makena

Does anyone know where I can get hold of a replacement plastic cogwheel for this reel? The one that drives the line carriage screw... Is it just me or is the summer going too quickly - was it something that I said?

Don't worry I'm not trying to sell Warren - I was just testing the water to see if anyone was on the lookout for something like Moonlight Shadow (2014). She has all the usual extras, has been regularly serviced and has low engine hours. I think she is worth about £8,000.

I'm looking at my berthing options for 2016 and seriously considering sale of Orkney 520 Cuddy with low hours Honda 30hp and trailer...any generous offers?

8) Moonlight Shadow - John, Njeri

2010 Honda 30 and new Mercury 2.5 aux - does anyone have any tips on security? I imagine most big outboards are stolen on land - so the trick will be to secure the boat when it's on a pontoon so it can't be moved - and securing the engine to the boat when it's in my garden. Not sure what I should do about the aux - it seems a bit of a hassle carrying it backwards and forwards to the pontoon.

Thanks all - she has an unusual history - first owner an inland vicar and apparently did baptisms on her...there is even some photographic evidence of this! I bought her with a set of instruments but none fitted so I'm looking around at 520s to see where people put things - getting compass distant from radio etc. I think I will splash out and buy the top windscreen for her at some point as well.

The search is over - meet 'Monlight Shadow':

I really appreciate your candour. What year is Neo - and when do you plan to take her out next?

Hi Brian - is it still there? Where?

Hi Paul, I don't want to take advantage if you are just feeling down about the fishing right now - but if you are serious then I am interested - it depends a lot on the age and condition of Neo - do you have a picture? Also can you tell me more about the service history and maintenance? Regards, John

Alice Maysold and now the weather is changing I am really missing her...but I need a smaller boat with a trailer and I'm looking for a bargain. If you are selling and have something that is really good value for money at the very very lower end of 5 figures then be sure to let me know. Makena

Alice May sold

I'm looking at all the options for downsizing: My sale page In the next few weeks - - if you fancy showing off what a great boat you have then I'm all ears - or if I can simply help out with an extra pair of hands on the slipway Please let me know John

For Sale (to be replaced but never forgotten): Alice May - a 2005 (2006 model) semi-planing Beneteau Antares 650HB in good condition. Currently on a Pontoon berth in Poole Length: 6.18 M Beam:2.47 M Draft: 0.4 M Weight: 4.47 Tx Engine: a sweet Suzuki 115hp 4 stroke Max design speed 25 knots Fittings include: Radio: Ray 54E fixed VHF with DSC linked to: C80 Combined Plotter/Fishfinder with 8.4" screen Marine toilet (never used) Alice may has only had limited use for family fishing and is for sale with VAT paid and full service records and documentation available. Antifouled/painted in January and engine annual service carried out September this year. Price:

Thanks everyone - there are lots of useful tips here and some that most of you probably take for granted that I hadn't though of at all. I'm still a bit puzzled about being careful to be uptide of the mark - I had imagined a 'mark' was the centre of a larger area than this suggests. But doesn't this make it a bit of a nonsense joining others on a spot? Surely if it is that small, and they have it then you won't! I guess it makes a difference if you are talking about a wreck mark or a broader 'patch'. BTW I don't know if it has been the particular wreck marks I have been going to but I find them surprisingly difficult to identify with my fishfinder... I take the point about it being the time at sea (experience) that really counts but with the weather we have had this summer I hope you will forgive those of us who sometimes get a bit impatient for progress...and when its wet and windy there is a lot more time to moan about it online.

Hi Dave As a beginner I have been feeling a lot of the same frustrations. I have been targetting Bream and I have had lots of mostly convincing advice from club members that has led me to use small hooks on long virtually invisible lines attached to weighted booms. It works sometimes but more often I get a load of pollocks, a wrasse or dogfish. Yet it seems like some (maybe everyone except us) in the club go out and catch just the fish they target each time...unless they only tell us what they were fishing for afterwards....no I don't really believe that...I have looked closely into peoples eyes when they tell me how they have been doing! There must be something we are doing wrong - something that we have missed... Maybe it is the marks - thanks to the club I have a good long list of these now but it doesn't tell me anything much about what I should find in each one. For example, Poole patch the other day didn't seem to have any bream. john

Hi Ben I can't help with the charter but I wish you luck. I was sailing around Marmaris in March and the fishing wasn't at all good - not just for me but and apparently its the same for the professionals - the local waters seem to have been massively over fished. Resturant prices also seemed to reflect the problem. John

So this is a new challenge... the form seems to suggest I need a Small Ships Registration No. is that right? That seems a bit uneccesary. ...And is cruising speed what I normally do or what the boat can do on a good day with the wind and tides behind it? ...And what is "Cruising Endurance Under Power" - is that how far I can go if I don't want to come back? I will have a crack at it tomorrow John

I think you are right Rob - what has been confusing is the idea that the MMSI code on the radio can only be wiped/changed by a dealer. But if you buy the radio with the boat that isn't an issue - its a red herring. The good thing about dealing with such things is that the process of sorting them out often helps you understand the underlying principles better. There should be an educational equivalent to the aphorism 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'...ahh found it: Wisdom is the daughter of experience. (DA VINCI!) - or: Necessity teaches wisdom, while prosperity makes fools. (CALCOTT). I like the last one as it seems to suggest there may be some logic to 'beginners luck' and I could use a lot of that with my fishing right now... there are so many recommended rigs and marks for each species! John

...I should be clearer (for anyone treading the same path in the future) the 'register' that I refer to is the "Maritime mobile Access and Retrieval System (MARS)" database: http://www.itu.int/online/mms/mars/ship_search.sh - seems like if you have all the information its as easy as shooting a fish in a barrel (although I can't for the life of me think of any reason someone would want to do that...) John

I finally got around to making the application for a license and it didn't work quite as expected or suggested above. Maybe the system has changed...The application and acceptance (issue of a license) was entirely online, automated and took 10 minutes (mostly spent trying to work out my gross tonnage). Having looked at the register before hand I was able to quote the Name, address and MMSI of the previous owner and OFCOM provided me with a license with the same MMSI that he had. I can only imagine that the previous owner was such a good chap he took the trouble to cancel or return his license/or he took out a new one. In any event there were no hastles at all - no need to change the radio settings etc... If only all bureaucratic stuff in life was like this

Thanks for the warm welcome Martin - will I see you on Thursday?

Now I get it Duncan - I really am still just a minnow basher! Great report

Hmm...it has to be the number of posts - I can't find any minnows with less than 10 But what has it go to do with cricket? BTW I'm John - I will get the etiquette at some point...

Thanks - I will persevere...hmm "Marlin Master" that's impressive but what does it mean? ..."Minnow Basher"!!!