Geoff

When you say "it struggles" do you mean hard to get onto the plane? If so , I dought a different prop will fix the problem but speak to people like Solas as they have very good information that may point you in the right direction. Have you tried weight distrubition , moving more weight up the front especially the two passengers? Personally , I would be leaning a Permatrim or Sport SE300 to give you more lift in the stern. Geoff

It's normally cut in half , horizontly . The top half has the eye , the bottom is the soft bit. Geoff

Unleaded or Premium. Do not use E10 as it has been known to stuff up the fuel system. Geoff

The top part (the eye) is quite firm & generally speaking is one bait , ie not necessary to be cut. The bottom section tends to be a bit mushey ( soft) & as such can be used but one bite & it's gone. Keep in mind , the outer skin is very tough & not available to most fish so whilst it's worth trying , don't expect miricles Geoff

At this time of the year , heading north is perhaps the best option. Pt Stevens is reasonably close , a little further Nth , consider Harrington , just past Taree , or Crowdy Head If South , Currarong or Bermagui. Geoff

Craig is the best guy to answer your post , but , in respect to your question, " or is there to be left over residue for lubrication purpose?" The answer is , yes. Geoff

I hit the submit button too quickly. Your photos do not show the complete rear deck , is there space available for the rod holders to be mounted through the deck?? , like the one shown on the left hand side of this photo. The alternative is to mount them inside the well & have cut outs in the bait board which allow access. Geoff

This may be of interest , inexpensive , easy to make. It's not necessary to glasss the unit , a good coat of varnish will do the job. There are slots at the rear to store knifs Mine is also removable , just lift it up at the end of the day & place it in the boat. Geoff Looking from the rear Looking from the front

The switch normally has 4 positions , Battery 1 , Battery 2 , Both , & Off. You should be able to start the motor or run the electrics from either battery. If you start the motor from , say , battery 1 then during the day want to switch to No.2 the switch is , 1 , both , 2. Ie , there is always power going to the electrics unless you turn the switch to the "Off" position. Geoff

Michael , See your PM's Geoff

The product your looking at is good value for money & I'm sure it will provide you with the required information. If buying from Bias , it comes with the Navionics Gold XL9 card or you can choose the C-Map . This makes it better value for money than some of the other models where you will get a few more "bells & whistles" but need to spend an additional $300 for the gold card. Geoff

Others have covered the main points , from my experience the three key aspects are , The trailer needs to be a "drive on" design Correct trailer depth , in the water , that best suits your boat, is very important Practice makes perfect , especially when the wind and or tide is pushing the boat side ways. Geoff

As Fab1 mentioned , the hubs & disc's are normally salvagable even if there is server rust on the disc. Take them to a brake place & for a few $$$ they can skim them bringing them back to a smooth surface. In respect to the bearings install what ever brand your happy with but even using the best available they will fail if the rear seal is not doing it's job , especially around the stub axle. Ensure this area is clean & free of any rust & no pitting. Geoff

If your talking about replacing the bearings or something similar , any mobil motor mechinic could do the job. Geoff

It maybe a case of trial & error . I suspect at speed there would be no water in the stepped area so if you raised it up there would be a lot of cavitation. Is there a problem at presant or are you just curious? Personally , I would have the cav plate lined up with the bottom of the hull , ie , the leval prior to the step or perhaps just above , pretty much where it is now. In respect to the step , I think is is just there for drainage via the bung , it certanilly is not large enough to have any effect on the boats performance. Perhaps it just seemed like a good idea on the day during the design process & to give the sales guy something to talk about Geoff

$25 !!! Bags of ice are normally well under $5.00 / bag. Do you take 5 or more bags on an outing?? There are quite a few options available. Check out the camping & caravan places , they sell a variety of portable freezers which can operate on either 12V , 24V or 240V Waeco & Engle come to mind but there are several others. Waeco claim their freezer will cool down to minus 30 degrees but not sure how long that takes. They can cost up to $600 which is a lot of money just for ice. If you are buying around 5 bags / trip these small portable would not , from a size aspect , be capable to provide that much ice I have a small freezer in the garage just for bait & ice. Buy 6 or so ice cube containers & have them frozen for your next trip. Also , plastic drink bottles filled with water & into the freezer is another cheap option but leave some ullage to allow space for expansion as the water freezers. Geoff

John Willimson has a record called , Cracker Night. If you come across it , listen to the words , it sums up the event as many of us oldies remember. Geoff

Slam354, Steve , I agree with your comments along with those from Fab 1 . I've been thinking of posting something similar but relating to posts , normally put up by new or infrequent users requesting assistance or advice. Members respond but frequently you do not see a response or even a brief thanks even though by clicking on the members name you can see they have been on the site recently & have most likely read the responses. From this experience I have progressively become reluctant to respond to posts from members who are infrequent visitors with only a few posts. Having said that , I appreciate new members have to start at post No. 1 but need to be conscious of the the common courtesy of replying. Geoff

I have one on my boat , it's great , as you say , no more wet feet but they are not cheap , if I recall correctly around $400. However , to gain the maxium benefit you must have a drive off / on trailer. There are other brands around , Boat Latch is one that comes to mind. I chose Boatcatch as I thought it was the better product. Geoff

One other point that comes to mind is correct brake adjustment. The normal or common practice is to adjust the bolt at the front , under the coupling however , as the pads ware the arm on the caliper that connects to the brake cable progressivly moves forward & on some trailers come in contact with the spring thereby preventing any more forward movement. Release the cable , under the arm there is a large SS bolt & lock nut. Release the lock nut , screw the bolt in untill the arm is approx 90 degrees to the caliper , ie facing the center of the boat. Tighten the lock nut , re connect the cable & make minor adjustment to the front adjustment bolt so the gap between the the coupling piston & the brake lever is around 2 - 3 mm. Geoff

It's not difficult but can be a bit time consuming. If the routers are rusty then that indicates the brakes are not actualy working & replacing the routers will not fix the problem. The problem is , the sleves on the caliper bolts have frozen preventing the pads to work properly. Release the tension on the brake cable then remove the two bolts holding the caliper. This may be easier said than done as the bolts tend to freeze in place & may require considerable effort to remove. Once removed , clean up the bolts , SS sleves & the housing then apply a liberal amount of marine greese ensuring they are moving freely. Check the pads , they may need replacing. They are Holden Torana pads available from most spare parts places. As for the rotors , if there is more than surface rust it's far less expensive to have them machined , rather than purchasing new routers. Geoff

Have a look at Bias , Cat No. 6398 , $139.00 Geoff

Is the motor a 2s or 4s. Either way , two months or even three will not be a problem with fuel. In respect to the injectors , have you spoken with the motor manufacture / agent to obtain their comments?? Geoff

Fished Bermie on Friday & Monday. Sea conditions were near perfect including good water temp of 23 degrees. The action was very slow , no livies at the regular spot off Horseshoe Bay. Trolled south to Cuttagee Beach , zero. Over the two days , fished various spots from Cuttagee , 4 mile reef & across to Camel Rock. Other than a few throw back reef fish & a couple of baby flathead most place had jackets which became a real pain after a while. Lost count of how many we caught , most were thrown back not to mention the rigs that were lost until I changed over to wire traces. Overall , two nice days on the water. We kept a few jackets but nothing else worth keeping. Geoff

Just returned from a 12 day tour of Vietnam & Thailand. No fishing but lots of other sites to see. If thinking about heading up that way PM me as I may be able to advise some usefull info. Geoff