fisherdad

We were fishing just outside botany last year and saw something in the water. Moments later the whale surfaced giving us all a scare. We have been following a few this year and I have a theory. Whales don't hit boats, boats hit whales I also believe they are very intelligent and for a bit of fun they play scare the fisherman surfacing near still boats to scare the humans. If I was a whale I certainly would

It happens There is no other way to say it. When you break down at sea and yet still get yourself home under your power, it's a good day. My Bertie is 30 years old and we have those days too even after checking everything again and again things still unexpectedly break. After every things goes wrong it's better than a day at work.

Lots!!!!!!!!! My mercruiser 165 x 2 cruise 45 l/h wot. 65 l/h that's about 1.5 l per mm cruise the weight of the boat will have a lot to do with it the easiest way to calculate average is fill it reset the gps then go for a run then fill it again remember conditions and load make a big difference

Found this website after hearing about it fron Sydney ports on the VHF so took the time to check it out. There are many good sites for weather like seabreeze, bom etc but I found this one easy to read and to know how big the waves are at the moment off Sydney http://wavewindtide.sydneyports.com.au/wave/weather_original.asp

Thanks Anthony It was worth the distance

Can I ask if you hooked that monstor off Sydney as I spent all day Friday looking for him

Setting up basis manual master switch. I prefer the basic Swich 1, both or 2 as they are trouble free. Don't get me wrong the advanced management systems are good but in the case of a trailer or small moored boat simple is easy of it's in a marina the needs change. Simple set up connect your motor positive to the common on the switch connect one battery to one battery pole and the other battery to the other pole as most motors won't charge 2 well batteries at the same time, use and charge one at a time and alternate between batteries on each trip you could also do it on the negative side but imost people use the positive side remember to make good connections and solder crimps and grease all battery terminals most important never mix up positive and negative and always make good connections or pay the price

Keep your battery terminals clean it ensures a good connection so your battery will charge, just because it starts does not always mean it is getting a good connection to charge. When clean use plenty of marine grease to seal them from the salt or the battery acid that comes up the post causing corrusion. Charge your batteries using a good multi stage charger to maintain a good deep charge and minimise sulphation. Anternators on boats are not that good and can really only charge one battery at a time. Buy a 12v pie walker and enjoy a hot lunch on a cold day. You won't have an issue with the batteries as you maintain them. Install a 2 battery system in your boat using a master switch and switch between them each trip. It will save you one day

Thanks

Thanks for the correction now the big question striped tuna bait or dinner

Given the weekend weather was going to be so good I took the Friday off work to avoid the carpark. Son had he day off schol as he had finished exams and it took almost no effort to get a mate to take a day off work as well. Left the Marina at 5am heading for the bait grounds, got bored within about 10 mins and headded outside. (Probably should have persisted.) Cleared the Botany Heads and it was a bit lumpy but it was predicted to calm down latter in the day. Got to the first Botany fad and no one there, not even the Dollies we had hoped for. Started to Drift and Cube then less than 5 mins an almighty run and run and run. 150m of line later it slowed and we all had high hopes for a stray king. A short time later we were a little dissaponted to land a Albacore. Watched a guy hook a small marlin so we got the lures out again and begun trolling again a few passes later we headded off he Botany Wide Fad. On the way we hooked many Albacore some 60cm that really didnt like comming near the boat and kept running away. Nothing at the wide fad so up to 12 mile then back to the Botany close fad were it was flat as, what a great day and time for a beverage. Well more Albacore up to about 10 by now and not a dollie yet. One of them came up with a hole in its side about 10mm deep, any thoughts. Back at 4pm ollowing a great day, my mate caught the largest fish he has ever caught must have taken 15 mins to get this bugger into the boat on the light gear. It was certainly worth the day off work to avoid the congestion. Well it looks like I need to convince my wife Albacore is not cat food. Were are the Dollies and can someone please suggest a good live bait ground.

Sent you a pm

You were lucky with the fuse but sounds like you have a water pump problem although 13 hrs is not a lot . Have you run the motor without water as that will burn the impeller out qicker than most realize. Check the tell tale is clear with something like a paper clip. You can also check places like were the exhaust comes out for warm water. Be careful and don't put it in gear if you like your fingers. If you can't clear the tell tale hole and confirm you have a good supply of water through your engine you will need to see someone like Huey it will be cheaper than blowing it up

If you want to stay with the gease type be sure you purchase the hub seals that sit stationary on the axle and spin within the stainless sleve supplied. Timken make these and are available at supercheap as well. Forget the type that rub against your rusty axle simply no good for a boat. I would also suggest grease them up at the start of each season and check mid season. A rainy day is a better time to find out you have an issue than the way you found out . Good idea to carry a spare set like you did if your boat does not have brakes it's an easy job

