frankS

Mitch. Don't know what part of the river you intend to try ( it's a long river ) but Juno point is popular for Jews and Americas bay is not far from it, up the end of the bay, use berley and be patient. At the other end Spencer is also good for both livies and Jews although Squid may be hard to get here. Frank

As I said in a previous post, It is my opinion that pretty well no boat with push pull morse/teleflex steering has full motor lock, the amount of thread which goes into the helm just isn't made long enough ( don't know why ) . It is a bit of a compromise but for my money I would rather sacrifice a little bit of lock for smoother/easier steering. With the drag link left in it's original position the helm will strip its thread ( eventually ) and Andy will end up with a lot of slack back in his steering, this is of coarse after years of putting up with very stiff steering. I am offering Andy a possible solution ( with compromise ) and it's up to him if he wants to go ahead with my offer. IF it fails and doesn't fix Andy's problem to his satisfaction, well then at least we have tried. Frank

How I do it, maybe not correct but has served me well for many years. I salt Slimies mainly, first fillet the slimies ( put guts head etc in bag for berley and freeze as is ) once filleted I get a stainless steel tray I built specially for the job this is a metre in length by 40mm wide by 60mm deep I put a layer of butchers/rock salt on the tray then a layer of slimey fillets then another layer of the salt, I then place this in a cool shed away from the cats and leave for 24-48 hours, I then take the salted fillets and place them in take away containers and put a lid on them. I then place them in the freezer and use as desired. They don't freeze and are pliable but solid and stay on the hook very well and don't smell, what you don't use just put back in freezer for next time. Before putting on hook just brush excess salt off, the heads etc that is berley can be put in a onion bag and lowered over the side and as it thaws will send out a good berley trail. IF you use styrene tubs I believe the salt will soak into the styrene and not be as effective as Stainless Steel . BTW I use 304 grade stainless which is used in all food areas by chefs etc, just for the critics. Frank

I believe a longer drag link will increase the amount of lock, especially one that you can adjust to optimal length to suit. We will just have to wait to see the end result. Frank

Zoran. I take my hat off to you mate, something like that is pure brilliant, If I was faced with a problem like that I think I would just use the motors individually. Great what the mind can come up with in solving problems. Frank

Zoran. Thanks so much for your help in helping Andy with his problem, your drawings have been a great benefit for him believing that our suggestions may in fact work. I hope between us ( and all others that have contributed to try and help ) that his steering problems are overcome and he can get on the water with good steering ( probably the first time since he has owned the boat ) . Cheers Frank

Andy. It is easy to see that the existing drag link is too short. I will make you an adjustable one that will adjust from 11 1/2 " as your original to 14 " that should give you plenty of length so that way you can adjust the length to the optimum length. OR do as you say and take link off and put on full lock and measure between holes. I don't think steering on any boat goes all the way from full lock to full lock, I think they all come up a little short of full lock. My friend John ( Snatcher ) is in Sydney on holidays till start of May and I have to go and see him shortly so I will ask him if he would be willing to take the link back with him to the UK and post it from there. Other wise IF you need it sooner you would have to PM me with some details and I could post it from here, and I would need some postage money!!!. Don't need anything for the drag link just enough for postage to get it to you. Cheers Frank

Andy. sorry mate meant drag link not rack. Andy it would take you about 5 minutes of your time to take the bracket off and turn it around and at least try it. I wish we were close and I would come and do it myself. If it doesn't make your steering smoother then I will apologise and leave you to work it out your way. If it proves me right but the drag link you have is too short then I will make you one that will fit, I can't be fairer than that. Frank

Where is inner west Sydney, IF it's anywhere close to Berala send me a pm and I will get in touch. Frank

Andy. I can't understand why you don't take the advise I and others have offered to solve your problem. For the sake of a small amount of steering lock you would rather put up with stiff steering. Which over time is going to wear out the helm once again and you will end up having slack back in your steering. You may be able to buy an adjustable steer rack from a boat dealer. If not send me a photo and size of your existing rack and I will make one for you and get a friend to take it back to UK in May and he could post it to you when he gets home. Believe me IF you leave the rack as it is it WILL wear your helm very Quickly. Frank PS. There is a slight adjustment you can make at the Pinot tube where the cable enters and exits the Pinot tube ( pivit tube )

