DarkHorse

G'Day Crew, Recently had my boat "package" serviced as a whole. Obvious things are engine, electricals on boat, but had to ask to service the trailer. Bearings have constantly thrown grease/emptied since day one. Supposedly the bearings were replaced under warranty, only to find that no work had been done. Unfortunately I have dunk the trailer and wheels when launching/retrieving the boat. It is a Stacer (telwater) trailer with yum cha bearing buddies. I use the red rubber caps during driving but have been told to remove them during launching/retrieving so that water drains out. I would love to remove the yum cha buddies and find the BEST bearings/covers on the market even if they cost $$ and maintain them from scratch. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Rob

Gday Crew, Hoping you can help. I want to lubricate the steering arm and the pivot on my engine. Which grease should/do I use? I purchased some blue marine grease to do the wheel hubs, I assume it is different? The steering arm had a red colour grease, which quickly gums up and goes black/dark grey with use. The pivot grease seems very fine and clear?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Rob

Great post. Sounds ALL TOO familiar to me. Exactly how every one of my trips ends. Extreme effort for no return. Oh well an experience none the less, great friends and wonderful scenery. Lucky with the caravan/car. Dad being a truck driver, I asked him what do you do when the trailer/boat/caravan starts to sway. The best thing is to actually accelerate, pulls the trailer etc straight! You ALWAYS get some moron that cant stand being behind someone and they will always overtake or squeeze in at the worst possible time. Even with your average car/4WD and boat being close to 4 tonne in total, it takes a while and effort to stop! I hope he did mess his pants! Luckily everyone walked away unscathed, thankfully. The old birds nest, had heaps of those in the past. Very frustrating, more so when you cant get them out and you have to revert to cutting the line. Regards, Rob. P.S. Tony, I will post the items today!

Brett, Just noticed your post. I have the Stacer 439 Barra Elite, VERY similar boat (made in same factory) but the poor mans cousin to the quintrex. Having the minn kota as well at the bow, I was using the battery in a battery box on the floor, a real pain. Boat went in for a recent service, so I asked them to run wiring from the rear of the boat to a minn kota plug at the front near the electric. Asked them to put the 130amp electric battery in the rear left battery compartment and the smaller cranking battery in the rear right. Ended up having to do it myself, but works perfectly, nicely balanced and batteries both secure and I think the strongest part of the boat. Did not bother with VSR's etc. Cranking battery is charged via engine, maintained at home with charger. Electric battery is also maintained/charged with charger at home. I could probably post some pictures if you want. Good luck with it all. Regards, Rob

What a bummer iceman. Electrics/cranking battery ok? Maybe collapsing cell??? Although you did say running rough on the muffs. (oops just noticed the 15Hp bit, so probably no cranking battery ) I recently emptied 40L of premium unleaded from my tank. Had been sitting for about 8 weeks. Smelled ok (been told if it smells like varnish, ditch it immediately). I only ever put in 98 octane. Anyway after trying to siphon the fuel out the old fashioned way and getting a stomach/mouth full of fuel, decided to remove the fuel line to the engine and used the priming bulb to pump out the fuel. The stomach of fuel immediately made me vomit, not pretty Ended up buying some Sta-Bil, put that in the tank first and filled up with 98 again. Used half a tank recently, so filled it up again yesterday in anticipation of going out this morning. How was the weather? Forecast was supposed to be winds from the north at 25km/h?? Good luck with removing the fuel, checking the carby and the plugs. Regards, Rob

Awesome Trung, nice catch and well done releasing the big girl. I dream of catching a 70cm+ flatty. Thinking of heading out first thing in the morning to have a go. Winds are expected to increase 15-20 kts overnight though Whereabouts is a a good spot in the bay to flick plastics for flatties?? Looks like you were using flick baits? Regards, Rob

Fezza, I hear you. Bloody sick of this weather, driving me insane...............

Awesome post as always Hodgey, just wished I had read it before heading down. Spot on with what I experienced. Follow up posts have some great info as well. Thanks. Rob

G'Day Slinky, Thank you very much for your reply. I am off to the service centre's today. Hopefully all will be good. I am certain that with your fantastic posts about "home" servicing I could do it myself just need the confidence. I have two ABU 6500C overhead reels here which I no longer use, one is missing a screw for the level wind but other wise are in good condition if you are interested in restoring them for yourself? Let me know. Kind regards, Rob

G'Day Crew, I know that Shimano have a service centre in Sydney (need to find address) but do Daiwa? The shimano needs to be serviced, has a "tick" at the same point in handle rotation and the left handle thread is stripped (note dont lend out gear). The Daiwa's are both about 1 year old and have not been professionally serviced. I might sell both Daiwa's and stick with Shimano, easier to get serviced? Note, I ALWAYS, ALWAYS lightly rinse the reels after use, oil the roller/handle bearings, wipe them dry and spray a light coating of Innox on the exterior. They look like new, but I like to keep my gear in top condition and dont have the confidence to do it myself. I also just purchased some Cal's grease and Oust oil, thinking of "servicing" them myself, but getting hold of gear,washers, thread replacements would be difficult?? Regards, Rob

