Holmesie

thanks mate, yours are about as far off the transom as mine looks to be, so I've just got to get the angle and height (relative to the bottom line of the hull) set right and hopefully all will be OK your pics are much appreciated Cheers

Pics might be very helpful thanks kruzenvax, thanks for the kind offer is your boat alloy or glass? Cheers Holmesie

haha g'day mate, long time no see!! I've just come back from 10 days at Narooma, sadly washed the salt off her today the time always goes too quick when you're having fun yeah checked out the cable along it's length - I'm going to muck around with the angle and height some more - might mean a few "test" runs on Wyangala every weekend until it's right Cheers

yeah I dug out the mounting instructions and decided it should be raised some more, will try that and see how it goes. will report on how it works out - thanks mate

G'day mate, thanks for the reply. I initially had it setup the way you suggested, but with the boat at rest it wouldn't pick up the bottom at all, and only occasionally worked when on the plane. Do you know if it's possible the fact that is stands about 1-inch off the transom is causing an issue with turbulence/cavitation? Also is it better to be below the level of the hull or above (I thought on an alum boat it had to be below)? I can't make adjustments with it on the water as it's impossible to reach, so have to make an adjustment with the boat on the trailer and then wait till it's next in the water ahh the joys - thanks for the help Holmesie

After some unsuccessful trips to Narooma in the past, it was with some trepidation that I packed up the family for 10days camping with friends at the Easts park. I should not have been worried as it was a fruitful trip on all accounts We saw all types of weather - rain, winds, big seas, and a massive Southerly buster (which turned the water of the inlet into a small angry sea!) Our first day out was into a large swell with a not inconsiderable sea - certainly made for a bumpy morning! We were a little worried as we were the only boat out intitally, but headed to the island and found a great snapper drift - hooked some goodish fish, 40-47cm before we tired of the swell and headed closer to shore for some flattys. Water was around 19.8 degrees - we didn't bag out but had a great session We had another morning outside which was quiet in comparison, and then the weather kept us in the inlet for a few days. When the bar is like this, don't even think about fishing outside!!! While the sea was flat, the waves breaking along the coastline were amazing. Some friends and I booked a morning in the inlet on plastics with Stewy Hinson which was a GREAT experience. I knew very little about soft plastics, but am now a convert after hooking a PB 58cm flattie in the first hour - thanks Stewy!! Our third (and last ) day outside was in millpond conditions and warmer water (21.4 degrees). Unfortunately we had trouble catching livies, but it was apparent the Kingies weren't in attendance anyway. We revisited the island for a mixed bag, including some Leatheries before calling it a day, and sadly heading home yesterday. My trusty Quinnie-tinnie never put a foot wrong (although my sounder let us down regularly ). The rocket launcher is a new addition, having knocked it up with a mate just before we left - dunno why I didn;t do it earlier it's certainly better than tip-toeing around rods on the floor of the boat. The 150 horses on the back is certainly worth having with the bar being quite messy at times. I'm heading back again in early March, with fingers crossed for some Kingy action!! Cheers and thanks for reading, Holmesie

Hi Guys/gals. I recently upgraded my old 100-series Humminbird sounder to a 737 model and am having problems with the transducer. It's mounted in roughly the same place as the old transducer (which worked perfectly), but this one seems very touchy and won't hold the bottom at all when the boat is planing. When sitting still in the water, if someone walks to the back of the boat it can cause it to lose the bottom, I've tried raising it. lowering it, various angles of the transducer, but I can't get it set where it works reliably Could I have a dud transducer? Is the mounting location a problem? Have attached some pics in the hope that someone can suggest something Cheers Holmesie

Picked her up yesterday, and took the kids & boat for a spin out to Wyangala Dam this morning. It tows amazingly well, you'd hardly know there was a boat on behind

wow - you'd be wanting to keep an eye out at all times for puppies like that! Is that breaking on a shallow bomby?

Maser?

Already got my eye on a Steinbauer or DP chip Got any other possibilities MrGenius?