Hope the trip to wot wot helped if not the trim works ok now I guess as the fuse fixed that when toy turn the key and get a clicking sound does it sound like the blinkers on your car or is it deeper and louder if you see the battery cable going to your starter solonide is that's what's clicking if so that's good silly question how do you know the battery is charged I would suggest either trying a battery you know is good or see if the boat battery will start your car, confirm it's truly charged Pm me or fisherboy if I can help

A mate of mine did the same is there any power to the engine controlls trim etc. If no you may have just blown the fuse like he did follow the large red wire fron your battery to the starter then follow the power supply wire to your controlls you hopefully will find a blown fuse. Replace the fuse after checking/replacing the fuse see if you have power to the engin in any way start, trim etc. If it was the fuse like my mate you may be lucky and have power and fingers crosseed it will start. If it starts you will need to check the charging system is not damaged do this by hooking a multimeter to the battery while running the engine you should be able to rev the engine and get around 14 volts. If it runs and charges buy a lottery ticket you are lucky if not off to someone like Huey good luck

Abot 2 years ago we took our new 17 ft half cabin onto the bay it was the first time in many years back in a boat. Botany bay lived up to it's reputation and a rain squall came in that bad we could not see the shore except for kurnell. We began to cruise Bach in the direction we believed to home to be( back towards Tom ugleys) we ended up coming accross a cardinal marker we were not expecting to see. By now we could not see shore yep botany had turned it on. We pulled out the map and worked out a compas bearing for the marker we were looking for going slowley. 20 mins later we were were we wanted to be next week purchased a gps not that's it's needed but it's safer when you know were you are and were home is and how to get there also handy in the dark

Having had our 30 year old Bertram since April we have had it out of the water twice for anti foul. The hull is going ok but we need to think about some of the patches that are pealing off, that's a seperate issue as all it needs is bead blasting. Out larger issue is the legs, we have had them done twice first time ok secont time barnicales appeared within 2 months. Has anyong had good results with antifouling their legs, I have heard you can bring in products from the states that last longer pm if you need to but I am sure I am not alone withthis issue David

Launch at either huskisson in the creek or callala bay are both good. Murrays is also a good ramp but a strange set up and I did not like it and when busy it's nut fun. Lots of no fishing areas, get a map or pay the penalty. Lots of good fishing spots like middle ground. Watch the weather and don't follow me as we will propbabl only catch a cold on Sunday . David Tangles 2

Yes the tides are fairly large at the moment. On wednesday we were watching the afternoon rush to put boats back on their trailers at a popular south coast ramp at low tide. One gentelman was driving his boat to the back of the trailer when 20 ft from the trailer he ran aground in ankle deep water, truly a low tide. The amusing thing was he backed up and then tried for a second time, just a bit quicker and was surprised when he ran aground then. If it was not for his mate telling him to trim the motor up and walk it in I believe he would have gone for a third. Yes watch the tides as they are fairly big and low at the moment

We are setting off in a few days from Sydney bound for Jervis bay and a what should be a good week of fishing. I have exhaused most options for purchasing fuel except for a jerry can run to and from the wharf as moored boats are hard to get to a garage. If any one knowe were you can buy Petrol at Huskisson, Callala Bay etc it would be appreciated or it looks like jerry cans will be the go.

Don't do it. In our last boat we had the removable type, nothing but problems with curosion in the terminals, tried everything

Sounds like many of our trips in the georges. Can I reccomend port hacking, there are no more fish but you get to watch people with expensive boats dredge the waterway deeper. You can always tell a dredge driver, he is the Person who thinks channel markers look pretty

You will need to start with some maths to know what you are able to achieve. You divide the Watts of the light to give you the current draw (Amps) 55w Halogen draws 4.58 amps. So a 50 Amp Hr battery will be dead flat in less than 10 hrs. Warning running Lead Acid batteries too flat kills them. 100w Halogen draws 8.3 amps twice the watts twice the current. If you purchase a Internal Balasted HID you will get more light but at half the amps but the lights are $250 ea. LED worklights are great as they produce good light (Not quite the same as Halogen) at a low current draw but your looking at $250 ea. To charge the battery you will need a charger, buy a good multi stage charger not a $25 special. The big question is how much light you need to attract squid and I cant help with that, I use $20 notes.

I have noticed that there are a many small flybridge crusier owners on Fishraider and thought I would start a topic specific to these boats. As the owner of a 1980 Bertram 25 with twin 165's there are plenty of repairs needed and I thought I could share a few of them as well as seek assistance from other boat owners. We are looking to modify our Bertram 25 to include a longer bow roller and include a Plough Anchor. What I havent found is suitable parts to make the job simple. Has any one added a bow Sprit to a round nose boat like a Bertram 25, Photos would be apriciated.