St Kilda Boat Sales
http://www.stkildaboatsales.com.au/
Go4 NewsGo4 Multimedia.Donovan Craig <donovan@go4.com.au>
http://www.stkildaboatsales.com.au/news/newsitem.html?news_id=338
Illegally taken snapper revealed during routine boat inspectionDepartment of Primary Industries Victoria Fisheries officers were stunned when a routine boat inspection at Mordialloc last night revealed a huge catch of illegally taken snapper.
Two men from Reservoir and Noble Park will be charged on summons after Fisheries officers found 81 snapper, most of them undersized, in an ice cooler.
The men, aged 61 and 67, were intercepted at the Mordialloc boat ramp at about eight o’clock last night, when they were returning their boat to shore.
Fisheries Victoria’s Director of Education and Enforcement, Michael Hodder, said such behaviour was criminal, which was clearly demonstrated by these individuals’ actions.
'There are no excuses, and this is exactly why we utilise our confiscation powers in such circumstances,' Mr Hodder said.
'People who fish like this have no concerns for the fishery, current or future generations - it is all about ‘self’.
'This is the second matter this week in this same area.
'Our patrols checked dozens of boats last night and everybody else was doing the right thing.'
Altogether 65 of the 81 snapper were less than the legal minimum of 28 centimetres.
The bag or possession limit for snapper is ten. The men will be charged with taking undersized snapper, exceeding the bag limit and, in one case, fishing without a licence.
Anyone who sees or suspects illegal fishing activity is urged to call the 24-hour reporting line, 13FISH (13 3474).
DPI Victoria website
News article reprinted from: http://www.powerboat-world.com
Story by: by Alan Everett Latest NewsLuke Moulton <luke@go4.com.au>
http://www.stkildaboatsales.com.au/news/newsitem.html?news_id=337
7 Tips - Fuel Dock SafetyDock your boat at a fuel dock and you will engage in one of boating's more dangerous, but necessary activities. Fuel fires and galley fires continue to top the 'most dangerous' list of emergencies.
After all, if a fire breaks out when fueling, your boat and all other boats in the marina could be exposed to a literal 'lethal weapon'. Follow these seven steps each and every time you fuel your boat.
Before you begin, make sure you go over the fueling evolution with your crew or sailing partner and break out these essential tools for safety first:
* Absorbent pads or cotton cloth baby diapers
* Clean Rags
* Fuel Fill Cap Key
* Portable Fire Extinguisher (out of brackets and on deck)
1. Button Up Your Boat to Keep Vapours Out
Close all hatches, ports and vents. This keeps fuel vapours outside of the boat and prevents vapour accumulation in the bilge area. Run mechanical blowers (if equipped) for at least five minutes to clear the engine space of fumes.
2. Keep a Fire Extinguisher Ready on Deck
Remove a fire extinguisher from the bulkhead mounting brackets. Place it in a horizontal position onto the deck outside in the cockpit area. This position will prevent the extinguisher from falling over in case of boat wakes that rock the boat. Now you have an extinguisher near the fueling operation, ready to use in an instant.
3. Cover the Downhill Scupper Drains
Use a few rags, pads, or diapers to block off cockpit scuppers or drains in case you get fuel overflow or the fuel splashes or spills on deck. The fuel will flow with gravity along the deck to drains or scuppers. Block off the scuppers to keep fuel on the boat and out of the waters of the harbor.
4. Keep Contact between Nozzle and Fill
Wrap a rag around the nozzle or fuel fill opening before you insert the nozzle. This will help catch fuel drips or spills. Insert the nozzle and maintain contact with the fuel fill opening. This will prevent the possibility of a spark from static electricity.
5. Keep an Eye on the Fuel Gauge
Realize that some tanks are shaped somewhat like a 'V'--narrower near the bottom and wider near the top. That means that when you begin to fuel, the gauge could show a rapid fill. Then, about halfway up to the top of the tank, the fuel gauge will slow to a crawl. This can catch you by surprise and the tank could overfill. Slow down when your gauge reads 'half full'. Ask your crew or partner to hold a diaper just beneath the fuel vent in case of overflow. Fill up the tank to about 90% capacity. This allows a bit of space inside the tank for expansion.
6. Tighten the Fill Cap
Turn the fill cap over and check the gasket. Replace the gasket if it’s cracked. Otherwise, water can intrude into your tank and cause havoc with your engine. Tighten the cap onto the fuel fill opening for a positive seal to keep moisture, rain water, and sea spray out. Check all along the deck for drips and spills and wipe it up right away with your rags, absorbent pads, or diapers. Also, check on both sides of the hull for a sheen in the water, in particular on the same side as the fuel vent.
