pelican

Haven't got a photo but http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/attachmen...um-steering.jpg

Only sharks we bring on board at night are dead over the side first if we are keeping them if not they are released at the side of the boat.. Too many teeth and don't like them on board alive at night. With the predicted winds you might want to try a more protected ramp like tunks so you have access to lots of protected water in MH. Fair few sandy beached to pull up on and stretch the legs Very hard to see swells in main harbour a lot of the time on dark nights so tae it easy and good luck Football and fishing - marathon or is teh boat more comfortable than teh doghouse?? There will be police on the water if that is a hint this weekend as it is school holidays. Lots of fish can see well at night and hunt night tides. Others will suggest what to target as I haven't looked at tides.

When all else fails give the tranducer a tap or shake.

There is also a lot of damaged boats over there from hurricanes etc so it would really pay to know who is inspecting the boat and that they are good as a repaired boat . In the US they repair boats they would never do here in Australia. There is a lot of knockoffs over there as well so make sure the inspector knows the type of boat you are buying very well.

Yeah sure - looks like a rolling pin scar to me. Sure it didn't happen before you did the household chores?? Hope it heals fast. Get well mate. Is it just me or the last 4-5 photos I have seen of stitches done by doctors look really scrappy ???? Do you pay extra to get rough so you get a trophy scar?? I've seen bait sewn up better! The deckhand would never get away with it

Being a solvent petrol base I don't think it would be good for some types of line and rubber seals ??? As it leaves a oily residue it wil attract dust. Not sure what it does to line but a dry silicon would provide protection without the sticky factor ??

Company lease cars have a lot of conditions depending on type of lease and company. Read the lease and conditions as you don't want to upset them or your boss. Many will not allow any equipment to be fitted unless by the fleet manager and will only allow Holden or Hayman and Reece equipment otherwise you may have warranty issues and be chasing a small manufacturer or wrecking yard mechanic ( if he is qualified to fit bars). They do that as they must take the hit on the sale of the car if there is issues. A lot of light 4wd and cheap chassis jobs may have the chassis for towing but to actually do a decent job you need to spend $ on suspension and bushes and the standards don't last well and are sloppy. The Hilux is ok standard but put a horse float on and yuck. The holden traction control as I said works by killing the spark and then possibly braking individual wheels but does it too slowly it smokes one wheel on the base model commy. The company car I run does it and smokes a wheel at wet intersections . Other cars have LSD as standard and also have individual wheel braking that works instanly on spinning starting.

Nah each car has it's own design of towbar Some firms won't transfer to a second car as they can't warranty it hasn't been abused and overstressed. Edit Oh year get the full size spare wheel as the small wheels are no good if you want to keep towing at speed.

WD40 myths http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/wd-40.asp

How far are you going to tow? If doing short runs and aware of the shortcoming of your towing vehicle you can still do it safely. Talk to the local caravan guys as they know a lot more about vehicles towing det ups than any Holden dealer or boat shop. As a hint I think the Holden bars are made by Hayman and reese ( well they were) The other option is when you buy a boat to get a very good trailer set up. Good balanced axel set up and a correct towball weight and think about a "mini hich weight distrubition hitch"by H&R as you can move it between vehicles as they fit every towbar.. Other option is pollyair and pay the labour to have them transferred to new car but check with them.. Oh well you have some reading and talking to do now. That price sounds too much so phone a few H&R dealers as they want business at the minute Edit - not sure which commy models have limited slip diff but it make a big difference on slippery ramps . The base model - last ome didn't and the ABS antiskid is too slow to put brake on spinning wheel as it actually cuts engine revs in the process. Long story but I don't like em o slippery ramps. Someone else may know more on the car sites or hoons here

Be very careful if it is a trailer boat as many are overwidth and have issues with being towed. There are companies that specialise in importing boats and they will advise you the best places to buy them as transport within America tp ports and agents can get ery expensive ( I don't understand why). . The companies that do it also know the people on the oyjer end and get them to thououghly clean and fumigate the boat so you don't end up with a quaranteen issue. Definately worth getting in contact with customs agent or specialised importer as they deal with the paperwork all the time and buying a boat from the right area makes a big difference. There is some very cheap brand new motors over there at the minute so if you could combine brand new motors fitted there ( and didn't care about warranty) and buy a spare powerhead and still be infront. Needless to say there is a lot of scams dealing when you aren't there in person. Pel

