alun j. Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 What a nice evening ........ and antidote to work ........ calm sea, light land breeze and millions of stars to wonder at when the cloud cover pulled away. A nice tide running, not as strong as anticipated but not too much weed [ a thought when you see it piled up on the beaches !]. Armed with a bucketful of Poole's finest I expected to challenge James' record..... ....but it was slow going ! ........... just 3 sole and nothing bigger than 1 lb. 3 oz. James , fishing within a few hundred metres, did no better ....... but did handicap himself in being without lights. Afew other boats close by were similarly quiet....... perhaps it was too dark !! I've had more success on moonlit nights........... but sample too small to be valid. Good luck to Paul D. and any others out there tonight. Alun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMBOB Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Very poor out there last night 2 sole on Dawn raider,both to small to weigh,(we couldnt have weighed them any way with no lights ) Its amazing how your eyes ajust, it wasnt to bad at all out there with no lights. Could even tie hooks! Other species, bream , thornback ray,dogs and hoards of pout! we moved at about 10pm as we were getting one a chuck, to get two a chuck at the new spot lovely evening to be out though, be it a little cold. Cod next trip?! James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 No sole for the trip out last night but an extremely eventful day nonetheless .... At Barton we had Pout, schoolies, scad and a bream. The tide range was impressively huge which leads me onto the eventful part of the day. Left work early to get out before LW so we could have a bash at fishing X-Ray before dark. Nice new propellor and a bit of manoeuvring through the run ( which was ebbing at 5 knots ) and we managed to squeeze over the bar without touching bottom once. Headed for X-ray via Hengistbury Head - 14 knots ( which was not too bad for Neo ) and purring along. Anglers fishing off the goyne so gave the groyne a wide berth. Suddenly BANG - engine cover was crooked and the engine was shaking like mad. First thought was we had hit a pot rope. Lifted engine up and the nice new propellor was folded over on all 3 blades. The skeg had three lumps out of it and the cavitation plate had a piece missing. We decided to plod back over to see what we had hit - only to realise that it was the rocks. This is the same route I usually take every time to X-Ray. Difference today was the tide was extremely low. So beware - it coudl have been a lot worst - bottom of the boat must have missed the rocks by under an inch... Beached the boat back on the spit by the run - changed over the propellor ( I knew it was a good idea to carry a spare ) and then went to Barton to fish. On return to Wick the water level was high enough to cover half the signs on the posts at the end of the slip - water was only about 3 foot below the top of the slipway. Now off to find someone to repair the skeg/cavity plate and to get a new propellor. Pictures to come !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinbad Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Paul No wonder you only get 14 knots out of Neo - perhaps with all that weight you should ditch the anvil and forge, and just go out with the 'snap on' tool cabinet. Is a spare prop part of the safety kit ? Paul F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 It's been a rather forgetable last few weeks for you. The skeg and plate shouldn't be too bad, you can simply weld an old skeg onto the leg. Is the tilt ok, make sure all the hydraulics works ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Paul D Tough luck mate. Try propellor revolutions at Cobbs Quay, tehy have sorted mine out in the past Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Hydraulics are no problem - my engine doesn't have any Propellor Revolutions quoted around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Spooky timing there Martin ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun j. Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 What a difference a day makes................. Mon. the tide was there but not big; a stady flow at Barton but not the warp - wobbling a good spring creates. Commiserations Paul ........ that sort of experiential learning can be tough ! It's an odd patch..... about 80 - 150 m. out...... interesting / frightening to see it in different weather and tide states........ often with breaking water. Notice the way the macky trip boats keep close in to the groyne....... or go way out near the sailing club's yellow marker buoy. I've been there on calm summer mornings and heard passing sailing boats banging on the bottom. If you creep around in that weather , when the water is clear, you see how shallow it is .......... and the weed breaks the surface. For future reference, if you do cut in close to the groyne at low spring; it's deep at the groyne but be careful where you turn to head out........ there's another shallow reef a couple of hundred metres SW of the groyne...... look out from the top of Hengist. Head on a rough day ! Power tilt is so useful in our area ....... the best advice I got when I bought my boat; even on a tiddler like mine . Alun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Alun, Yep - that's the patch, there appeared to be two patches quite close together. The fact that the mackeral boats go close in by the groyne was actually my undoing - I had assumed ( incorrectly ) that the water was deep all around that area. Consulting the chart you can see the shallow rocky area I hit ( labelled as 0.3 m ) - but easy to see this with the benefit of hindsight. