BaitDropper

Boy, I gotta say Geoff, Prep and gaining knowledge first is the key if you haven't done a transom before. Without doubt, the difference between a good job and a job that will fail, is a real fine line. There's a heap of pages on face book and utube that you could research first, which I thoroughly recommend you do. Have a plan, take a heap of notes and talk to as many people as you can. There will be the ones that say a transom must be done from the inside only, yep, that'll work, but so will doing from the outside as well, perfectly fine either way. If your handy, then it would be an interesting project,,, I was lucky, mate owned a fibre glass shop, but I was on hand during all the stages, but that was way different, having someone experienced on hand to ask the question there and then. If that bloke is still around, I would try and touch base with him, someone experienced makes a heap of difference when doing one first time.. Good luck Geoff, make sure we see some progress Pics.

Job finished, just a wee bit of connecting up front. I just thought I would show what the stern saver was being used for, pick up and bilge pump for re modified live bait tank..

Then it's just a case, of locating the pin in the center which you previously stuck on and push the stern saver on. Remove the tape, clean up any excess epoxy, put some supporting tape over it until it cures, then the next day, Presto !! I have used one of these before, so I know it's strength and capabilities, but if fitting large heavy transducers like the 1 kilowatt jobs, which are quite heavy, like I will be doing soon, best to fiber glass something separately onto the transom in my opinion. Hope this was of some help to those that hadn't heard or used these before, I'm pretty impressed, relatively cheap, quick and easy to install..

I heated up the two part epoxy applicator in a glass of hot tap water, as the instructions states, this makes it very easy to squirt out. So, fill up the holes on the back face of the stern saver, leaving it an 1/8 or so proud, there is the perfect amount in the applicator for this.

Next up, mask the area you want to adhere the stern saver on and sand the area thoroughly, wipe down with acetone. Your given a template, with the center locater having a double sided tape on it at the back. The protruding pin, locates into the underside of the stern saver itself.

Just thought I'd show how easy these Stern Savers were to install on your transom, for those that have not seen them, really easy job, 15-20 min tops, saves putting holes in your transom, which in my eyes, is a great thing. I'm pretty useless on the computer so I'll see how these photo's come up. It comes with pretty good instructions and everything is really easy to follow.

Awesome report, Well done Sir

Yeah, there pretty impressive engines Dunc, the CT is the same gearbox as the 3lt 150 version swings and only adds a few kg's. They save a lot of weight with there valve train, which they say requires no maintenance, which is a bonus for self servicing when the Warrantees done and dusted.. Then there's the Pro XS version, which gives you another 500 revs at top end. AS I mentioned previously, if it wasn't for the Covid Tax and long long lead times at the time, I would have definitely gone this way, than the Suz 140 I ended up getting, BUT, still satisfied with what I have. AS you said, they don't make a BAD, as such 4 stroke now a days, it's just Merc developed this range of new breed engines 2011-2012 ers from memory, the rest have just modified existing blocks that have been used for a couple of decades or so. The only thing that confused me with Merc and I think they missed the boat a wee bit, Yamaha use the 115 block for there 130, Suzuki use there 115 block for there 140, couldn't understand why Merc never went that way, rather than detuning there 3ltr 150 to a 135, the weight of it alone excludes a huge market that Yamaha and Suzuki stand alone in, Its that 5-5.5 meter range that there 135, from there 115 block would have been a big seller,, Dunno..

Correct, this is one of it's biggest pluses, the lightest in it's class... with more cubes to boot. Add in the larger CT gearbox and it certainly looks the better performance engine.

Yeah, it works a treat for smelly foot wear, it's an alkaline, so it absorbs anything acidic, including sweat. I played a heap of tennis and ran in my day, after a week from new, my sneakers would only have one place to be, Outside !! but Baking soda works brilliantly. I also use it in my old reel restorations, 50/50 vinegar and water to remove that green corrosion, then to neutralize the vinegar a paste of baking soda and water.. Its a great product.. As mentioned, for de smelling fishing cloths as well, I also used it for all my duck shooting clothes years back, while fishing I still do, shooting is now a think of the past. I can't claim credit for it, I lived with my grandparents when I did my apprenticeship as a youngster, Ol Gran taught me this trick, been using it ever since. With your wet suit boots, leave a table spoon in them all the time, don't empty them out when you put them on, its amazing how it stops your feet from sweating.....

