Testlab

Check where the inner cable exits the sheath at both the control and engine ends. Look for damaged, frayed or dry spots - this causes it to bind at those points as the inner slides through the outer. Lubricate the cables - if they've been neglected the inner can chew into the outer somewhere along their length and you'll need new cables. Liikewise if they've stretched or had a too severe bend in them (they wear out). If the cables look good then check the control cams and rollers - the cable inner will connect to a bell crank, which often has a cam or roller at the other end.. A broken roller can make it bind up, requiring a good pull to get past the crack or broken bit. If you don't have skills leave it to an expert - you don't want it stuck at full throttle unexpectedly.

Another Brisbane Water regular here. The pile markers are placed where the hazard doesn't move, like a reef or point, mooring areas, etc and the small floating marks are moved around depending on where the sand bars or other movable hazards are. The marks at Half Tide rocks through to Lobster Beach and out to Box Head move regularly. "Red to red and green to green when coming home from where I've been" So red to port and green to starboard when heading into port or heading upstream. In the channel from Half Tide to Box Head that means keeping close to the rocks. At low tide the sand bars drop from dry to 4m deep in only 2-3m horizontal distance.

Dave has some good advice. It is caused by the voltage drop when cranking and the sounder turns off or resets. The condition of your battery is very important - the less charge the greater the voltage drop. Also the location of the battery is important and the length of the cables (and condition) between the Dragonfly and the battery. You can easily fix this by using a voltage controlled relay and a dual battery setup. It is also possible to do it cheaply using a selaed lead-acid (SLA) located near the sounder, a less expensive smaller switch and a blocking diode. The SLA keeps the electronics powered up by eliminating the drop during cranking and the diode charges the SLA but blocks it from supplying power during cranking. It's not ideal but it works as a budget solution.

Based solely on experience and guess work, the Super Charge was made 2011 and the Century 2012. Even a young battery that looks good can be crook if it's been abused (left flat for long periods, over charged, etc).

So called DC-DC chargers are actually inverters, quite a different proposition to the old 24V-12V step down adapters. An inverter uses a boost converter to lift the incoming voltage to something higher than the desired output and then regulates to the value required. There are down sides. Yes, they use a bit of power in the conversion process but should be 90% efficient. There create radio noise reducing the sensitivity of your radio and they run all the time they have input power. So unless there is a relay in series with the input or an enable wire the converter will flatten the start battery while keeping the load battery charged (the relay or enable wire enables it only while the engine is running).

A little cruel, but I guess it might work.

Each time I've been safety checked by either water police or the RMS BSOs I've been asked to show the label with the inspection dates. Never had a problem and they've always been easy to deal with.

Every dealer and tech I've spoken to say not to use the tab. It can snap when the motor bounces up and down. As explained to me by Suzuki (for example) the tab is to allow the tilt rams to be retracted back into the cylinders while leaving the motor raised during long term storage or if it is kept on a mooring or in the water all the time.

Yes. Where the wiring for auxiliary systems connects to the battery you should have a fuse. Wiring fuses protect the wiring and fuses in series with the final wiring to the equipment protect the equipment. Dead pixels are nothing to do with the installation or usage. They are usually caused by a crook screen or dodgy connectors from screen to PCB - nothing you can fix or prevent (unless you dropped it).

Pick up from depot, around $1K. Delivered to your door, around $2K. My best advice arrange and pay for your own transport insurance. Your regular boat insurance does not cover commercial transport on a truck or float. The carriers insurance will not cover damage unless it's their negligence (such as it falling off the truck).

Here is a link to the diagram I drew for another raider in 2013. Might be a bit elaborate but if you eventually want to add solar then this will help. It's a pdf I can't upload it using my iPad. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B71eOcYk7Xe_MjlvWm96NWhDZUVHZUZ5UWR2cElfVzNpZHNn/edit?usp=docslist_api

It's supposed to be on the centreline but providing it's close it won't matter. Just make sure it's up high and visible both when the boat's at anchor and underway. The higher the better, both for visibility and getting it out of your eyes.

Beware the tax liability. You can't just enjoy the benefits of an extra $500K without there being tax implications. You have boosted your income by having the offset amount there to play with. You need to not only talk to a bank but also to an accountant who can assist with a tax smart way to do this. Many accountants aren't that smart when it comes to planning but great at reconciling your liabilities later so choose wisely. Do this before the $500K hits your account.

It only takes one second from one day to end one life. Apart from the injuries and the suddenness I urge people to think about how this man's entire life and that of everyone involved with him has changed forever. The most important WH&S law is Murphy's Law. Side question.... Do those glass sheets weight over 3 tonne each? Wow.

Ahhhh..... right. I don't know what they're called. I drift through there at high tide for whiting. There are some deeper runs around the sides where the oyster monitoring strips are (the rows of black buoys).