peahead

I'm also off to Vanuatu Port Villa in late April for 1 week, any chance of sending some info my way as well? Thanks in advance

Hi.. yes each unit has there own database and the money you pay for the service goes to the unit as fundraising. The information collected is then passed to a central database for regional bases to use, ie..sydney (Terry Hills), Port Stephens, Jervis base etc.. This will be changing soon to a smart phone based app where you can subscribe and login and logoff via the app itself. We will be able to geo locate you via your phone if there are issues . We are currently completing some custom changes to ensure it collects the correct information when users start using it. Hopefully it will be ready before next summer. We still will have manned radio basis for those without smart phones/devices and will also roll the current individual unit boaters information to one system. Good point is all information will be in one spot, bad point is the units will loose the money that is raised from the service. Hope this helps Jimmy.

And yes towing at 35-40kph is crazy generally not rule of thumb, maybe the owner was wanting to get home in a hurry as he hadn't told the missus he was going fishing! Jimmy

Hi guys. I am with marine rescue and we use several different approaches to towing. The general rule of thumb is the long and short tow, this is where we tow a vessel from its bow to our stern and its generally used for long distance. The lashing of two vessels side by side comes into use when the towed vessel for what ever reason cannot be steered by the master and finesse is required either navigate a tight water way (generally a Pan Pan will be called on 16 to let the boating public in the area know we are navigating with difficulty) or the weather makes it too difficult place a vessel alongside a wharf, dock or mooring. We sometimes in calm conditions try different types of tow methods for our own training in the event of needing to use it in inclement weather. As a member of Marine Rescue its great to help out the boating public but we do struggle with funding as we are all volunteers and we raise money to keep our boats on the water. The govt does give us some funding but to be honest its nothing compared to what our true costs are. We essentially buy our boats, buy fuel, service the boats, and buy any equipment as directed by head office but we have to come up with the cash. Anyway, next time you see us on the water give us a wave hello and if we end up helping you out a couple of dollars helps us with fuel or parts for the vessels. Jimmy.

Hey fishos, I bought a Sydney Only kayak and I am really happy with my decision. The kayak is stable well setup for an entry level model. I have fished out of it a few times and found the paddling and managing a rod at the same time a bit tricky but as I didnt want to spend the dollars on a peddle powered model I knew I would have to manage this. The yak is light enough for me to lift onto the roof of my hilux without too much struggle. Overall I am really pleased with it, the kids love it and I even got my mum who is 70 odd to go for a paddle on her own so definatley stable on the water but also it slips nice and easy through the water. Any questions let me know otherwise for an entry level model I can't fault it. Cheers...Jimmy.

Hi lads I am headed to Port Douglas around September for a week with the wife and 2 kids. I was hoping the fishraider community could help me with recommending any good charter operators. My mrs loves mud crabs so any recommended operator would be appreciated. I believe there are drive yourself flat bottom boats out of Mirage marina, are these any good and any spots to visit from a hire boat or land based? Appreciate all the help available Jimmy....

Hi Dezmo Yes the conversion is correct. I use this website to help me convert lat and longs. http://www.cosports.com/index.php/tool/tools/latlong Hope this helps with future conversions. Cheers Jim.

Thanks boys, will give the splitter a go, if that doesnt work as good as I hope, then it's probably a new VHF for the boat. Cheers Jimmy

Hi Raiders Looking for some help here, I have a flybridge and want to install a second VHF radio upstairs to save me the effort of running up and down when wanting to use the radio as the radio is located in the lower cabin. Is there a way I connect a second radio to the current aerial and still be able to receive and transmit from both radios? I probably won't have the need to transmit on both radios at the same time. Is there a splitter or some kind of connector I can use? Cheers Peahead

One final point to add is to run your ground cable (Black -)either directly back to the battery or to a central earth block (connection), don't ground it directly to the hull or any metal fittings. If you have an alloy boat it will cause electrolisis and can damage your hull. That switch panel you have already has fuse block on each switch connected to the positive (red) cable, they are the red square looking thing, you can pop the top of it to expose the fuse. Apart from that all the other advice is great and on the mark. Hope this helps. Peahead

G'day mate, Where did you get your hardtop from? I am looking to put one on my boat but havn't done any fiberglassing so I am hesitant in making my own. Cheers Jimmy

Hi Raiders, I am of to Narooma for the long weekend next month and would like to see if I can get lucky and pick up a tuna while there. I have had a look on the web but was wondering if anyone had already taken a charter out either in Narooma or Bermi previously they would like to recommend. PM me if you would like incase we can't publicise their details. Appreciate the help. Peahead (aka Jimmy)

Hi 'David (AKA fisherdad)' My flybridge actually came with the setup you are looking for. Maybe my setup can help you design one for yours. I have attached 2 pictures of how it is attached hopefully you can make it out. The one with the tape measure (which is the top view) is because I am extending the bow sprit over the anchor locker as I have a new anchor winch which needs to be installed over the hatch to allow the chain to drop directly in the anchor well and it also needs to be raised about 10mm. Hope this helps. Jimmy (peahead)

Hi Davoo, Thanks for the insight on your project. That hardtop looks almost what I would like to have on my boat. I'm currently in the US but will be back in the next couple of weeks and wil begin work on the hardtop. I might take you up on the offer for a chat. Looking at your hardtop has now convinced me to give it a go Appreciate the feedback Jimmy.

