fishingrod

Its too cold ! I wont be out of bed until 7am, then getting ready for work. Where are you thinking of heading Roy? I havent been offshore since mid May so cant give any hints, sorry. Rod

I saw you on the road on the way up Ross. Hope you guys did alright. It sprinkled with rain up at Hornsby between 8 and 11pm. Rod

Most people with boats your size would run a 27mhz radio. VHF is becoming increasingly popular, but also coming increasingly congested as a result. Im a radio and safety nut thus I would have both even in a smallish boat. If you went 27mhz I dont believe that there would be any connectivity with the GPS, even if it was a Navman. The Navman VHF should typically be able to interface. Most brands would use a NEMA (0183?) communications protocol. You arent restricted to buying Navman if you want to talk between products. My comments on Navman radios is that they appear to have very good IP Water Resistance ratings, but ive also heard a lot of mixed reports on their quality/reliability. I was very happy with the 5500 GPS that I was using and Navmans support and back up was very good. I was in contact with their service dept many times. You hear a few mixed reports on GME radios as well. But there is a lot of them out there. The more in the market, the more mixed reports you expect to get I guess. There is very rarely a bad word said on any local forum ive read about Icom VHFs. I run a Uniden 27mhz and GME VHF in my boat. Both a few years old and have been superceeded by 1-2 newer models. Rod

No worries, im just protecting my squeeky clean reputation HEHE I'll send you a PM re the quote button and how-to etc .... it took me a few goes to get it right myself, so dont worry ! Rod

Remember its Nailit that your not buying a car off. Not me ! I just made the lonely quote above it cheers Rod

My suggestion is to go down stream mid channel on the way out. Dont just take the shortest route between bends Save/record the plot and save it for future reference. Im not sure how good the CMap is for Cowan Creek now, but ive experienced the maps can be out in the Hawkesbury. You end up driving over land ! The recorded plot is more likely to be accurate and repeatable. As you are already aware the GPS is a navigation aid. Good luck on the fish ! Rod

Follow Tiger Sharks instructions ! Distance wise Parsley Bay and ATB would be similar. Ive never measured but I cant see any substancial difference. Re the GPS, Ive never had reception problems in Cowan Creek, not that they dont exist, but i have never experienced a drop out. Berowra Waters has some drop out areas when I was using a Navman 5500 with antenna on the binimi. (Im not saying it was product related) cheers Rod EDIT: cancel my first line. I had LuringBreams other post re ramp distances on my mind for some reason

I have the manual in the VZ V6. The clutch only feels "adaquate" towing 1500-1600kgs. It does the job "OK" though. cheers Rod

Remember that you are travelling at a higher average speed on these roads and emergency braking happens on any road. Im towing up near the capacity of my Commodore ute, so im definatly not in a postion to have a go at anybody for towing near max weight, so dont take my comment the wrong way. A Subaru Forester might be an alternative. Still get the apparent imported quality and the bonus of all wheel drive. The Mazda would probably be more fun to drive and few $K cheaper Id say. What ever you do make sure that its legal. Over 750kg you need brakes on the trailer in NSW. If your trailer has a fair bit of towball weight the suspension might sag a bit, but the SP23 might have a firmer sporty set up. I was borrowing a 1.8 manual Holden Astra CD from work for about a year. 2002 model. I felt that it wouldn't tow very well at all if that gives you any comparison. It was a brilliant car to drive though. cheers Rod

I think every situation is different. Id say same as Netic. Head pretty much straight on. Get to it before it breaks. Back off the power at just the right time so you dont hit it too hard and get airborne or vertical. But dont back off too much or too early as you wont have enough momentum and the wave may carry you backwards or slew the bow around putting you side or quarter on. Remember that any white water you enter can be air rated and your prop may cavitate leaving you with no drive or control. Ive read that a slight off centre course can help. But only a few degress. I guess it depends on the boat. Generally having the correct (but minimum) amount of power and correct trim running it will make the bow more rigid and firm. Its less likely to be affected by wave action. Water is very heavy. You dont want to bury the bow. I have a semi boating friend. While hes at the helm in sloppy conditions on the troll he has managed to bury the bow and send water up and over the windscreen several times on two of my previous boats. I think its about reading the water and making the minute throttle and steering adjustments to suit. Maybe im waffling off topic here. I just want to point out its not a matter of point-and-shoot. Rod