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt and I was certainly guilty of that. The tide flow at Barton wasn't too strong though, but the difference in heights was impressive. ( I put it down to the annular eclipse ) ?? Just need to get the skeg and cavitation plate repaired before the Open Comp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Paul, I was at propellor revolutions yesterday and the estimate he gave when i asked about your skegg was about the same as a prop repair and said it may be cheaper due to the size and make of your engine. I was tapping him up for sponsorship and refered him to the website- he's considering it. please take in a poster for the shop when you go - he loves us Christchurch guys for obvious reasons Cheers Paul J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Fishing was very slow yesterday, just off the hh groyne 2pm to 4:30pm. Just picked up my prop that morning and what a difference! Previously i was running a 13pitch on my old 50 Merc and getting a max of 4800 revs with a top speed of 20 knots ( one up) They re-pitched it at 11 1/2 and now it does 5200 revs and tops out at 22 knots, not too bad for the old beast and i don't think i can expect much more. Hopefully this will improve fuel usage as well. I got caught out coming back in to the run, the tide was screaming out and the Bar was fully exposed but went for it anyway. I hit bottom slightly just enough to rough up the edges of my new prop! so i retreated. Determine to get in and remembering Sinbad's suggestion of using the Auxillary i decided to give it a go- i needed to give this some practise anyway for emergencies and the engine needed to be run after a long lay off. I worked fine and made it ok but took a long time as i was only making 1/2 a knot against the run off A 4hp johnson pushing a 17ft whaler was interesting. once a little deeeper, i dropped the main engine and used both, putting the bigger engine in neutral when going over the dodgy bits and using it only to steer. Paul J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Paul, I will grab a poster off you this evening. It was quite strange actually, I phoned and told him I had damaged the prop and engine and he asked if I went out of Christchurch. I told him yes - he says "damaged in the run ? " I say - no at Hengistbury Head - damaged prop / skeg and ..... he stops me and says - cavitation plate as well. I am thinking "How the ?!?! does he know that ! " Then I remembered - you been speaking to Paul Jennings haven't you !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shytalk Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 that rock does bite i have repaired an outdrive skeg that hit that baby a few times and also saw a triple engined sunseeker smash a drive clean off there best to keep 20 or 30 yards off the groin at low water or stay 200 yards off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Where is this groyne area we are talking about? Is it the bit marks Beerpan Rocks on charts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 presumably the concrete/rock pier jutting out into xchurch ledge from Hengetsbury Head...or not.as the case may be.....jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Jack, It wasnt the actual pier ( even I wouldn't miss that ). It is off from the groyne though and is near to the bit marked beerpan rocks. ( It is marked as 0.3 metres deep ). I have got the gearbox of the outboard now and sitting ready for welding repairs. As promised piccies to show how strong Honda Outboards are ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 And the cavitation plate ( I am beginning to think it was a good job I had holes drilled in it for the old wings, since it has stopped the fracture at the hole as opposed to maybe breaking into the gearbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Wow, it looks bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob F Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 On the Navionics charts they show the underswater rock symbol, though its not immediately obvious. Thanks for sharing the experience, Paul. Let's hope we all learn from it. BF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMBOB Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Looks like your lucky to still have an engine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 You think that looks bad - you should see the propellor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinbad Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Paul Just for completeness .... show us a pic of the prop mate!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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