Its Here

[britboard]

She's landed at Southampton and is now sitting on the dock waiting for customs clearance, i am picking up the new trailer (rollercoaster 10) this weekend in readiness.

 

I've been out shopping for loads of bits already, i opted for Lowrance electronics again going for the LCX113HD with a NMEA2000 link to the engine for a electronic helm, a set of Lenco 12"by 12" edge mount trim tabs with auto retracts and led feedback with a trusty Navman 7100dsc for the radio, so i'm going to have a bit of work to do before she hits the water proper. Shouldn't take me too long though as i've done it all before on Cimarra so that takes most of the guesswork and trawling through manuals out of the situation. Lots of cables to pull through the trunking built into the boat which is probably going to be the toughest bit of the job.

 

Plan is for me and Alun to go and collect next Thursday and then on friday the Man from the CE/RCD is going to his bit somewhere in the local area.

 

If anyone is interested in what they have to do and wants to come and watch give me a shout and i'll let you know where and when, i'll take some pictures as i think they are going to try to near capsize her during testing.

 

I'm like a cat on a hot tin roof now and can't wait to get my hands on her.

 

Simon L

 

Edited February 14, 2009 by britboard

[Paul J]

Exciting times indeed

 

PJ

[Maverick Martin]

Simon she looks a pretty boat what make is she?

 

I understand the excitement of a new boat, been there a few times myself.

 

Good luck

 

Martin

[britboard]

Its a Pioneer 197 Sports Fish, made in the good old US of A in North Carolina.

 

Heres a link to their website pioneer boats

 

If plans go well i may take on the UK dealer rights for the whole pioneer range if the boat generates enough interest, the build quality is amazing and as they are a fairly new manafacturer who is trying to build themselves a share in a tough market they are equipping these boats with top quality gear, it a whole lot more boat than i could get in the UK for the money which is helped by a weak dollar at the moment. They apparently used to build boats for all the big names in the US market and then decided to make their own range.

 

The whole import process was nowhere near as painful as i expected and everyone in the US is well geared up for the shipping needs, i guess its not unusual for them to ship boats across country. The tax man takes his cut at this end and adds 1.7% import duty and then 17.5% VAT on both the boat and shipping price.

 

Simon L

[Paul D]

Looks a really nice boat Simon.

 

I guess you are hoping that the test is to "nearly" capsize and not to successfully capsize

 

 

[Bob F]

Here's a tip if you are having to feed a lot of cables.

 

Use something like an old throttle, steering or brake cable and tie a length of string or 150lb mono to the end of it.

 

Feed the throttle cable through the tunnel until the string comes through. Remove the throttle cable, leaving just the string. Then tie the string to the other end of the string so that you have a continuous loop (half in the tunnel, half out on the boat).

 

You then use the loop to attach the cable to, and pull them though. Having a loop removes the need for feeding through another piece of string each time you install a cable.

 

BF

[Paul J]

A handy tip indeed Bob - youre getting wise in your old age

 

PJ

[Adam F]

A handy tip indeed Bob - youre getting wise in your old age

Edited July 6, 2008 by Adam F

[alun j.]

next Thursday! [??]

[britboard]

Hi, guys

 

First things First, A BIG THANKS to Alun for helping me out on Thursday and Friday, i couldn't have done it without you!

 

We collected the boat from Southampton docks on Thursday, the whole package came shrink wrapped and looked a lot smaller than i remembered, until when i looked under the wrap i realised that they had removed the T-top for shipping. The dock workers promptly planted her onto her new trailer using a mobile sling-lifter without drama and me and Alun then spent a very wet next hour on the dock-side adjusting and balancing the trailer to make her safe for towing. When all that was done it was off to the Jones household for a well earned cuppa, and the rest of the day was spent unwrapping and re-assembling the boat ready for the CE/RCD testing the following day.

It was Whiting for dinner prepared with the usual expert culinary touch that Alun seems to make look so easy.