7. Ventilate Before You Start the Engine!
Open up all hatches, ports, and vents for at least five minutes to get rid of any fuel vapors present below decks. Run the blowers (if equipped) in the engine space for five minutes. No matter how busy the fuel dock may be--even with boats waiting to come alongside--make sure to do this final step to prevent explosion. Take five and stay alive!
John Jamieson (Captain John) shows you the no-nonsense cruising skills you need beyond sailing school at www.skippertips.com.
News article reprinted from: http://www.powerboat-world.com
Story by: John Jamieson Latest NewsLuke Moulton <luke@go4.com.au>
http://www.stkildaboatsales.com.au/news/newsitem.html?news_id=235
Alarm grows as used US boats flood in Distressed sales, naive buyers, worried local dealers - this market is not shipshape, writes David Lockwood, as published on www.smh.com.au
Ships come and go but those arriving on our shores are unloading more pre-loved American-made boats than we've seen before. Capitalizing on the favorable exchange rate and apparent arbitrage - that is, the price difference for the ''same'' boat in different markets - would-be skippers are lining up for what, at face value, appear to be real bargains. But talk with local industry players and they paint a different picture.
Marine consultant Ken Evans, who worked for Mercury for more than 30 years, says while parallel importing was about in the 1980s, it was a drop in the ocean compared with what's going on today.
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"One reason is that some of the boats are bloody cheap,'' he says. ''They've been bought at no-reserve auctions and are distressed sales."
Evans wants buyers to beware. "If people bring in boats with engines in or on them [inboard or outboard power] they are on their own as there is no factory-backed warranty. Only established dealers complying with the manufacturer's sales structure get factory backing.''
Evans says it's the responsibility of the boat dealer or importer to supply parts and warranty for seven years. So boat import agents could be legally bound to back their customers' buys.
The Outboard Engine Distributors Association is reeling over the number of engines (and parts) being imported outside the manufacturers' authorised dealer networks.
"What's happening is that people are finding great deals, usually via the Internet, on engines which are being brought in from overseas," said OEDA executive officer Lindsay Grenfell.
"But deals that look too good to be true usually are. We don't want people taking their family to sea with engines which could have come from anywhere and which haven't been properly checked. There could be any number of serious issues."
Authorised local dealers conduct pre-delivery programs, using specialised diagnostic equipment, to ensure all engines are properly prepared and work as they should. And they also ensure engines are fitted correctly.
But it's not just marine engines that are driving the trade deficit in this area. Parallel or grey imports are considered the biggest threat to the industry.
A ship recently docked in Newcastle carrying 62 boats - but just one was a new model heading to an established Sydney dealership - and we hear of 80 second-hand American boats being unloaded in Melbourne. Doubtless, more are on the way.
If you must apportion blame then point the finger at the economic downturn in America. At the recent Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, guest speaker Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said new-boat sales in America were down 80 per cent to 135,000 units last year, compared with 523,000 in 1998. In the first quarter of this year they fell a further 20 per cent. So desperate dealers are looking overseas to offload stock and banks are highly motivated.
Then again, one man's loss is another man's gain. With the American boat market in tatters and the Aussie dollar soaring, it's been the perfect mix for importers. Enter Steve Lazarides from his eponymous boat-importation company based in Sydney. He says "business is booming." Of the above-mentioned shipment of 62 boats to Newcastle, 48 were pre-loved American craft destined for his customers.
"I'm a delivery boy … I deliver dreams," Lazarides says. "Compared with the same local boat of the same year model in the same condition, there are minimum savings of 30 per cent.'' There are a lot of boats coming into the country and there does not seem to be an end to it. But it's not Lazarides's fault - ''It's the end user that is deciding the market," he told Tidelines.
Lazarides says the boats he sells are generally out of warranty and buyers do not really care about that anyway.
"There are people out there trying to scare buyers who don't know any better,'' he says. ''Dealers are scared because they have to pay rents. And Riviera must be kicking themselves to see their [exported] boats coming back home. At the end of the day, it drives second-hand prices down.
''But when all this settles down you will have a lot of boats in the country. All the boats that are selling are 2000- models and up. For those with pre-2000 boats, god help them.
''At least it will allow a lot of people with $100,000 to buy a 35-footer in future. But the dollar won't stay up there forever."
Stephen Milne, director of brand and communications at Riviera, was optimistic.
"It was inevitable, considering the dollar structure, but providing people buy a Riviera we're happy. Second-hand sales are a strong part of the industry and we're happy to support our owners at the end of the day. Besides, it's only a certain kind of person chasing these deals. There are always the bargain hunters."
