AHoy Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Having to reject the boat I was originally going to buy (bad survey) turned out for the better, as I took the opportunity to re-assess the choices and went in search of a Merry Fisher 805 instead. The change of boat was undertaken to get the benefit of more cruising use in addition to fishing, the selection of the MF805 followed a visit to the recent Southern Motorboats viewing weekend. Many thanks to Tom and co. for the opportunity to view at leisure. The boat I eventually purchased was moored at Plymouth so, after survey and purchase formalities last week it was a case of doing the delivery trip on the first suitable weather window, bearing in mind the extended bad weather at the end of last year. It was also an opportunity to check-out the boat's cruising potential a bit more. With my eldest son as co-skipper we decided on last Friday and Saturday for the trip, with the Friday morning set aside for travel to Plymouth and the final prep of the boat for the journey - it hadn't seen a lot of serious use recently and needed a few tweaks and kitting out with spares/safety items. The trip went well, but as always the last minute tasks took longer than planned and we didn't depart Plymouth until 15:00 on Friday. With the SE winds and head sea we cruised at reduced speed, taking just over three and a half hours for the 43nm leg to our overnight port of Brixham, requiring a night entry to the harbour - fortunately we agreed on the pilotage :>) We didn't see any other boats at all on this leg, just us out there, obviously out of season. Plymouth (shoreward) Plymouth (seaward) Brixham The start of the Saturday leg from Brixham to Poole was delayed a little as the fuel pontoon doesn't open until 09:00 (also note, no petrol available only diesel at Brixham). Our planned passage time for the 72nm leg to Poole was five hours, but again with the SE winds and a 1.5m head sea we cruised at reduced speed, sometimes down to 10 knots, taking eight hours to get to Poole entrance. Again, no other boats about other than one powerboat going west across Lyme Bay and one yacht making heavy weather towards Portland - not even a PBSBAC boat in sight! put videos on repeat for 8 hours for true effect! Lyme Bay (forward view) Lyme Bay (stern view) Poole entrance at last, and some revs on the engine. I am most impressed with the sea keeping and comfort of the MF805, even when pushing the water over the top of the cabin roof! The only concern we had was failure of the fuel gauge on the first day - it permanently showed empty so lots of rev counter checks and consulting the fuel consumption chart (worst case scenario). It turns out we had plenty of margin as the fuel consumption for the whole trip was 14.8 l/hr. Moored up and ready for a clean. Now to get the boat fitted out properly for both fishing and cruising. AHoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coddy Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Nice one Alan Good to hear you made it ok. Boat looks great and I am sure you will have some good times on her and hopefully get some good fish over the gunnels. Regards Coddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 lovely boat m8 FISH ON!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Lovely looking boat Alan and glad to see you had a relatively uneventful trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Nice ride Alan PJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Very nice Alan, you must be pleased. Tight lines. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djredrupp Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 after watching that video on loop for 8hours,, im a bit shellshocked! nice boat though! what speeds can she do? (economically of course...) Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob F Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Lovely boat, Alan. I've updated your club details. BF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted October 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 after watching that video on loop for 8hours,, im a bit shellshocked! nice boat though! what speeds can she do? (economically of course...) Dan It's the stiff wiper blade that gets to you after the first hour .... early replacement for that. Didn't get the chance for a brew on route. Using the heads was also a challenge in those conditions! I managed 21 knots on sea trial, but loaded up I reckon around 19 or 20 knots max and 16 knots cruising at 20l/hr. The rope cutter takes best part of 1 knot off the speed. The good thing is the ability to keep going in a sea at a reasonable speed without the slamming of a planing boat. My son reckoned his boat (a typical US 26 ft sport-cruiser) would have been running a lot slower in the conditions. The master plan allows for cross-channel trips of around 4 hours, or close enough to the faster boats to follow them to the marks without deliberately holding back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted October 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Lovely boat, Alan. I've updated your club details. BF Thanks Bob. I have amended my profile to include the MMSI. Alan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Sea Dean Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Nice boat congratulations. That South Easterly on Saturday was a real pig. We travelled 10 miles SE offshore and after deciding it wouldnt be comfortable to sit out there at anchor cut across to the Needles so have got an idea as to how your trip may have been. Not to sure I would want to have been travelling for 8 Hours. Certainly a good way to get used to the boat though. Nice one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted October 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 That South Easterly on Saturday was a real pig. We travelled 10 miles SE offshore and after deciding it wouldnt be comfortable to sit out there at anchor cut across to the Needles so have got an idea as to how your trip may have been. Not to sure I would want to have been travelling for 8 Hours. According to the forecasts the sea state was variously: slight or rippled or smooth Good job we did our own assessment of what several days of SE winds would produce. Mike Fox had also sent me a PM with his weather assessment, which as usual was spot on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Congratulations Alan. She looks a picture! Good test of her for the first tip around too! You may find that the fuel guage is wired to a switch that you have to press to check fuel levels.... Mine is! I have no idea why this is, but many Jeanneau's are wired this way. The saleman's pitch is that it is a safety feature to keep you checking. As a by the by, the guages are only really accurate when at a standstill or tickover. As soon as you push onto the plane they will always read well over. Well done. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted October 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Tom, Thanks for the tips. I traced the fuel gauge fault to a dodgy connection on the back of the gauge, much easier to find when moored up! Now fixed. Any Nanni dealers/engineers in the Poole area, I haven't found any listed? I bought a load of spares/service items at Plymouth but would prefer a local source. Alan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Nag Peachments. http://www.peachment.co.uk The are the UK distributors. The guys at Lathams Boat Yard used to be the service agents, but went belly up(?). Currently wehave no official service agent for Nanni which is ludicrous considering the number of engines kicking around Dorset. Check with Peachment, but for the time being they are letting any qualified and official marine mechanic service the engines under warranty, assuming the service is done in accordance with their schedule. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Alan Great write up and great trip to start with obviously. Some people have similarily uneventfully trips all their lives - for others every one is a book! The configuration of those boats is excellent for those sort of conditions (relative etc etc) and you should have a whole load of confidence behind you now. Fuel consumption looks excellent as well for bashing your way through a head sea - the engine is pushing the boat through the water very efficiently for those sort of numbers at that speed. Very usefull because I suspect you will have pretty even mpg over the whole range between 6 and 18 knots which helps with planning etc and creates less pressure to try and hold on the plane as conditions deteriote and you are a long way from home! Water and mars bars are of course as much a part of the boats emergency equipement as flares. I presume we add you to the list of guys to be contacted when we are running over to the CIs to fish now? Finally a niggle - I cannot believe you had that key fob bouncing around in front of your eyes the whole trip! I am sure you will have a whole lot of fun with the boat - personally I find this size capable of anything I would wish to undertake - comfort is a very personal thing but cramped and damp as it can get it beats the hell out of camping! Duncan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fox Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Great looking boat Alan. Well done on what looks like an experience-packed delivery trip! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted October 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Water and mars bars are of course as much a part of the boats emergency equipement as flares. I presume we add you to the list of guys to be contacted when we are running over to the CIs to fish now? Finally a niggle - I cannot believe you had that key fob bouncing around in front of your eyes the whole trip! Duncan, I would definitely like to join one of the cross channel sessions next year, but will need to get to work on my fishing skills (or lack of) beforehand. Either that or press gang someone for crew who is more proficient at fishing. On the trip back it was half an hour shift changes between lookout and helm duties as it helped us keep alert for pot buoys in those conditions. Every shift change included a biscuit ration and water top-up, didn't need to break into the Mars bars though The ignition key fob/float was actually out of my line of sight when at the helm, but looks very obvious in the photo. AHoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 no great skill (ask PaulJ.......... ) it's all down to the skipper more seriously (1) suspect you will get experienced volouenteers very quickly if not already.......... (2) one of the key elements in going in company is the fact that you can share experiences (once you have a decent radio AWOL) and either match drifts with someone who is catching or take solace that no one is. worst case you share drifts and someone else keeps catching - but the good news is they are normally happy to buyin the bar later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Alan Smart seaworthy looking boat, look forward to your fishing reports. Yes Duncan I now have a decent radio which I am looking forward to using in the CI's next year and BTW I still have your handheld Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 lol I know you do MArtin but was citing that time as a great example of how 2 boats can be 4 times better at finding fish - we split up and ran over to other banks to look for fish; found none but you on the other hand had them jumping on and off the hooks as the tides changed but couldn't call us. You would have called wouldn't you! It's a lot of fun (even when you do a crossing at 8 knots as you did returning and we had to once going out because of the conditions!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 You would have called wouldn't you! Of course goes without saying........doesn't it Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted October 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 With the boats documents I also inherited a sheet of fishing marks for the Plymouth area, might be worth auctioning off to recover some fuel costs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fox Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 You might make more by auctioning photocopies! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob F Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Alan, I've updated your MMSI details, too. Thanks BF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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