 

Friday morning and it was off to Lymington slip to meet Dave from American sports boats and the guy from the notified body who spent about 2 hours looking over the boat, making notes and advising what i needed to do to make it CE compliant. Then it was gently slipped into the water for the float test, we only just managed to get it started as the shippers had left the batteries online and they were a bit flat by the time it got to me. Once tied off to the pontoon it was just a case of the guy asking how many i wanted the boat to be rated for "6 i replied" so off i trotted to find some unsuspecting members of the public to use as ballast. then all he did was measure the angle of the boat firstly level and then with all six of us sitting each side of the boat, look at his graph and declare that all was well, so 6 is its rating.

Only things i have to fit are,

2 fire extinguishers and label,

a manual bilge pump,

label where the battery isolator is,

label change from Gas to Petrol,

Create a wiring diagram,

Create an operation manual.

So not too much, just a bit of sitting in front of the PC writing it all up, shouldn't take long as i use CAD all the time at work for making wiring diagrams.

 

Obviously me and Alun couldn't resist the urge to head out to sea, as i had nearly gotten away with paying the launch fees but got nabbed at the last moment just before we were about to pull her out, so off we headed we got as far as the Solent and thought better of that plan, we started to get very wet due to a nasty looking sea and lots of wind so a hasty retreat was made back into harbour. The trailer worked its magic and the boat was winched back on without any fuss although its still needs a bit of adjustment as it was sitting a bit high, but perfectly central.

 

Saturday i had to go to work, but stopped off and the local chandlery to get a few bits on the way home.

 

Sunday saw me in full-on fit out mode, i was like a "whirling-dervish" with Lynne feeding me coffee and bacon butties to keep me fuelled, i spent 10 hours at it today and managed to,

Get the boat up on jacks and the trailer adusted.

Trim tabs, helm switches with auto retracts, fitted, wired and tested,

Lowrance 113HD chartplotter, LGC300 gps module, sonar transducer, water wheel, NMEA200 network backbone, fitted, wired and tested,

Navman 7100DSC radio mounted in the console, 2.4m whip antenna mounted on the T-top wires fed down through the tubes, wired and tested, Lynne kindly ran 5 miles away with a hand held radio to give it a proper test for me (she's mad that girl ).

Boat cleaned, waxed and put to bed, me next

 

Will post up some pictures tommorrow of the finished job, but its a bit dark now to take any.

 

If the weather plays ball next weekend i will be looking for crew to christen her, if anybody wants a trip out, likely to be launching from Lymington or Christchurch slip at about 08:00 on whichever day looks to be giving the best forecast.

 

Simon L

[Paul J]

Simon,

 

Im off work all week so count me in

 

PJ

[Paul D]

Simon,

 

Happy to crew if you are looking for some. Alternatively, happy to be a buddy boat if needed.

 

 

[Rob]

 

Paul - I know your Etec is quick but I think you would need a headstart!!!

 

Rob

[britboard]

Paul - I know your Etec is quick but I think you would need a headstart!!!

 

Rob

Rob, a bit harsh, but probably fair

 

PJ and Paul D should be able to fit you both onboard, its going to be Sunday now if weather plays ball, as i forgot i have prior engagement on Saturday evening, It will only be in Poole bay as i'm still running the engine in, so maybe Bassing?.

I will let you know closer to the day.

 

Simon L

[Paul D]

Perhaps I will be able to keep up while Simon is still running in

 

Easier to jump onboard though. Christening your new boat with a bass sounds a great idea to me

 

[britboard]

heres some photos of the almost finished job just a few bits to do before the weekend.

 

 

Simon L

Edited February 14, 2009 by britboard

[Paul D]

She looks good Simon. All shiney.

 

[Gnasher]

i love it

[great white]

Nice looking outfit Simon

 

 

I bet you can not wait to get out

 

That plotter looks impressive, It is a really good unit and a joy to use {Same as Alfresco] although I was advised not to get the HD as its only pre loaded with info for the states [it may have changed]

If you have not used it before and want advice please ask

 

Tight lines

Charlie

 

 

 

[Adam F]

Nice looking boat mate. Very different from the normal boats we see in use on our shores - and why not? Good on you.

