Ed.

Thank you, I like to be safer than sorry, If you know what I mean, better to have  extra fuel and not need it, than need it and not have it.

2 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Very nice job Ed.

It looks great. It sure will be handy to have around! 

Cheers Hamish

For my normal fishing around Morton Island, it isn't necessary as my main tank has more than enough fuel. but if I can get my motor sorted out, then a trip out to the reef from 1770 is about 65Km each way plus running around and if we hit rough seas the motor will chew a lot more juice so  will be nice to have more than I need.

Thanks Cam, the pump that you can see to the left of it was an 80PSI with auto on/off and connected to a dash switch, the pump outlet was connected to a tap above it so in effect I had pressurized cold water on demand.

I had made something similar on my last boat but that one held water and it also was a "step/footrest" for the missus

Jon, no breather necessary, it is just for storage, fill it up, go to where I am going and completely drain fuel from it to the main tank. Done!

I would have liked to have it have it connected  the main tank but as that is sealed under the floor there is no way to get to it. An alternative way would be to connect it to the main fuel line via a T- piece where it comes out of the tank at the back of the boat but that is just an added complication. This way is simpler and I can just remove the tank easily (8 screws) when not needed. For around here where I mainly fish, my main tank is more than enough, I think it is about 150L and I think I go through less than half a tank for a days fishing here. Think of it as a big Jerry can!

I also doubt that there would be any damage, and as above provided the engine and transducer are protected, and also that is actually sand and no lumps of rock sitting under it. If the tide goes out smoothly and your not taking a slamming from surf it should be safe,  could be problems if there is surf and the boat gets pounded up and down with each wave  till it settles down and same when the tide comes back in. One thing to watch and allow for is that the next tide will actually be high enough that you will float off otherwise you could be stuck there for weeks.  Why, what are you planning?

Thank you for that, unfortunately I don't do enough of TIG welding to become really good at it, as 99% of my welding is with MIG, about the only time I get to use the TIG is when a boat is involved.

Well, that's gotta hurt. I hope I don't have the same issue!

My engine did the same a few days ago on the way to Hutchinsons but we're limited to 1200-1600 RPM  so 3.5 hours later we got home to Bribie Isl. , at least you managed to get 4000RPM and got on plane otherwise it would have been a very, very long trip home. Otherwise your trip could have been much worse but you did catch some fish so that is a positive! I take it you got out to the reef?

Nice feed of fish there!  so not a total disaster then. How many hours to get back?

My speedo doesn't work, the pickup tube is not connected to the gauge hence the reason I use the speed on the combo unit.

17 hours ago, GregOug said:

Although, it is the actual speedo, which is a Mercury stand alone device, separate to the gps/sounder, which displays the speed. Not sure that changing a Lowrance setting will alter the Mercury readout. Then again, there may be something which can be changed in the Mercury ‘smart’ gauges setup that will do the trick. I’ll have to have a good look tomorrow but it is my recollection that the 0-80 graduations on the gauge are permanent features, not a digital readout. However, perhaps the internal computer can automatically convert  the actual quantity displayed on the speedo, depending on which you choose - kph, mph or knots?

On my Simrad GPS/chart plotter, fish finder I have my display showing speed in knots and all the other distances in metric.

3 hours ago, GregOug said:

 

The boat ate it all up, just as @ellicat said it would. Still a bit choppy on the way back, but still managed to go past the eighty kilometre an hour mark that the speedo goes to. Might have to change to mph or knots for future trips!

cheers

Greg

Knots are the usual way of measuring speed and distance on the water,  something to do with the curvature of the earth, so if my memory is correct I think that one minute of Latitude on the map equals one Nautical mile or something like that. But it has been over 50 years since I did coastal navigation and the old brain is a bit fuzzy.

These do sound like  interesting solutions, I will have to look into them, thanks Junky.

Yep will do, it most likely will be some sort of sensor that played up and caused it to go into limp mode. Prior to that I was doing about 3900 RPM and travelling at about 29knots. These high tech engines age getting way too smart and the slightest glitch  and they do the protective mode bit. I had a similar problem with the 26ft boat i had. Towed it all the way to Rosslyn Bay, put it in, anchored for the night at the marina, went to fuel up in the morning and it died about 100mt from the wharf, chip glitched  and motor just shut down Had to get towed to a berth, had to wait for a  few days for a mechanic to come down and  tell me that the main CPU module is cactus and a replacement is about 6 weeks away. So back on the trailer and towed it back home again! I am starting to think that I must have run over a black cat or something! I am jinxed.

