https://www.facebook.com/105707124597472/

Fletch's boat Tips, Auckland (2026)

15/12/2021

Tip #076 – DIY Reel Spooling

A great gift for the Boatie/Fisherman who has everything: a Reel Spooler. This portable line spooler can be used with mono or braided line and is very handy for spooling your own fishing reels.

I've used my spooler to replace the old, worn line on several reels during lockdown when I couldn’t get into the store. It is unbelievably quick and easy to do a professional job. I have also used it to create a line combination with half mono and half braided line with a blood knot joining the two lines. You can pick up Reel spooler from your local fishing tackle store or order online.

07/12/2021

Tip #078– Sun Canopy

As we head into a hot summer, the risk of sunburn is greater than ever. I highly recommend investing in a sun canopy for the rear deck. I purchased a sun canopy a month ago for some extra shade and was impressed with how quick and easy it was to install.

The front of the canopy is tied to the rocket launcher and its upright poles fit into the side rear rod holders. These two upright poles can be removed from the rod holders and the canopy folded back very quickly when not in use.

This sun canopy is my best upgrade I have made this summer. These universal sun canopies are available from your local marine store for less than $200, which is well worth the investment to stay cool out on the water😎

01/11/2021

Tip #074– Submerged Outboard & Recovery

Once in a boat owner’s life, a Titanic tragedy may occur and your boat sinks. Maybe someone just forgot to replace the drain plug and your boat ends up submerged. Fear not. A dunked engine can be salvaged but you need to act fast!

Saving your engine, whether it’s a two or four stroke from a watery death isn’t as hard as most people think, however fast action is crucial regardless of salinity. Once a waterlogged motor comes into contact with air, corrosion will begin. You have about 3 to 4 hours to get it cleaned up and going before damage sets in from the salt water and air on the inside components.

SMALL MOTORS

If you are not mechanical, you can still save your engine. All you need to do is drain the fuel and oil, remove the spark plugs and submerge in freshwater or hose down gently turning the engine over by hand, to get the fresh water into all the areas that have been exposed to salt water. You can leave it like this and quickly get it to your local marine dealer to have it urgently serviced.

For the more mechanical minded people, you can do the same as above and then drain and clean out the carb, including the fuel system and clean all wiring connector plugs. Put in new fuel and oil if 4 stroke. You can put a small amount of oil into the fuel if it's a 4 stroke and double the oil/fuel mix if you have a 2 stroke. Next use the pull start to turn over the engine with the spark plugs removed and the cylinders are able to freely move. Keep doing this until all the water stops coming out. Replace the plugs and try starting the engine in a tub of water or on the boat. Run the engine for about an hour as this will remove excess water inside of the engine. You will also need to take it to your marine dealer to have it inspected.

LARGER MOTORS

Do the same as above but you must replace any damaged leads or looms including the battery and clean out the starter motor. With fuel injected engines, the fuel system is sealed but you will also need to clean out the fuel tanks including filters. With the larger injected engine do not put any oil in the fuel as this could damage the injectors. Always get any engine that has been submerged in water checked out with a marine dealer to see if there is anything you might have missed.

22/10/2021

Turn you old iPhone into a GPS tracker for your boat or Jetski

Instructions below:
1. Completely erase all information on your old iPhone you can do this in the settings menu, you will need to disable your Apple ID to do this first.
2. Next, create a new Apple ID account, this will be the Apple ID for your boat, call it something along the name of your boat. Example: My Rayglass Boat
3. Restart your phone and set-up as a new iPhone, as this stage you will need a new SIM card with a data plan (this is what the iPhone will use to send your location)
4. Open the “Find Friends” app, tap “Add “and enter your mobile number, next select “Share Indefinitely” now your iPhone and the tracker iPhone are linked.
5. On your personal iPhone you will get notification that your Boat is now sharing its location with you.
6. Add your GPS Tracker phone to your contacts and call it something like “GPS Boat” next add a photo of your boat, this looks really cool as you boat ICON will be display on the iPhone map
7. You can use the “ADD” function again to share your boat location with friends & family, which is a great way to keep in touch when you are out fishing.
8. You can purchase a cheap sim card for data only from a mobile phone store, remember to setup an alert as a reminder to add credit every few months.
You are now all setup sharing your boat location with friends & family using the “Find Friends APP, also you can keep track of your boat just in case any thieves decide to steal your pride and joy.

Note: You will need at least an iPhone 6 or greater.
On my Rayglass I have installed the iPhone which is hidden in the back of the dashboard panel, for power I have a USB socket which is on it's own separate circuit from the main cut off with it's own fuse. so if you cut the power it will continue to work, also I have the phone set to low power so it will still work for at least 3-4 days without power.

