zmk1962

Thanks @Captain Spanner ! I am definitely moving back to 2-3M sinker leader. I'll also have a look at the crimp sleeve swivels... at present I just tie a paternoster drop loop and shroud it in lumo tube to keep the two strands together. Cheers Z

Hahaha.... hey KC... they are EVERYWHERE .... even 40km offshore. I like to believe in karma. Cheers Z

Yup, as I said earlier.... "ally which looked and acted like a pro boat" as if they owned the joint... raced past us a few times as well.. I saw two on board, and two gemmies boated by them, but they were working Browns and I HOPE they stayed within the bag limits. I recall seeing the bar crusher ... good on ya guys. We were in the red and white haines. As I said, wish we could hoist up a Fishraider flag or pennant ! Anyway, if you are out an about next time and see a red and white haines, call out on VHF16 for Sierra Yankee 404 (SY404) or BARRYCUDA. Out of curiosity, do you slow jig with electric reels or game gear? BTW, I dropped a 900g jig to 200m as our gear consistently seem to get a hit at that depth on the descent, but no joy. Cheers Z

Thanks @Keflapod ... great write up and advice. I ran 200lb braid on my big Alvey ReefKing but since going electric I've dropped to 80lb to get more line capacity on the Tanacom's. I will definitely go back to a longer trace (2-3m) to the sinker and probably drop down to 30lb as well. There were two boats there when we arrived (a full cab unpainted ally which looked and acted like a pro boat) and a large half cab cruise craft - with a friendly guy fishing solo telling us to stick around the ally as they were there every day and knew where the schools were (hmmmm). Then by 10am there would have been about 6 boats all in all - most hovering around the ally. Which one were you in @whiskey299 ?? It would be great to have a Fishraider pennant so we could fly them off our aerials. Thanks @JonD, Part of my problem is training new crew to read when the rig has hit bottom - waiting too long to crank up a few meters for clearance is a sure fire way to snag. Live and learn I guess. Just got to get out more often. Cheers Zoran

Hard to get a hot spoon 40km offshore ! 10-12 tight cinches each way and no need to melt. cheers Z

As per my previous post I cut the leader tag at an angle and run alternating half hitches until I have covered the leader tag. End result is a smooth long knot that slips through easily. The braid breaks before the knot gives. cheers Zoran

Great job. Love DIY !! cheers Zoran

Yup ... somethings just need to be done on a schedule ... glad you found those lost bits Fab ! Cheers Zoran

Glad you found a technique that works for you Baz. I see in that video that he is applying the same wrap pattern as other FG knot techniques, but he applies the tension to bite into the leader at the end of the process ... and then for good measure leaves a 1/16" leader tag just incase it slips. Personally, I'd feel much safer with the tension biting the leader all through the knot tying, also I wouldn't be happy with that small leader tag as its a snag point that could pick up other line etc. I prefer a smooth FG knot - and to achieve that I cut the leader at an angle, and completely cover the end of the leader with alternating braid half hitches. Doing that only leaves a very short and soft braid tag - a very smooth knot. Probably what @Green Hornet implied above. FYI, I'm still using my home made DIY jig for all my FG knots. I broke 80lb braid twice last Friday (see Fathoms Friday post) and the FG knots never slipped or failed. Cheers Zoran

Hey Cristina, Hope you are making progress with the diagnostics so you can get out on the water again. From the video you put up and the tools you were using (volt meter etc) I can see that you are very handy and pretty well know what you are doing - probably more than most. I did a bit more googling and realised that your model Tohatsu is a carbie model - not a direct injection so that vapour lock article I posted previously may not be directly relevant - nevertheless you can still get vapour lock issues with a carbie model. For now start with the tank vent first as that has caused problems for some folks : https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f54/tohatsu-5hp-2-stroke-runs-fine-for-20mins-then-quits-and-wont-restart-202569.html Also, I managed to find a service manual for your Tohatsu. So incase you don't have it you can download from here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0ss8sh45lkmcje/Service Manual_3-4 Cylinder 2-Stroke.pdf?dl=0 Just let me know when you no longer need it and I'll take down the link. Best of luck with it. Cheers Zoran

