Ducky

Thinking outside the square... I like it!

I’m no electrician by any means but why do you need a 2nd battery at all assuming it is 12v and you’re not running 2 x 6v in series? Is it for the leccy or just back up for piece of mind? When my project is finished I’ll have my trolling battery hooked up to a volt sensitive relay so when the alternator has the starting battery charged (starting battery runs the accessories too) it will automatically switch over to charge the trolling battery. Good for those long weekends using the leccy when access to 240v (battery charger) is limited or non existent. I imagine your starting battery has the appropriate crank for the outboard.

Scrap this guys, done a fair bit of research and think I’ll stick with ply, it’s tried and tested over and over, will just seal, seal, seal!

Raiders, Heaps of threads around but no definitive answers so am looking for any personal experiences. Was just about to purchase ply for my casting decks but got on to a product called Celuka Foam Board. It’s a specialised foam pvc sheet so no sealing needed and rot proof and much cheaper than the likes of king starboard and seaboard. Distributors reckon it’s perfect for the application and have sold it for that purpose many times in the past so someone must know something. It also goes by names of Nycel, Signex and Maxi T. This gear looks to good to be true. Any info would be great, cheers!

Try Felk trailers at Warners Bay. I’ve used them before for mods and repairs of older boat trailers and were very happy with them. Had a similar issue as you a few years back, got the rollers ripped out (at the rear) and put skids in then got the rest of the roller stand offs cut off, replaced, relocated and welded back in throughout the rest of the trailer. They did a great job and wasn’t too heavy on price from memory.

Yeah you sure can, the features are brilliant. I could go on and on but you best YouTube some videos. Starlo has a couple good clips too. I too heavily weighed up Minn Kota, features are similar, both well built but the dollar savings were too big to ignore. I have local authorised MG support but my closest MK support was a few hundred clicks away - no good for service and repairs etc.

That’s brilliant mate, some detailed 1st hand experience. I’m not afraid to fork out for the right product. A quick look online it seems to tick the boxes. Cheers!

I literally just purchased a 60” 55lb Xi5 a few weeks ago with all the kit to link to my lowrance. Hasn’t been wet yet but gee I’m lookin forward to it!

Thanks macca that’s just what I wanted to hear!

Thanks for the advice guys and interesting discussion, so far I think I’ll go with everdure. It’s a bit pricey but hopefully will pay for itself down the track.

G’day Raiders, An age old question I know but I’m looking for advice on the best product for sealing plywood. I will be carpeting of course but need to get a good seal 1st. Seems like Everdure 2 part epoxy and Bondcrete keep coming up. Are these the best options? This is a brand new boat I’m modifying with full custom casting deck so don’t want any shortcuts and needs to last the distance, relatively speaking. Any advice would be great. Cheers!

Mate if you punch in “10 inch trailer wheel” into Ebay you’ll find plenty that offer cheap postage. Alternatively you could contact a trailer manufacturer in your local area they might have 1 lying around they could give you for knicks.

Personally I’d go for a 120ah and don’t skimp on quality and deep cycle is a must. You should be able to pick up a half decent 100ah in the higher end of that price range maybe closer to $300. Look at a Ritar RA12-100SD. Just my 2 cents. Cheers!

My 2 cents....., Just purchased myself a Honda 30hp tiller after weighing up all brands. Price, weight, local support and manufacturers warranty was hard to beat when comparing and researching on various forums etc. and being a carbied engine it’s easier to work on. Suzuki was certainly up there but the fact it doesn’t have the large tiller arm with controls in the 30 was a show stopper for me. All in all look at what works best for you. Local support that you can trust is something to seriously consider when deciding. The lighter the outboard obviously the better. 7yr warranty that Honda offer really says something about the confidence in the product. It’s a personal choice but do your research. I personally haven’t heard anything negative about the Suzuki but never owned 1 myself. Good luck with what ever you go with mate!

Not much change since that pic about a month ago (seats aren’t actually installed yet). Got my 30hp Honda, Xi5 motorguide 54lb and Lowrance elite 7 Ti last week and is today in with the welder for a thruster plate. The dealer said I didn’t need 1 but when I went to fit the electric last week it doesn’t match up so safe to say I got stuck into them and now their coughing up, well for half the bill anyway. Need to raise 1 side of the bow so it’s nice and flush (no lip). It’s progressing a bit with the framing almost done, everything will almost just fall into place over the next several weeks. Taking a long time but will be worth it when it’s done.

I’ve recently bought some Springfield seats (what quintrex use) and swivel posted bases with plug-ins so you can move the seats around depending on what you’re doing. These look great. Get it all from whitworths. https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?cat=137&item=75705&intAbsolutePage=1

Yeah I'd have to play with the angles to get the beam right. The fighter series explorer has a somewhat different shaped bow as you can see so hoping there's some good angles to utilise. For what the strips cost I'm almost inclined just to grab them and see how they look.

G'day Raiders, Just after some opinions or even experience in regards to using LED strip lights for navigation (red/green) opposed to the traditional style. I have a brand new F390 explorer that I'm "pimping" and I thought the strip lighting would look very sharp (just a cosmetic thing). Anyone done this before? Here is a pic from the net of what I'm sort of thinking about.

Try this mate, dear as poison I heard. http://www.allplastics.com.au/engineering-plastics/polyethylene/seaboard

My hull is maxed at 30hp otherwise yeah I would've been all over it

Yeah the promo goes to 15th September. I had 2 local dealers (Newcastle) at $6,800 fitted for the 30hp.

Still waiting for delivery only purchased on Monday but am excited. I've been doing a custom fittout of the explorer so didn't buy as a package. I was like you, needed the large tiller arm with controls, some brands don't have that functionality till 40hp. For me the decision came down to Yamaha or Honda, with all pros and cons considered the Honda won. As I'm putting a fair bit of weight into the hull with this project the 20kg weight savings was the deciding factor as both motors are super reliable in my experience. Oh and I'm also shifting the fuel and starting battery up the middle. Take a look if of interest.

261339592323 punch that number in to eBay search you should get it, IP68, equivalent to 10W halogen. They advertise it for squid light or trim tabs light.

G'day macca, I had every intention of using AA marine ply which as I understand it has an A grade face on either side which is best for exterior use/finish (not being covered) as it had no imperfections and is made of all the same timber species. All veneers are glued with some sort of marine glue/sealant. There are particular Australian standards that the ply must adhere to and the ply would be stamped as such. Marine ply is around $180 2.4 x 1.2 sheet I think. You can get AA from bunnings from around $90 sheet but is "mixed hardwood" so not too sure about the quality. BB grade hoop pine has been recommended to me by various independent timber wholesalers etc over the AA marine for use in this application. It may have minor imperfections in the faces but as will be covered with carpet it doesn't matter and it is about $60 sheet cheaper. I was also told that BB grade is more structural than AA so extra strength is an advantage. The veneers of BB are still bonded with the same marine quality glue but like any timber you are using, seal, seal, seal! In a nutshell I believe BB hoop is much the same quality as AA marine except has few minor imperfections in the faces and is much stronger and cheaper.

Here's the link, yes eBay. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261339592323 it is blue with only 3 LEDs so I was concerned about brightness. Initially I got all excited about the bung light by I think the design is poor. There's no strain relief for the wires when the bung is out and screwing it in and out constantly can't be good for for the regular twisting of the wires either but I'd love to get feedback from someone who has installed these. Thanks guys!