Ditto to the above comments, 1 set of dedicated fishing cloths. However, what I always do, is soak the cloths in a bucket of warm water with a cup of baking soda first over night, then wash separately from other cloths, and again, used baking soda instead of laundry products, this will fix your issues.. Another tip, I was always in work boots and after 3-4 months from new, ( because my feet are absolute sweaters) , Yep, they get pretty nasty on the nose. Actually, its funny that, some people have no issues, but as mentioned, my feet will start sweating after an hour or so of wearing them, SO, what I used to do, is put a table spoon of baking soda in each boot, shake it around a bit, and leave it be overnight, Presto, your boots will never smell !! really good for footie boots, sneakers etc, I used to do this once a month or so. Give it a go, you'll be suprised..

Beautiful photo's... That water looks crystal clear, sensational....

The Merc 125 2 stroke, was the exact same motor I had before raising the transom and up grading to a 4 stroke. They are a bullet proof motor, I can vouch for that, but thirsty as hell. I had the 2 + 2 system modified to full time 4 cylinder on mine as trolling out wide, the system was useless, it was impossible to troll under 2000 revs in the swell and current. Now, I was in the same dilemma as yourself, which 4 stroke to put on the back. I looked at Yamaha vrs Merc in the 115 range and the Merc came out on top hands down. The Yamaha was a 1.8 ltr engine, vrs the 2.1 litre Merc 115, as well as the upgrade option to the CT gearbox, the Yamaha fell well short. Now I'm not bagging the Yamaha, it's just a simple Spec's game, of which the Merc was superior.. I ended up going to the Suzuki 140, as at the time, supplied and fitted with the Suzuki gauges, came in at 19k, the Merc CT 115, with gauges fitted, came in at 23k !! there was definitely some Covid profiteering going on. The other main factor, was the service center wasn't too far for Suzuki, in fact he does my services mobile to my door. The supply and wait time to have the Suzuki fitted up, was 3 months, which eventually only ended up being 2 months,, the Merc was a minimum of 6-8 months, no guarantee.. I was originally fully intending going Mercury, everything was in there favour when comparing other brands, regarding weight, Cubes, warrantee, the simplicity of self servicing once warrantee ran out etc etc but am more than happy with my Suzuki choice. There isn't really a bad 4 stroke engine made now a days, and for the larger boats, where weight doesn't impact decisions, all models are up for selection, with basically warrantee and servicing being all you need to consider, but boats under the 6 meter size, you do need to consider each variable. You won't look back with having a 4 stroke on the back and raising the transom to take a 25 inch leg is also a big positive, I can vouch for that through my own experience, good luck with your decisions.

That looks mouth watering !! Thanks for sharing

HaHaHa, Think we have all been there at some stage. I remember once, with people everywhere, launching me boat, went to climb up to launch ( I have a boat catch ) the ramp was like ice, I unceremoniously slid about 6 feet, arms going everywhere, God knows what it must have looked like, but managed to stay on my feet, then climbed aboard as thou nothing had happened, embarrassed, but thankful I never ended up on me Butt !! .... Thankfully, the times I did end up on my Butt, witnesses were not around to observe 😁

That looks like a Ripper Derny !! Congrat's on your purchase, glad you got all sorted out and are now and the finish line.. Great lookin Tub there.

Haven't been here to long, but I enjoy reading Derek's posts. Seems a very well earned title he has now been presented with. Congrats.

