Steve S

Trevor a couple of thoughts. If the water egress is through the hull in contact with the water (put simply the small water molecules can easily pass through gell coat and fiberglass which is made of large complex chains of molecules ) then there won't be a lot of water getting in so not a lot of water to remove. If the bilge is totally sealed in then try some of those water absorbing boxes to bring the humidity level down. They need swap outs when they fill up. If not totally sealed then 2 air vents ideally at opposite ends will get some air through, just like a house boats need ventilation.

The RYA is aware that there is currently a petition urging the Minister of State (DEFRA) to improve the way static fishing gear is marked for the safety of small craft at sea. However, this will be curtailed as all petitions are being closed in preparation for the forthcoming General Election.

All petitions are being closed in preparation for the forthcoming General Election.

Err yes Terry the 4th

Tigerfish will be going on the 19th Dave if the 5th doesn't work out.

Done

Hi Oli Yes, same dates, ideally Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th for the best (smallest) tides. Will flex depending on weather.

Yes indeed not much came out last Sunday particularly if your name wasn't Rob.

Tigerfish has a switch in the wheelhouse labeled engine room fan. I can honestly say I have never turned it on. Being a diesel and having a massive amount of air intakes to let the engines breath I could not think why it was needed and showing a total lack of curiosity have never tried (maybe it does nothing ), suspect a regulatory requirement. No help to your question Trev, however, I think i will turn it on, if nothing else to find out if there is a fan, maybe it does something marvelous! I won't hold my breath.

Very sad news, my condolences to you and your family Matt.

I had my last boat copper coated. I agree with Mike the time to do it is when the boat is new (like Dave Evans did on Reel Magic) or when old antifoul has to be cleaned off (as I did on Arwen) It is expensive to get done. All the coats have to be done as one long process, can be done in one very long day, totally knackering, needs more than one person on the job unless the boat is something like 20ft. Also the stays have to be moved and then done underneath, that could be done next day. If it rains or even a heavy dew it's a disaster as it's water soluble and the damn stuff runs so if done outside needs to be no risk of rain (mine was done outside in June). Best to be done undercover with a team of people, there is some skill in applying it. Sad to say some yards have been known to charge for say 7 pots of the expensive stuff and use less saving them a lot of labour and pots, the result sort of looks ok but won't last as long so watch out for that. Each season the coat should be lightly rubbed with scotch bright to expose new copper, bit of pain but not on the level of antifouling. It is a medium strength antifoul, if you need high strength then it may not be good enough. If your boat sits in one place for weeks on end I would say don't use it, if used regularly then the slime will wash off. I'm stripping my antifoul off next year, 10 years worth is on the hull and it's looks like it, I'll be getting quotes for copper coating.

Black International Interspeed, works well. I prefer a hard antifouling as my boat can get a bit of a move on.

Well that's good I think, will it actually make any difference or is it just a point in law?

No Spurdog, no chance, March to be the same??? Thanks Stuie, I've been pasted out

Totally agree with Chris auto pilots are great, you arrive feeling more relaxed with more energy to put into other stuff like fishing. I run mine on auto (set fixed direction) or tracking almost all the time. Obviously still need to keep a good lookout.

So tempting... Should be delivered this week I'll let you know how I get on with it, I may struggle obtaining Mackerel to test it with for a while....

I have just ordered a Freshpack Eiffel Pro, excellent review in the link and at least has a method of water ingress protection. http://www.planetseafishing.com/reviews/read/eiffel-freshpack-pro-vacuum-sealer

I've used that corrosion block works well, big tub lasts a very long time. I use Reelx oil.

Hi Adam. I'm happy to base at Guernsey there is a problem though, B&B is in general much more expensive. They also may not be flexible cancelling when bad weather and let's face it we often cancel.

A late first posting of this favorite annual topic . I've penciled in a trip to Alderney in Tigerfish around the weekend of 6th-7th of May aiming for a 4 day trip the from 4th to the 7th as the best neaps are then. Backup weekend date of the 20th-21st of May with a 4 day trip from the 18th to the 21st or 19th to the 22nd. No crew arranged yet. Anyone else planning on going?

Diane and I were out there as well we arrived somewhat later and left earlier... I thought I did quite well leaving the house at 8:00. All was well until the only heavy trace line I could find was 500lb stuff, so on that went, I know I've got some 200lb line somewhere, the spurs didn't seem to mind, not sure about other species. We had spurdogs conger and pout, the best spur went 19lb. I did hook what I think was a very large ray, had it on for quite a while, it moved up steadily to under the boat I was giving it maximum clutch plus a finger trying to get it off the bottom then the hooks pulled out . Diane got pressed into net duty on a regular basis only I found out it was better she held the rod and I did the business with the net. We had a couple moments with 2 fish on at once which was chaotic didn't know whether to stick or twist. Diane found out that the TV reception was still good all the way out there but she kept missing bits of programmes... . I do think the 100% specimen size for spurdog is a bit ridiculous at only 12lb, just about every spur I caught would have been 12lb plus, I only weighed the 2 biggest at 19 and 15-4lb odd.

That problem is normally due to air in the hydraulic system. Suggest you first bleed the system. If the oil level is low and you haven't been doing any work on it then you may have a leak as once installed the oil level should not really go down.

Tigerfish will be out Sunday with the missus as crew, in the cold, in January , it could only happen with a decent heater! The trouble will be persuading Diane out of the cabin to perform netting duties (hopefully), it's amazing how well sound insulated the cabin is.... Hope to see some of you out there.

Oh the temptation, depends whether on you trust me or not Martin....

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