mr475

Took our boat down there on Sunday 28 August. Still no pontoon wharf. Lots of sand on the ramp and one guy bogged when we got there. His trailer wasn't even in the water. Looks very shallow there now. A lot of sand has been shifted. I guess that is why there are so many groynes along the bayfront at Kurnell. No trailers were in the carpark either. Go somewhere else.

You were lucky. After a beautiful day weatherwise on Sunday, the wife and I decided to take the boat out on Botany Bay for a fish on Monday. Weather predicted 20 to 30kph winds. No drama. So out we went. After about half an hour fishing the wind picked up to 60-70kph and was blowing against the tide. BIG BUMMER. We upped anchor and headed back to the ramp taking a real pounding from 4ft seas which were nearly vertical. A trip that normally takes 2 minutes took about 20 minutes. (From Cook's landing place to the Kurnell ramp.) Our poor little 4.75m Quintrex took a pounding, crashing into and over waves. Even had the prop come out of the water a couple of times as we crested the waves. But it sure gave me confidence in what the boat would take, even though we had the life jackets at the ready. Every time a wave would come at us and it looked like the bow would bury into it, the bow would rise up and over. Fortunately there were some nice fellows at the ramp jetty who helped us dock and retrieve the boat. Saved more messing around. They had a boat to launch but decided to go home. We were wet and tired from bracing and holding on in the seas and didn't even catch a fish. And yet Sunday was glorious! Bugger.

Spending money wisely is seldom fun. When you indulge in a hobby, it costs and the money may not be recouped. That is the cost of enjoyment. We bought our first boat second hand to see if we liked it. We did and 5 years later we are looking at upsizing. And the model of our boat is currently selling for more than we bought it for. And we are not bound by hiring times and limits. Running costs are a part of it. If a new boat is what you want to feel happy, then a new boat you should have. Fun has a cost, it is not an investment. But you can compromise within reason. As the saying goes, "I SPENT MOST OF MY MONEY ON FAST WOMEN, FAST CARS AND BOATS. THE REST I JUST WASTED."

E10 is not recommended for marine use. It absorbs moisture. I even see signs on pumps at service stations which say not to use it in outboards or marine engines. If you only had the one tankful, then emptying it out and replacing it with ordinary 92 octane unleaded should solve your issues and get your motor running normally again.

Good fighting catch. Well done. You are a brave man holding the shark for the photos. I saw another guy do that once and the shark suddenly thrashed while he was holding it and latched onto his shoulder. His great day ended in the hospital.

Thank you for your input, guys. It is difficult not to get the springs wet even though I only put the trailer in the water halfway up the wheels. Never mind. !3 years is probably a reasonable life span so I can't complain.

We used prawns and chicken meat, but no luck. Chicken is pretty good bait, actually. Most things seem to like it. And I did catch a sweep or something which must have been feeding below the salmon. Not sure what it was, but it wasn't a trevally. Haven't caught one of these in Botany Bay before. More wives should get involved as we all have fun when the family gets together for a fish. She also drives the boat on and off the trailer which makes launch and retrieve a 2 minute job and she likes to have her turn at the helm so I can do the passengering. Bit of a speed demon, though.

My 13 year old trailer springs and axle are looking like they need replacing soon due to rust. The rest of the trailer is OK. Assuming I replace the springs and axle, how can I preserve them? Does a thick coat of grease work? Would that get into the area between the leaves of the springs and keep water out? Any other ideas?

How many fish out there are swimming around trailing lost rods behind them?

Yes, the wife loves fishing and boating and camping so she was sorry we didn't have the right gear as well. Just being there is great. We were in a white Quintrex with blue canopy. We saw one guy near us hook up with a yell but it took him a while to play it. And we saw another bloke bending his rod and losing the catch. Fun, wasn't it? What boat were you in, shaggytrevally?

We were out there yesterday as well. We were doing bait fishing but nothing was biting, probably because of the dolphins. We came across the salmon schools and tried to pull up ahead of them. Although we only had our baited hooks, we threw them into the schools anyway. The fish followed the baits but no hook up. We didn't even see what sort of prey the fish were chasing. But it sure was spectacular to watch them coming through the water towards us and to see them darting about in the water and then diving away. And the dolphins came past us at 20 metres while we were having a relaxing lunch in the sunshine. What a great day to be on the water. Guess we will have to get a spare rod with a lure on it in case we come across another school of salmon. Have caught these guys off the beach and they are great sport with their jumping and dashing back and forth.

If you are by yourself, you will need a lifejacket at all times.

Yes, it's all very well when everything is NEW like that. Looks like it is on a lake in the USA somewhere. Still, being fair like I am, I would be willing to give it a try before criticising and returning to my trailerboat.

Certainly sounds like a gradual blocking of the fuel flow. Check the filter to see if gunk is blocking it and have a look inside a fuel line to see if it is becoming soft with bits coming off.

I had a problem a couple of years ago in that the charge when the engine was running was down to about 12.5 to 13 volts instead of the usual 14.2volts. In addition, sometimes the electrics would go on holiday and I could not restart the engine when time to up anchor to go home. Fotunately, pulling various leads got the engine started so I got home. I thought I had the dreaded "intermittent" problem. But, starting with the easy stuff first, I undid the cables that went to the earth point on the stern near the isolator switch. They seemed to have a little oxidation on all of them, so I cleaned them with a wire brush and put them back. All problems solved. No more loss of electricity and the recharging was back to 14.2volts as usual. And no money spent. Just a thought. My boat is a 2000 model Quintrex but the principle may still apply to other boats.