fishingrod

This is a bit off topic for JDU. Sorry mate. For generaly day-to-day use you wouldnt normally use the repeaters. If you had a emergency and could not raise help on the conventional emergency channels (16 & 67) then knowing the local repeater would be a great help. Not all Rescue Bases monitor repeaters in all areas. Ive encouraged our base to monitor them. Id guess that less than 5% of VHF users in Sydney know the location of the repeaters, and even less again actually use them. Ok ive done some homework: In Sydney VHF 81 is located in Frenches Forest (right next door to BeaconHill and Brookvale) On the Central Coast VHF 80 is located at Mt SugarLoaf Which I think is the group of towers just to the west of the F3 Freeway roughly between the Toronto and Maitland exits. I know that in Broken Bay VHF 80 coverage is very average and it is widely used around Swansea and Port Stephen by boats fishing the shelf. So that would confirm SugarLoaf as the correct location. The range of the repeaters in normal conditions would be less than a 250km radius, so thus you can have other repeaters on the same channels in different towns of NSW. Any other questions just ask cheers, Rod

Gday JDU Just to elaborate on what Netic has said. "SOME" VHF channels have repeaters on them. Which is typically a relay station located on a high point on land to help increase range. There is maybe 5-10 repeater channels that the normal boating public can use free of charge. VHF 81 in Sydney is located somewhere near Beacon Hill i believe (on the top of the hill above Brookvale). EDIT - i just saw Warnie's post VHF 80 is somewhere up the Gosford/Newcastle way i beleive VHF has about 55 channels. Most of the other non repeater channels do not use repeaters and the signals just go from your boat direct to another boat (or rescue base station) Basically if you are fishing in the river or near shore a 27Mhz will generally suffice. But ideally have both for max safety and range (if space and money allows) In some cases (hilly areas) the 27Mhz may work better than VHF. But general rule is VHF gives better range. In Sydney both 27Mhz and VHF are well monitored. In other parts of NSW and Australia you may find that one is more frequently used than the other. I hope thats not to confusing for you. I could do into a lot more detail ! cheers Rod

Wisemans to J'Bay is a longggg way. Most of those houseboats dont do 10 knots. Especially if you are going against the current and towing a trailer boat. Some hire'ers charge a gas/fuel levy per engine hour. So if you do 20 hrs steaming at (hypothetically) $15 per hour that adds $300 to the bill. Even though the houseboats are meant to be maintained well, things to do wrong occasionally that require a service call. Im not sure what type of service you would get so far from base. cheers Rod

The impeller and water pump are generally the same item on a outboard. $590 sounds a bit high to me ..... unless they are changing absolutly everything including anodes etc There is a stage where the filter gasket (??) and a few checks need to be done on the oil bottle on the Yammy motors. You would want to be sure of what they are actually doing for that price and wouldnt want too many hidden suprises on top of that !!! Ive paid up to $570'ish on a similar size carby motor (as per my PM) but thats including outragously expensive plugs and anodes. cheers Rod

...... 3 weeks is a little while ago. Unless its a fairly new motor, I dont know if a 2hp would be worth "paying someone" to get it fixed. Different story if its your own labour + a few low cost parts. Im sure Huey can give you a fair and unbiased answer and may also give you some advice to DIY + he may be able to supply spares. Rod

It all depends on what boat/motor and how far you travel on sea + land. I rate: 1st dual battery setup 2nd spare trailer tyre 3rd transom ladder Reasons: I have had dual batteries for 12 years, but never actually needed to switch between them at sea (but i do rotate usage) I rated dual batteries 1st as when at sea the "NRMA" cant come out and jump start you. I have had a spare trailer tyre for 17 years and never needed it (only used the car spare once in 10 years too) I had a ladder and took it off to mount my aux motor, and Ive never bothered drilling 6 holes in the marlin board to mount it again on the other side. cheers Rod

