Not much fun. Strong wind blowing the sand around makes soft sand even softer

 Well as I reported earlier my 225 Yamaha experienced a total ECU failure despite being fully e capsulated and showing no external signs of  corrosion or damage.  Yamaha's response to the issue was less tha  lukewarm, to quote, they are normally reliable ......they might indeed be but with only 307 hours surely this is highly indicative of a latent defect ....a one off maybe but a defect all the same.  Add to the issue is the fact that you cannot replace the ECU without replacing all of the existing gauges as the new ECU is incompatible....doubling the cost of repairs.  Sorry Yamaha but your "Legendary Reliability " has been tarnished.

On the one plus side, a huge shout out to site sponsor  Chivers Marine for a brilliant repair job......I couldn't be  happier with the work they did covering the holes left in the dash when installing the new single gauge....see the photos below

Did anyone get caught out?

Wind swung from a mild 10 knot south westerly to a northerly that gusted to 37 knots over a 20 minute period.

I had a mate on the beach on the inside of garden island. I texted him at 1:30 to watch for the north westerly but suggested it wouldnt be too bad. By 2 it was absolotuely pumping at work and he called to say they were headed in. they had managed to keep the boat off the beach (it had swung 120 degrees to the wind shift) and they had put on life jackets for the way back to woodies. 

I sat and watched the woodies camera looking for them and noticed plenty of boats coming in. 

 Gday ladies and gents,

So I've had a look on the search tab with no recent results... I'm just after people's experiences with all the deck wash pumps on the market these days! I don't mind spending a bit extra to get one that does the best job and lasts but I have no experience in the last ten years using them so don't know the current trends in regard to performance/quality.

thanks in advance for any help!

Just been down and got a few occy on the reef during low tide for the first time.

Has anyone tried cooking them in a pressure cooker . ?

I have tried cooking a few times using various methods but always seem to come out tough. Has anyone got a sure fire way to cook them without ending up like boot laces .

 Helped a fishwrecked members father with a liability claim against his motor repairer's (read destroyers) who misplumbed the coolant hoses destroying a Cummins diesel. Been dragging on for months but after some intervention was settled just before Christmas. Was taken out today by way of thanks......the dhuies were smiling, this wasn't the best but a,stunning fish all the same. Thanks and I have changed the location data to somewhere in the USA so don't bother looking .....never  relalised this was an issue but apparently it is 

Anyone who has an electric motor with spot lock or an anchor winch, why did you go with one over the other?  Or has anyone changed from one option to the other and why?  Trying to decide which way to go for a 6.7m Glass boat. 

Appreciate any insight or experience people have to help me decide. 

cheers  

 Hi guys,

Ive noticed the recent thread regarding new boat windscreens but didnt want to hijack the thread, so,

Awaiting the arrival of the new tub in the next few weeks just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a perth based company to supply me with a custom centre console windscreen?

Unsure if they can do these out of glass as i want it curved around the 3 sides of the console but also want a quality job done.

Thanks for any help in advance! cheers

Went for a fish late arvo on the incoming tide.  Only had 1 hit and landed it . Few nice feeds on the way but not sure of species it Is. Have got them before so I know the taste is good .

The damn wind is a pain. Got down to spoil bank for a bit of a bash. Hooked and beached another 10 foot saw fish but no pics and ended up with a queenie that went around 800 which was released to fight another day

Happy New year all, 

I'm about to embark on replacing the perspex windscreen and side windows as the previous windscreen had a small mishap.  The perspex I've taken out is 3mm and as super loose in the channel.  The channel itself has a 5mm gap, so I'm thinking of increasing to 4.5mm Polycarb as a replacement for a bit more strength and durability.  The issue with this is trying to find a rubber seal that will facilitate this, which I dont' think exists. 

Has anyone done this before and share any thoughts?  The way i see it my options are 1. use 4.5mm and seal with sika or similar, or stay with 3mm which will be able to be accomodated with a 5mm seal. 

Any advice appreciated. 

cheers 

The time has come to replace the tyres on my VX Prado 265/60/R18.

Current tyres are the stock Dunlop AT22 rated 110H. Do not have any complaints of them, and they have been fine both around the city and when I have taken the car offroad... but thought I'd consider my options. Most of my driving is city based, with some longer distance touring, towing/launching the boat and some offroad (mainly sand/beach) driving thrown in. Along with safety, and as long as the tyre is reasonable offroad, I'll prioritise low noise and fuel effeciency over greater capability in tough and muddy 4wd terrain (I'd rarely do this).

Yokohama Geolander AT GO15 seem to be popular and have reasonable reviews online. However, for the VX Prado with 18" wheel size the Go15's come in 110H and 119S versions... while different shops have given different reccomendations. So currently trying to decide which version to go with, or maybe just stick to what I have (if it aint broke don't fix it). I understand the 119S have greater load carrying capacity, which some have suggested would be beneficial because I tow the boat, but I'm not sure I really need this when the stock AT22 110H performed without any issues.

