Not been doing much, lots of other stuff going on. Anyway the fishing is incredibly tough right now (Vtu). Not many catching much. But I got fish for dinner for a few nights.

Alan

Alan

No fishing today, been fitting a new motro to the boat. Started yday arvo. Done now - just a bit of tidying up to do, and one loose end to sort.

I bought the motor in Vtu (new), but brought all the stuff to fit it in my suitcase. No room for clothes, as normal. 23 Kg allowance on Link flights.

Hopefully can fire it up tomorrow. The Yamaha agent wants to be on hand when I do.

Alan

Just need the wind to drop to run it in (2 hrs). Maybe this evening.

The yamaha agents came out to fire it up for the first time. Everything is good.

Have found a new way to clock in to the site - was still having issues.

Going to seem a bit weird without the old faithful Merc.

Just need a few more hrs on the plane  etc to really know - prop size etc. Can't open it right up just yet, but seems like a good fit for the boat and runs beautifully. Seems very good on fuel.

Happy chappy. Maybe 2 beers tonight.

I did post a query on this motor - on the forum, about 12-18 mths ago, and finally did get some useful feedback. So it has been a while coming - but I got so excited about dropping it in the water for the first time, I forgot to put the bung in. Only a half hr later I thought - not sure I put the bung in. Sure enough, a look under the floor had the answer. A quick unscheduled swim was in order. Least the water is 26 Deg :-)

Alan

Very happy with the setting and prop - I have  a biggish prop - helps with trolling. But it is right  according to these tests.

I looked at the Merc - but I would have had to go for the big block - I think the same size you have. It was a serious toss up, but I think I got it right for this boat. I have done about 6+ hrs so far and used less than 20l of fuel.

That wasn't my big motivator - after 2500+ hrs of a Merc 2S. But a good bonus.

Got a week of fairly wild weather now, so have to sit tight til the next adventure.

A charter mate had a full day charter today. Back after 2 hrs. All the punters spewing.

Regards

Alan

PS, did some bottom fishing yday - in 330m. Never took a pic - but got a variety of stuff you never see in NZ. Amongst which was a large Tile fish. If you google it, you will find it lives in burrows - like rabbits. Excellent eating, as it was, alongside some swordfish (purchased).

Is actually not as drastic as some may think. You don't have to cancel the fishing trip, or rush back to base. There are a few options. I forgot it once about 20 yrs ago. And didn't notice til water came thru the floor while I was fishing. I was about 8k from home. Lifting the bilge cover confirmed the problem. A swim wasn't much of an option - the water would have been around 12 deg. So it would be head home  staright after. May as well head home while still dry under that option. I first tried to tighten it using the tangs on the inside. They weren't strong enough to rotate the bung. But the water ingress rate was manageable - the water pressure pushes the bung in to place. So it leaks, but it is not a gaping hole. The bilge pump could deal with it easily - every 20 mins or so I ran the pump. It would pay to run the motor too - you don't want a flat battery at the end of fishing - no bilge pump and no engine. Now the problem just got a lot worse. If your bilge pump isn't working, your problem just got worse too. 

I always carry a spare bung in the boat - so at worst I could sacrifice the other one by pushing it out, and screwing the spare one in from the inside.

If you are still stuck, getting the boat on the plane will drain the hull. In my case the other day that option wasn't available due to the rpm limitation on the new motor - less than 1 hr run time.

So a swim was chosen as the option. 

But there is no need to panic, and a spare bung is a useful thing to have in the boat.

Alan