greg123

Sorry one more thing... I thought SWB equated to lower tow capacities?... The 4.0L SWB Jeep wrangler can only tow about 1000kgs (just an estimate)

Thanks, So the Hilux will tow more? I thought the Hilux was rated to the same if not less than the Prado. I also had a look at the Jeeps but came to the same conclusion. The other vehicle I considered was the VW toureg which is rated to 3500kgs but only has a 3.2Lv6 (base model) so I thought it would be underpowered. Plus It's more a softroader than 4x4. So in terms of the differences between the Prado 4.0 and 3.0D4D for towing? Any comments?

Hi I'm in the same boat at the moment but have a slightly more specific question... Currently I tow a 19ft fibreglass vickers with 200 2 stroke yammy with an 80 series cruiser running the standard 4.5L straight 6 and manual trans. The cruiser does it very well, however as it its pretty old and has done 270,000 it doesnt have some of the safety features I would want etc. So I'm looking for a tow vehicle that has the modern equipment, can do some half decent off roading should I want to in the future and a good resale between 25 and 40K. The obvious choices are the 100series v8, the 120 prado 3.0TD and the prado 4.0 Petrol and maybe a 3.0td patrol (But I'd prefer the landcruiser) (I also prefer wagon to ute) The weight details are...I think the boat is 1400kgs + motor of 150kgs + trailer of 320kgs + fuel of 200kgs + other bits of about 150kgs = say 2.25T to be safe. My question is: Has anyone had experiences towing large amounts with any of these vehicles? Or could recommend any others? After some research the Prado3.0TD and Cruiser v8 petrol seem to be the top contenders. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Greg

Cheers, Thats the sort of advice I was looking for. I generally do stick with going for the best quality I can afford rule when it comes to fishing/boating but every now and then you hear stories of the odd low cost alternative working out in the long run and was hoping to hear of some products like that but I didn't have high hopes. Where do you store your rods when they aren't in the rocket launcher? Thanks, Greg

Thanks, I have contacted Garry and about rocket launchers and have no doubt he and his company's work is top quality but unfortunately custom launchers were a bit out of budget for something that just stores rods only while underway, which is why I was looking for a cheaper and maybe more appropriate alternative.

Sorry I think that link may have been blocked: If you want to view the bait board just search 'stainless steel bait board' on the obvious online auction site.

Hi I'm looking for a way to store game rods while they are not in use while the boat is being towed and when in the water. I think my options are: 1 - The obvious rocket launcher: but I would have to take the rods out when towing anyway plus they seem fairly costly (for a decent quality one). What are the other advantages of having a rocket launcher other than building some sort of t-top into it? 2 - A stainless bait board with a few rod holders (I was thinking of attaching lanyards to all the rods while not in use in the trolling rod holders: The issue I have with these is that they seem to only come with 3 holders and I plan on storing 6 game rods, plus the other lighter rods: 3 - Some sort of rod rack bolted to the rear to hold them 4 - Horizontal storage racks on each gunnel - however i find it annoying getting the rods in and out of there as the seats get in the way of the longer ones. Might be ok for the game rods though. *Underfloor storage isn't an option as my fuel tank takes up most of that space and the rest is a cabin. I've seen some pretty good ideas/designs by raiders over the years and was wondering if anyone has a clever but inexpensive solution to storing rods or might be able to give me some important 'do's and dont's' Cheers, Greg

Hi, I may be heading to Forster in a few weeks hoping to catch the end of the game fishing season. Can anyone give me some info about this location in relation to game fishing? Is it the same as sydney? or are there different locations/depths to consider? I'm not asking for specifics just anything I should know to make my trip a bit more enjoyable. Cheers, Greg

I think I'll be getting a GPS one on board, anyone have any recommendations or are they all the same?

Tim, I've made a base for the drum and have the drum strapped to the gunnel. So far has been very solid as the stern doesnt move around that violently in swell and the lid is rubber sealed to prevent any splashes. Also I've made it so the overflow is at about 50L so thats about 50kg of weight creating friction between the base and the deck so that stops the bottom sliding around at all (so far). My only complaint is the space it takes up on my deck but I guess given the choice between this or paying 600+ dollars for a custom made space efficient one I'd stick with my current set-up. Cheers

Is it a GPS EPIRB? I remember reading something about that on the AMSA site (or whatever that organisation is called) and came to the conclusion that GPS EPIRBs would result in a much shorter rescue time than the normal one which I have as it all depends on when the satellites pass overhead. Could anyone clarify this? I sure as hell don't want to be sitting in the water for 10 hours, especially as by this time it will be dark and I'll have to spend a night in the drink until they can start searching at daybreak. Cheers