But an apparent bargain is not always the bargain you think. "Some of the boats coming back from America haven't been looked after and there's the possibility of horrendous storm damage," Milne says. "We had a 58-footer in Texas that was lifted over a two-storey building and thrown on its side. It was repaired and then put back on the market. You just don't always know what you are buying."
Mike Joyce, a boat dealer from Riviera's R Marine offices at Rushcutters Bay, says the recent imports don't concern him because he couldn't supply the boats - 56- and 60-footers - in the first place.
"They just weren't available second-hand here,'' he says. "Besides, I've imported a specialised boat from America before, a Cigarette for my own uses, and I struggle to understand how anyone could make money out of it. You need to find the boat, inspect it, get a surveyor, have it packed on a ship, organise to have unpacked here, then prepare the boat, swap the electrical systems, radios, lights, and so on … "
Meanwhile, on line boat sales sites such as Boatpoint and the classifieds in marine magazines are getting more ads for second-hand American craft. Restraint-of-trade laws prevent publishers from rejecting ads, much to the chagrin of local dealers, but the market for big boats, say above 20 metres, has always been international. It's just that it's come back to the 30- to 40-footers.
"You're buying a boat off someone on the other side of the world, that you don't know, who you will never see again, and are relying on the report of a surveyor you also don't know,'' says Tony Poole from Bluewater Power Yachts, the importer of the American-made Luhrs offshore fishing craft in the 30-40 foot league.
''Then there are all the issues with compliance, quarantine and quality. The boats have aluminium and not stainless steel rails, old firefighting equipment, TVs that don't work. They might be hurricane damaged.
"You also have to convert the boats from 120 volts to 240 volts with a transformer, maybe add an inverter, but then appliances blow up, and it's just an electrical nightmare."
At the end of the day, caveat emptor - buyer beware. What you're buying from your local dealer is peace of mind. If something doesn't work, call for help. Dealers keen on keeping your custom will dispatch free advice or send someone out to help. And off you go.
david.lockwood@bigpond.com
St Kilda Boat Sales advice to 'prospective buyers' on the dangers of importing your own boat from the USA.
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Buy from an Accredited Dealer who is a member of the Boating Industry Association. Accredited Dealers demonstrate to customers that we operate at the highest standards and that our business is both ethical and professional – in short, that we are a leader in our industry. An Accredited Dealer is one which has demonstrated that the dealership is following a set of audited guidelines, aiming to provide higher standards of excellence within our industry.
We proudly display the Accredited Dealer logo to demonstrate to the purchasing public, that you can buy with confidence from this dealership.
Specifically, Accredited Boat Dealers follow an agreed Code of Conduct, operate Trust Accounts and who's business practices are Audited to confirm compliance. All of these requirements are created to provide consumer protection, thus increasing buyer confidence.
All Victorian Accredited Dealers must issue the buyer with a Statutory Declaration confirming, the purchased vessel and/or Trailer is being sold with Clear-Title and that NO Finance is owing. This protects the consumer from potential Police investigations etc, because the Statutory Declaration confirms that no-one has any interest whatsoever, in the vessel and/or Trailer. Sadly, the Vehicle Securities Register (VSR) does not operate nationally for vessels in Australia. Because the Hull Identification Number (HIN) is not a mandatory recording requirement at the time of registration, in some states of Australia. Just go to Vic Roads and see for yourself!
Vendor Statements are available from all Victorian Accredited Dealers, confirming the Vessel and/or Trailers service history, accidents, modifications, insurance, registration and usage.
Be aware that some of the boats 'For Sale in the USA' - maybe stolen and consequently, they may also have been 're-birthed.'
The buyers inability to understand and validate, the full service history and usage of vessel and/or Trailer. Many US Dealers and Brokers, are all selling the same vessel, so you can't talk to the actual vendor.
If a mechanical inspection is offered by the US Broker, then what guarantees do you have as to the inspectors qualifications, impartiality and relations with the selling dealer! A Conflict of Interest and Commission payments are both worrying factors, there's no-way to truly validate the information you are given.
Trailers that aren't built to the Australian Standards in the first instance, may not able to be registered by the relevant state authorities, because they are Not Compliant. Therefore, they may not pass the formal inspection required for registration.
Consequently, it's best to stick with proven, quality and reliable products. Consequently, we recommended buying a recognised Australian branded Trailer. Look at the leading manufacturers such as; MacKay, Dunbier or EasyTow to name a few!