Hi Billy I sort of know what you mean about hours but commercial hours are a lot different to everyday hours.Commercial users forget to tell you that their maintainance is tax deductable so no the same cost as to domestic use and they do change the oil , impellers, out regularly, fresh batteries etc and many hours are done at idle and low midrange as the boats they push often have max HP rated motors for the few times they are fully loaded and reach max hull spped over water at midrange so running them flat out wouldn't get them there any faster as they are not propped that way. Commercial users get very good support from local dealers as they are good consistant clients who do a lot for turnover and consumable parts or they simply change brands to someone who will support them and stand behind the product. Powerhead may have done 5000 hours but in some cases it will be 6 gearcases and so on. Many motors fail due to lack of use and being min HP on a hull so they are constantly stressed to the max. They get moisture in cylinder ,slight surface rust on bores,stale fuel, seals dry ,old oil, wax deposits from fuels , water in gearbox , scale build up, and 100 other things. A motor that is constantly runnng doesn't encounter these issues and they are the things that create wear along with cold starts. As an example - on the farm we used to run honda pumps just 5hp governed jobs. We used to connect up 44gallon drums of fuel start it and walk away and then come back had a tap for oil drain and tap to put in new oil( from 20l drum), connected up another 44 gal and walked away. That pump lasted thousands and thousands of hours and it literally never cooled down. Same pumps on spray units in the yards that got started and run hard for 10 days every 3 months and then left would only last 4 years before they needed rings ,seals , carby etc at under 500 hours. So not a brand name thing but as usage thing as they were identical. Similar with our gensets , lighting motors. One that ran the house lasted forever but the one that ran the shearing shed and got used twice a year was changed every 5 years. Fresh fuel, oil and constant load running creates only minor wear with no choking on start ups etc. Be it 4 stroke heads or computers they are going to be worth 60%-100% the value of any 6 year old motor . In a 2 stroke 2 injectors or a computer out of warranty will be the same 60% of value of 2nd hand motor or more to repair. New injected motors be they 2 or 4 stroke are expensive in parts if out of warranty. When 4 strokes go direct injection it will be a nightmare fixing them out of warranrty if it is a head and injector issue and with both 2 and 4 stroke if EPA forces catalyitic converters we will all wish we had a old tech low perfomance motor ( until we get sick of the noise , smell and petrol bill). Computers on all motors I say should be warrantied for life as it is not something the user can stuff up and they are too expensive to replace and injectors similar should have a cycle rating. Thankfully manufacurers are finally getting serious and offering longer warranties as they are all charging a serious $ for things that should not be disposable with relatively minor failures. As huey would know the motor is worth more for wrecking the gearbox , cowl and tilt trim unit than it is as a going motor- go figure a sparts are so expensive for all brands. People have to remember the motors changed design because of pollution laws not because they were a better motor in many aspects . These changes have brought with them other benefits newer oils , less smell and so on and ability to produce more HP from less fuel but seriously a lot of it is just marketing to justify the price. We now have VVT on Hondas , superchargers on others, exhausts valves on 2 strokes and with more parts and complication comes repair expense on failure in the future. In a lot of cases for domestic or commercial use a extra 10kg for a bigger sump with extra oil or heavier castings with bigger cooling galleries would in daty to day use make bugger all differencebut the industry is driven by the preformance sections , racing and marketing that difference between brands to try and get your dollars. There will be good and bad stories with every brand on both failures and longevity but a lot has to do with teh support the dealer offers you when it all goes pear shaped.

Glad your day was a sucess and went smoothly. We had a mate who used to tow a tiny with a sirion and one day we stuck a cardboard cut out of a key ( like a wind up toy) on the roof as he left home - he was not impressed as he drove to the ramp with it and was even less impressed to see a second one on it in he carpark. Too much time on out hands that week Can't remember if yours was a manual or auto Yaris but might be worth checking with dealer for an auto that for around the city you stick it in 3rd . No different to having 5 people in the car but the little autos get damaged if they pull weights in 4th /5th. Same with a manual use higher revs in each gear and don't use 5th as a general rule. Box in the Yaris will last the distance that way. Toyota dealer or owners manual will tell you . Nothing wrong with towing with it at all and for short runs it will be easy and comfortable as long as you recognise teh limitations on braking and acceleration you'll never have an issue. Police also book people at ramps who have obviously overweight rigs , brakes disconnected or unroadworthy and up the coast have teamed up a few times with mobile RTA scales and test rigs (usually used for trucks) and catch a lot of people out who are none the wiser about all the camping gear and 10 cases of beer in the boat.

The scum steal a plate but often move it to another trailer in the same ramp or go to another ramp and then swap plates on second trailer. They then have a clean plate and someone is driving round with a stolen one not realising , they will take the rego label off the second one. Check the plate on your trailer is actually yours and the rego label as well. Has been used to rebirth older trailer or sometime specific dumbier models. I can see how they can do it but without inside help I don't know how they don't get caught as there wil be 2 trailers with same numbers which sold get checked at pink slip if it is a braked trailer. Happens on long weekends as teh police are especially active on freeways with auto numberplate checking camera that highlights any out of rego car and car owners without lic .