Thanks Scratchie ... loss of gear is an acceptable fishing hazard ! Hey Bolts .... thanks so much. My rig is as follows: main line 80lb braid, FG knot to about 5m of 120lb leader uni - knot to 150lb snap swivel, 200lb swivel crimped to two dropper patenroster made from 200lb mono with crimped snap at bottom, then about 50cm of 40lb leader to sinker. I plan to go back to at least a 2m 40lb leader to the sinker so that there is a fair separation between the sinker and the first hook on the paternoster. In the last 2 outings I shortened that leader to 50cm so that it was more manageable for my crew who are new to deep dropping (last trip wife, this trip Wayno). But lesson learnt. I definitely welcome all suggestion about deep drop rigs and especially if others use a 2m or longer sinker leader. Hahaha.... yup the timing is about spot on to when we went through Thornleigh. White ally hardtop, full length glass screen, red and white hull. Black uppercase BARRYCUDA on the side - thats me ! Small world ! Cheers Zoran

Thanks Jon... reversing the steering wheel was one of the DeBono out of the box thinking moments after I had contemplated a myriad of options to get more clearance between the seat and the helm. I swear the wheel and seat were originally installed just for show - probably so that someone that has only ever driven a car could picture themselves sitting there. I only sit when trolling ... otherwise I stand and lean against the seat. The backs on these new seats fold down, so the added bonus is I can now relocate or reposition for a drift just by flipping the backrest down and leaning over a bit. Sorry to hear you miss your rib ... I know how much you loved it. Took a chance. RRP was around $259ea but Fleabay had a special on them at way less than half for 2 seats delivered. Given how little we use them I couldn't resist. But yet to see how long they will last. They came with a swivel base - there are 4 fitting bolts also supplied so I presume you could fit an adjustable slide as an alternative to the swivel. The steering ball is a godsend when you need to do tight turns at the ramp - lock to lock 3 turns each way - eg: right lock push forward, quick left lock reverse and you've just about turned the boat on the spot. Cheers Z

Hey Raiders, You may have seen from my last few posts that I've got the bug for deep dropping. The weather and Wayno's availability lined up so the plan for a trip to Brown's was set - even though it was Friday 13th !. Couldn't order a better forecast if we'd wanted. Apart from dodging all the rowers up around Roseville the trip out was very quick and we were on our first trial drift before 730am. Bait: Squid and salted pillies rigged on lumo deep drop rigs. Gear: Tanacom 1000 and Tanacom Bull 1000. The current has reversed and was running S - N at less then 1km/h awesome - (two weeks ago 25.02.2020 it was still N - S 4-5km/h). Water deep blue, temp 23.8C. With the slow current, the baits dropped nearly vertically 👌. 1st drop and I pulled up a decent gemmie ... and Wayno connected with the bottom bugger. Tried to free the snag, but eventually the braid gave way - unfortunately right at the reel - double bugger 360m of braid plus all the terminal gear GONE ! So we went back for a second drift using the Tanacom electric while I spent the time retying a new leader (FG knot) and re-rigging the Bull. The gods were not smiling (maybe because it was Friday 13th) and the Tanacom snagged on this drift. Tripple bugger - lost another 360m of braid and all the terminal gear. Spent additional time now re-rigging the Tanacom. We now had two rods with around 500m of braid which was just enough to keep fishing - but sadly the fish had moved on and we only ended up with one additional small red cod thingy. Pulled stumps at around noon and decided to set a minimum troll pattern (3 rods) towing skirts for the first few km heading away from Browns - zilch. Then did the same as we approached 12mile. Water temp 22.8C. Here's a short clip showing the conditions around 12mile: Saw a brown shape rise and take a swipe at the shotgun pink skirt - stripped a meter or so off the spool and then nothing. Did a loop around 12mile - zilch. Ah well that's how it goes some days. We had caught a feed and the offshore conditions were just fantastic (raced back to Sydney Harbour at 55km/h) which made for a top day. Cheers Zoran

installed new seats last week and took her out for a run on Friday (will post report later today)... happy to say all good and so much more room in the cockpit. cheers Z

