Dezmo

I'm with some of the earlier posts. 4.2 ish metre tinny, tiller steer, brand new, unpainted, the deeper style (ala quintrex dory), 30-40hp motor, go for the wider gunnels if you can. I think that basic tinnies sell for too much second hand and that there is better value and peace of mind if you go with a brand spanker.

Recently went through the process and ended up with a Sales Trailer. All aussie and well priced too.

This is a very good deal and is a perfect all rounder for you starting out. If you were thinking of the estuary angler this will be more versatile and at 2/3 of the cost. Try and get it with the wide gunnells, many of the bustas seem to have these.

I had the same size dory for about 8 years and found it a great boat. You have to remember they are still a small tinny abd will bang when you drive them hard in chop but they would be miles in front of an old 12 footer. In that boat you could fish outside most days and I ventured to the closer fads in it on a number of occcassions. I'm not recommending it an an offshore boat, plainly it isnt, but i never felt unsafe in it in the harbour and once you get to know it you should have no issues taking it to sow and pigs any day you would want to be there. An old 25hp may be a little underdone however.

Buy a hull that you want and just sell the existing outboard. I did this recently and it worked out well. Just make sure you work out the market price of the outboard it comes with and sell it before you remove it from the boat.

thanks fellas nice to be know that i should get to tbe right spot. hopefully the fish are on...

Hi All, I'm trying to put to co-ordinates for the peak fad into my gps. The fisheries site shows them as: (18) Sydney East 33° 59.316' 151° 20.951' It wont let me put in a decimal place for minutes but requires seconds. Is this conversion right??? 33° 59'18" 151° 20'57" Would greatly appreciate if somebody could confirm i'm doing the right thing or point me in the right direction! Many thanks!

I've done something similar on my outboard, perhaps slightly smaller peice came off. Its been like that going on 3 years and I have never noticed any issues... I'd just file it a little and get back out there. You won't see or notice it when your using the boat.

Hi all, I have been considering the purchase of this engine but wanted to know a little more about them. Am a little concerned it might be light on power for the boat its pushing and its too far away for an easy test drive. Does anybody know where I might find the specs for it?? I know the current 40hp yam shares the same block as the 30hp but I had heard that the older 40hp was a detuned 50? Hoping this is the case! Anyone used one?? Would greatly appreciate anybody's help!! Cheers

I lauched there yesterday. The lifesavers launch a big surf cat there, but other than that it is almost exclusively used by smaller tinnys in good weather. It's open to the ocean and can cop a fair bit of swell at times. I suppose its a little like the longreef ramp, maybe a little more protected but lacks the beach to run your boat up onto. The guys who seem to do best there have 12 foot tinnys with smaller outboards and wheels on the transom. They pull the boats up them retrieve off the ramp. I love it but wouldn't launch there if: (a) your boat is fibreglass ( your boat is bigger than 14-15 feet © you will cry if you put a scratch or ding in your tinny... (d) you don't have a mate to help with the retrieval (e) it concerns you if a wave washes around the back wheels of your car... Using Malabar ramp is about the only time I wish my 420 dory was smaller rather than bigger!!

Thanks for the comments Huey and for the chat - thats just the info I wanted to know! The outboard is actually attached to a boat which is sitting on a trailer, the purchase is for the whole package second hand. I was hoping to use the value of the outboard as a bit of a guide to work out how much was being paid for the hull and trailer to work out whether its a good deal or not (if that makes sense).

A mate of mine is looking at buying a 2005 90 hp ETEC with about 300 hours on it. The service history is pretty limited but it has one(as they go 3 years without needing a service…). What do you think this would be worth? Do you think this would be a reliable outboard or is it getting to an age/hours where it is more likely to start having (possibly expensive) problems? Appreciate your wisdom and thoughts as always fishraiders!

