zmk1962

Ahhh. Also just saw the choke solenoid. Have you checked choke operation and that all the choke links are in correct place. One of my links was held in place by a rubber o-ring that slipped over a notch in a shaft. It fell off once and left the choke closed. I replaced that o-ring with a metal circlip.

Well that leaves erratic firing (misfire) - broken plugs, leads, cdi ignition circuit - as a possible cause of wet plugs. But that would not explain why the bulb goes soft. I’d reassemble the carbie and see how she runs and if the bulb stays hard. Could have been a bit of gunk interfering the needle that’s now washed away.

I think this tangent is way off topic ... and perhaps deserves its own thread. BUT....for the sake of the discussion, even if we accept for a moment that the rec catch was identical in size to the commercial catch - I would still argue that the commercial arm has a much larger impact on the fisheries. The methods used by commercial fishing to harvest their catch are much more detrimental to the environment, spawning habitat and ultimately the entire fisheries - then any fishing (basically hook line sinker) methods approved for rec use. Just look at the by catch for estuary trawlers -- so while the target species catch may be equal in size between rec and commercial - there is no doubt the commercial by catch is much much greater? Consider habitat --- how many rec boats would have to anchor in any one area to replicate the damage caused by a single pass of a prawn trawler - let alone their systematic daily schedule where they are often three abreast! Lets keep some common sense and practical perspective around the "statistics" promoted by various parties with vested interests. After all we are all on the water - we see what happens - some how those real life observations don't seem to come out in the statistics! Cheers Zoran

Now there's a good place to use the internet and social media - to improve the fishing !! Cheers Zoran

AWESOME... Saturday looks ok .... I'll be finally going out after a looooooong dry spell. Best of Luck with the new prop - hope it gets that nice hull of yours to do what you want! Z

Thanks @blaxland .. now when I come home after 'wasting a hole day' without 'any fish to show for it' I will have another excuse to give my wife -- " sorry hon... no fish 'coz of the internet! " BAHAHAHA ? Cheers Z

Hahaha ... that's exactly why mine is so bent !! Cheers Zoran

ahh the notorious carp.... agree with all comments about the dangers and damage this species can do - they are surprisingly adaptable to brackish low oxygenated water and their eating habits destroy the native eco system. But......if I reflect as Bear has.... I left Croatia just before I turned 7..... the cuisine in that area was a melting pot of various surrounding countries. There was a particular fish dish "Paprikash" which was of Hungarian descent - a thick spicy soup made from a tomato, onions, wine, paprika and chilli stock served with thick cut flat noodles - the best paprikash was made with cuts of three fish species - carp, pike and wells (eel tail catfish). Sometimes it was thickened with fish roe as well. A really hearty meal for those cold european days regularly served with a glass of red and crusty bread.... Faster flowing rivers produce well toned fish.... its the brakish ponds that produce fat smelly fish (of all species)! What a digression from the topic.... but memories eh ! Cheers Zoran PS - we are spoiled here in Oz with variety and quality compared to other places in the world !

This is what I use... a recognised anti theft device sold through a retail outlet. Cheers Zoran

Hey Geoff, Sounds like you had no joy contacting those folks we discussed in our PMs. Hmmm. As @JonD said, the shape of the stern (with the angles) is inherently a very strong design. So the only real concern is whether there is wood in the stern or its sold glass. As per my PM, if its solid glass, its an easy repair - acetone clean the holes, let it dry and bog up with waterproof resin filler, sand, buff, polish - go fishing. If its wood - then it could be an issue. So to ease your mind - why not drill out one of the holes a bit larger and see if you get any wood coming out. This is one of the few times you can actually say - no wood - no worries ! Cheers Zoran PS - I googled 'stern saver Australia'... its basically a 20mm thick polyethylene sheet and they have developed a special epoxy glue that permanently bonds POLYETHYLENE to fibreglass for mounting of transducers etc. There you go - that epoxy didn't exist previously. It seems the way to go.

Agree ! ... anyway, as they say "thems the basics" that I would be looking at. Something has changed thats caused the carbie to behave differently. Could even be that Penrite oil behaving differently sitting in the carbie bowl? Best of luck mate. Cheers Z

Hey @MerryFisher ..I would love to hear how this has progressed? Lots of learnings to be gained for raiders from each others experiences. Cheers Zoran

Hey @Mattyau ...I would love to hear how this has progressed? Lots of learnings to be gained for raiders from each others experiences. Cheers Zoran