Trailcraft boats have successful self draining hulls. Ive spent considerable time in 2 of their models in the 5.5 and 5.8m range and they drain well and we normally didnt get wet feet when stationary and standing at the stern. They still had good internal cockp1t freeboard. The floor in the cuddy of the 5.5 was slighly lower than the main deck and not self draining. It used to pool a little water (not life threathening amounts). A bung into the sealed floor cavity here would have haved fixed this when used appropiatly. Im not making any statement (good or bad) about Trailcraft here. They are the smallest self draing mono boats I have been in so thats why i mentioned them. I think they do self draining on models below 5m as well. If the boat is moored, or you have bars to cross, then I guess self draining can only be considered an advantage + i agree with all Hueys comments above re pumps and foam etc. Do you have a particular model/brand in mind ? cheers Rod

Yes, thats the exact same model I have !! Rod

Hi Geoff Some older GPS only work on 5-8 channels (satellites) and I think they call them serial receivers. Where they read each satellite one by one. Many newer GPS work on up to 12 channels with parallel receivers. Electronics got more powerful and they can read all the satellites at the same time, and thus give a more accurate and faster reading. Thats the way i interperate it. You might be able to google on my theory to understand it better. Typically you need a minimum of 3 satellites to get your position. You need 4-5 satellites to get alltitude and your accuracy (and i suppose response time) gets better the more satellites you have after that. I have a handheld 6-10 years old with the basic serial receiver and its not exactly fast, but acceptable. cheers Rod

My 10 cents worth Ive been involved with running MROCP type courses before. A number of people we had sit the course were totally confused at some of the Techno Junkie stuff in the radio course. Things like specific gravity of cells, batteries in series/parallel, remembering what frequencies for what range at what time of day etc where just overwheelming for some. Its been a 3-4 years since ive had a close look at the course, but i doubt little has changed. If you have a "helpful" examiner the multiple choice part can be got thru (wink wink) The written part is a little more challanging to remember unless you have been around marine radio for a while and it is a lot to remember all in one day. We all know that there are 2 styles of examiner: - some teach it and give you the paper and want a silent room. - others teach it and allow open questions during the exam time. They may not give you the answers, but will talk to you and prompt & guide & refresh your memory in the right direction. Im of the opinion that the latter is a better system. It allows you to pass, but you also lean andunderstand it better while you answer the questions. Dont let me set a prerequisite for a leaniant examiner though !!!!! Ive heard bad reports on some courses that have been run due to the fact it was too hard. Dont let me put water on the fire here, but if you want to cover radio and basic engine care it will be a very big day ! I reckon a better way is: - a full day course - then home study during the week (some examiners may have trial exam papers they can distribute wink) - then a half day. Consisting of a 2hr refresher Q&A session and then actual exam And im not putting my hand up to help .... sorry ! Rod PS appoligies for the waffle. I just want to see the course sucessful

Hey Jin .... sorry ive been out of touch for a couple of months. Your always welcome on my boat mate ! ...... we'll be in touch again in a month or so when it warms up and we'll get out again. But you might have better luck in some of those regional areas than on my boat ! Id love to get up to Port Stephens/Nelson Bay but a lot of the ramps are sandy and not very friendly for my 2wd grr grrr. cheers Rod

Lucky boy ! When we bought our current house around Hornsby about 21 years ago, the houses St Huberts were not much more $$$ .... but at the time the Central Coast wasnt really considered a location good for commuting to the city with public transport. Now its almost the normal ! Bugger ... gotta love hindsight. Yes there is, Go down the channel under the St Huburts Bridge, turn left and go under the rip bridge, then snake towards Killcare. Watch the nav makers as there is plenty of sandbars, shoals and strong currents. You get to Half Tide Rocks and do a hairpin turn around them, still watching the nav markers then head out to sea. There is somewhat of a "bar" at the enterance between half tide rocks and box head that WILL BREAK in a strong southerlyish swell, but its normally pretty tame. Im not sure if its classed officially as a bar (needing PFD1's to be worn by law when crossing) I stress the importance to look at the nav markers as it can be a fairly tricky area Im from Hornsby and normally fish out of Broken Bay. Up to Terrigal and down to Long Reef. Stay active on the forums here and maybe we can pair up boats when it gets a bit warmer. I can perhaps show you some of my lousy spots and give you some piece of mind offshore together the first few trips. cheers Rod