Buying a vessel that is built to Australian Compliance and Standards means it is factory fitted with the 240v electrical system, at the time of build. If it's not, it's important to have your vessels Electrical System fully re-wired to suit 240v, tested and issued with an Electrical Compliance Certificate. USA built boats are wired to their standard 110v. So it's not just the Power Point Socket that needs changing. You must also change all of the Wiring, Electrical Looms, Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning, Chargers, Shore Power all Other Electrical Equipment connected.
Any conversion from 240v to 110v through the use of a transformer, inverter or adapter - simply won't work, in the long-term. They have proven in the past to be both unreliable and dangerous. The risk of Fire and/or Electrical Shock is real. Your safety and that of your crew and guests is YOUR responsibility! Remember, Electricity and Water Do Not Mix!
Insurance companies will Not Cover any Vessel and/or Trailer that is Not Australian Compliant. The Electrical Compliance Certificate and Registration papers may need to be lodged.
Check the width of the Trailer to ensure your local state Registration Compliance. Being over-width will Not Pass inspection. Also typically, the tow-hitch and coupling height on the Trailer more than likely, will need to be lowered to meet Australian Compliance. A structural engineer usually can assist.
Vessel and Engine Manufacturers Warranties Do Not Apply outside the country of the purchase. Therefore, any US installed Engine and/or Hull purchased outside the authorised Dealer channel here in Australia, is Not Covered by either Vessel and Engine Warranty.
Read information published by the Outboard Engine Distributors Association (OEDA) and The Australian Marine Engine Council Inc (AMEC) on this matter. Member companies include: Mercury, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Evinrude/BRP and Mariner have all individually stated that: 'Buyer Beware' and to 'Exercise Extreme Caution' if you're thinking of importing your own boat, because of the lack of Warranty, Non Australian Compliance and a buyers inability to understand the usage and service history.
Australian Consumer and Trade Practices regulations and laws, Do Not Apply to the Selling Dealers, Brokers and Mechanical Inspectors in the USA. You have No Legal comeback, should you run into problems.
THE BOTTOM LINE.....IS IT ALL WORTH IT?
Simply, just negotiate harder with your local Accredited Dealer and buy an Australian Delivered and Compliant Boat......After-all, the actual savings may not be as big as you think and local support, assistance and an on-going relationship will work in the long run!
Besides, buying from an Accredited Dealer means your supporting the Australian industry which employs local people, 000's of people in fact. Accredited Dealers and Authorised Service Centre's offer Apprenticeship's and Training for young men and women.
It also means that the sales and repair revenues, stays here in Australia! Now that's good for us all and our economy.......
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Latest NewsLuke Moulton <luke@go4.com.au>
http://www.stkildaboatsales.com.au/news/newsitem.html?news_id=336
Lots of life left in 2 strokesAustralian boat owners shouldn’t hesitate to buy a 2-stroke engine if it suits their needs, according to the Outboard Engine Distributors Association (OEDA).
'It’s time to clear up some confusion which is circulating in the boating community at the moment,' said OEDA’s Executive Officer, Lindsay Grenfell.
'Some people believe, and others have been lead to believe, there’s no point buying a 2 stroke outboard because they’re about to be outlawed by the Federal Government. That is simply wrong.'
OEDA – which represents companies that produce conventional 2 stroke, 2 stroke Direct Injection and 4 stroke engines – has been closely following and assisting Canberra’s current deliberations on ways to reduce emissions from marine engines.
'The latest we have from the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities is that any decision is effectively a number of years away,' Lindsay said.
The Department is still considering which of three options is the best way to proceed. If the Department decides to take action, then new legislation and supporting regulation will have to be drawn up and approved – a lengthy process in itself.
Then, depending on the decision, all state and territory jurisdictions would need time to implement those regulations.
'Even then, the new rules will be focused on the sale of new engines. No-one is suggesting people will go around confiscating existing 2 strokes,' Lindsay said.
OEDA strongly supports the move to low emission technology and its members (Mercury, Yamaha and Tohatsu) have introduced more than 64 new generation 3 Star Ultra Low emission engines into the Australian market over the last few years.
'Thanks to new technology, today’s 4 stroke and 2 stroke Direct Injection engines are fantastic low-emission options for most people but there are still some applications which require the traditional 2 stroke outboard,' Lindsay said.
'And it’s these people who shouldn’t be confused or bamboozled into thinking they shouldn’t get the best engine for the job.'
OEDA members represent approximately 70% of all outboard sales and 70% of outboard dealerships across Australia.
More at www.oeda.com.auLatest NewsLuke Moulton <luke@go4.com.au>