Mrwooley

G'day guys, Thanks for all your responces. I'm still not 100% convinced either way. I think I'm going to need see either or both setups for myself. Some people ( off forum as well ) are saying that small 4 strokes do'nt like running slow, others say that they are the best thing they ever bought for slow trolling ?!?? At less that $1,500 ( 5HP ) they are at lot cheaper than some bow mount electrics, which can run up to $2,000 + for a wireless remote version. It was suggested that it may be viable to upgrade my existing main motor to a 4 Stroke. I do'nt think that would be cost effective, as my 75HP 2 stroke Mercury is a 2005 model with less than 50hrs on it. If I did have unlimited funds, I certainly would concider it. I am swaying towards a wireless bow mount electric, either a Minn Kota or Motorguide, although it would need to be at a very attractive price, although I have not given up on the 4 stroke yet. Thanks again everyone for your advice. Regards, Barry.

G'Day all, In need of some advice ......... I'm about to get more more involved in trout fishing and am thinking about getting a auxiliary motor for trolling, as my 75HP 2 stroke doesn't like running that slow. I thought about about buying both motors but the costs soon start to add up. My idea was to use the electric for trolling for trout, and the 5Hp 4 stroke for saltwater trolling. What to you guys think, can I get away with only one motor type for both uses? What do you use for these purposes? I have a 475 Quintrex Bowrider and the bow mount electrics look easy to mount and use, as I would get the wireless version, but what about the 5Hp 4 stroke? I know I would need to get all the mounting attachments fitted, but how easy are they to use? They seem a long way off the stern to be comfortable? Does anyone have pics of their set-ups so I could get an idea? All advice appreciated. Regards, Barry.

I'm off to the Rosehill Boat Show on Sunday. I hoping to pick up a new sounder and a bow mount electric. if the prices are right. Thank you dear. (Gota love that woman!) Barry.

G'Day all, I'm after some advise. I want to purchace a new colour sounder combo ( finder/GPS ) but I am a bit confused on what make and model to get. I've had some advice from the dealers, but I am also interested in advise from the guys that actually use them. I have a buget of around $1600 and would like best I can get for the price, with the biggest screen. Would like an idea so that I can check them out, or purchase one, at the up-coming boat show. All advice gratefully received. Regards, Barry.

He must be brain-dead!

Yes mate, sure did, not much action today Regards Barry

G'day raiders, Just got back from the Hawksbury. We bailed out ( literally ) it got very wet. Before the heavens opened up we only managed to land heaps of small stuff, mainly bream, & whitting, all too small to leave home. A lot of fun though. My son was hoping that the new Berkley shirt he had just purchased from Pete at Go-fish might bring him some luck ... not today. By 11.00 the sky opened up, it pi!#$ed down. My son (Etho) had to stick his head up through the bimini just to see where he was driving. It was a race back to the ramp to try to get out of the rain. No one won, everyone got saturated. Driving out of Bobbin Head caused a bit of fun. We forgot to unscrew the bungs, as we were heading out of bobbin head, up the hill, we noticed there was a large stream of water squirting out the side of the boat, It was the auto bilge pump kicking in to empty out the rainwater, nearly drowned a few cyclists. Although a bit wet, a good day on the water anyway. Regards Barry

Our beloved Quintrex 475 Freedom sport

G'day Raiders, I do a fair bit of fishing mainly targeting bream, and im interested about getting into using lures. I already use Berkley Gulp, it works fairly well but i would like to learn more about hard body lures. Which is best?, and is there a perticular technique i should know/learn. All help appreciated Regards Barry

I'll be launching the boat at ATB ramp tomorrow about 5.30am to give the Hawksbury a go. Barry.

G'day Raiders, i have a 2005 Quintrex 475 Freedom Sport bowrider , It has a 2005 Mercury 75hp 2-stroke on it, it goes well but it is a little bit underpowered when towing wakeboarders. I would like to upgrade to a 90 Hp Honda V-tec but the compliance plate states that the hull is only rated to a maximum 80 hp. The transom is rated to 175 kgs (I think), the Honda weights 163 kgs so i don't think weight is an issue. My question is, what would be required to make the hull capable of taking the Honda V-tec and roughly how expensive would it be, or would it all be too hard/expensive to get recertified? Regards Barry

STUFF THAT!!