I have driven them all and will be ordering a Triton GLX-R, although I was impressed by the Mazda BT50 which is something of a quiet achiever (albeit an ugly one IMHO). I would have really liked the Navara STX, but the reviews in 4WD Monthly and Kondinin Farming magazines scared me off - I just wasn't sure it would handle the hard life it would get on the farm It would have been perfect for towing my boat on weekends, but it and I have to earn the weekend freedom with a hard week's work While they all had features I really liked and performance-wise they were similar, the price, warranty and interior space of the Triton were compelling, plus it's a well-proven engine and drivetrain. Only time will tell if I've made the right decision Comes standard with nudgebar, sidesteps and hard ute-lid and will be further optioned up with snorkel, tubliner, tint and heavy-duty towbar... can't wait

thanks for the replies guys - I value your comments this is my line of thinking too Lewis

Hi guys'n'gals, having spent up reasonably big on a nice safe reliable boat, I find myself in the unfortunate position of having to buy my tackle from the cheaper/budget end of the market... While I would love to stock up on nice reliable brand name gear that will last forever, it's just not possible (and yes I have tried selling one of the kids ) So I'm interested in hearing from anyone in a similar position to me, and using Saratoga rods in particular - reels I understand aren't really worth scrimping on and I already have a nice Penn Seaboy and some Abu Garcia reels. But when it comes to rods are the cheaper ones a risk, particularly for outside fishing? Any comments or experiences would be appreciated. Cheers Holmesie

OUCH!! mate, I feel for ya

top work Johnno, I wish my Quinnie had some underfloor storage like this.... Not sure I'm up to the task you've done though - I wish I had opposable thumbs

BUMP - heading down next week, weather doesn't look the best, but does anyone know if the fish are biting?!! Cheers!

wise words indeed steve I found SWR to be one of the trickiest in my small amount of experience and it was relatively flat at the time - even so I still had two waves stand up in front of me, not to mention the kink in the channel that meant going out on an angle to the waves at the time. Talked to some locals at the tackleshop before launching and that is knowledge worth paying for!! It definitely comes down to commonsense and if it looks to rough to go out, then it probably is, certainly not worth losing your boat (or worse) over. I don't do bar crossings for fun, the fun starts once you're safely outside Cheers Holmesie

I reckon the guy in the bow had a hard landing, lucky he had a reasonably flat deck to land on

SWR is a tricky little bar hey, Johnno? I stood on the wall and watched it for 30mins or so till I was sure of the best approach to it - it was all good for me too

I'll be keen to read what those with experience have to say! It looks like that S pearfish tries to back up just before hitting the first big wave (where is nearly goes over sideways ) I am a relative newby to bar crossings (done Narooma, South West Rocks & Yamba a few times). Is it wise to be stopped in the water before a large wave? Wouldn't some forward power help maintain your steerage? (I understand trimming the motor down fully helps keep the front of the boat down) I often wonder if the bar crossing looks worse from the shore than on the boat Cheers Holmesie

I reckon you should just start a thread in The Bar, domza. I know I'll be keen to post up pics of the new ute when I've decided on one and taken delivery

I'd like to say a big thanks to Mik (Boofhead), top Fishraider member and nice bloke who very kindly let me take his Navara for a spin today - much appreciated mate, hope I can do a return favour of some kind one day I think if I drive any of the others it will just be for interests sake 'cos I doubt they'd be any better. Cheers, Andrew

It's certainly worth talking to people who have invested themselves, AS WELL as your financial advisor/accountant.I own 4 houses in a small country town, bought (borrowed ) when prices were low, and have seen some capital gain already. However small country towns have their disadvantges, but then real estate investing can be tricky wherever you are. You need to have some sort of plan for the next 10+ years in order to make the right decision... Oh and top up your Super if you have the chance, and take advantage of the government contribution - you're never to young too start thinking about Super Cheers Holmesie

For sure domza!! I'll certainly be posting up pics when I have the new ride... the torque & towing capacity of the ST-X Navara is certainly appealing DAMN now I wish we had a traffic-light in Canowindra Will be in touch, mate