I agree with all the others, fantastic read and made me ponder about why I haven't done similar !! Maybe this has prompted me to get my A into gear.. Thanks for posting

Hmm, Ok, I'll sit myself in the cuddy cabin in the next few days and have a look at exactly what and how I did it. Basically, from the Pos & Neg Buzz bars up front inside cabin, I wired to a fuse box type set up which is fused, from there I went to accessories, which have switches to turn power on, ie, radio, VHF radio, Then to USB and Cig lighter, from my memory, plus a separate dash fused switch panel for lighting, bilge, deck wash etc etc. Now, I'm not sure what wiring was done when the new motor was fitted, they did that, but they wouldn't have feed into the main cables I used to power up front, they would have run new ones. Actually, come to think of it, I drew a schematic of the wiring, which is stored somewhere in the boat, I'll look for that. But the radio definitely isn't on any direct feed, once battery switch is turned off down back, no power goes forward.. I shall investigate.. Cheers

Wow, a couple of great fish there, well done.. Was admiring that waterway when the wife and I went on an excursion to Mudgee a moth or so back, very veru nice area.

That's the funny thing Xero, Nope, wired like all other accessories, not direct off battery, and not constant either but even if it did, it shouldn't actually switch the radio on once power was turned on from the batteries ??.. It's wired like all the other accessories, feed off a fused box behind dash. I'll have to sit in there and properly Suss it out, I'm picking it's a faulty on/off switch on the actual radio, Dunno.. Only issue with it, is if I have had the radio on while tinkering in the boat, maybe listening to a bit of Mick Jagger on full volume 🙂, and don't wind back the volume before switching it off at the radio, next time up, simply switching batteries on down back, is met with a huge noise !!! Last time it was John Denver !!! very embarrassing..

Great day out by the looks anyways... Any kingie caught is always a great thing ...

Well, I'm calling it a gremlin of sorts... I rewired the boat myself during the rebuild, had an auto electrician check over everything during and after, so fairly confident all things are done Ok.. However, This dam gremlin keeps appearing. As soon as I switch the batteries on down back, my FM radio turns on automatically !!!..I mean, surely this isn't normal ? I go straight to the radio on off ( push button) and switch it off. Now I noticed the other day, this didn't happen, but all other times it will. It's got me baffled and thinking it's a radio issue, not the wiring itself, as once the battery switch is switched on, it feeds all accessories, every accessory runs thru a fuse box, or thru the main dash switch panel, ( all fused ). My marine radio does not do this, just my FM radio.. Probably not worth worrying about in all honesty, but there seem to be times that I'm idle and the whole idea of why keeps tormenting this simple mind of mine, thoughts anyone ??

Hi Triman, I think you'll find, that 5-6 years back, sewage escaped into the bay around coogee, due to tree roots damaging the sewage pipes and they also had a lot of pollution due to the high rain fall levels we had last year, via the storm water pipes, which will always be an issue after heavy rains. There's no sewage piped with direct outlets anywhere in the harbor, to my knowledge, but I think I'm safe in saying that. Like all other things, environmental factors always come into play, especially with storm water pipes. I'd would rather eat anything I caught, than take a gamble with some of the cheap food outlets that the poor students frequent !! 😁 Bring all your gear with you, I'm sure plenty of good folks here will steer you in the right direction, with regard to good fishing spots. The only warning I would give, if you catch a fish with that 3rd eye, right in the center of it's noggin, best not eat those, it's been an unsolved Sydney mystery for decades 😁 ( kidding). Oh, and welcome to the site.

Thanks Yowie, this recipe has been noted, will definitely be giving this a go. As far as the Salmon go, ever since I was a nipper, I was introduce to Smoked Salmon.. Split the filets, a generous dose of lemon juice and anything else that takes your fancy, into the fridge for a good few hours, then sprinkle brown sugar over the meat, into the smoker it goes. I had a heap of friends that didn't know what they were eating that regarded Salmon as bait and dog food, it sure changed most of there minds. I only have a small mobile type meths burning smoker, I intend to build a decent one, but rocks in the two meth bowls underneath, your favorite choice and flavor of the wood chips, normally as close to 30 minutes on the smoke, B-e-u-a-t-i-f-u-l...... Maybe because I was bought up on it, but ever since when I've served it up, it was gone before it had a chance to cool down...