About time some of the money we spend gets spent cameras and more regular patrols at ramp carparks. Really sucks and I don't think it's kids. Note to all of us to keep an eye out an also if we see another damaged vehicle to call the police as they obviously hang around and do others. That's not the only ramp in the last week that has had stuff stolen.

Hope it isn't the sticky fingers brigade. We noticed someone had been on board sometime in the last few days- nothing missing but...... stay off other peoples boats peopel!!!! Happens every easter

In the cannon eos ( now 350, 450d etc series ) the selection wheel for all the settings has remained the same now with the digital back end so it is a easy transition from earlier cannon stuff. . If you had decent lenses from the film camera they also fit straight on so they are not wasted but focal length is altered. . Just thought I'd comment as it can save a lot of $ and learning time. In the cannon range the 450d is good midrange and allow cropping but kits are selling at $1300 and you will need a serious wet bag to look after it as well. Perhaps a support boat? I wouldn't trust myself o yack with a big SLR and you start needing a quite wide angle at such a short distance to subject.

Do a course to learn how to photograph better as well as a good camera is only half of it. Learn the basics of settings and fatures as if you dont learn them now you never will.

HI Looking at car GPS and wondering if anyone is using this new system and if it is good or a waste of time?? Description from one website (Traffic Message Channel) TMC is a system for alerting you to traffic problems on major roads and optionally re-routing you should you wish. Delivering real time traffic information to your Navman via RDS-TMC (Radio Data System - Traffic Message Channel) – an FM based radio signal – you can see and be alerted to known problems such as accidents, congestion and roadworks. Thanks

Hi Mike Do you have someone more experienced to drop down there with you? Seriously Greg isn't having a goat you. Ramps are funny places as we all over the years have stuffed up and left tie down attached , bungs out and so on. The trick is to laugh about it and try and sort it out quickly. Just got to take each ramp as you find it and the people there as well. When younger I would hapily let teh impatient scumbag behind me launch first just so he wasn't there being a bumhole when I was- well it cost me 5 minutes but less stress. I will help anyone who is being reasonable and I reckon so will 80% of other people at ramps ( especially if asked) as it makes it smoother for all of us and everyone has different skill levels in reversing or boat handling.. Will always comment if I see someone doing something dangerous ( and sometimes get abused) and this normally involves their kids let loose and not supervised. Better me abused that them run over or drowned. I don't think Drum is any better or worse than anywhere else but as there is no pontoon it is often hard to hold a boat and get it sorted especially if on your own.. If there is a couple of you and you take it nice and slow just do it and accept nice peoples help and let the other stuff roll off your back. I can cope with lots of inexperience at boat ramps but I still hate the experienced people who load stuff in and out of the boat at ramps when they could have done it on the trailer or the bloke who do unexpected fast moves be it in the car or boat around ramps or pontoon hogs who set up camp there. We all think we get better at it , and we do till we do the next silly thing and for onlookers that can be a KAK. Just take a bow and break the ice as we all have different , cars , trailers and boats. Watching people with similar boats for a afternoon will soon show you the good bad and the ugly or boat launching and ettiquette. There was a launching ettiquete on a website rec fishing northern beaches or something ( guys that were sorting stuff against NPA) and I think that it sould be posted to every one with their lic and on a pole at the ramp as well as some people just don't get it.

Going to feel a bit thin as it isn't a real wide ramp. At least a pontoon will stop boats banging into each other and might stop the age it takes for people to launch and get car parked. Kids will love playing on it there while daddy launches he he First serious ramp biffo I saw was there years ago and it was 2 wives or girlfriends going at it while a wankboard boat floated away at dusk. Talk a bout vicious tongues and then then they went rabid and no sane person would go near em. Old bloke got it with his 2hp dinghy and they abused him for taking so long as he came back to the ramp so he let go of it. He putted off into the gloomy distance . Boys came and it all started again Some people need a bullet. Seriously someone should film boat ramps and put em on utube with sound as some of the comments are classics. Always funny when you aren't involved but ramp rage isn't. Great fish & chips at ocean foods up the top of the hill to sustain you while teh entertainment happens.

Up that bloody hill that you can't do a uturn on or drive all the way round the other side of the park if you have someone with you to handle the boat. Haven't used it for years and was a prime candidate to have a pontoon but there probably isn't enough parking to justify it.

They should have moved front to back at 10,000 km service if they had their eyes open.

Consider the Kayak rental places at Manly and the spit as you can paddle to areas not easilly accessable from land and they also sometimes have tinny avaliabe.

Thans for finding that. They have just increased the fines for that style of offence as well in those new rules. Surprised they are still suggesting that in these days of litigation by insurance companies should they go off accidentally or cause corrosion. As a hint if you do keep them on board I would never show them on a safety inspection with police as they are not supposed to be in posession if expired.