TomBettle

I've heard they are in the harbour again.

Hi Charlie I've just been sent a message by a forum member who is struggling to log on at the moment. He's obviously been impressed by Alfresco! Please can you answer his questions, below, about your windscreen wipers. ***** Message Hi Tom, Could you do me a favor please? Just been admiring Charlies new boat and noticed he has fitted twin wipers on seperate switches. Can you ask him if he can syncronise them or is it hit and miss? I can buy the Vetus unit

Well done Charlie I've posted a couple pf pics in the "Alfresco" thread.

Hi Charlie She looked fantastic and the preformance sounds spot on too! Well done to all of you for an amazing job. I tried to email these to you, but I may have a wrong email address for you. Not pro quality, just from a mobile phone, but the first shows Alfresco squeezing out of the slings and the seconds shows her heading out of the basin at Salterns boat yard. Have huge amounts of fun with her. Tom

This is wonderful news Charlie. I can't wait to see her afloat. Am I allowed to come down to see the first launch at Salterns? Good luck with any last minute tinkering! Tom

Hi Stuart Well dne for registering rather than simply lurking around in the background (stalker ). Stay in with this lot and you will start catching far more than a cold I promise. Don't expect it to be easy, but suddenly the penny will drop and you'll start catching mackerel. A little while later you'll get a Bass and then that will be it, you'll be hooked on this fishing malarky. If you decide you want to do more than tie a bit of string to your big toe and hang a worm off a bent pin then you could do much worse than actually joining the club proper. It's

Meow Lion or Tiger? Actually I quite like HugeFernleyWhittingwotshisface. I'll probably give it a gander as I am sure watching him eat "starfish tartar"will be interesting, or does he actually have something like a real fish this time....? ...Nice bit of Bass, Bream, Turbot?

Did they come over on Cara Cara?

Great report Zed, I felt for you when you lost the big one! Keep at it! It was good to meet you the other night and I hope the next time we meet it will be stories of the one that didn't get away! All the best Tom

Graham Call Marine Electrical Services on 01202 666066. Great guys, great work and they sponsor the club from time to time.

Terry, my last comment was purely to answer Gordon's one about everything going to "chuck away" standards. I can't afford the reels I use, I certainly can't justify them as I have hardly been out this year, but there is a huge difference in comfort, speed, usability, power, smoothness which makes it all worthwhile and if everything was to got to that level of quality then I'd probably take up knitting instead.

She'll be nicely done, but to a fairly tight budget (I've got a copy of the final invoice and it's about half the price of one of my 42's!). Finish should be comfortable, but functional and she'll be trimmed off nicely. The 2000 man hours is, of course, an approximation and is a figure that our own esteemed shipwright Mr Russell mentioned and has since been mentioned a couple of other times by other builders so I am using it as a pretty good approximation. Like I said though. Manpower is not a particular issue, good contractors will be recruited as required. The issue will be more down to the supply of equipment being on time, not too many snags and successful trials. Inevitably we will have stumbling blocks, blimey if it went as smoothly as I wish, I'll start building the damn things myself! It is the first project of this kind that I have been involved with and I am acutely aware of a number of trip ups that could appear. A lot rests in the hands of others so we shall just ahve to keep our finegrs crossed that everyone involved is as keen as me... Tom

But then you have a team of 4 laminators, 3 chippies, 2 electricians, a plumber, a mechanic etc etc all working full time as required. If they all worked at the same time tehn we'd be looking at sea trials by mid December! Obviously the logistics of that are impossible, but the point is that it can be done (whether it is remains to be seen!). It is a real stretch, but not all boats are built by one person. Tom

2000 man hours required from the point that the hull and superstructure are bonded together! As mentioned to Fred and Peter, I am very aware of the timescales and have raised this with the owners, but they are assured by the builder that the stops are going to be pulled out. I have to believe him until it is proved otherwise, but I do know he has to go like greased lightening to do it and he will have a bit of egg on his face if it isn't done in time as quite a few people are counting on it from the owners to the TV company to me as I want to go fishing in Norway! Like I said, watch this space and I hope we will all see her finished in time and, I hope, finished to the sort of standard that Peter would be proud of. Tom

Yes Penn have been bought by Shakespear which in turn is owned by another company which in turn owns most tackle brands, but I can assure you that my brand new (delivered a couple of days ago and not even spooled) International TRQ 100 very firmly has "Made in USA" on it. Your dealer was talking out of his rear end. No doubt there will be changes with the Shakespear regime and I am sure not all for the best, but to get the real, live and 100% true info why don't you ask the current Mr Penn UK himself. Gary Caulfield is an extremely approachable man and you can contact him directly at gary@pennfishing.com or via the WSF website if you prefer. He is due to hang up his white coat and take his name off the office door at Christmas. In my own little world, my opinion very much stands that with fishing reels you most definitely get what you pay for. Tom