Nice catch and write up - fresh tailor sizzled in a pan come up alright too ! cheers Zoran

Looked so good I tried to eat a bit off the computer screen ! Cheers Zoran

Top stuff ! Keep em coming. cheers Zoran

Nice (by)catch. Awesome actually. You’ll enjoy it - they are very good on the chew. cheers Zoran

Fantastic photos Neil. Thanks for sharing. Really appreciate the window into another world. cheers Zoran

Hey Cristina, I did some googling and looks like I was on the right path regarding a "vapour lock" being the issue and showing up in your glass fuel filter. I came across this -- "The TLDI engines have a documented problem with this (it's vapor lock), particularly during hot running conditions. I had a TLDI that did this frequently. I figured out that the solution was to pop the cowling and pump the primer ball, then open the shrader valve on the fuel side of the air/fuel rail with a screw driver or pocket knife and turn the key to on position so the high pressure fuel pump would spin and push the air out of the fuel side of the fuel rail. Once a clean fuel stream was coming out of the fuel rail the engine would start. I love the TLDI engines and I don't think they can be beat for power to weight ratios but this problem is a bit of a pain. The dealers recommend installing an auxiliary, external fuel pump near the tank. The pump gets wired to the engine so that when the engine is keyed on or running the external fuel pump runs and keeps the system primed. If you call a Tohatsu dealership that works on a lot of TLDIs they should be able to recommend a part number for the external fuel pump." Full article is here: https://www.microskiff.com/threads/fuel-system-not-staying-primed-tohatsu-tldi-40.54290/ BTW, I had a Tohatsu 40hp in the mid-late 80's and the place to call then was Cohoe Marine as the owner was a Tohatsu dealer and used to race them - they may still be the place to call and have a chat ... but I have lost track of Tohatsu since ... hope someone else may be able to advise you on a reputable Tohatsu tech .... Cheers Zoran

Let’s eliminate the tank vent first. Next time you recreate hot start problem remove the tank vent or fill cap. There should be no back suction on fuel line.

So if I read this correctly, the motor started when it was hot but the fuel line was disconnected. So starts to point that you are getting spark and that its a fuel delivery issue. I just had a quick look at the video. I don't use inline filters so don't have direct experience with them, but I think they should be full of fuel ... I don't think there should be vapour in there as I see at 0:20 in your video. Maybe you are getting a vapour lock in the line. That would explain why when you disconnect the fuel line, and open the throttle it may clear the vapour lock and the motor starts on the residual fuel that still in the carbie. So what could be causing a vapour lock after a long run? I see an orange fuel tank to the left of the video - can you confirm you are opening the vent on the petrol tank? If the vent is closed the motor will have trouble sucking fuel especially after a long run which would have used up any built up pressure in the tank that helped move the fuel at the start of the run. The primer bulb. Please confirm it goes hard during priming- if not, the non return valve inside has failed and is allowing fuel to run back to the tank - could explain the vapour we see in the inline filter. Cheers Z

I have to do that as the heavy hull flattens the rollers (and I have 23 of them from memory)... BUT, I reverse down until the stern is kissing the water - then disconnect everything - and its really only the last meter of travel that gets the brakes treatment. But even so ... I do worry about slimy boat ramps and skidding the cruiser into the drink. 4WD has looked after me so far. Cheers Zoran

Yet again !!!!

Hi Cristina, as @kingie chaser said, the key to solving this is to be able to replicate the problem. My gut feel from what you have described is that its ignition related. Are you able to run it on the muffs long enough to get the engine hot so that the hot restart problem surfaces? If so, while hot and when it wont start, the first thing I'd do is pull out the spark plugs, and check them for spark when you crank the engine. If there's no spark then you can start working back in the ignition circuit. It sounds like something expands when its hot and you lose the start ignition spark, but when cold the gap closes and you have a complete circuit - it could be a crack in the CD circuit board for instance. If you are getting spark at the spark plugs then retrace the fuel path - bulb etc. Cheers Zoran BTW, you can browse the following site to get a sense of what components are in your engine - may help you when you talk to your mechanic. https://www.boats.net/catalog/tohatsu/2005/m40d2-2-stroke-tohatsu