locodave

Hi Guys, Does anyone have any portable GPS units? I've had a look at the Garmin and the Lowrance. I'm opting towards the Lowrance but I have no idea how it works in terms of maps. I want it to be for fishing, so does that mean I download water maps? Does it come loaded with maps? New to these things.

Lifestyle store is pretty good for car audio. I have always gone there to get my stereos installed. They are perfectionists and will repair anything if damaged by them. Scratch for example. They are pricey though. Do you need custom speaker boxes made up?

lol I was thinking that after I posted it hahaha.

Can't find a nice looking one

Hi Guys, Just reading the below thread on VHF radios, I didn't realise you needed a license. I was thinking of buying the hanheld: http://www.gme.net.au/products/radio-communications/vhf-handhelds/GX620 In my small boat I don't have space to mount the 27meg radio. I'm just planning on going out past the ehads on good days, and thought a radio would be a good idea just in case!

lol so you got nothing but others did haha

I wouldn't hesitate to take you out on my boat for a water test it I was selling, I have nothing to hide! My motor is oil injected so like Jeff said you just place the oil there and thats it, your done! Mate I wouldn't worry about that Stacer if I was you, if its meant to be it will be. Even though your heart is set on it now, if its right it will be yours

Thanks guys for your advice, I'm looking forward to this summer

Yes exactly what I want but I don't want it fixed. Needs to be removable. I think he will only do a fixed one.

Hi guys, Took my boat out in the hardbour yesterday for the first time. I normally fish the Hawkesburry River so I had no idea where to go for a catch. I launched in Drummoyne and went to Greenich, Hunters Hill, Balmain, Birchgrove etc. But honestly have no idea where to try. Any hints or tips appreciated, thank you

My mate went for my rod as the drag began to go off, he got too excited and ended up falling of the jetty and into the water. I couldn't help him as I was in stitches laughing!

Does anyone know where to get a rail mount (for boat) 4/5 rod holder? I saw it in a magazine on a boat and I would like to get some, save some floor space. I think it had four or 5 tubes to place your rods in and was mounted on the boat rail. Similar to my picture.

I so want to go tomorrow morning! Might have to wait till next time!

Hey mate, I've been on the water for a couple of years now. Personally there was no way I could start on a fibreglass boat, especially that size. You will learn a lot of things about boating as you go. I still learn to this day as different water ways offer different situations. I started off with a 4.1 Bermuda aluminium. Light, can manouever it easy in and out of the water. I've already put a dent in it, and that was my friends fault, but still you learn from your mistakes and you don't want to do that on a $35k boat. Just other things to think about: Have you reversed a trailer before? Launched/retrieved a boat? Current might be going one way, wind might be going another, and when you get to the ramp and your bringing your boat in, you might not be able to get it dead centre on the trailer especially at first with lack of experience. A small aluminium boat will be easier in that situation. Also if you run aground, you have a better chance pushing a alloy boat than a fibreglass one. With that stacer boat, I would be checking the Hull, make sure there are no dings or slight cracks underneath. GO over the whole boat. Check the trailer, check for rust, check the leave springs. Look at the condition of the winch. Make sure all electrics are working (lights) - spare wheel? Motor, 80 hours isn't much, mine has 80 hours and my motor looks brand new on the inside, have a look. See if any bolts have been taken off, if so, the head has been removed for some reason. Check the spark plugs, see what kind of condition they are in. Fuel lines. Start it up when its cold, make sure he hasn't fired it up before. Just a few things to look at.

Carrying water for people. 2 litres per person. I watched a good survival show the other day on foxtel. Was really good. Make you you waer the distress beacon on you, don't leave it on the boat.

I thought you guys were talking about SEATOW. I really wasn't aware of Marine Rescue. I just signed up to SEATOW for $150 a year. Do you guys think it's worth it or just use Marine Rescue? This is my second year with them, $300 I rather donate that when I use a rescue service.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/fisherman-killed-after-falling-off-ledge-20100914-159lc.html Sad Anyone know him?

Mine go back dead. And they should all be going back dead.

Here you go! http://www.fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=32541

Love the side head lamp look gangster! Nice fish mate

Hey guys, Thanks for all your replies. I went up to buy a fuel filter the other day and ran into a marine mechanic, so these are the options. Next time it happens, take off the cowling and pull the plugs, see which spark plugs are hot and which ones are cold. That will indicate which ones are firing or not. From there we can see if it's just one, can be the coil. So grab that coil and put it on another cyclinder, see if it happens again. If it happens just to that cyclinder then it's the coil. If it happens to the other cyclinder and doesn't look coil related, it can be the stator. When the engine dropped revs, it was running rough. By the time it happened again I couldn't tell though.

What is an inline filter? I am going to purchase a fuel filter today and replace it. With the coils and ignition leads, we visually inspected them yesterday, they all loog good. If there was a problem with them though, I am sure the spark plugs wouldn't be working? I didn't catch the fuel in the carby bowls. Now I do remember just before I went on this trip I actually washed out the fuel tank with water. But I also left it out for days to dry. I'm sure there would of been maybe a few drops of water left inside, but I doubt that will be the problem. I am not running a water seperator. It's a 2 stroke 40hp Mariner oil injected. I was told I don't need one for this motor. I also do remember putting in a tank of ethanol two previous trips ago. I didn't realise I was putting Ethanol in. What are the concerns of running ethanol in the motor? Is it just the seals that wear out easier? THanks for everyones replies

So i managed to look into the motor today with my mate and we did the following. Check fuel lines Check spark plugs Check compression Open up carbys and clean them out. Everything was in working order. I cleaned the spark plugs, they were dirty but no biggie. Compression test came out really good. All cylinders hold close readings. Carbys were like new on the inside, everything in working order. So what could be next? I'm thinking fuel pump and fuel filter though I doubt it's any of that. For those who don't know what happened, the boat was underway say at 40km/h @ 5k rpm when it suddenly dropped to 20kp/h @ 3k rpm. Then on its own it went back up to speed. It happened twice and at first I thought maybe I hit the throttle by accident, but I didn't. Then I thought I was running out of fuel, but there was plenty in the tank. Could be a bad batch of fuel maybe? Today the motor was running great, might just have to try it out again! Any other ideas?

Just started taking my boat out again since winter and I realised the motor wasn't running that well. You can read my other thread for the issues. But just wondering, if this has anything to do with it. Does it matter if you store the boat with the motor tilted all the way up? Does the oil block anything in the engine block?

I've got one too, but decided to leave it. Got quoted around $500 to fix it, similar to the sample above. The panel beaters said they would bang it out, heat it up and paint it again. The dentless removal guys told me they don't work with aluminium, which I found was a bit odd.