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Hi Shakey, Thanks for the reply. Someone told me that a 2 1/2 inch (63mm) holesaw should do the trick as it will give you "enough play" to position it how you want it I also saw a youtube clip by an american dude who showed how to install a rod holder and he also used a 63mm holesaw but it was on a kayak. I just wanted to get some feedback from people who have done it as I have 4 rod holders and I don't want to sit there all day filing away. I'm just worried that the 63mm might be too big and want to get advice first....because if you cut it and it's too big, your stuffed then. As far as the aluminium and stainless steel thing, I know what you mean but the rod holders has a round rubber flange that separates the two metals away from each other and I will be adding sika flex (marine grade) to seal it further so that no water gets under the flange. Cheers Dave

Hi Raiders, Wanted to get some advice from fellow Raiders who have installed rod holders on their boat before I attempt my install. I purchased 4x S/Steel flush mounted rod holders with a 30degree angle to install on my Quintrex ally. Rod Holder tubes are 50mm in diameter but as they are angled, I'm suspecting that the holes that need to be drilled, should be larger? Anyone have any idea if I should drill slightly bigger holes and if so, what diameter should I drill for a 50mm tube? Cheers Dave

Hello Raiders, Not sure if this is in the right section Mods, but thought that it has to do with downriggers, therefore with boating. My question to all my fellow Raiders is the following.... As I have just installed my downrigger (Scotty 1080), does anyone know where I can buy 8 or 10lb downrigger bombs that aren't going to cost an arm and a leg? My local tackle store wants $50 for a 10lb bomb (which I think is a bit pricey for a piece of lead), although I did find 10lb bombs on Ebay for about $30-35 but as they are in Qld, the postage brings it back up to $50-$55 Obviously they can be picked up for $30-$35 but I don't know where I could find one here in Sydney/Liverpool area. Any help would be appreciated. Also, another alternative, has anyone made their own downrigger bomb and if so, what did you use as a mould? This one could be up your ally Fab? Cheers Dave

That would depend on your budget. Deep cycles ard better for running your electronics as they keep charge longer but they usually are more expensive. If the budget doesn't spread enough, maybe a hybrid as your engine starting battery and a Deep Cycle as your 2nd/electronics battery. Depending on how many electronics you will have running, I would get at least a deep cycle of 100 Ah (amp hours) for your electronics. Some might say it's too much and some might say it's not enough. Your mechanic can advise you but always get a litle bigger as batteries wiil deteriorate over time or you could attach additional electronics later and you want the battery to be able to accommodate that. Nothing worse than having to buy another battery cause you have now added a radio or live bait tank and it can't last you a fishing trip. Hope this gave you some options Cheers Dave

Well done Saltrix...at least you got a feed. Was going to go myself but saw the weather forecast as being very windy today and tomorrow, hence why I pulled the plug. Not nice being out there when it feels like a washing machIne....

Bear....mate, hope this is helping you out. Apologies, feel like I have hijacked your topic. Sorry buddy....

Hi TSCTSC, My recommendation would be that you ask the dealer mechanic what will be wired to Battery 1 and what will be wired to Battery 2. A good mechanic should wire your engine and Bilge pump to Battery 1 and the rest of the electronics to battery 2. Then again, you might have another preference. Don't leave it to the dealer cause my experience is that they will wire it what is easiest for their install. Hope this helps Cheers Dave

Hi Fishop, Apologies about the delay in answering your question....didn't see your post until now. An isolator switch is completely different to a VSR. An isolator switch is a switch whereby your cables are hard wired to both your batteries. This allows you to switch between batteries, isolating one from the other PHYSICALLY/MANUALLY or combining (1+2) the two batteries together to give you enough power to start your engine in case your main battery is struggling to turn over the engine. A VSR, is an electronic device that regulates your current/power that runs through the positive cables to your batteries. In layman's terms, it's like your power at home. You need a switch to turn power on or off on a 2/3/4 gang switch (this would be your isolator switch in a boat) but unlike house power that continually runs on 240V, batteries drain and charge, so, something needs to regulate the charging between the batteries and this is what a VSR does. When one battery gets fully charged, the VSR kicks in and switches the power to go to the other battery and back again. Hope this makes some sense.... As far as when I have my boat parked in the driveway, I turn my switch to "OFF". This turns off ALL my power "OFF" on the boat. Absolutely nothing drains the batteries apart from it self draining itself, but if you attach a solar power trickle charger, that should keep the levels up. At the moment, I don't have a solar power trickle charger cause it got damaged a little while ago when we had some big winds. So, as I don't go out that often, before I do, I turn the key on and check the digital displays to see if they need charging or not. If they do, I attach my C-Tek charger the night before and all good. Actually, I ran the engine a 2-3 weeks ago and forgot to turn off the switch. When I went to run it again a couple of days ago, it dropped from 12.7V to 11.9V....but it started 1st go. Not sure which VSR you are reffering to (probably the Narva unit) but I have an ACR (Automatic Charging Relay). Not sure if there is any difference between them though cause I have never had a VSR model before. I will send you a link in a PM to what I bought and you might be able to tell us if there is any difference. Cheers Dave

Hi Zoran, Happy to help.....this is a really good topic. Like you said, horses for courses "everyone has a preference" on how far they want to go with eliminating possibilities of break downs. So far, I'm happy with the system and I haven't had the bad luck you had once. Maybe that might happen one day as it could happen to me (knock on would it won't) but maybe it might not. Like you said, you have found a system that works for you and are happy with it. So, it is only sensible to stay with what you know. Like I have said before, I do keep a third battery (not connected) in the boat in case something like what happened to you, happens to me. Disconnect the faulty battery and connect the other battery....problem solved and done in 5mins. I found this topic really interesting as it's good to get everyone's opinions and ideas on this. I find batteries to be one of the major causes of breakdowns on our waterways. Hopefully we can hook up one day out on the water and do some fishing together.....that way if one of us has a flat battery, the other can do the towing...... Cheers Dave