 

Not your usual choice, I'd be interested in hearing your logic for decision. Great fun when we have weather like today, but how will you feel in Dec blasting out to the cod grounds when you have been used to the raider's cuddy?

 

Look forward to seeing her on the water and how she performs.

 

PS: I noticed that Sea Dangler have a report this month on the Pioneer and that Cambrian Boat Centre have taken on the UK dealership for them. Maybe we will see a few more on our shores.#

 

Adam

Edited July 15, 2008 by Adam F

[britboard]

Nice looking boat mate. Very different from the normal boats we see in use on our shores - and why not? Good on you.

 

Not your usual choice, I'd be interested in hearing your logic for decision. Great fun when we have weather like today, but how will you feel in Dec blasting out to the cod grounds when you have been used to the raider's cuddy?

 

Look forward to seeing her on the water and how she performs.

 

PS: I noticed that Sea Dangler have a report this month on the Pioneer and that Cambrian Boat Centre have taken on the UK dealership for them. Maybe we will see a few more on our shores.#

 

Adam

I thought it would be nice to see something different out there too Adam,

 

People seem to have a mixed opinion about centre console boats, most people seem to think that they are only any use in a calm sea on sunny days. Nothing could be further from the truth i have been out in areas like the Humps off the coast of Islamorada in the Keys where the water is notoriously nasty and these types of boats handle the big waves with ease, i personally have used them a great deal when fishing abroad and love the amount of deck space and freedom it gives you to move around the boat. It is also a bit more family friendly than the types of boats produced here in the uk, although the trend is swinging a bit more towards multi-purpose boats these days. I also want to encourage Lynne out a bit more and she always seemed happy when i can get her out on the water in the boats we hire when abroad.

 

My other logic was price its possible to get a much nicer and better equipped boat shipped back from the USA than i could even think about getting here and the CE/RCD process isn't too much of a drama now that they have introduced the post construction ticket.

 

As for winter fishing "no worries" i love the cold, although i might be wearing gloves with that stainless wheel, might have to get a summer and winter wheel. the boat comes with a canvas affair that wraps right round the console so it offers me about the same amount of protection as the Raider did as i never went into the cuddy except to get my lunch or haul anchor, in fact i always got someone else to haul anchor so it was really a very large lunch box

 

Cambrian Boat Centre are the dealers for Polar boats and have been for quite some time the boat you saw in the mag is a 23ft Polar which they are listing at

Edited February 14, 2009 by britboard

[great white]

Hi Simon

You are right I have the 112c also imported

 

Thanks for the tip, how do you save the images to the unit? and how do you open them to view the images

Getting them on the card is no problem and I have purchased a few Gb of extra cards

 

With all that spare memory you must be able to store videos on yours.

 

I find the sonar recording very usefull when visiting wrecks/marks for the first time, keep the recordings short and then copy to the pc at home. As someone advised me if you try to run East-West or North- South and Vica Versa it seems to make more sense of the viewing

 

Charlie

[britboard]

how do you save the images to the unit? and how do you open them to view the images

 

With all that spare memory you must be able to store videos on yours.

Charlie you will have to store them on you mmc cards as you don't have a HD, in order to view them you will need to press:-

menu:

browse files:

choose the card in the drop-down box:

choose the file in the drop-down box:

then choose view file and it will open.

 

Havn't tried video files yet but will try it later and let you know, might be useful when the fishing is slow

 

Simon L

[alun j.]

when the fishing is slow

.......when's that then??[

[britboard]

when the fishing is slow

.......when's that then??[

Yeah-Yeah-Yeah, for us poor mortals fishing ain't that simple and i have been known to have a bit of time on my hands staring at a rod tip maybe i could load up some "how to catch fish" videos.

 

Simon L