Cheers Brett, haha those bases were the first thing i noticed in your photo. I've heard to stick with the relaax bases no matter what. 800 bucks is a pretty good price, I've had a look online and have found heaps around that price but they seem to vary in quality. Also your storage method is swaying me further towards the telescopic models. I've seen a couple in a store and it seems like any issues with them not staying up could be fixed fairly simply (well the ones I saw seemed that way at least) Can anyone out there with a trailer boat and non-telescopic outriggers comment on storage? Greg

Yeah I know they aren't the best but since I wanted the reel, the rods were essentially free and wondered if I could improve them. The only thing is I'm not sure what the core is like. Brett, PM sent

Hi, I've bought some medium game combos (one with a TLD 25 and the other TLD 20)and they came with shimano aquatip rods. I'm not too sure on how good these rods are to begin with but the reel and rod combo was actually cheaper than buying the reel by itself (go figure). Anyway, one aquatip has a roller tip and then normal guides, the other has normal guides the whole way. I would like to, if possible, change the standard guides to rollers or at least the tip of one to a roller (assuming the rods are worth doing this to in the first place - please let me know if they're not. If anyone has done this themselves any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Greg

Thanks for the help mate, unfortunately I was planning on a dollie sesh the day after I posted that so headed to the homebrew store after work and picked one up for 75 bucks...oh well works perfectly and is still much cheaper than the 200 dollar alternatives in some boating stores

Hi all, I'm in the market for some good quality outriggers for a 19ft boat. The other day I saw some telescopic ones on a fairly serious looking game boat (about 25ft) that was moored. I'm assuming they wouldnt be some cheap poor quality ones as the boat was pretty well geared up and have seen this boat heading out offshore almost every weekend. So my question is: Does anyone know of what make/model these may have been (or anything similar). I dont want any cheap and nasty ones that are going to break/corrode any time soon. Also, for anyone with some experience selecting outriggers for a boat this size (19ft), what do you recommned? I've seen some 11ft ones on the market but aren't too sure if they're long enough to be worth it. The reason I was looking at the telescopic varieties is that it's a trailer boat and obviously cant be towing around a boat with outriggers sticking up another 10-15ft above the boat. However, I'm not sure how good this type actually is. Cheers, Greg

Hi, I have a 20ft vickers with 200hp yammy v pro and am getting into some game fishing, usually we are a crew member short so we're looking for a third crew member to help out (preferably someone who knows a bit about game fishing but a standard level of boating/fishing knowledge will do). We have an adequate amount of gear and lures etc on board but if you'd like to bring your own that would be great! Fuel costs etc will have to be split evenly among everyone on board (as I'm a student on a budget) Please send me a PM if you're interested Cheers, Greg

Hi raiders, I'm interested in joining the SGFC but am unsure of how to go about it. Are any raiders members? If so any advise would be greatly appreciated! Greg

Thanks thats a good point. I was considering one of those fuel bladders, but I have heard some negatives about them.

The current tank runs as far back towards the transom as possible all the way to the bulkhead where the cabin begins, I'm not sure how deep the two underfloor sections are either side of the main tank though. That could be an option but I don't think there would be that much depth in those areas. I was thinking of somehow getting a tank for the front storage area under the seat in the cabin (right at the bow). It could probably hold about 50-60L but I'm worried that it may be a bit too much weight at the bow. Has anyone made up some kind of jerry can rack either side of the deck?

Hi Raiders, I thought I'd put this to you guys as I know theres a lot of people out there with really great ideas on this sort of thing, I've just started heading offshore a decent distance and am having troubles with fuel storage. I'm running a 200hp yammy 2 stroke V Pro on a 5.7m Vickers easyrider. The outboard uses just under 1L per Km (in offshore conditions) but I would like to assume 1L per km to be on the safe side. I have a 100L (or thereabouts) under floor tank but I think I would use about 150-170L for a full day offshore (about 30-40kms offshore) plus 20kms to boat ramp and finding bait etc = 120-140kms. I would also like to carry about 50L as spare if conditions demand higher rpm. My question is... How would you recommend I store the extra 100L? At the moment I'm using Jerry cans sitting near the transom but I'm hoping there is a more space efficient way of storing fuel.

Thanks! That's exactly what I was talking about. Cheers for the quick reply, I need to finish my livey tank project before the weekend.

Hi Raiders, I was just wondering if anyone could quickly tell me if they know where to get those large buckets with screw on lids (about 40L i think) that most people seem to use as livey tanks when they're making a homemade livey system. I'm fairly sure this question has been asked before but I couldn't seem to find the right topic from a couple of years ago. If anyone else has any other suggestions (that are fairly cheap) that would be a great help. Cheers

I stood on one a few weeks ago in about 20cm of water right next to the sand in spring cove, hurt like hell! That was just a small one, cant imagine what a big one would feel like. Either way, last time i'll be wondering in the shallows without a second thought (although i always look out for the proper rays with barbs)

Well done batty! Were you using live bait as well? I've heard they take diving lures also, is this common? If so what sort of lures do they like? I've got some small to very large x-raps of varying colours.