Ive sent you a PM with some links to other sites with reviews and tests ... not sure if you have already found already thou. I also saw you other thread on the Lancer. Ringing the factory would be a good idea. Allison gave me some good advice when I was looking at my boat 2nd hand. cheers Rod

Im far from a rod expert but will throw my comments in anyway. I fish boat based and my Charter Special and TR200G have been swapped between a cheap R3x Hun7, a cheap Penn from of of those big Mar7 retailers and a Ugly Stik Gold overhead rod. All have been medium to/and heavy action rods for 6-10-15 kg. Pick whatever rod you like according to your taste and budget. Im not sure if your land or boat based. There have been some big kings around. You need something powerful that can stop them. If i was buying a low-medium priced rod to suit (say $60-130 new) I would look at the Ugg Stiks and Shimano BackBone series. With mono line you generally get what you pay for. Ive never used braid, but heard comments about the braid and level wind possibly getting stuck or jammed. Maybe someone else can elaborate here? Like I said im no expert, but I went from using a pink Platypus or Maxina line to a green Torture and found the pink was much better for trolling in terms of watching the line out the back. All the tackle shop sponsors of this site will be able to offer you good advice. Ive only ever been into the Go_Fish shop @ Dural and found they have a very good choice of stock on hand to choose. cheers Rod

Those Nautiglass are getting a little old now. Perhaps late 70's to early 80's hull. They were classed as good boat at the time. That one "looks" well kept from the photos. The motor may be a little smokey (i had something of a similar model/vintage myself) but typically a good motor but nothing hi-tech. Some people dont like the reliability of the oil injection system. Personal opinion really, but a number of people disconnect it and you mix the oil/fuel in your tank when filling up. The size would be fine to fish around the heads in normal weather conditions, provided the hull is sound. Have a search on here. There will be a number of posts re what to look out for when buying second hand. If your unsure, spend a $150-400 and get a professional to look over the boat, motor, trailer and give a report. It could save you thousands if there is something wrong that you dont pick up yourself. Good luck with your search. Dont rush, the more you look the more you learn. cheers Rod

Yes I have one, It was my first overhead reel too, which came on a R3x Hun7 combo. Ive had it for a number of years now. Not a bad reel, you could do a lot worse. Mine lasted well being used moderatly. My pointers are: - I stuffed my drag by trying to grease/oil it a few years ago. Just leave it alone. Mines a bit lumpy as a result. - There is the free spool tension knob. Be careful not to let a inexperienced person loosen it and drop it in the water. My mate did that second trip out! Was less than $15 for spares and postage but just a pain in the bum ! Ive also got a Charter Special. I actually like the TR200G better in one way as it has the free spool tension control, where the charter special has a free spool with no tension control so you need to supervise it a lot closer if using it for bottom bashing (to stop birds nests) The Charter Special is nice with the lever drag as you can adjust it all you like and always go back to a known pre-set. I use 10kg normal mono on both. cheers Rod

Those two boats you mention would typically have very low transoms and it is very likely that you would get water over the stern and into the c*ckpit if stationary in a medium chop or from a passing boat. Perhaps a compromise would be something like a Haines Hunter "conventional" runabout. There were many models made over the years. V146R, V16R, V17R V19R V445 (describing the boat roughly in feet or meters) Im not sure what your budget is, some of these boat would be older (say 1974 to 1985) and many people discuss rotten floor or transoms, but there would still be some good original or re-furb'd examples around. Flightmanager on here has a 146R Haines Signature also made some 1550R and 1750R from about 1986 onwards. A friend had a 1750R with a 135hp Mercury Opti and cleared close to 50 knots GPS confirmed when lightly loaded. It was a absolute buzz to drive. There is lots of other boats like the Streaker 5.02 runabouts or the Cruise Craft 5.06m Stinger or Chargers, BFG V1700 bowriders runabouts Huett Marine in Cowan (nothern Sydney is a sponser on here) Classifieds section on this web site Trading Post (print and online) I looked a few weeks ago and there is not a lot forsale at this time of year. Boatpoint.com.au (they do the trailerboat and trade-a-boat classified publications you see at the newsagents Ebay, ive never used Ebay as such but browse it semi regularly. There is a number of magazines out (by Jeff Webster?) Called second hand boat secrets, buying a used boat, Top 100 used boats or something along those lines. If your a new comer to the hobby head to your local newsagents and try and get a copy. It would be well worth the $15-20 to get a couple of the different editions. If you visit a few shops you should be able to find one that stocks them. You can order them from as well, I think the publisher is on the Northern Beaches of Sydney somewhere ? good luck ! cheers Rod