Welcome to FishRaider Nice sounding rig you have there. It should move along nicely with the realitivally light weight 90hp on the back. Most importantly get to know your rig before heading offshore. Im not sure if this is your first boat or not. Id say do at least 2-3 outings inshore to gain confidience in your rig. Buy that i mean handling perks, stability, behaviour and mechanical reliability. Move out to the heads and then further as time goes by. Make sure you have the correct safety equipment of course. Personally I would be more than comfortable taking that boat out to around 2-5 miles from shelter on calm to average days. They arent a overly huge boat in proportions for their length and ive heard they can be a littly rocky and tender at rest. Thats the pay off for having a "hi-tech" hull underneath. Rocky doesnt mean it will capsize, but just wobbly. There are reefs at all distances and depths off Sydney. Even 1mile out there is some good water. Are you planning to fish out of Broken Bay or the Harbour etc most often? You could get dozens of suggestions from Stanwell park to Terrigal on here ! Browns is around 22miles from Botany Bay Heads. I would not suggest going in your boat at all. Yes, im sure you could make it out there, but i dont think anyone on this site would encourage it. A number of the guys on here have been geting reasonable Red's recently in water 15-65m deep which equates to less than 5 miles out in most cases. Be friendly and get to know a few people on here and you might even score a ride with someone for your first few offshore trips, or pair up with another boat for added safety/confidence. cheers Rod

A few years ago was delivering a 7m boat (by sea) from Port Macquarie to Sydney. A southerly hit a bit harder than forecast. Time constraints gave us a limited window. If we knew it would be so bad we might have cancelled the trip. Gotta love hindsight. Its all experience I guess ! We had waves avg 3-5 metres, with some occasionaly bigger ones mixed in. Heres the wave rider printouts from that day. They show avg 4m with peaks 6-8m Sorry for the crappy quality prints, i didn't know how to save a screen shot back then !!!! cheers Rod

When you say its still stiff going into reverse (after re-routing the shift cables) , i assume that you have the engine running while trying it? Its usually very difficult to engauge the gears with the engine off, and may cause damage if you force too hard. Some Merc control boxes have a throttle friction knob, but that doesnt sound like the problem Craig from Huett Marine is a sponser on here and will probably appear on the next day and may help. Rod

I heard that they actually banned the shark fishing up there about 1-2 years ago. Some kind of restriction on the size of tackle you could use or the size of bait or hook allowed effectivally eliminated shark fishing I think. Im not sure on the exact details. Ive only 4x4'ed up there and never fished, so cant give any hints, sorry. Rod

When sounding, if you havent been there before, your best off starting off about 20m off the red pole on the southern shore and then heading directly across the river towards Patonga Beach. It will be deep near the red pole, then rise up to the shallowest area/platform and then taper off deeper as you get 1/3 - 1/2 way across the river. Im not exactly sure on the midstream structure to be honest. That will give you a good idea of the general bottom topography and shape. Then just sound around until you find a area that you like. Everyone has their own spot. Some like the deepish water 50m off the red pole, some like the most shallow section and others like the edge more towards mid river. Personally I fish in-between the shallowest section and the deep area off the red pole. But ive never scored any trophy size. Good luck. Just a hint a sand anchor is not the best thing to use on the reefy areas. cheers Rod

Sounds like a $200 trip with oil etc with the V6. You guys certainly covered some ground and put in a good effort. You came alongside us breifly down near the mother ship and I reckonised the boat and said your that "Shark Tiger Something" bloke ! cheers Rod

Best economy ive ever done is with a 80hp Yammy 4 stroke (carby) pushing a Southwind UB longboat running at around 4000-4400 rpm Brooklyn To a little past Sackville Ferry And back to Brooklyn again Around 80 litres. That included idling around changing spots etc up near Sackville. (sorry i never added up the distance) Im sure we all have horror stories of huge fuel use in bigger boats ! but this sounded like a green economy thread:) cheers Rod

Hey Inhlanzi That was me .... sorry i didnt introduce myself ... i was too busy talking to Pete .... and i think too eager to get into the car and off home to the warmth ! cheers Rod

Weekdays - Coastal Patrol Sydney (Weekdays from Terry Hills a remote site at North head so have good coverage) - VRA Hawkesbury (Radio base at Peat Island/Road Bridges so radio coverage is just average outside) Im not sure if Coastal Patrol Gosford is open week days. They are at Point Claire and have reasonable coverage Weekends - just about eveyone is open ! - Coast Guard Cottage Point - Coastal Patrol Broken Bay (Bayview + remote antenna site) - Coastal Patrol Gosford (Pt Claire) - Coastal Patrol Hawkesbury (Monney Mooney) - VRA Hawkesbury (Peat island) - Coastal Patrol Terrigal (limited hours) - Terrigal Sea Rescue (limited hours) - Coast Guard Sydney (South Head) - Coastal Patrol Sydney (weekends from the Spit Bridge and remote North Head) I fish outside off Broken Bay (Terrigal to Longreef) and use Coastal Patrol Sydney. Ive found them good and they have a good radio range, especially on VHF. If i dont call in on my 2hr sked, they usually call me at 2 1/2 hrs to check up on me. The usual calling channels 27meg ch88 and VHF 16 are used in Broken Bay. cheers Rod

