Hi Everyone

September is nearly upon us. It’s that time of year again where it puts a spark back into boating with longer days and more sun (hopefully- we won’t go there).
I would like to start with congratulating the Ballina Marineland fishing teams with the recent
1st ,8th and 9th  placing at the Gamakatsu teams series.
Great work, well done boys! It shows that the local knowledge pays off.
New products are:
·         Fuel conditioners that treats ethanol fuels; it absorbs moisture and also inhibits corrosion. Great for fuel that has been sitting over the winter break.
·         Macs salt x an engine flushing solution to remove salt deposits from your out boards cooling system, keeping it in great condition.
·         Vuplex has been added to our stock range as a cleaning product. This is good for cleaning sounder screens and side clears on boats. For more info on this product log onto www.vuplex.com.au .
 
It’s also that time of year when you should be checking your trailer’s wheel bearings. Sitting around in the shed over the winter break does not help as water and moisture from your last fishing trip could still be sitting in there and it doesn’t take long for the bearing to fail and an embarrassing moment on the road side.

While we are on the topic of maintenance it is also worth checking winch cables, batteries, flares for used by dates and epirbs. If you currently have an inflatable life jacket the service dates should also be checked.

Just a reminder that the entry forms for the Gamakatsu fishing bonanza are on line
 Go to www.gamakatsu.com.au/ncfb for more information.
 Great prizes cash and give ways including a boat motor package supplied by Ballina Marineland for the cadet section.
 
Any questions on any of these products or information in this newsletter give us a call we are always happy to help.
 Until then, safe boating.

Regards,
THE MARINELAND TEAM
Ken, Kim, Adrian, Rod, Mitch, Gunar

Adrian took some great shots with his structure scan. Amazing what under the surface and definitely shows in detail.

Plenty of trim out

Article written in the Gold Coast Bulletin on Friday the 19th September,2008:

New Age Honda Blasts Off

HONDA outboards have always been positioned at the top end of the market and because of this, they have a reputation of being expensive.

The new Honda 50hp, 75hp and 90hp four-stroke released this year are positioned in the middle of the market and at a competitive price to their competition.

Honda was the first to introduced four-stroke outboards more than 40 years ago.

The company has never produced a two-stroke engine and back then the four-stroke outboards were ahead of their time and since then Honda has become the largest engine manufacturer in the world.

Honda organised a day on the Broadwater recently for GCBlue to test drive the new engines on a range of boats. The 75hp was presented on the back of a Stacer 489 Easyrider runabout.

It’s interesting, that while other manufacturers have introduced an 80hp model, Honda has produced a model that is slightly lower in horsepower. Previously the outboards fitted to this boat were two strokes, but with its lightweight the 75hp was a good choice for the boat.

The 75hp and the 90hp are based on the same 16-valve, inline four-cylinder engine that powers Honda’s No.1 selling car – the Jazz.

They are all aluminum blocks except for the cylinder sleeves and weigh in at 162kg and 163kg respectively. The 75hp had the Easyrider out of the hole in just 3.8 seconds and planning at 16 knots. The hole-shot performance is a result of Honda’s Boosted Low Speed Torque (BLAST) system, which advances the ignition timing during acceleration. The system pioneers a new age for four-stroke engines and Honda plans to use it as the benchmark for all their outboards.

The Easyrider cruised at 18 knots and wide open it was a rocket ship pulling 6100 rpm for 31.8 knots.

Any faster and the boat would be a handful for a fi rst time driver.

It ran at about half trim, but needed a lot trim in the turn. The 75 had heaps of torque and felt as if it would have pulled two skiers out of the water without any effort. The 90hp outboard was bolted to a 480 Makocraft bass boat. This too was a rocket ship.

The owner, Adrian Molchoar, who runs Marineland at Ballina, had done some extensive test figures on the engine.

He is a mad-keen fi sherman and often ducks offshore off Ballina in the late afternoon to catch a feed for dinner. Adrian experimented with different props and finally settled for a Mercury 22 pitch Laser II, which suited the boat.

A 6000rpm he can get the boat on the plane in 4.3 seconds and has had a top speed of 43.7 knots out of the rig.

The engine is economical as well. At 5500rpm he gets 9.3 litres an hour economy, but after that the VTEC kicks in.

VTEC works to produce a longer, flatter torque curve by engaging the high-lift cam to pack more air into the combustion camber, which produces more power. It is only available in the 90hp and the bigger 150hp and 225hp engines at the moment.

The boat feels solid, but outside, Adrian admits he gets a bit wet. He has run the 90hp for 75 hours and it’s just beginning to loosen up and uses less fuel than when it was brand new.

Honda has gone to great lengths to produce environmentally friendly outboards since the inception of the four stroke.

The company has demonstrated that ultra-low emissions are possible and is the only manufacturer to have all models meet the tough US EPA 2006 and CARB 2008 emission regulations.

They also get a three star rating from the Outboard Engine Distributors Association for ultralow emissions.

The new Honda 90 VTEC powers the Mako 480

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY TONY ZANN PUBLISHED IN NSW/QLD FISHING MONTHLY AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2008

Tiller-steered boats are fun. Steering response is instant, so they’re highly manoeuvrable, and a simple twist of the throttle means most boating is a one-hand operation.

You always get a more comfortable ride down aft at the tiller than anywhere else in the boat and there’s no bulky helm station to suck up valuable fishing room.

And while the latest and greatest tournament fishing machines are full of high-tech gadgetry (including steering wheels!), a tiller-steer outfit represents a great way of getting into this style of fishing without crippling your income.

Enter these two Makocraft Estuary Tracker Tournament boats, which offer big, stable fishing platforms at a fraction of the cost of the low-slung fibreglass missiles.