Hi Fisho's, Well it's time to spruce the old girl up and give her a hard top. I will be hanging aerials, all round white light, TV antenna, lights and speakers as well and eventually a radar dome. I can make the shape out of timber but not sure $100 what timber to use I was thinking of making it out of MDF but sealing it before laying the glass. Mounting and installation is not an issue either as I can do all that work as well. I have not fibre glassed before and would be happy for any pointers. How thick do I have to make the fibreglass? How do I get the gelcoat on it? Can I brush it one or do you have to spray it on? I have been youtubing for some time and it looks straight forward enough. But watching and doing is always different. Here is a pic of the old girl to give you an idea.. Once I have the hardtop on I will have the clears made up Any pointers would be great. CHeers Jimmy

G'day Mate, PM sent, I also would advise hopping onto a charter as watching and asking questions is much better than reading and listening. I have done a charter with Ross Hunter (who is a sponsor of this site) and I must say I learnt heaps in one day of 'how things are done' compared to all the reading and questions on fishing forums. Hope this helps. Jimmy.

Thanks gents, SlinkyMalinky, It's funny you mention Daiwa and the Shimano as the issue I am having are on those reels. The baitrunner 4500 and Daiwa excelor 4000 are the culprits. Oh well will have to live with it. Thanks

Hey fisho's I have recently moved across to braid and have started converting my reels over to suffix, tuff line and stren braids. But what I am finding is when I finish respooling the line it now has an hour glass shape to it, that is plenty of line at the top and bottom of the spool and less in the middle. The casting doesn't seem to be affected but when i took the line of the spool originally the mono was nice and even on the spool. I ensured the braid went on nice and tight. Is there a reason why this happens and how can I go about fixing it in future? Cheers Jim

Hi, I would certainly be interested in attending option 6. The difficulty would be showing the different make and models. I have the Rick Huckstep DVD about interpreting sounders if you would like to use that so everyone learns the theory, learning the manual tuning process and getting the optimal picture I think would be of most benefit Cheers Peahead.

G'day mate, Catching shark is not too much of an issue nowadays, you need to burley with fish frames and fish scraps to get that scent in the water, fish chunks as bait and make sure you have some heavy gear in case you hook a big one, If you plan on catching them steel wire traces is a must, you can catch them with mono but if they get too much slack they will bite you off. Cirlce hooks the best but be very carefull when you bring them in as thay can flex very quickly and can catch you off guard. I would not suggest fishing of the beaches in sydney (due to the negative publicity) at the moment. I generally get large fish frames (filletted frames) tied to a rope and peg it to the sand so that the wash crashes on them which then realeases the burley. I would be looking at using balloons to have the bait close to the surface 2-4mts down with either dead or live baits. To subdue the sharks when you do pull them in have a small bat handy to hit them on the noggin or cable cutters to realease them which would be the best outcome for the shark and yourselves. I can't stress enough though to be carefull as they are unpredictable, a good overhead or large spin outfit with plenty of line 50LB + would best suit. Hope this helps Jimmy

G'day Winnings If you struggle for crew let me know, I can come up from the Norther beaches and help out. Sharing costs is not a problem, I have my own gear and can help out where required. I own a 26ft flybridge on pittwater so I know how to handle and ganefishing techniques, although you can never learn enough. Anyway PM me if you struggle, wouldn't mind helping out. Jimmy.

I have a mate who is also contemplaiting the same thing at the moment. He currently has his bait tank (removable when not game ishing) under the dinette table all plumbed up, when not using it he locks it away in the front cabin. The other thing you could do is the transom is quite thck (near the fuel filler), you could look at getting a fiberglass kill tank built into this area maybe consuming some of the marlin board space somthing like the following Custom bait tanks Hope this helps. Jimmy

G,Day Mate, Changing Battery isolators is very simple. Do you have 2 batteries or do you run a single battery only? Battery isolators are generally cabled up the same, so if your not sure what cable is what, on the back of the isolator where you connect the cables it should have little symbols for positive Red '+' and Negative Black '-' and if running 2 batteries it will have a second positve Red '+' connection. As you take the cables off the old isolator one at a time move them to the new isolator switch mirroring your current connections. Hope this helps otherwise unscrew your current isolator take a pic of the back (where the cables are connected) and it to this thread, otherwise pm me. Cheers Jimmy

Hi CaineS Just had a quick search and found it on the Furuno site. Please follow the link to your sounders page where the downloads are at the bottom... http://www.furuno.com.au/products/viewProduct/product/20/5 Hope this helps you out.. Jimmy.