Brooker435

All good mate, who knows I may even get the itch again. I used to go 3 to 4 times a week and focused on Squidding and 9 times out of 10 caught nothing but did get to see others catching and watched what they did what type of jigs they used etc. Practice Practice Practice!!! and you will meet some great people along the way, in-fact I enjoyed land-based fishing more then fishing from the boats that I owned. I recently sold my Brooker 435 as it was just collecting dust in my garage and when I did take it out I was more focused on looking after my daughters rod and just driving the boat and pushing the family to come out as the interest was just not there anyway slightly off topic!!!. As a starting point I would use google maps and have a look around at areas that you can get to in a reasonable amount of time, you can then go onto maritime NSW and get boating maps for the areas you choose to get a rough idea on depths and try a particular spot and keep journal entries looking at tides and see what works best. A good starting point for you would be the Parramatta river but just be sure to adhere to rules and regulations as some places you cant fish from and you may have to deal with crowds from time to time. Places like Gladesville are well known, Greenwich, Chiswick. Good Luck and enjoy your fishing. Regards, Nathan

Hey Mate, I used to be very keen and was hungry to learn everything there is to know about fishing. These days I can honestly say I am too busy and no where near as keen as I used to be. Best advice I can give you is to search through the forum, pick up whatever you can and simply get out there and have a crack, Also when your out there just talk to the other fishos and you will pick up heaps from them and start out simple. targeting bream and things like that. I wish I was still as keen as you and had the time as I would be out there in a heartbeat but these days its just work work work!!! and when I have time I am usually doing stuff round the house.. Good luck and hopefully we see some posts from you as you progress even trips where you didn't catch anything are worth posting about as you always learn something new, well that is what I have found anyway. Regards, Nathan

Each to their own, but one thing id be doing if I was to get my work done is ask for the old parts back. As no matter what they say you can not be certain that they are actually changing the parts some of the mechanics do this already and I think it is good practice. Obviously brand new outboards, you have no choice if you want to keep your warranty (Not a concern for me but many would disagree) The other issue a lot of us have these days is time, depending on individual circumstances etc so its just more economical to have someone else do the work for you one day if I can afford to and trust the mechanic enough, I may just let them do the work for me but I do not see that day coming anytime soon. The good thing about doing work yourself I have found is you always learn something each time and you will be able to identify other problems, when I cleaned my carbs I found 4 bolts missing from my manifold, would have never known about this if I did not do the work and as this is not part of a service unless you request it the bolts would have remained missing for many years to come. Best of luck to you all and happy boating!!!

My 12 Monthly Service I do myself includes new spark plugs, cleaning of the Fuel & Oil filter strainers as I have oil injection, I also replace the Impeller, Greasing of all grease nipples and linkages. Fluid level check on Hydraulics and Gearbox Oil Replacement. obviously newer tech engines would be different. anything else that comes up between I would just deal with at the time. I.E Carby Cleaning / Adjustments as these should not need to be done unless you have bad fuel or worn out components on the carbies, I also want to have a go at checking the timing on the Motor but need to get my head around this process, I have a Clymer manual which explains everything but I just need the time to read through it and get myself familiar before attempting it you can also replace the anodes but I have never bothered. also when I replace the impeller I like to remove the prop and clean any debris out and apply some grease to the shaft. I will probably not bother servicing my outboard this year as I would be lucky to have done 3 engine hours since it was last serviced in November however I pull it out of the garage once a month and run it for about 15 mins and give it a visual and never keep the fuel sitting in it for more than a month it gets used on my mowers and cars.

At the bottom where the positive meets the negative, what exactly is that doing? By how I understand it you have ran directly to the bus-bars from your battery so there should be no interference on your ignition circuit, I will have another look at home tonight but I would try disconnecting that and seeing what happens as it does not look right to me.

Good Luck with it Cooky,

Yep did the same thing as I did not want to mess with any wiring that has anything to do with the Motor, your switch panel only requires one positive feed as the switches piggy back off each-other well that is how mine is anyway. I did however install a sealed earth terminal block which has not given me a single issue so far. I am very interested in seeing Cookies wiring diagram.

Nice!!!

Honestly, with the weather the way it has been just get out there and have a go!!! I have heard Wisemans is good around this time of year but I have learnt the best time to go fishing is when you have time and the weather is favorable. Good Luck if you do manage to get out for a fish!!! Regards, Nathan

Hi Cooky, That's very interesting. The fact that it all works before turning on the ignition makes me think you have the earth for your accessories on a relay or something along those lines that cause once you power up the ignition the relay would become a positive connection depending which connection you have it connected to if this is the case, had a similar issue on my boat. There is probably suitably qualified people on here that may disagree with what I am saying but honestly best not to jump to conclusions just work through the problem from the very beginning. To be on the safe side we would need to look at the diagram before jumping to any conclusions. Upload a picture of the wiring so we can understand it a bit better. also when you put the key into ignition I would carry out a test using a test light in the following way. Before using the test light connect it directly to the battery to ensure it works, sounds silly but a quick check to make sure your device is working will only take a few seconds!!! Connect the Negative wire directly to the battery, then with the positive wire on the test light try the connections on the switch panel or switches depending how you have wired it, if the light turns on you have positive at your switch so the problem is with your negative, once you have established which circuit is turning off then you need to determine where its connected and work your way through it. The main thing you need is patience and no interruptions when your working through these issues. every-time I have had to do stuff like this I will make sure the Wife and Daughter are well aware to stay clear of me or encourage them to go out for a few hours, you will be very happy with yourself once you have it nutted out. Best Regards, Nathan

Glad to hear you got your outboard running nicely, good job!! In my experience Dealers cant always be trusted to fix issues as there service departments generally look at warranty jobs as a loss and they want them done as quickly and cheaply as possible labor wise, parts they do not care about as they can claim that from manufacturer but labor is a different story. As for the fishing oh well there is always next time mate!!! sure beats working! Regards, Nathan

If they really want to get serious about this they should impound their Jet-Skis like they do with hoons in their cars. Its a real shame that it has come to this but people just don't seem to learn!!!!

I mounted mine on top of my Bimini, got sick of being blinded by it and have a removable plug and socket and hold it in place with Alligator clips have used this setup on 2 boats and it works fine.

Ohh well Mate, that's why they call it fishing and not catching lol. At least you managed to get out on the water, by boat hasn't seen the water for 6 months lol cleaned the cobwebs off it yesterday and gave it a wash, surprisingly she kicked over after 3 pulls gotta love the old 2 strokes!!!! Regards, Nathan

My mrs has always wanted one but I would prefer a bigger boat personally. The problem is wifey always seems to get her way lol, I think I am getting soft!!