14/10/2021

Tip #071 – Keeping it clean

Help keep the beaches and harbours clean this summer by installing a holding tank for your toilet. All you need is some extra hoses and at least a 20L plastic tank with a by-pass valve. Brendon and I installed the holding tank shown below and it took only a couple of hours to have it completely plumbed in and working.

We by-passed the outlet to the holding tank that we mounted to the inside of the storage locker. Then connected an outlet hose back to the overboard valve and put a breather on the tank. It is important to remember an in-line filter on the breather to prevent any odours accumulating in the bilges.☺️

29/09/2021

Had the team at Henleys Propellers do a scan of my Viper prop, they found it was out of balance and 2 of the blades were bent.

They did a fantastic job in straightening it out and giving it a full balance. Highly recommended!😎 can’t wait for level 2 so I can give it a spin!!🤪

Here's the full report:
On visual inspection there was only very slight grazing to one of the blade edges and no other signs of impact. When we scanned the prop the scans showed that all three blades were out on the outer radius and blade two was out on the middle radius as well…. Looks like the blades have made contact with something solid at some point. So the prop blades is outside the Class 1 standard tolerances and needed to be adjusted. You will see from the second scan all three blades are sitting within the class tolerances box and much closer to the middle solid line.

29/08/2021

FREE 12 MONTH DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION...

Good morning all.....
I hope you are all safe and sound, tucked away safely from this nasty Covid Delta.

While trapped in lock down, we at PowerBoat would like to extend a FREE 12 Month Digital PBCBB Subscription offer -
PowerBoat Covid Boredom Buster.

As part of our 2021 PowerBoat 25th Year Anniversary celebration, we are offering a FREE 12 Month Digital Subscription to PowerBoat magazine.

(Simply, a free ‘no further obligation’ subscription – giving you access to the next 6 editions, plus past issues and features.

Please click on this link
https://powerboatmagazine.co.nz/free-12-month-digital-subscription/
to start your FREE 12 MONTH POWERBOAT DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION

Enjoy and stay safe….
The PowerBoat magazine Team 👍

17/08/2021

Tip #067 – Forgetting the B**g (again)

A few months ago, I beach launched my boat and anchored it in the bay so I could do some repairs to the trailer rollers, a good mate Tony offered to bring me back to the shore once I had set the anchor, so after I launched my boat and waited for him to launch his boat and park his car.

After a few minutes I noticed Tony’s boat was sitting alarming low in the water, luckily it was anchored a few meters off the beach, I tried to pulled it to shore but it was almost on the bottom and filling with water fast! Just as Tony arrived back, we quickly pulled his boat to the shore (now really heavy with water by this stage), I quickly winched his boat onto my trailer and started the bilge pump.

Tony had forgotten to put the b**g in and this could have ended in disaster if I hadn’t been there with my trailer. This is an important lesson for all of us as a pre-launch check - please always confirm that your b**g is in correctly before you launch, I have done this on 2 separate occasions and I don’t plan on making it a 3rd time.

Pro Tip: Another problem with a boat having so much water inside is the stress you can cause to the hull loading it on to a trailer still fill of water, the extra weight could damage or bend the hull, on this occasion we carefully drained as much water as we could using the bilge pump and a bucket before we loaded it up onto the trailer.

Photo caption: Here is Tonys boat loaded on my Rayglass trailer, b**g is open and the bilge pump is pumping out the remaining water.🤫

08/07/2021

TIP #063 - Outboard maintenance – make sure you service annually

Outboard engines need to be serviced at least once a year, no matter how often you use your boat. Here’s an outboard that has seized its gearbox bolts, which makes it almost impossible to replace the water pump impeller.

The owner used this outboard engine when boating a couple of days during the summer. The boat was then stored for the rest of the year. The engine was thoroughly washed after each use but he hadn’t regularly serviced the water pump (taken apart and cleaned) because of the low engine hours.

After a few years, all the casing bolts seized in place, and the only way to remove the gearbox was for the mechanic to cut through the side of the casing to release the gearbox bolts, this was expensive and unnecessary if the servicing had been done regularly.🥺

30/06/2021

TIP #064 - Mozzie Net
On numerous occasions during the summer, overnighting and asleep in the cabin, I would be interrupted by a squadron of mosquitoes making their way through the open hatch to feast on the juiciest parts of my anatomy. (why the hell do they always bite my ankles!)

My solution (very proud of this one), cut a piece of fine netting cloth slightly larger than the hatch cover and stitch a strip of Velcro (hooks side) around all the edges. This will stay attached and sealed against the carpet on the cabin roof, while letting in a slight breeze and preventing letting the little B’Stards in.

Pro Tip: If you want to shade or block the light, use a black, thicker net cloth

Fletch's boat Tips

15/12/2021

07/12/2021

01/11/2021

22/10/2021

14/10/2021

29/09/2021

29/08/2021

17/08/2021

08/07/2021

30/06/2021

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category