MattInOz

I've used both the boat wash and the engine flush. I can say for sure the boat wash works, but it's expensive so I switched to a 4x4 "after beach wash" that, while it doesn't do as good a job, is a ton cheaper and for a beat up fishing boat I'm not that concerned about appearance. I still use their engine flush religiously though. I didn't get their expensive "captain's musket" thing... I bought exactly the same thing in a cheaper brand on special from Anaconda. If you have a pretty new boat and want to keep it looking flash by all means use the Salty Captain products... they do work. Just comparing the cover on my outboard after washing with "salty captain" compared to the 4x4 wash shows a significant difference in salt spotting on the black surface once it all dries.

That's gotta be a lot easier than hosing it all off and flushing the engine.

Funny, there's a 2007 (I think) Yammy 60 with the same problem listed for $2.5K on gumtree that I was very tempted to spring for and have a go at fixing as an upgrade from my 1999 40HP Merc. Thought it might have been yours at first but you fixed it, so no.

Best idea I've heard all week... thanks.

I heard about this when I was doing my VHF licence (at Manly Coast Guard) but I wasn't paying a whole bunch of attention. Will we still need paid memberships, or will it be a govt funded service like Police, Fire, Ambulance, etc?

The answer to your question is another two questions: Are the batteries charging to 100% during the day, and are they discharging to below a usable voltage with normal use overnight? A volt meter will answer the question for you... a lead acid battery at full charge will read just under 14 volts, and once below about 11 volts it'll probably be too discharged for your fridge. If your batteries are not charging completely you need a bigger solar panel, and if they're charging to 100% during the day and discharging too quickly at night you need bigger batteries (or possibly just new ones, get them load tested). Of course, putting bigger batteries in might also require bigger solar panels to charge them too... have to suck it and see. If your current batteries are already at 100% by say 11am you can probably afford to put a bigger battery on it but if they struggle to get to 100% by say 4pm a bigger battery will require a bigger panel. As for the type of battery, a deep cycle battery is specifically designed to be fully discharged and charged repeatedly, while a cranking battery is designed for the heavy, brief load of a starter motor and then immediately recharged by the alternator. If replacing your house batteries you want deep cycle (or dual use) ones ideally.

Nice idea, but ridiculously expensive. Think I'd just get a plastic garbage bin and cut it to suit instead. Suppose I could do that and put 3-4 jerry cans of water in the ute... fill them up in Gin Gin or somewhere else close by to save carting water all the way from Brisbane. Still, as Huxstang pointed out it's probably not worth it if I'll be using the boat daily, just do it when I get back.

Unfortunately my understanding is there's no town water anywhere in the turkey beach area... will look into it though. I'd be happier if I could rinse things off.

From my time as a mechanic working on old Minis, MGs, Rovers etc I can confirm this. Spending money on octane levels higher than your engine is designed to use is just throwing money away. The fuel companies will argue that they put in detergents etc to help "clean your engine" but realistically all that would do is take up space in the combustion chamber with something that's not producing power and actually lower your output. Of course if your engine's designed to use 95 or 98 RON you should use that, but the majority are not. One caveat though is if you're using 91RON (or 94, depending on the brand) be very sure not to use fuel with ethanol in it. Not because it would do any damage (it won't assuming your motor's less than 30 years old) but because ethanol is hygroscopic... ie: it absorbs moisture from the air. This isn't a real problem with cars under normal use, but with boats it's inviting water contamination in the tank.

Thanks guys, you've set my mind at ease. I tend to get a bit OCD about things like this.

Yep... just when you the boat's perfect and there's nothing else to do some other shiny toy (usually with a 4 figure pricetag) suddenly seems absolutely essential. Oh well, everybody needs a hobby.

Well the winch is all fitted up and I finally got out on the water the other day... what a game changer it is, especially for a solo sailor. It's now so easy and fast to drop the anchor and pick it up that I'm questioning if I even need a trolling motor now. Just pull up, throw in half a dozen casts, and if you're not happy and want to move on you're gone in under a minute. Oh and I talked myself into lay-bying a new fish finder too at the BCF boxing day sales. Upgrading the old Lowrance Elite Ti the boat came with to a Lowrance HDS Live. They had the 7" ones on sale for $1399 ($30 less than the Elite FS 7") because they're discontinued now in favour of the HDS Pro. From looking at the difference between the Ti and the Live on youtube, it's like comparing chalk and cheese. If you want one they had about half a dozen left at various branches the other day... I bought the second last one at Ipswich. (Tried to attach a pic of the winch but it gave me an error when I tried to upload.)

The obvious suggestion is have you checked the fuses, and are you 100% certain they're connected correctly? Looked for damaged wires? (I'm sure you've checked it half a dozen times, but it's gotta be asked). If nothing's working it suggests a bad power supply or eath return... if you have a test light or multimeter find out which connections are +12v and -12v and make sure they're working correctly.

Hey guys I'm going up to Turkey Beach near Gladstone with some mates to do some fishing for a week in April, and the house we're renting (AirBnB) only has tank water (no town water in the area) and they expressly forbid washing boats/motors with their limited supply. The boat will be in the water every day for the week... how much of an issue is it if it's not flushed till I get back to Brisbane? Matt

Perhaps not exactly the same time but on the same outing. If I decide to pull up somewhere and anchor I don't to have to mess about taking the trolling motor off (and knowing me dropping it overboard) before I can.