2012 Optimax 150 XS Pro 2 stroke

Well the stars aligned today, the weather was great, sunny day, sea was flat, the missus wasn't working so we left Bribie Island headed out to Hutchinson Shoal. Got to Morton Island and headed out to the Shoal, about 15 minutes from reaching it, the motor just went into limp mode. No warning or alarms, wouldn't go over 1600RPM, temps were fine, water coming out of the tell tail, plenty of fuel and oil, nothing. So radioed the VMR and told them we were returning.

So did a U turn and limped home, at a blistering speed of 3.5-4.5Knots all the way back, at that stage it wouldn't rev past 1200RPM, my missus reckoned she could walk home faster, you know the saying "are we there yet!" 3.5hrs later we reached the ramp. Not happy Jan!!! We had the motor checked out about 8 motor hours ago and also the impeller changed, pulled the cover off it at home but no obvious clues, oil bottle full and no loose cables or anything, so looks like it will be back to the mechanics. Even threw out some lures on the way home but no takers. The only alarm we got was about 2 hours in on the way home and it was a single long beep of about 5-8 secs and then nothing else.

If you wanted something big for just game fishing, trolling or ballooning but bigger than the Penn Fathom 30 2 Speed (the one on the right), there is this  used Makaira  20 2 speed in WA $375 delivered you may want to have a look at.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/clarkson/fishing/okuma-makaira-gold-fishing-reel-214061/1252475163

however have a look at the pics I put up,  it will be as big as the middle Makaira 30 but in a narrower spool, so same drag (55lb on full) just less line capacity. It really depends on what your definition is of unstoppable, I mean how big a fish are hoping to stop? But as an all round big reel I would go for the Makaira 30 size as it will give you the extra line capacity.

https://www.freddys.com.au/collections/overhead-reels/products/okuma-makaira-overhead-reels?variant=29246157258845

This about the cheapest I have found and if you sign up you get another $10 off so it will be $689 and I think that they have either a 5 or a 10 year guarantee .

Unfortunately, I am going up on the 4 Sept. Hope you enjoy yourself up there. If you do catch some nice fish, pics are always required or they didn't happen!

Cheers

Ed.

The one thing I think the Ugly Stik could do better at, is to use better guides, but that is just my opinion, and they are marketed as an affordable rod so that will never happen.

On 29/06/2020 at 8:19 AM, Drop Bear said:

Would the okuma makaira 50 be too much? I could use this for beach shark fishing on Fraser as well. 

Or would this be just crazy heavy?

Sorry Drop Bear, did not see your question till just now,  The 50 is a big heavy reel and built like the proverbial tank, only good for fishing from a boat or ballooning from rock and shore. Really if you are going to use this sort of reel it would be advisable to get a kidney harness or full harness and a large gimbal rod bucket. My 50W apparently can pull about 39kg on full, and that is a lot at the end of a 5'6" game rod, the 50 is just a narrower version of the 50W but the drag settings are the same. They are excellent reels but are specialized for the large game fish market as in up to 400+kg type fish.  You wouldn't use them for bottom bouncing or jigging as they are just too  big and heavy.

I bought mine for ballooning for shark off the rocks and beach as well as trolling. To give you and idea of the size, the big one is the Mak 50W, the one in the middle is a Mak 30 and the one on the right is a Fathom FTH30LD2, so there are two 30 sized reels but the Mak 30 is significantly bigger then the Penn, and the Penn is about as large that you would want to use for the general reef fishing off a boat, it is compact and powerful and not too bad that you couldn't fish with it all day. Incidentally the Mak 20 is just a narrow version of the 30 so still a big reel with huge drag. Hope this helps.

I would have thought that if they were genuine reels they would have the Shimano name printed on them  and advertised as such but I couldn't see it, I would hazard a guess that they are only copies, having said that they still might work fine for the $ you paid. But you never know, I once paid about $260 for a Daiwa SLT50W from the US when they were about $1100 here. So bargains can be had, people buy bulk lots at foreclosure sales, bankruptcies,  auctions, end of model clearance, insurance claims etc. sometimes for peanuts and get rid of them cheap so you never know.

At least if they don't work you will have a cool looking boat at night!, If you want to try a light here is a link and they are only about $25 just to see if they work. I bought 2 myself but still haven't tested them out yet, but theoretically  lights at night should work.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-Underwater-108-LED-Fishing-Light-Night-Boat-Lamp-Attracts-Fish-Shad-Squid/163676895227?hash=item261be737fb:g:~H8AAOSwhBtczie-