Some low-lifes had a go at my spare & winch post at the same ramp. Someone must have disturbed them because I found most of the nuts undone. I've now welded a heavy chain link on the the winch post and trailer, and I run a large cable & security padlock through the post link, trailer link, and spare wheel. Now they'll need a pair of 4' bolt cutters instead of a spanner. That might slow them down a bit. Regards, Barry.

G'Day all, I've recently purchased two new batteries for the boat and would like some ideas on keeping them fully charged. Both are currently connected via a manual selection switch which I rotate on each outing ( if I remember ). In summer the boat gets used nearly every fortnight, so keeping the charge up is not a problem, but in winter and on other occasions when it doesn't get used for 5-6 weeks, I am concerned that by not being in a fully charged state I'm reducing their reliability and longevity. Am I being overly concerned or anal about them? Other than continuing to remove these two 130A very heavy batteries to charge them on my big auto charger, I was thinking of fitting two auto 1600mv trickle chargers permanently in the boat. Will this work and keep these batteries at full charge, and would it be safe. I am a little concerned about leaving two chargers working close to an underfloor fuel tank? ( anal again? ) If this is the way to go, could I permanently connect each charger directly to each battery without causing damage to the chargers when using the boat, or would I need to connect them when required? Is there a better method? All advice gladly received. Regards, Barry.

G'Day Josh, Yes mate, Appletree Bay ramp, past Bobbin Head. Reading the reports, it does sound like the Hawkesbury was firing this weekend. I know it's been a bit slow of late, but today was one of my better days there. Regards, Barry.

G'Day all, What a day! Started out with plans to get away early and fish the Bay. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Got up early alright, about 3.45am. Had the boat all hooked up and ready to go. Went to start the Prado ... click, click ... shi@%t! Dead battery. I think I could have easily gone back to bed, but with all the long faces from my son and his two mates, I just couldn't do it. What to do? Checked the battery, 10.5 volts and a dead cell. Terminal! I thought of using one of the boat's batteries but their way to big, even for the Prado. One more option.. "Holla for a Marshal". Two hours later I've got a new heavy duty battery. The serviceman was amazing, he was literally a sleep on his feet. He'd been up since 1.00am and had already done three calls. Anyway ... by this time it was very light and stating to warm up. The weatherman reported that it might hit 30+ today so we were planning to start & finish early to avoid the heat of the day. So, knowing that there's no shade on the Bay, we decided to fish the Hawkesbury instead. This turned out to be a good choice. As we came away with a couple a nice flathead, a big flounder, a kilo stud bream, and a couple of nice leatherjackets. We hooked into many more, but as we were only after a feed, the rest were released. One thing we noticed were the heaps of bait sized squid about. Unfortunately I recently lost my squid jig and hadn't replaced it yet. The boys were enticing them up with baits and caught about six of them. Could have caught a bucket load with a jig. If your heading to the Hawkesbury soon, try the first two bays on the left after leaving Appletree ramp, just off the sand flats. Another great day on the water. Regards, Barry.

G'Day, I recently installed a new GME sound system in the boat for a bit of background music while fishing. I oridginaly only installed two speakers, but told my 14yo son that we/he could install the other two and a sub at a later date. Well last Saturday was that date. When he first switched it on, we were down the river wakeboarding, it was at near full volume!! Nearly blew my eardrums out. I half expected dead fish to be floating around the boat from the thumping bass. New rules of use have been established. Sonic fishing .... maybe I'm on to something!? Regards, Barry.

G'Day Sammy, I had a similar issue with my motor a few months back. Ran the motor before heading to the boat ramp, arrived at the ramp, launched the boat, no start? Motor would not crank over. I also thought the starter motor had died. On further investigation, I found that the started motor gear had mis-meshed with the fly wheel, causing it to lock up. After freeing the gear and checking the starter motor, all was well. Never had the problem again. I hope your issue is no more serious than mine was, and that it turns out to be an easy inexpensive fix. Regards, Barry.