No worries Andrew ... looks like you are aware now. No such thing as a silly question ! I know what you mean about twins. I used to have a Quintre c/console with twins and its great piece of mind. Ive now got a small 15hp aux and its good to know you are somewhat self sufficient worst case. Rod

Just so you know a 6.8m Haines or Seafarer would be around 2500kg+ on trailer with fuel ready-to-go. A 6m Haines/Seafarer may just come in at around 2000kg on trailer lightly loaded. I wasnt sure what you were getting at when wanted to compare 2000 and 2500kg. None of the boats mentioned here will be anywhere near 2000kg. Im not in a position to afford any of the boats you mention, but the Diesel Trophy may be more practicle considering fuel prices. Even if you think you can afford the petrol, its only to going to go up. The diesel might give you <20 litres / hr at a gentle cruise speed. The big hi-tech outboards are still thirsty in comparison. I think they have a smaller 21' Diesel that I have been very fond of since it was released cheers Rod

no worries Holmesie I notice that a lot of you regional guys have dual axle trailers (even on light to medium weight rigs) and its definatly worth it for stability. I saw a curly bit near the calipers in one of the photos ... thought it it was hydraulic piping. Ive got no expeierence with those keel rollers you mention. The theory is good ... but as you say prob not required if you have the Retrieve-a or Eziloader. EDIT: If you really want more support you can upgrade to double keel rollers ... arrrrrh its all money. Im really fussy with my trailer. After i got it i spent 6 months making tiny adjustments here and there until i was entirely happy. cheers, good luck Rod

Hi Holmesie Thats a nice robust looking trailer you have there, even hydraulic brakes ! For a pressed alloy boat like yours, the skid trailers are normally prefered as they distribute the weight over a larger area, maybe across 2-3 ribs in the inside of the hull. If you insist on going for rollers, id try to make sure that they are NOT positioned between the ribs as it may cause the alloy (i assume 3-4mm bottom) to bow inwards. You may also want to measure the width of the gap inbetween the stakes to make sure that the rollers fit in between. If they are too wide they will touch the peak and valley of the stake and this can cause the boat to shear off to one side if it gets caught on one edge. If you are only worried about loading you can get a set of retreive-a-mates (spelling?) They are a V shaped guide that bolts at the back of the trailer to help with centreing in cross winds etc. Once you get the bow about 2-3 feet up into the V the stern normally pulls back around square to the trailer. By only swapping the skids to rollers would not normally help with alignment, except maybe a bit easier to winch/drive up due to less friction. Id start by getting one of the retreive-a-mates, you would probably still want it even if you did go down the roller path later. There are 2-3 brands all doing the same thing but retreive-a-mate was the original as far as i know. cheers Rod

Im not a big fan of going full reverse on a cold motor (personal opinion) Reverse on a motor hasnt got a lot of thrust. I once did a test on a 115hp Yammy 4 stroke with factory prop. On a wharf with my feet chocked, i was able to hold onto a 14mm rope with bare hands and stop the boat from going backwards. We got a bit bored at the rescue wharf one afternoon waiting for something to do so were messing about. In terms of trim. Id say anthing close to horizonal would give max reverse thrust. Due to the angle of the ramp that may translate to the motor being 2/3rds down. Not too low or you might hit the ramp ! Anything below horizontal may pull the stern down and give more friction on the rear rollers. But on second thoughts this may lift the bow slightly and actually help? You have to experiment. Make sure that your rollers run smoothly and are greased. Either pull them off and grease them, or get a aerosol can of spray grease ($15) and give them a spray if your lazy. Thats what i did Even if they run smooth without the boat, still grease them, as once under load they may not spin freely. You havent said what type of trailer you have or the material of your boat. You indicate that you may have centre (keel) rollers which would "typically" indicate that its not a true drive on-off set up. Ive got keel rollers and side multi rollers and usually winch on-off. But it is possible to drive even if you still have keel rollers. I normally launch on gentle to medium sloped ramps, and to be honest I just reverse back until the winch post is about about level with the waters edge. Then i dont need to get wet feet. Reversing further back will help with launching, but you dont want to wet your bearings or brakes any more than you need. cheers Rod

Ive gone off the idea for now. The weather looks crappy this weekend + i think i might wait a little longer until the season fires up a bit more .... the reports are a bit thin at the moment. But they have all been mostly good fish I bought my boat (2nd hand) around August last year and it seemed to be the peak of the season. I didnt want to venture out till i had faith in my rig, which i do now...... maybe i'll give it another month and see what the reports look like. Thanks for all the pointers. I certainly didnt think about the 2-4 hour drift factor and the extra distance to get home. cheers Rod