DDDave

Here in Taz it has been law for some time to wear a life jacket in a boat under 6 metres whilst underway, which seems to work pretty well as you can throw it off when you get where you are going. Very Interesting how none of the states are aligned with these laws. It would be far simpler if one law was mandated then there would be no confusion after all Water is water and drowning is drowning.

Mate, I also heard all this stuff when I was looking to buy. There are heaps of guys who will dump on telwater at every opportunity. But I am a true believer that in every forum thread you read about 90% is crap, or just someone trying to justify their own purchase. Go out and have a look for yourself, thats what I did. Ended up with a Stacer and havent been able to break it yet. Pull out the bungs at the ramp and nothing comes out. For me its all about the deal, what you get for your money, I wanted a good boat at a good price and telwater fitted that need. If I was looking for the best boat possible at any price well perhaps it may not have been telwater. But cracks in welds, I havent seen any. cheers

Mate I retrieve my Stacer 469 easyrider by myself all the time. I have a long stern rope and hold that in the same hand as the bow rope, to keep the boat straight. I walk down the trailer and pull the boat up, clip on the strap, keep the bow line tight whilst walking back down the trailer and then just give it a couple of wraps around the winch post. Seems to keep the bow hard up against the V at the back of the trailer, if the stern is in the current you can keep the stern rope in your hand if you want. Once it is wrapped around the winch post all is pretty much under control. Once you start winding you can let the rope off and forget about it. I used to worry about it a bit until I found the method that works for me. I guess the right method for you will depend on your boat, trailer, current, wind etc but once you find one that works you will be sorted.

I was at the boat ramp last year when my daughter who was mucking around in the ski tube stood up in water over her head and manged to loose a thong in the mud. Being the caring father that I am I put on the wetsuit and mask and swam around to find the thong sticking up out of the mud. About now a brand spanking new Whitley came up to the ramp and as there was no jetty I figured I might as well stay in the water and save them getting wet. Anyhow they pulled and and I grabbed the bow said the goodayes etc and watched as the mid 50's couple of first time boaters tried to figure out how to get out of the boat without getting too wet, obviously never done this before. Anyway dad finally slides over the bow and goes to get the car, a lovingly restored Holden V8 ute of late 70's early 80's era probably HZ I reckon. Mean while I am talking to mum whos telling me all about their maiden voyage when I notice the Yammy 4 stroke is still running even though it is tilted up not in the water. Dad jumps back in and says something like Bugger I left it running jeez shes quiet. (probably cooked it). Anyhow I knew something was not quite right when I noticed the chock of wood being placed behind the rear tyre of the ute and its still running obviously in neutral. Dad starts winding up the boat and quick as you like the car has jumped over the chock and gone backwards at a hundred miles an hour. I was still in the water and with much grace for a 130Kg bloke unhooked the boat and moved it out of harms way from getting smacked by the winch post. dad shoves mum out of the way and manages to get into the said ute with not too much water skimming over the floor. The V8 was still gurgling away making lovely bubbles in the very salty water. we get it all out boat on and ready top go and Dad says what the hell am I going to tell the blokes from work, tell them nothing I said, nothing at all . At least not until you have a handfull of success retreives under your belt. He can try as hard as he likes but the candy apple red ute is going to rust like a mongrel.

Hi Guys I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of a way to make a Bimini easier to take down. What I want to do is be able to quickly release one part of the frame to allow the Bimini to hinge on the other part of the frame and lay down against the top of the sides. Then when finished fishing be able to snap it back up if you know what I mean. At the moment I have to fiddle around with wingnuts which area a pain to get back in to the fittings. Anyone aware of a way to do this, I have been trying to find some sort of quick release fastening mechanism but cant seem to locate anything in the plastic style of fitting. cheers

Check this out...

Bring your thermals, winter has arrived, there was snow on the mountain the other day.

Cool. Dont see them down here in Taz, only ever seen the standard gearbox models. I guess I am not alone in not really understanding gear ratio, prop diameter and pitch and how it all relates to power. My crappy basic calcualtions tell me running a 13 pitch prop on the 2.33 gearbox would drop top end speed by some 13 or 14 Kmh at same RPM. So would need to fit a 17 pitch to pull the same speed wide open. I guess thats what makes it quicker out of the hole, having a greater pitch on the prop? and I guess a larger surface area (diameter) helps as well. Very interesting this stuff really. None the less the hole shot on the 1.83 gearbox with a 13 pitch prop would still mess up Donald Trumps hair, and that is good enough for me. cheers guys.

No the same as this one. I think the big foot is fairly popular in the USA for pushing houseboats and barge type set ups.

I had a look at my Merc 60HP on Stacer 469 easy Rider to compare and yours does look fairly low. With the 13 pitch prop at WOT you will get 35mph out of it. My boat is similar size and with the motor set up right properly pitched prop etc with wifey and 3 kids stowed away it punches along a treat. Often have a couple of kids in the ski tubes hanging off the back and does the job pretty well for what is after all a mid size motor. get it set up right and you will be happy..