers and was about to make phone calls when I came across the Permatex product. BTW, if the pipe integrity had been compromised - I would have definitely pursued the welding repair path. Hahaha ... you are showing your age ... plasticine ... any younger ones would have said Play-doh ! Yes, yes, 250L I know. It's even worse when I have to top up the Cruiser (145L) as well. I take up two bowsers at the Servo and always make sure to politely tell folks queued up behind me -- " I'll be a while. " But the fuel bill comes with the territory - it's such an addictive pass-time and in the end we only get 80 or so laps around the sun and you can't take the green stuff with you. Cheers Z

Hahaha ... well I used the definition of a metal work pin... not a seamstress pin ! BTW, the Permatex fuel tank repair sticks to metal still wet with gasoline/fuel - so well worth keeping in the bag of tricks Cheers Z

Hey Raiders, I finally had some time to sit infront of the screen so I thought I'd share my learnings in the post to save others having to do research. Two days before the Fathoms Friday trip I had a few free hours so took the opportunity to hook up the boat and top up the tank in preparation. Topped the tank up to full (250L), drove home and reversed the rig into the driveway. Walked to the back to make sure trailer was on the chocks when I smelt fuel. Not good. Looked under the hull and noticed fuel dripping our of the bung holes. Really not good ! Grabbed a fire extinguisher and mixed a strong dose of truckwash in bucket of water - then undid the boat covers and climbed into the boat. Checked the bilge well and sure enough there was fuel pooled and sitting in there. Poured some of the truckwash there to break down the fuel then started the leak diagnosis. The tank had been sitting half full for a month and there had been no leak, so it was clear the leak was somewhere in the top half of the tank. Perhaps: a) the fuel-in line, breather or fuel-out lines had perished, or b) the fuel gauge fitting gasket had failed, or b) there was a crack in the top part of the tank Long story short - I ripped up the floor to expose the fuel tank and fuel tank well. Found the top of tank was bone dry and the fuel gauge gasket was also perfect - no leak that I could see. All the fuel lines were also perfect, bone dry and no cracks. To diagnose further I really had to empty the tank to lighten it and then slide it back in the well to check the rear of the tank. So after borrowing two jerry cans and using the three I already had, and topping up my wifes and daughters cars along the way, I managed to get the boat tank some 140L lighter. Disconnected the fuel lines and slid the tank back and VOILA -- found a small pinhole in the breather tube outlet pipe. It looked like the breather pipe was sitting too snug in the hole drilled through the well side and this had corroded the ally tube. So the pin hole leak was hidden in the 3/4" rear wall of the well. So now to the repairs. First drilled out the rear wall of the well to provide much more clearance, and smeared the hole with silastic. Then cleaned up the ally tube and tank with steel wool and acetone so that I could see what I was dealing with. Gave the pipe a couple of strong pulls in all directions and confirmed the structural integrity of the pipe was still there - so there was just the pin hole to fix. Did some googling and found this wonderful product specifically designed for these types of repairs .... and the bonus is the local Auto parts stores had it in stock ! And heres the finished repair The putty sets to rock hard and bonds to metals. I've refilled the tank to full and been to Browns and back without any fuel leak issues. Fantastic product. During the repair, my neighbour was inquisitive (maybe worried with the smell of fuel in the air) and popped around to see what I was up to. He runs a farm out Lithgow way. Once he saw the product I was using his comment was well you'll never have to touch that bit again - apparently he uses it all the time for various repairs. Great vote of confidence. Sharing in case someone else needs to repair a metal fuel tank. Cheers Zoran

well said Frank ! 🎣

Hey THANK YOU Donna ! Entirely unexpected. FR is just such a great community I’m humbled to be recognized in this way in such great company. cheers Zoran

FG hands down. Albright has a bend in leader so will clunk through guides. cheers Zoran