I know tyres are a big can of worms and everyone has their brand aand model preferences... but thought I'd see if anyone here has any experience with the 18" Gelonader GO15's and whether they went the 110H or 119S... and why?

I'm also keen for any opinions or expertise on what the real world difference is between 110H and 119S tyres from the same manufacturer and is the higher load rating that beneficial to towing a 1.5T boat... plus what do you give up for this?

 A huge thank you goes out to Uncle, your gift of the reels to my grand sons was wonderful and they have welcomed them with glee.

Thank you Graeme

 Wishing all the members, would like to be members and onlookers in a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Can the next one be better than the last one is all we ask.

This one has been a bit of a prick health wise for me so anything of an improvement will be very welcome

 G'day lads,

Getting an ally canopy built at the moment. I want a dual bat set up with all the fruit. I'll get a slimline lithium battery that will sit on a diesel tank that is the full width up the front of the canopy about 500mm high and 150mm deep if that makes sense. I want to mount all the electrical carry on on and above the tank.

Throw your ideas my way for the good gear to get and the best way to set it up.

Also not sure whether to mount an upright fridge or Engel. Leaning towards upright fridge only and will throw the 80L Engel in for a freezer on longer trips.

Appreciate any ideas or suggestions as I'm not really up to the speed with the latest good 12v gear.

Cheers - TB

 Howdy all,

Have any of you fellas flown interstate in recent times with a firearm?

Trying to line up a Sambar hunt in Vic and working out whether it's worth the muck around. 

Cheers

 Anyone happen to have a couple pots out Stragglers/Rotto that they are pulling at the mo?

Towing boat down tomorrow, had a couple lined up with a mate, but looks like they are AWOL

Prefer not to cart pots all the way down for 3 pulls...

Just like to wish all a merry Xmas.  Hope you all are spending time with family and friends and having a relaxing time .

 Howdy fellas, 

Besides black duck ($1250 dual cab ) seat covers, what other good alternatives are out there that you fellas have used?

I'm not opposed to black duck but for $1200 bucks I thought I'd ask you fellas before pulling out the cc card.

Cheers

 Hi ladies and gents,

Im awaiting a new boat and trailer and was wondering if anyone has any experience with trailer rust prevention systems or coatings?

Being a brand new trailer i want to try and maximise the life of it and get this done before it ever touches the salt water, this will be in combination with thorough maintenance and cleaning regularly but just want to increase my odds of keeping that brown shite at bay!

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 Hey all. Took the grand kids to island point reserve this morning for their first go at crabbing and got there at 3 am to find the road gated off. Does anyone know why this is closed and is it a regular occurrence.  Was there a couple of weeks ago with no issue.

Headed out on Saturday and the mission was to look for a bit of new ground to fish. Ended up about 10nm north of our usual areas but nothing different came aboard other than 3 just under size tuskies . First real big hookup ended up with a good size shark at around the 10 foot mark and it certainly gave me a good workout.  Soon after Sandy dropped her line down then asked how deep we were, I said only about 15mtrs . "How come my line is still running out then " you probably have a fish I said. I was wrong , another big shark but this time I just grabbed the spool and held on and quickly broke the line . Time to move on .

Ended up with 7 nice grassies , a couple of flags and a small shark to top it off . Will go out there again to explore a bit more and hopefully avoid the nomads .

I caught my 13 and 11y old boys having scoffed their entire $20 advent calendars on day 3.

Initially I was furious but I'd hate for them to miss out on their Christmas countdown so I've refilled it for them right up to Xmas Day 

Any NOR cabinetmakers on here looking for a decent job or is anyone happy to recommend one who has done good work for them?

Preferably one who will return a phone message or answer an email. 

Just bought a near new car, does anyone have recommendations for rubber floor mats? Few different brands out there eg 3D Moulded, Bedrock, PHDTech 

With Sandy down in Perth I took a mate out for a fish. Didn't hit the water till after 9 but still managed a few nice fish before the wind came in . On the way back the deckie spotted some birds working the water so decided to give it a bash resulting in 3 nice size mack tuna which the deckie being a chef gladly said he would be eating well .

Went for a land based fish Sunday morning and first big fight resultedcin a big saw fish of around the 10 foot mark ( pic doesn't show true size ). As I was the only one down on the bank it was hard work getting it up onto the beach to get the hook out . Also landed a 3 foot shark quickly despatched and on ice along with several trevally of different species.  All up a great weekends fishing

 We're right in this!!

Warner to win back some popularity with a big 100!

 Have a tynos 30, twin power, will need maintenance service, surplus to my needs now, can't seem to load photos atm

Question for those in the know. 

How hard and/or expensive is it to replace a section of soft or lifting floor in a fibreglass boat.  I'm sure I've seen a few on here who have done this.  Any ideas on what it might cost to get done by a professional would be appreciated too.  As far as I can tell stringers are solid, just the floor need to be redone (hopefully). 

cheers 

 Sharing with like minded  Fisherman.