Team Mercury member Darren ‘Dizzy’ Borg has teamed up with V8 Supercar driver James Courtney to thrash the competition in a special celebrity fishing contest organised by Australian Fishing Championships (AFC).

Cricket legend Matthew Hayden, actor Blair McDonough and second V8 wheelman Stephen Johnson
also took part, paired up with pro’s from the other regular AFC teams.

The one-off, made-for-TV event took place on the Tweed River in New South Wales.

The target was Bream and the rules were simple.

The pro’s and celebrities had to catch their own fish, with each handing over their biggest five for weighing.

“The pro’s had no problems reaching their limit, but the celebrities had trouble getting anything into the boat,” said a smiling AFC Executive Producer, Steve Morgan.

“Dizzy played it smart and turned from fisherman to teacher, and he must have done a good job because James was the only celebrity to bring in five fish.

“I have to say Team Mercury pretty much smashed them. They were the only guys to catch their limit. I think the best of the rest only had seven or eight.”

The celebrity contest should go to air later this year as the first episode of the new AFC series, the rest of which will be filmed next month.

Go to BoatsPlus for full details

Bursting at the seams in full-on colour and gloss, the stunning 40 page catalogue features the entire range of Yamaha outboards plus a unique fold-out spread on the world-first V8 4-stroke models from Australia’s best selling outboard brand.

Local Australian boating brands feature heavily across the pages of Yamaha’s latest catalogue with a great selection of photos highlighting some of Australia’s most popular boat models exploring Australian waterways.

“We’re really proud of our new 2009 catalogue. We believe it highlights the strength of our range.” said Brett Hampson, National Sales and Marketing Manager for Marine Products at Yamaha Motor Australia.

“We continue to offer Australian boaters an ever expanding suite of products, accessories and premium services each year which means the number pages needed to promote them continues to grow. It is also great to be able to promote Australian boat brands on Australian waters using our Yamaha outboards.”

Yamaha has also unveiled a sweet of new products and technologies for the 2009 boating season with the recent upgrade of the ground breaking 250hp 4-stroke engine topping the list. Delivering drive-by-wire technology for ultra smooth throttle control and gear shifts, the new F250B offers both recreational and commercial boaters a newly refined high-horsepower Yamaha outboard experience.

Protection Plus continues to be a popular service for Yamaha customers who wish to have complete protection for their Yamaha outboard and boating products. Comprising Yamaha Marine Insurance (YMI), DataDotDNA, Extended Service Protection (ESP) plus extended 3 and 4 year warranties, Protection Plus offers true peace of mind and is outlined in full at the beginning of Yamaha’s new 2009 catalogue.

The Yamaha family is also growing each year with a range of boating identities, sports personalities and leading Australian businesses all choosing the power of Yamaha outboards. Featured throughout the 2009 catalogue, Australia’s own WBA World Champion boxer Danny Green, prolific fishing writer Steve Starling and internationally respected Huon Aquaculture salmon enterprise all rely on Yamaha.

Available throughout Yamaha’s extensive dealer network, the new Yamaha 2009 Series outboard catalogue is a must read for all serious boating enthusiasts.

Yamaha outboards are available through an Australia-wide network of authorised Yamaha outboard dealers.  All Yamaha 4-stroke outboards are supported with a full 4-year manufacturer’s warranty and all 2-stroke outboards are backed by a 3 year warranty – standard conditions apply.

View Yamaha range at Boats Plus

View the new ITAMA SEVENTYFIVE at BoatsPlus

Information is provided by Exhibitors & correct at time of listing.
Subject to change without notice

BLAST™, along with a newly-designed, streamlined gear case and other improvements, contributes to greater acceleration and a higher top speed, while Lean Burn Control results in a 22% improvement in fuel economy over the previous models.

Battery charging capacity has also been increased to 17amps – over 1.7 times that of the previous BF40 and BF50.The new models are compatible with Honda’s latest general purpose engine diagnostic system (Dr H) and also feature a new one-touch plastic cap, which permits easy inspection of anode wear inside the engine, for significantly improved ease of maintenance.

Consistently leading the world in environmental performance, Honda has also managed to reduce noise levels by 1.0dB over previous models through such improvements as a longer exhaust pipe and an optimised rib design inside the upper portion of the extension case.

Both models exhibit outstanding environmental performance and exceed: 2008 CARB emissions standards – the most stringent in the world; US EPA standards for 2006; and domestic Japanese voluntary regulations.

As is the case with every other model in Honda’s outboard engine range, the new BF40 and BF50 also achieve the Outboard Engine Distributors Association’s (OEDA) three-star rating for ultra low emissions.

