First time boat-owner (second-hand boat though :) )

[dilipsea]

Hi there,

Thought I'd say hello as I just noticed this forum today and wanted somewhere to discuss boating tips, traps and tricks....from what I've read so far there's a bunch of helpful people on here so am quite looking forward to it.

Living in the North-West of W.A. (Karratha), it's taken us seven years to take the plunge and buy our own boat (well we did have a couple of kids in between so that kept us a bit occupied - after they were born I mean....).

Took her out for a sea trial first (with a mate who knows boats, of course), and last weekend took the family to the nearby islands. Love it, even thought I've spent most of my (working) life at sea (on ships, rather than boats).

The boat is a 480 Stacer with an Evo Hull built around 2006, with a Mercury 75 outboard. Engine has done 203 hours - and the guy I bought it off had the absolute decency to get it (200 hour) serviced completely prior to sale (he was leaving town and didn't want to take the boat with him - top bloke)

From what I've seen so far it seems perfect for our current use (first boat, with small kids, trips to nearby islands etc.).

Some of the things that I need to get down to (as part of my post-purchase punch list) and would appreciate advice on are :

1) Get a grease gun to grease all points around the engine(Question - are all the grease gun nozzle fittings standard - saw a few online and they do appear to be) - reason I ask is I'm used to big grease nipples on ships vs the ones on the boat which appear relatively tiny (I do get that theres a difference in their requirements)

2) Replace brake pads on trailer (Question - has anyone who has done this before give me an idea of the difficulty level - I don't consider myself to be too much of a handy man on land but I can work tools with a bit of instruction if required)

3) Buy lanolin (for protection) and Inox MX 3(lubrication/protection) (Question - any alternative products to the two or any other recommendations to keep boats well maintained

4) Replace trailer tyres - they appear to be about 6 years old with decent thread but I just don't want the hassle (Q : would changing to 14 inch tyres be possible if they are currently 13 " - and would it make any difference better or worse to the trailers manoeuvrability)

5) Northstar Explorer 657 Chart Plotter / Fish-finder - seems to work fine except it looks like the backlight is kaput (so you can BARELY see the screen - in broad daylight you can't see a thing) (Q: I've tried looking around but it doesn't seem like repairing this or finding someone with the spares is gonna be easy - any thoughts/experiences on replacing backlights of a display unit or should I consider it u/s)

6) Anything with either the hull or engine mentioned above that you think would be of interest to me?

Any advice regarding the above would be greatly appreciated - oh, and I don't normally post such long threads but thought I'd put it out there at one shot. Thanks for reading this far anyway

Happy Boating (to all of us)

[Darren Mc]

Welcome to Ausfish dilipsea.
No problem changing to 14inch wheels as long as there is enough clearance to the guards height and width wise.
I bet she goes well with a 75 on her.

[Darren Mc]

You might be up for a new gps/sounder by the sounds.
A fellow by the name of chocolatemoose should be able to advise you further.

[littlejim]

The experts will appear here soon. But I'll have a go in the interim.
The grease gun nozzle should work OK, same nipples as the ones that used to be on cars.
Mark the fuel filters on the donk so you can see if they get changed at servicing, seems to be important for two strokes. I fitted a racor set up further down line near the tank as well. (Still lost an evinrude because the top one on the engine wasn't swapped.)
The trailer bearings need to be checked for lubrication regularly. Mine used to fail every six months until i started packing the inner seals with grease. Get a few years out of them now. Worth spraying some sort of waterproofing on the trailer itself regularly as well. (I personally use motor bike chain lube but you'll get heaps of others suggested.)
I also replaced my trailer roller axles with stainless rod because the galvanised ones caused me several hassles when I was a new owner.

[Moonlighter]

Lanolin is good, but avoid the Inox on the engine - it affects plastics (wiring etc) and rubber badly. I don't use it at all any more.

I spray my engine annually with Ozspray industry grade lanolin under the cowl and around the steering and trim and tilt areas with it. Protects from corrosion very effectively. Wash engine with warm water to remove any salt, allow to dry, then give it a good spray all over with the lanolin spray. Good stuff.