They have loads of deck space, heaps of storage, the knockabout durability of aluminium and don’t need a fuel-guzzling V6 engine to get about at a tidy clip.

And the next fisho in a tinnie to take home the dollars at a bream or bass tournament will be neither the first nor the last.

Take Ballina’s Adrian Melchior, for instance. He’s leading the BASS Angler of the Year standings and fishes from his Honda-powered Mako 480 Estuary Tracker Tournament. Adrian works at Ken and Kim Fitzgibbon’s Ballina Marineland, which kindly provided the test boats.

Ken has also been bitten by the tournament bug and the test Makocraft 440 Estuary Tracker Tournament with 60hp Evinrude E-Tec is his own personal rig.

The other outfit, the 420 Estuary Tracker Tournament, offered the chance to check out the latest Honda BF40, released only a few months ago.

On the surface, there’s not much between these boats. They share similar dimensions and most specifications although 420 has a 2mm bottom and 1.6mm topsides, against the 3mm bottom and 2mm sides of the bigger model.

Ken’s boat also featured the optional 100L plumbed livewell package, nav lights and a few other tournament essentials.

Both feature abundant cockpit space, broad expanses of carpeted casting platform riddled with storage hatches, monolithic stability at rest and the soft-riding Makocraft Edge bottom rails.

And the tiller-steer format means plenty of space and great manoeuvrability.

Test venue was the mangrove-lined expanses of North Creek, Ballina, on a crisp, still morning.

It was too glassy to assess rough-water performance but I was very happy with the way Adrian’s 480 Tournament had handled chop and low swell when I tested it for the July 2007 issue of NSWFM. I can’t see either of these boats being much different.

For tournament anglers, more freeboard means more windage and hence the low profile of most of the fibreglass boats. The Makocraft Tournaments are a good compromise of relatively low wind profile for drifting and casting while retaining enough freeboard to stay dry and secure when conditions get sloppy.

PERFORMANCE

While neither engine sported a tachometer, we were able to get hand-held GPS speeds for both rigs.

The 440 with the 60 E-Tec and 21” prop lodged a nippy 33.5 knots (62.1kmh), flinging up quite a rooster tail in the process. With the big prop fitted for top-end performance, this rig took time to plane but, with a more conservative propeller, that wouldn’t have been such an issue.

Once the rig was up and running, throttle response was excellent and handling was nimble and quite sporty. The 440 showed no vices when cornering or left to run straight with only a light hand on the tiller.

The 40hp Honda on the 420 was no slouch, turning in a very respectable 28.5 knots (52.9kmh). It required some in-trim to minimise bow lift onto the plane but got over the hump quite quickly, thanks largely to Honda’s BLAST (Boosted Low Speed Torque) feature.

Throttle response was great throughout the rev range and engine smoothness, even on a donk with only a few hours on the clock, was exceptional.

This is one silky-smooth motor and although E-Tecs are pretty good in the noise stakes, the Honda was whisper-quiet in comparison. Handling was on a par with the 440.

TILLER TALES

Both engines had similar tiller controls – twist-grip throttle with the gear shift just behind on the main arm and adjustable steering friction damper back on the pivot arm to ease arm strain on long runs.

Both felt quite solid but the E-Tec came out well in front ergonomically. The starter button was on the base of the arm just aft of the twist grip, as was the safety lanyard/cut/off switch, while access back to the ignition key and lanyard switch on the Honda required a bit of a reach.

But the big advantage of the E-Tec tiller was the trim switch, which was mounted on the forward end of the throttle – right where the operator’s thumb sits. Trim adjustments could be made instantly without reaching for a switch further back on the arm, where the Honda and many other brands mount theirs.

All tillers should be this good.

Both tillers required a bit of reach to push or pull over to full lock from a seated position but that’s the price you pay for sitting in the very comfy type of chair provided for skipper and one passenger.

Normal course adjustments take no effort, it’s just the full lock that takes a bit more concentration and possibly even getting off your butt.

The past couple of months represent the first time in 30 years that I haven’t owned a tiller-steered boat – and I think I’m going through withdrawals!

Fact box 1

• Mako 440 Estuary Tracker Tournament
• Length 4.4m
• Beam 2.0m
• Bottom 3mm
• Topsides 2mm
• Hull weight 235kg
• Max occupants 5
• Max engine weight 120kg

Features as tested: Anchor locker under foredeck; nav lights; bilge pump; short side rails; low split bow rails; electric motor bracket; port rod locker; sub-floor under front deck; splashwell; 100L plumbed livewell; casting decks front and rear with hatches; 2 rod holders; tank and battery rack; carpeted floor; 4 seat sockets; extruded side decks; transducer bracket; under floor flotation; port side pocket; 2 upholstered fold-down seats.

Test boat courtesy of Ballina Marineland, 67 Endeavour Close, Ballina, phone 6686 2669.

Price as tested with Evinrude E-Tec 60hp on Redco trailer with deep-cycle battery, start battery, two-tone paint, Minn Kota RT55SP electric, custom rego numbers and free Humminbird 777 sounder (valued at $1400) – $23,180.

Fact box 2

• Mako 420 Estuary Tracker Tournament
• Length 4.2m
• Beam 2.0m
• Bottom 2mm
• Topsides 1.6mm
• Hull weight 220kg
• Max occupants 4
• Max engine weight 111kg

Features as tested: Anchor locker under foredeck; short side rails; low split bow rails; electric motor bracket; painted with stripes; sub-floor under front deck; splashwell; casting decks front and rear with hatches; 2 rod holders; tank and battery rack; carpeted floor; 4 seat sockets; extruded side decks; transducer bracket; underfloor flotation; port side pocket; 2 upholstered fold-down seats

Price as tested with 2008 Honda BF40, Redco trailer, registrations and safety gear – $16,250.