Yes I would definatly log-on with a radio base before leaving the heads. Ive never fished Browns before, so dont know which base has the best range out there. Id GUESS Coastguard Sydney or Coastal Patrol Sydney as I know they have good antenna sites. There isnt many marine radios around (ever?) that do 27meg and VHF. Go get'em ! Rod

Do you know what sort of radio it is mate? Most of the raiders on here refer to ch 96 on the 27meg marine band. A 27meg radio normally has 10 chanels from 68-98 Sounds like you have a VHF which has around 55 channels, starting at 1 and going to 88 with a few gaps in between. 27 meg emergency channel = 88 86 is the back up can be used if you get no luck after repeated attempts on 88 VHF emergency channel = 16 67 is the back up emergency channel if 16 is busy. I just wanna make sure you know what sort of radio it is incase you need to call for help you and know the correct channels etc. You might already know this. Im not trying to insult your intelligance, dont take it that way. cheers Rod

I basically agree with Johnno (do i have a choice? hes a moderator ) The quintrex website has the current 520CV and suggests the TQ58VBW trailer listed at 320kg. Check the VIN plate that should rivet'ed to the trailer to see its own weight. The dealer may have fitted their own brand trailer though. So it looks like it will still just go under 1200kg as long as you are careful what you carry. cheers Rod

Hey mate .... welcome to the site It may well be under 1200kg, but not by much. The best thing you can do is get it weighed on a weighbridge. 95 litres of fuel will be say 80-85kg If there is twin batteries add another 40'odd kg A late model 90hp Merc 2stroke carby is around 138kg Single axle trailer maybe 250-330kg Thats about 560kg'ish before the hull, safety gear, fishing gear, eskys, water and personal effects. You dont mention what model/year Quintrex so its hard to guess the weight of the hull. regards Rod

Do what he said ^^^^^^^ Good advice

You can get those gangs of 4 rold holders in a row designed for mounting on 4wd bull bars or a flat surface. They are about $35-50 in plain alloy. You may be able to clamp them to a bowrail with the correct sized u-bolts. Overhead Rocket launchers are so handy. My current boat is my first with rocket launches and i love it. Everything is up and totally out of the way when fighting a fish. Ive got a factory stainless job and cant comment on the low cost DIY types, except they appear flimsy. cheers Rod

First post? welcome to the site Ive driven down past Akuna Bay many times at night and never found a locked gate (between the McCarrs Creek entrance and Terry Hills) You will find the road to West Head is locked. They generally say the park is closed sunset to sunrise, but i think thats more of a discouragement to stop people hanging round and loitering. Ive fished out of Apple Tree Bay for over 20 years and its always unlocked, except in Bushfire emergencies. ATB has half the car park section that is locked up @ dark to help secure your car and trailer from getting stolen, but the other half of the carpark is open 24/7 If your going for Hairtail in J'bay it has been getting very packed in there, but the results have been good (see the fishing report section) cheers Rod

Ive got a 189. The actual hull length is around 5.35m excluding bow spirt and pod (the pod is not a extension of the underside of the hull) I had mine weighed before I bought it and it went a fraction over 1400kgs with half fuel, typical safey gear and a dual axle trailer. (115hp 2 stroke) cheers Rod