In my case no carbie kit, I just stripped the carbie, cleaned it with carbie cleaner, reassembled and checked to make sure the float was not sticking and in my case that the little tab that activated the needle was intact. Also, checked there was no damage to the needle valve or seat - as best as I could see. Motor started and ran great, but the problem kept reocurring every few months. In my case it was definitely that the carbie bowl was drying out inbetween uses and the float was sticking in the needle open position - probably due to the residual resins left behind by evaporating fuel (in your case fuel+oil). I changed my wash down procedure, and now let the carbie run dry and the problem has not resurfaced past 5yrs. So still no carbie kit !! Cheers Z

Fabian from memory your running a Yammie 30hp 2st (I remember you were testing Penrite), and I think thats a pre mix set up. The plugs are definitely wet - which indicates you are running rich and points to the carbie. As I understand the fuel flow: the primer bulb has a non return valve so pushes fuel to the carbe. If the carbie float is down (carbie bowl empty), the needle valve is open and allows fuel into the carbie bowl. As the bowl fills up, the carbie float closes the needle (bit like a toilet cistern) - hence you feel the bulb go hard - needle valve is close. As the motor runs, it uses fuel from the carbie bowl, drops the float, opens the needle valve to suck more fuel in until the bowl is full and the float shuts of the valve. If this needle is stuck open your bulb will progressively go soft as the fuel keeps flowing into the carbie. You get flooded carbie - difficult start - wet plugs etc. It may kick over if the throttle is open, as that throttle setting requires more fuel in the mix anyway - but chances are will run rough and rich as the mix is not optimum. I had similar issues with my 15HP Mariner carbie model. Cheers Z

Sorry to hear @Fab1 ... I know how hard it is for you to align free time with fishing time. First run at it given what you describe.... seems an issue with the Carbie Float or needle. Could be a the float is stuck in the down position allowing fuel into the carbie fuel bowl, but then for some reason is not floating up to close the needle valve. Or its somehow not engaging the needle valve or the needle valve is not sealing properly. When was the last time you ran it? Did you run it dry? Cheers Z

Very nice ! You must be well set up for metal fabrication. Awesome. Cheers Zoran

+1 @Fish_More .... hahaha yup @nutsaboutfishing who takes an iPad fishing right ! NAME OF APP: Navionics AU&NZ PLATFORM AVAILABILITY: (iphone, android, ipad, tablet) I use the iOS version on my iPhone/iPad/iPad mini USE OF APP/INFO CONTAINED:I have an older Combo GPS/Fishfinder. The fishfinder/sounder works great, the GPS part cannot take any more map upgrades - so I have dedicated the combo to be a fishfinder sounder and have mounted my iPad Mini with AU&NZ alongside as my navigation. Works great. Touch screen navigation/zoom, routes - reverse etc.. all the modern basics. When setting a route between two points the app works out the route to go around obstacles - so if I am up river and set a waypoint offshore, it plots the route that keeps me in the safe channel all the way out. Some neat stuff off the top of my head: 1. All waypoints synchronise between devices, so I can plan on my iPhone at my convenience and everything is replicated to the iPad. Similarly stored trip data is replicated back etc. 2. There is a community online that shares waypoints and data - these show up as you zoom in - very informative! 3. Seabed charts - you can hook up a sounder to the unit and contribute your sounder readings back to be incorporated in map updates - this means that accuracy is constantly being improved. 4. You can pre-download maps specific to the area's your fishing so that they are on your device. 5. Cool feature called FishingRanges - you can set several depth ranges to show different colours eg 10-14m, 20-25m, and it superimposes that range on the seabed charts - very handy to navigate to holes, gutters ... I have attached a screenshot view of Cowan Ck set to 20-25m 5. much more.... once you pay for the app, its like $13/yr subscription and you get constantly upgraded charts, community edits, seabed and maps. REVIEW: It works for me! It was the cheapest GPS upgrade option ! The only negative is that left in the sun the iPad stored in its waterproof case can overheat and shut down so I usually drape a light coloured cloth over it to keep the direct sun off. iPad Mini mounted next to my Sounder Fishing Ranges set at 20-25m ... more detailed contours show up as you zoom in. Cheers Zoran

Good job ?!!!

@kiwicraig I had an experience in my 16ft FG boat where we took some waves over the side in rough water and had 6-8inch swilling around our feet in the hull. I believe that if I didn't have my battery in a battery box that day both my wife and I would not be here. I don't know what happens to a marine lead acid battery when its submerged in salt water but I can imagine it can't end well. If we'd lost power that day we'd have been at the mercy of the seas - dead in the water - literally. Agree, having a battery box, complicates things like access to the batteries to charge then, so you need to think about how to handle that. Regarding battery overhanging the bilge well, I had exactly the same problem in my Haines. I fixed it by installing a formply base under the battery as per this diagram... I described my whole set up in this earlier thread that Bear started (the overhang and charging solution is covered) ... Use what you can from that discussion - hope it helps. Cheers Zoran