Hi Zoran, You are correct. All of my electronics bar the bilge pump have been wired so that power is drawn from battery 2. I wired it as such, so that nothing can drain the main starting battery therefore knowing that I have plenty to start the engine. Bilge pump is wired to the main battery as you wouldn't want it wired (in case of an emergency) to a battery that could be almost drained (batt 2). VSR's are installed as a piece of mind so that you don't need to worry about forgetting to switch over your switch manually. Also, the VSR switches the charging automatically (as your driving) from one battery to the other keeping them at their peak all the time. In the case where you mentioned that if battery 2 died for whatever reason, you can then switch it to "1+2" on the switch and still use your electronics. Yes, it would drain battery 1 doing this but if I ever had that circumstance, then it would tell me that it's time to pack up and go. Some might choose to stay using the one battery.....it's no different to the boats that don't have a dual battery system installed and run the risk of discharging their battery. I'm fortunate to having a third gel battery (not big...like a small car battery) that I have as a spare if we plan doing an all nighter or weekend away fishing......but I have yet to use it. The whole idea is to isolate your starting battery from other things that can drain it, automatically.....not worrying if you did it manually. Before I had a VSR, I forgot so many times to switch it over and that could have been costly. So, for a few $$$, I found that it wasn't worth the headache. Reading your posts over a long time now Zoran, and knowing how handy and knowledgeable you are, I personally don't think you would have too much (if any) problems installing this on your boat. I will see if I can dig up my instructions that I got with the VSR and PM you the drawing. Cheers Dave

This is exactly what I understand it is.....if the install is done properly. I did the install myself and have never had an issue. I turn my switch to "1" when I start the engine and leave it there. I notice on my dual digital display that whilst I'm driving the boat that the digital display for battery 1 rises (alternator charging) and once it gets to around 14.4V, it then switches over to battery "2" and the voltage on the digital display for battery 2 starts to go up. When I turn off the engine, leaving the switch on "1", the voltage on display for battery 1 doesn't move but once I turn on lights, live bait tank or radio, the voltage drops on display for battery 2.....which is basically isolating my starting battery (battery 1) and drawing power from battery 2 (which is what you want it to do). No need to switch over as your VSR does it for you. The only time you would need to use 1+2 is when your battery 1 (starting battery) is flat for an engine start and therefore battery 2 would help with the extra power. Hope this helps (if I didn't confuse you all)

I'm with JonD. When I first got my 2000 model, 115HP Johnson, the bloody thing flooded trying to get it started. My mechanic told me that I need to push the key in and turn holding it in as it is spring loaded. Now, it starts first or 2nd go every time. Don't even need the choke.

Hi Armpits, I think that you are using hooks that are too big for the species you are targeting. A 5/0 circle hook is too big for hooking up trevally that are 30-40cm. I would use this size more for for live baiting than fishing for trevally. As rickmarlin has stipulated (and I have told you in a pm previously), a size 1/0 or 2/0 suicide or longshank hook is what is required for trevally, bream or flathead. Unfortunately, fishing is not as simple as buying one size hook, sinker, mono line, lure, rod, reel or float and expect to catch anything and everything. You need to have an assortment of gear to target specific fish. I'm not saying you have to go out there and blow a mountain of money at once but if you are serious, you need to get a couple of things every so often and you will slowly build up your fishing tackle. Most people on this site who fish regularly and intend to catch fish regularly, have spent thousands of dollars over the years..I know that I have.. You will slowly get there mate....just keep at it.

The Spit is well known for Jewies at night (around the pylons) but it can be hit and miss as well. They're either on or they're not.....good luck tonight and let us all know how you went.

Hi Cruicksy, If you are lucky enough, you might pick up a good size Jew.

Do you have a Chartplotter/Fish Finder? Kings move around and can be hit and miss with them. Try around the moorings. I got smashed last time I went next to a mooring but the fishfinder did show arches and we had live squid. As soon as we dropped it, it didn't last even 10secs and the reel was screaming. Unfortunately, he busted us off going around one of the moorings. Keep trying mate...it's only a matter of time.

Well done mate. RDO and a nice fish...can't get any better.

Same here. Would like to know if anyone has done this recently.

Hmmmm, surprised to hear that Jon. I have the same ball type like mii11x and no matter what I do, it doesn't move. Actually, I have to loosen the screw to move it. No way that it will move otherwise. Unfortunately, the model you have shown wouldn't have suited where i have mine bolted to and that is why I chose the ball type as you can put it in al, sorts of peculiar ways.

I ordered mine online, according to the model I had.

I'm with mii11x. I have my HDS 7 Touch on a Ram Mount and love it. Cheers

Good report mate...at least you got out there amongst it. Anyone else get any decent kings around Long Reef?

JonD, Thanks for the video. One question. We saw boats heading in, but how the hell do you pick your time to go out. As you showed, there are times where it's quiet and calm and next thing you know, within seconds there are massive waves. How do you get out and how would you manouvre if you started to head out and got the timing wrong?

PM sent....

Hi Mate, You could hook it onto the anchor light but you are better off with a separate circuit. Sometimes if you fish at nights whereby your anchor light should be "ON", you won't want your deck lights on all the time. I installed led lights under the gunwhales around the whole deck and its on a separate switch. When we fish at nights, we switch the deck lights off unless we need to tie up hooks or do something on the boat but most of the time when we are just relaxing and waiting for a bite, the deck lights are off.