Never fished it and never sat in a yak, just wouldn't trust myself in one would be upside down more than upright. I would imagine the scenery would be spectacular and I only wish that I had of done more of this style of fishing back when I was younger and fitter. I envy you blokes when I see great shots of wonderful places. Wish there was more I could offer you but all I can do is offer encouragement to get out there more often and share your experiences with us here. Frank

Andy. Have you turned the bracket around to face the front of the boat and tried it ?. If not please do so. Don't worry about what the diagrams say just do it and try. I suggested this 10 days ago and it appears to me you have not done it as yet. If this doesn't fix your problem I can't think of anything else you could do. Perhaps, maybe, when you fed the cable into the helm, maybe the screw parts of the cable and helm crownwheel didn't mesh in properly . But this is highly unlikely. Frank

The drag links I make have an adjustable ferrule on them that you can lengthen the drag link to compensate for the angle loss. maybe a boat dealer near you could sell you an adjustable drag link. Frank

Phil. Make sure your hooks are super sharp and increase the barb slightly ( open it up more ) this can be done with a sharp chisel . Makes it harder to get them off the hook but that's what you want at this stage. Frank

Just for my own satisfaction curiosity I went out to my boat and changed the drag link to outward position to directly onto the grab handle part of the outboard ( for want of better word ) . There was only a slight tightness of the steering and I could live with this. I than set the drag link to the inner section as in Andy's photo and I had to manually wobble to motor back and forth before the steering would take place, once the steering began to move it seem OK but initially it was pretty well locked so that it would not be safe. It's up to Andy if he wants to do this adjustment or not, but I am pretty convinced that his steering drag link should be forward of the motor. Frank

Andy. I remember driving through your town, I remember the bridge that goes over the river reminded me of Conwy Wales. Delightful part of the world. Frank

Andy. I believe if you turn that bracket around the other way like in Zoran's drawing your troubles will be rectified. Never seen that bracket facing inward on any boat motor I have even owned OR seen , and I have seen a few. Noel shaft length is OK. Frank

Yes this is what I was trying to explain in my earlier comments , only thing that I could think of that would be the problem. Frank

I think it would depend on 1 how much you paid for the bucket and 2 what items you will use to factor if it was a good deal or not. If you are happy that's all that counts. Frank

Yowie. Make sure you get all the bristles out, then wash your hands with Vinegar . The bristles can actually penetrate and work their way under the skin and cause an infection . Frank

Andy. Could you send a photo of the front of the motor where the drag link connects to the motor, not too close a shot so we could have a good look at your set up. I'm pretty well convinced that the drag link is too close to the motor, OR you have the nuts too tight. God I wish I was there in person to help you, what part of the UK are you at ?. Frank

I have had suspension seats on 2 of my larger boats but both these boats were very smooth across the water anyhow so I never noticed any reel benefits and when there was bounce I would stand up and use my knees. In my 5-5.5 metre trailer boats I would take the seats out of the boat to give more room and when I had to sit down would use the wide gunnells . In boats less than 5 metres it's a compromise and suspension seats could be handy. Frank

Back in the day I very rarely took a camera on a boat as catching fish wasn't a big deal ( mostly ) then when digital cameras came out I started using one on the boat but wasn't catching as many good fish so camera not used much, these days it's pretty easy to have a phone on the boat in your pocket or close handy, still don't use it much and rarely take a photo. Phone cameras are fine for sharing images on the internet but nothing will replace the quality of a good old fashioned 35mm film . I still have 3 good Nikon's tucked away in a draw somewhere that haven't seen daylight for many years. Frank

I could make you a ladder that either attaches to the bow rail and folds away when not in use OR make small one on the trailer. Frank

Only thing I can think of at the moment is the drag link could be set too close to the motor not giving it enough angle to push pull freely, set the drag link further out from where it connects to the motor a inch or so towards the front of the boat, if that makes sense . There should be adjustment holes on the connection. Frank