I think you could do better, particularly considering the reel is second hand. I've not used one but heard very mixed reports on the okuma overheads. You can get the 24 kg backbone with a Shimano TLD 25 (much better reel in my view) for $308 online (in oz). No doubt you could do better with a bit of shopping around... If you do decide on an overhead with a roller tip backbone I'd be very cautious of using braid due to its propensity to catch in the roller. If your fishing for kings (and not gamefishing with it) I think you would be better off to get yourself a spinning outfit. I started with overheads also but prefer the spinning ones most times these days for kings. Have a look at the penn spinfisher combos, in the 950 or 850 size. Cheaps as chips these days, rods are a little on the heavy side but are tough will pull the heads of most kings. Your looking say $169 with a spinning reel or $209 with a jigging reel (i'd go for the jig). Keep and eye out for a spheros reel also - these are a solid spinning reel capable of pulling reasonable drag.

I don't know your circumstances, but you really want to go into debt for a boat? Can you save for a few more years or buy a smaller boat...

It looks like those skirts are a 7 inches long? These will get fish but if your trolling in close and getting mack tuna and bonito you will probably find at lower profile skirt which is maybe 4-5 inches will get more fish. Maybe consider running a mix of sizes if your not targetting a particular species.

Mate people in boats come near the rocks because thats often where the fish will be. Many boats troll lures along the headlands for this reason. Very few boats would expect a rock fishermans line to be 200m out from the rocks and if its this far from you it would be easy for the boatie not to see your float. I'm sure its frustrating but wouldnt take it personally mate.

Thanks for all of your replies. The rim doesnt look particularly corroded but what your saying definitely makes sense. Out with the tyre irons and steel brush it is then. Might see if repco has this black sealant stuff.

The boat's had a completely flat tyre for a few weeks. Before that it had a slow leak and I was just topping it up with the compressor before taking it out. Anyway, I got around to jacking it up and put soapy water all around the tyre. I was expecting to find a nail in the tyre tread but all I could see was small bubbles coming around from where the rim joins the tyre. Why would it be leaking from here? Do I need to reset the bead or something? What do you think?? Any ideas on what the problem is and how to fix it!? Cheers Ben

I've just moved to south maroubra from the northside. Know the harbour well but need to start from scratch in the bay... Its been way to long since my last fishing trip and I am gagging to get a couple of kings. Any ideas on good spot to catch live bait???? A heads up on this would be greatly appreciated!!

Good work, hope you have better luck with the big one next time. Spend a fair bit of time at port stephens but I have never fished the wreck at corlette. Would love to know where it is if you could help? Cheers

Is yours a frigate mackeral??

Thanks for all the replies guys and especially to tuffy for the generous offer of assistance!! Its a round axle, for some reason I was pretty sure it was tube rather than being solid... As suggested, I'll give it a bash to work out whether its solid. If its solid, I can probably afford to leave it until after summer!!

Hi All, My 420 dory is sitting on an unbraked 2002 model TMC trailer. The trailer is in reasonable nick but the axle is pretty rusty and starting to flake. Not sure how thick it is, but its got to the stage where I would like to replace it. I've not done this, the boat it at my parents place and I'm not really sure where to start... - where would I get the axle from? (I'm in Randwick, the boat is in Eastwood) - do you buy them with or without hubs? If buying without hubs is it difficult to fit the existing hubs? - are there axles you can get that are galvanised or otherwise treated to be more rust proof or can I fish oil it or similar to preserve? - hints or tips? PLEASE !! - The u-bolts securing the axle are pretty rusty and might be easier to cut off rather than undo. Where is a good place to get these?? I was hoping to do it this weekend (before my life is consumed by house renovations for a while). Greatly appreciated anybody who had done this or can refer me somewhere to source the axle. Cheers Ben

The Penn Spinfisher 950 is available in a combo with a reasonable glass spinning rod for under $200.00 delivered. For the money, I think you will find this unbeatable and you could comfortably run say 50lb braid on it. This would have the power to stop reasonable kings (unless they find something to bust you off on!) I have more overheads than spinning reels but I think you will find that the spinning reel is more versatile (i.e you can cast it) and much easier to use if your not used to overheads. Birds nests are not much fun and everbody gets these when you first start using overheads.

Don't mean to put a dampner on your find but I think it sounds a little pricy, particulary if you have to then spend money fixing it up. You could get a new tiller steer tinny package for the same size boat for about $8k. Great piece of mind knowing that your boat, motor and trailer is new and has a warranty. I dont think that a 2003 trailer is new for a trailer. My trailer was purchased in December 2002, is washed after every use but still needs a new axle.