G'Day all, Thanks to all those that replied with advice. Being new to boat owning and not having any idea what these cable ends looked like or how it worked, I went to Bias Boating to have a look at one. Now I know. It was the outer rod that was seized in the tube. I managed to drive it out without any damage, using heaps of WD40 and a large hammer. I found the cable ends in good nick, after I cleaned them throughly. The tube was caked in dry grease, which took some effort to remove. I used a scourer pad wired to a steel rod, on my battery drill, to clean it out. That worked well. I took everyones advice and didn't use normal grease again, I used a white Lithium spray-on grease. This is a 3M product in a spray can. It is water & heat resistant and supposedly does not dry out. I used it liberally it on the cable ends and in the tube. The steering now worked better than it ever did. When I bought the boat about six months ago it only had 9 hours on it, but it had sat for 12 months with little use. I think this is probably what caused the steering to eventually seize up. Although it had been recently serviced ( and greased ) it probably only helped to compress the already hardened grease. That only my theory. All is well in my world again. Now .......... to the Bay next Sunday for a fish. Regards, Barry. P.S. I hope everyone had a great xmas.

G'Day all, I need your assistance. Took the covers off the boat today to air it out and found that the steering stuck. Having never had a problem before, of ever changed a cable, I could use some advice. The steering is stuck full over with the rod fully in. Someone must have moved it over to get around it recently, as I normally leave it hard over, fully out. Can't figure out what happened as it was recently serviced, with everything greased. It seems very strange as the boat was used about three weeks ago, with no problems. I can't budge the thing. I took the steering arm off to check that the motor turns freely, which it does. I also undid the cable nut and pulled it someway out and witnessed the steering wheel turn. What am I not seeing here? Is the end that the steering arm attaches to supposed to move in & out as you move the cable in & out? Mine doesn't!? Does that mean it's snapped!? Should I be able to pull the cable free of the tube!? Mine cames out about 90% and then stops, but the other end that attached to the steering arm stays put! Does this all sound normal or has the cable snapped and need replacement? It's all a pain in the freckle, but I'm glad I found it at home and not at some boat ramp at 5.00 in the morning. All advice gladly received. Regards, Barry.

Not lately Ritchie. But I used to get many a nice blackie off the rocks under the bridge, on the city side, many years ago. Might still be worth a look. Get yourself some good weed and give it a go. Regards, Barry.

G'day all, Along with my interest in boating & fishing, I also do a bit of 4x4ing and quad riding out bush. Yesterday I purchased a new GME 406/GPS PLB to replace my old 121Mhz unit, which is soon to be phased out. It is my intention to use it primarily on the dirt, but also have it on the boat, just in case. As I very rarely go out more than 2NM, an approved model Epirb ( upright floater ) would not be required. I understand all the lodgical reasons why an approved Epirb should be carried in certain situations, ie .. in excess os 2NM out, commercial boating, sail racing .. etc ... but I also believe that any type of locating device would be better than none. In speaking with a couple of Maritime persons recently on this subject, I could'nt believe how many different views there were on this requirement. Some believe that all devices, in all situation should automaticly "float and send", others believe that the automatic units have caused too many false alarms and that the manual units were better. Some believe that PLB's are suitable. I see valid points in both arguements. I would be interested in reading your views. Regards, Barry.

Welcome aboard, You're right, we are a laid back bunch. Look forward to reading about your fishing/boating adventures. Barry.

G'day Alex, Wecome aboard. I'm a recent member myself. You'll find the raiders a great buch of people with a wealth of fishing & boating knowledge, who are all happy to share advice & info with you. Just ask. They've helped me out in the past. Regards, Barry.

G'day Bill, Peeled prawns & squid heads, that's all they wanted. Tried a varity of other baits with no takers. I did manage a couple of nice flatheads on my new baitcaster. A PB for me on a lure, as it was the first time I'd used one. After finaly working out the brake setup on it, and getting used to "thumb stoping", I think I'm hooked on them. Regards, Barry.