View Honda’s BF40 and BF50

With a limited two-year warranty, the exciting Verado 350 SCi will be available before Christmas. The 25” and 30” versions will be on sale through all Mercury Verado dealers, with the 20” model sold through race dealers only.

See the New Verado 350 SCi

“Boaters will love the smooth power on tap from the F250B with our advanced digital electronic remote control system. For applications where the engine is continually in and out of gear, the digital shift control delivers greater reliability than ever before.”
 
The ECM onboard the F250B also governs Yamaha’s multi-point fuel injection system which enables precise control of fuel/air mixture depending on the load and speed, to increase combustion efficiency for superior performance.
 
Quicker acceleration is achieved on the F250B through the use of long air intake manifolds and Variable Camshaft Timing (VCT) to boost low and mid-range torque. The 24-valve Double Over-Head Camshaft also provides greater valve timing control for clean and powerful combustion.
 
Yamaha’s new F250B is available as two variations, the standard right-rotation propeller and a counter rotation model. Both models offer 25 inch and 30 inch transom versions.
 
Yamaha outboards are available through an Australia-wide network of authorised Yamaha outboard dealers.  All Yamaha 4-stroke outboards are supported with a full 4-year manufacturer’s warranty and all 2-stroke outboards are backed by a 3 year warranty – standard conditions apply.

See the New Yamaha F250B Outboard

Sydney Harbour has had its first look at twin Yamaha F350 V8 outboards in action with the popular H2O Taxis service now enjoying the benefits of using Yamaha’s latest V8 technology.
 
Stepping up from twin Yamaha F225 4-stroke outboards, the H2O ‘WaterBus’ now boasts twin 5.3 litre V8 Yamaha outboards that produce a combined 700hp to deliver the torque required to push a 5 tonne boat with up to an additional 3 tonnes of passenger weight onboard.
 
H2O Taxis provide a complete ferry-style service around the famous Sydney Harbour through to Parramatta River. From Manly, Middle Harbour and all the way through to Homebush Stadium, H2O Taxis provides a fully customised taxi service with over 200 local pick-up and drop-off locations. 
 
Upgrading the power onboard the flagship 10.8m vessel with two of Yamaha’s most powerful outboard engines was the logical step for H2O Taxis owner Shane Kearns.

“I had already done over 3000 hours on my two Yamaha F225 4-strokes and was looking at upgrading to the F250 models when the new V8 F350 hit the market,” explained Shane.
 
“On a full load my twin F225 outboards were really working hard. Having the two Yamaha V8 outboards on the back has transformed the performance of this large, heavy boat.”
 
“Over the 35 engine hours clocked so far I have nearly halved my fuel bill with the twin F350 outboards returning a combined 31 litres per hour across a range of harbour conditions and boat loads. I originally thought my fuel gauges were wrong until I started closely monitoring my fuel intake.”
 
Shane Kearns bought the 10.8m aluminium tri-hull nearly 2 years ago, which was built to survey in 1995 for the renowned Doyles Restaurant and licensed to carry 26 passengers. After some customising and an engine swap from twin Yamaha 2-strokes to the F225 4-strokes, the vessel was re-surveyed to carry 49 passengers and the roof rated to 1 tonne for equipment transport to fulfil a range of water taxis duties.
 
 “With the F350s on the back, I travel at an average speed of 18-22 knots with the engines sitting comfortably on 3000 rpm,” said Shane. “Changing the prop from 15” to 19” has produced incredible thrust with the boat wanting to push forwards at idle revs. I opened her up to 5,000rpm recently which produced 38 knots.”
 
Yamaha’s world-first V8 F350 outboard has been warmly embraced by the Australian boating market with leading local and imported boat brands looking to the V8 for unmatched power to weight performance. Redefining the power options for larger planning vessels, the V8 F350 produces the torque expected from an inboard, with the weight, access and space saving advantages of an outboard. And skippers across Australia are savouring the advantage.
 
“Our WaterBus feels more balanced with the two V8s on the back and planes a lot easier than my previous setup,” said Shane.
 
“In the last 21 months I have done approximately 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km) around the harbour and clocked up over 3000 hours on my original F225 4-strokes. I now have every reason to expect big things from my new Yamaha V8 outboards.”
 
The twin Yamaha V8 F350 rig was supplied and installed by authorised Yamaha dealer Power Marine at Waverton on Sydney’s lower North Shore.
 
Yamaha outboards are available through an Australia-wide network of authorised Yamaha outboard dealers.  All Yamaha 4-stroke outboards are supported with a full 4-year manufacturer’s warranty and all 2-stroke outboards are backed by a 3 year warranty – standard conditions apply.