Hey Geoff, In my case, its not the transducer as I have it glassed in to shoot through the hull at the stern. I have an alloy pod (in essence a hull shape like yours) and I could not get good sounder results from where the previous owner had screwed/mounted it on the glass transom. I re-used the holes he had drilled in the transom to fit a stainless bracket (with Sikaflex sealant) which now holds my livebait/washdown bilge pump. I also have the impeller type speed sensor directly screwed to the hull transom. In both cases I basically have the fitting bracket directly against the transom with heaps of Sika sealant in the screw holes and in between the bracket and hull. I tried to minimize what is between the bracket and the transom - reduce the points of failure. I do not like to use the cutting board (HDPE) layer in between as nothing really sticks to HDPE and its a plastic which expands and contracts with temperature - so I see it a difficult material to seal around in wet area applications. From the pictures it looked like you had the HDPE screwed directly to the hull with Sika in between - in hot weather it may have expanded and buckled up a bit which allowed water to get behind it. Just guessing here. Best of luck. Zoran

Hey Geoff, You are on the right track to first check if its a wood core transom. Have you tried giving Savage a call ? I had a query regarding my 1990's Haines and called Haines - spoke to a lady that answered and she took my details. I was very pleasantly surprised as she had a guy call me the next day who actually worked on my specific hull construction a long way back and was very familiar with the materials etc - answered all my questions. May be worth a shot - you never know. Alternatively places like : http://www.boatcraftnsw.com/ do a lot of repair work - may be worth chatting to them (MODS please remove if this conflicts with any of our sponsors). BTW, I do not use cutting boards in situations like you describe - very very few things really stick to polyethylene (HDPE), that's why it is used to manufacture the packaging tubes that Sikaflex and other sealants come in. Best of luck. Zoran

May well be the case as I said, this is what I did in my youth.... I'm 56 now !!!! Fewer rules then for sure. Hey Baz .... I learnt to fish on the Georges River... lived about 10min walk from Chipping Norton lakes... thats where we'd catch our big muddies each Nov-Dec especially after a hot and dry spell. Maybe we fished next to each other.... hahaha. What a small world. Cheers Zoran

Bear, I would definitely have the impeller replaced or make sure the dealer did this as part of their service. Also make sure the lower leg oil was replaced. My honest opinion is that, while it is most ideal that outboards are used frequently - they are actually quite robust - as long as the basics were covered when they were used (ie they were flushed out when in salt, did not have water in fuel etc). If this motor had 200-300hrs use and then was laid up - I'd be really concerned - especially if it was laid up out in the sun and weather where the rubber components are likely to perish. But even then, thinking to my 1999 model black Merc that has only ever lived outside and has baked in 45+C weather - I have never had to replace cracked fuel lines or tubes, and I'm still running original lower hub seals etc. So looking at a motor that had only done 17hrs and then sat in a garage?? Honestly, if the basics that @Stanton44 has highlighted have been taken care of, I'd ask for the thermostats to be changed - check for salt build up -it should be negligible if only 17hrs use, I'd have the compression checked out, then if she kicks over and fires up - when settled into an idle make sure there are no knocking sounds (no bearing issues)... if all that checks out then I'd say she is pretty good. If you can get someone to test the alternator/charging circuit ...then that will give you piece of mind that the electricals have not perished... all the better. In my experience outboards are generally pretty robust - and sitting undercover is a bonus. I guess the negatives are stacked up against the dealer - Brooker out of business, popular belief that idle outboards can be trouble etc etc. I smell some bargaining power in your favour if you like the rig. Cheers Zoran

I'm not sure how @blindmullet does it, but I have used whippy rods and handlines as a youth (low funds = improvisation) to catch both mud crabs and blue swimmers. Grab a nylon stocking, put some sausage mince (like a third to half a fat sausage) in to the stocking and tie it so you have a ball of bait at the bottom then cut the stocking so you have 20-30cm dangly strands - the more the better. Hook the ball of bait onto a flathead rig (running sinker to long shank hook) and lob it out onto the crab grounds. Leave a bit of slack line and watch the line being taken - give them plenty of time - let the crab tangle itself in the stocking. If your using a whippy rod, keep an eye on the tip, you'll get a nice bend when the crab picks up the bait and starts to move off with it. Do a test lift - if you feel weight chances are they are tangled - if not drop back down. Reeling in - best to do a quick smooth motion to get them up off the bottom and keep them off the bottom - if they are tangled its a pretty easy landing, if not, but they are hanging on remember they rarely let go until near the surface - so keep a scoop net near by. On rare occasions I have even had them hooked through the little mandible near their mouth - go figure! BTW, it gets interesting when a ray or eel goes for the bait stocking or not....hahaha ...the memories of youth! Cheers Zoran