G'Day Crew, I have had structure scan now since release here in Oz. Matched up with a Lowrance HDS-7. I find that I use the SS more than the "normal" sounder, mainly in down scan. The detail and information is amazing once you get an idea of what it is telling you. You can very clearly see submerged timber, rocks and obstructions such as old oyster leases. It uses a higher frequency 455/800 and the detail will amaze you. I am still learning how to use it effectively, really only use it for depth and enjoy watching the screen. It is only for "shallow" water and was really designed for fresh water fishing in the states. I have not really used the side scan that much, either the area's I have fished are quite devoid of "structure" or I am not reading it right. I found on a recent trip that when using it on left/right it appeared to just mirror the image, that is if some structure was on the left of the boat, it showed it as being on the right also.............. The HDS 5/7 are cumbersome to use, a lot of button pressing for menu changes etc. the 8/10 have quick menu options on the front of the unit, but cost BIG $$$$. Has it helped me catch any more fish? CERTAINLY NOT! Then again I wasnt catching any BEFORE either, LOL. I just cant help myself when it comes to having toys and gismos. Just like the new I-Pilot from Minn Kota............... Is it worth the $$$, I really cannot comment. It is a nice to have, not a need to have in my situation. As they say a fool and his money............ just like the I-Pilot................... Regards, Rob

Alex, As slinky mentioned both reels are fantastic, top of the line. Another thing to consider is how it will feel on your particular rod, even though one may weigh more than the other, it may balance out a longer rod........ In these times of strong AUD-US$ I know a lot of people including myself cannot resist the US pricing, so makes it hard to actually get a hands on feel for the reel, surprisingly it can make a big difference in your decision! I have other top of the line Daiwa's and Shimano's (japanese market) and to be brutally honest have found the Daiwa's smoother to operate, but the Shimano easier to cast. Good luck and enjoy either way. Regards, Rob

Jet01, I hear you about the empty wallet. Same thing with my Stacer Barra Elite, service on the engine, move the cranking battery, install plug and wiring for electric motor, modify the boat cover going to be big $$$ Unfortunately I do not have a Jew Jar, thus I am looking at having to buy the item I want from overseas to try and save some dollars. Sounds like a great setup, enjoy the shimano! Regards, Rob

G'Day Crew, I am thinking about getting another aquarium and keeping Oz natives, such as bass. I had 2 6 foot aquariums years ago, which I kept sailfins, molly's etc. I did a search, it seems St George Aquariums seems the place to go. Anyone else here keep bass? Tips on setups, other really good forums to visit? Look forward to the replies! Regards, DarkHorse

Fezza, Very Nice! It has been very well looked after! I hope she brings you many safe and memorable trips. Tight lines and plenty of fish. Just out of interest I couldnt see any Mecury stickers on the engine cowl, does she have a cover? I was doing an online shop search looking for vinyl stickers for my boat and quite a lot of people do nive Mercury Stickers............... I bet you cant wait to take her out and giver her a run! Regards, Rob

Netic, Welcome back, even though I cant remember who you are! Just to fill you in whilst you have been away, I still havent caught ANY fish, I am the resident non catching fisher person. Tight lines for this weekend, hope the boat is ready for a dunking Regards, Rob

Awesome thanks slinky! Can you please post some links on here on by pm where to get the permalub and oil? I thought the little inspection hole on the left side of the reel was for putting oil inside, as I understand it oil and grease dont work well together? I have the shimano and two daiwa's that need a service, what was your postal address again???? Regards, Rob

G'Day Hodgey, Is that the lake "on the other side"?? We wondered about the lake when driving in and out of town and wondered why we never seen any boats in it. Did the council open it up as well? We go months without rain then ALL at once! I have 5 days off coming up, very tempted to head down, hopefully the conditions will have improved! Regards, Rob

G'Day John, Sorry to see the boatshed under water (again). Hope you had enough time to get everything high and dry................... I am already missing the bacon and egg sanger for breakfast and fantastic coffee! Very sad to hear about the dolphin, please keep us informed of the outcome, I hope it wasnt one of the resident lake dolphins. HAve they been sighted in the lake still or "escaped" to freedom? Regards, Rob

Who's the you da man, who's the man you da man! Yay for slinky, finally cracked the elusive jack of spades.............. It is funny how it works, just going to be an average fishing session or so you thought and whooska. Well done mate. Can't wait to see the next one. Regards, Rob

Fantastic read and awesome pictures! What a magnificent fish, $5000 to boot! Did you keep the fish and eat it later??? I am sure next visit the in laws will be waiting for you to get off the plane, hand you a rod and say lets go........ Reagrds, Rob

Congrats on landing and releasing the big girl! Must have been a adrenalin rush seeing her come to the surface, and very scary getting the net under her! Great to see you both had a great session. Stay safe and tight lines. Rob

Thanks for the replies! Part of the problem on that particular outing was the drag not being tight and the other was I was not really expecting a bream to hit the lure. Also I was only using 6lb leader. I upped it to 10lb that night. I couldnt get a hit the next day.......... The adrenalin rush was awesome, the best so far when fishing. I am literally addicted to it. Not too sure where there are any decent oyster racks that hold good bream in Sydney though?? Regards, Rob

Hey Roberta! Surprisingly it didnt really hurt. The actual trebbles are quite small/thin. Maybe I should send a picture to shimano and see if it is a record! I couldnt believe how quickly the PX45F disappeared. I dont mind losing a lure under those circumstances, better than just a snag. Lost a few SX40's as well to the racks. Trust me there will be BIG hi 5's and lot's of pictures, maybe even a full page add/picture in the Daily Telegraph!

HOLY COW! Wow Hodgey, when you said that you had a bit of rain you weren't wrong. I was just showing the missus your pictures and to see such a massive difference in less than a week is amazing. I just can't believe it. It is so hard to comprehend. I hope everyone is ok and the damage is not too bad for the cafe etc. Did you have much warning of the rising levels to get things to higher and drier ground? Going to have to book another trip after it settles. Cant wait to show the difference to the children! Let me know if you need anything. Regards, Rob