Brake pads are a piece of cake to replace. I will assume that like 90% of trailers yours has cable operated brakes. They are very simple bits of gear as you will see.

Take the wheels off, put a stand under the axle, there are 2 bolts that hold the brake calliper on so undo them with a socket and remove the bolts, then the calipers comes off. Pads will basically fall out at that point.

Put new pads in, you might need to force the caliber to open a bit to get them back over the discs. You will need to clean the bolts and bushes up, regrease and put it back together. Tighten bolts up FNT! Done.

You can adjust the brakes 2 ways: on the caliper there is an adjustment bolt with a lock nut. i usually leave it alone unless the prev owner has adjusted it in as the old pads have worn, in which case you will need to back it off to get the new pads in. Then, up on the coupling there is an adjustment mechanism that you will figure out. Usually you adjust it so you can get a finger between the plunger that comes out of the coupling and the part that starts activating the cable.

If if the disc itself is badly rusty, it might need to be replaced. If only a bit, an angle grinder can be used to clean it up.

Lanolin grease rubbed into the brake cable is a good idea to help prevent rust too.

Grease gun - yes, standard size will fit fine. Get a good marine grease and do them all twice a year. Make sure you find them all! Google and uTube will help you find your motor model and where they all are.p if you don't have a service manual.

Don't forget to grease the trailer coupling too, there are 2 grease nipples there on the side that keep the brake mechanism moving.

if you change wheel bearings, use only good quality Japanese, US or Australian made bearings. The Chinese ones are rubbish. If you don't know how to do this job, it is worth learning because if there is one thing that you need to be able to do in an emergency, this is the most likely thing.

Also, watch the steering rod where it comes out of the tube on the port side. There is usually some kind of nut and seal on that end of the tube. Sometimes an o ring inside the nut, sometimes another kind of seal. Again, check annually to make sure the seal is not broken and lube the steering rod.

[mitc69]

personally think u should get everything rewired for 150ish, check pump if it working.. make sure it drain so sink it abit :D not in water tho... paint the trailer
check the cable on trailer and lights

otherwise everything is golden =D and gratz

[tjotter]

Lovely Boat & a lovely area as well.
Any chance of a photo ?

I am unsure of your skill/knowledge level so hope I am not telling you to suck eggs :)
I am not that experienced but below is some items that I have learnt over the last couple of years. If your trailer does short distances then you may not be that worried about the trailer.


You probably also have a couple of grease nipples at front of trailer.
Pump some grease in & stop when you see it oozing out somewhere.

What condition are the brake Rotors ?
eg how thick & how rusty are they ?

If you change the brake Pads.
consider also doing the Wheel Bearings, marine kit $13 a side
& Brake Cable $10
[eg spinnythings].

Is a tiny bit safer to put on nut Split Pins 20c
each time wheel the Castle Nut comes off, rather than reuse old ones.

Use Marine grease for bearings,
[from a Tub, rather than gun?]

Suggest you use correct sized spanners rather than an adjustable.

Nitrile gloves are worth looking at if doing a bearing change.

If they look rusty, you can spray nuts/bolts with Inox or similar
the day before actually starting to undo them, even wheel nuts;
to make undoing a bit easier.

Check spare wheel actually fits trailer.
[we had a spare Holden rim & a trailer with Ford hubs so spare did not fit].

You can get a mechanic to change your bearings at service time,
but then you may not be able to fix a roadside breakdown.

[dilipsea]

Gee I was right about the helpfulness on here. Thanks to each of you for your knowledgeable replies. .. Got my next few evenings sorted with things to do:)
Will post a pic soon.

[dilipsea]

There she is....anchored off West Lewis Island (off Dampier)

[Fed]

Happy boating.

[ozynorts]

107686

There she is....anchored off West Lewis Island (off Dampier)
Welcome to the forum mate.
Nice part of the world, plenty of fish too.
If you want to put pics on mate you have to use the "Go Advanced" button. You need to upload the pic to Ausfish then insert inline.

[dilipsea]

107691

Ok let's try that again..... Thanks ozynorts for the tip...