Yes Fred, Peter I understand exactly what you are saying and have made recommendations to have a certain local shipwright (who I chatted to about this some time ago) to take the hull and superstructure and do the fit out, but the owners have decided to go this route with the fall back that if things are falling behind schedule I have Dorset based options to turn to (one of several, depending on peoples availability). I've met the builder and found him very genial. His yard was, shall we say, interesting, but I know he can deliver when required. He also understands that his name will be very much in the spotlight so he has to do a good job. At this stage I have every faith in him to produce exactly what is needed, when it is needed. Watch this space... Tom

Charlie The budget isn't mine to worry about, although they have agreed prices with the builder and contracts are signed. I am, however, trying to sway some sponsorship out of one or two major companies asa result of the media attention she is going to get. Completion should be April (don't laugh). The builder assures us this can be done and despite many of his other projects running late this one "has to be done on time" as we will have film crews on the boat and she needs to be in Norway by May. Tom

No problem Duncan, we'll lash it to the uprights on the T Top

Odd, but I have been offered help a few times now. It never normally happens when I ask for a lift to the train station or to get picked up from the pub....

The sketch below is taken straight out of the Powerglide website. This is the closest I can show you of what she will end up looking like, but you still need some imagination! On the Powerglide website you can see a video of Grahman Knotts dive boat "Wave Chieftan" underway. The styling is more "Big Game Fisher" of this boat, but the hull is the same and you can see how she will run IN the water rather than actually over it. 1) Move the wheelhouse over to the starboard side and also provide direct access for two small crew cabins (via the wheelhouse) within the forepeak. Moving the wheelhouse will provide a full 1.1m of port side deck, but still leave nearly four metres of interior beam. Pure luxury for anglers fishing on the drift or Eco Tourists watching a pod of Whales. 2) For increased accommodation, extend the wheelhouse aft to the drop of the sheerline. This gives masses of toasty, warm, centrally heated interior space and still leaves a further 3 x 5 metres of rear cockpit should the boat ever fish at anchor (unlikely). 3) A small bathing platform will be fitted bringing the overall length to 13m (an odd requirememt for the particular coding that is being attained).

Troms is the strecth of Norway right up in the North West, stretching round towards the Russian border. It's way up in the Arctic Circle. Type in "Troms Norway" in a google search for more information on the actual area. I am still to go and will be visiting (and fishing! ) on Troms Explorer's maiden voyage, but the area is alledgedly stunning and full of the most incredible scenery and wildlife (An Eagle's head is featured as art of the boats planned logo and name). I have no financial interest in the boat at all. I am simply a consultant helping: 1) to source the boat (that bit's done!) 2) to source the best equipment for the fit out and work with the builder to insure everything is done the way the owners hope The boat is owned by: 1) Anglers World Holidays. Based here in the UK they can be contacted on 01246 221717 to be amongst the very first to fish or adventure tour from her. ( and mention you saw this on Poole Bay Small Boat Angling website ) Or visit http://www.anglers-world.co.uk 2) The existing adventure and fishing tour company that Anglers World already work with. 3) Some funding from the Norwegian Government to promote tourism to the area. I got involved sort of by accident. Because of my job I do a lot of boat reviews with Sea Angler magazine and have got to know their boat test journalist, Dave Lewis, quite well. Dave works as a fishing guide in Norway for Anglers World Holidays. When the plan for Troms Exporer was born, this time last year, the guys had a modest budget and no idea as to what boat they needed. They asked Dave his opinion and for want of better words he shrugged his shoulders and asked me mine. I started hunting for the style of boat (Trawler Yacht) that they wanted, but their budget would get an absoute bath tub so I extended the search to custom build commercial boats with a liveabord tweak. The builders of Troms Explorer are Powerglide, http://www.powerglide30.com and their Cats are excellent value for money. Very fast for low Hp (essential due to Hp tax in Norway) and extremely economical. After much going forwards and backwards a basic design has been struck with the builders with a price and lead time agreed. She is no going to be the prettiest boat in the world as she needs to have a very large offset side deck, relatively small rear cockpit, access for a mid sized Rib and large accommodation, but she will perform a function excellently and in the cold Arctic weather she'll be a relatively comfortable apartment for guests onboard. Undoubtedbly, you will hear much more about Troms Explorer and not just from me. Chris Tarrant and his own production company, Chris Tarrant TV are being commissioned to film a series of programmes onboard her. These will mainly be for DVD for use in any Tour Centre advertising Norwegian holidays, but inevitably at least one, maybe several programmes will be made for UK television. So keep an eye out for her as you'll know where you heard about her first. Tom

No Rich The Friday afternoon ones are the good ones. The old Swedish "rest of the week shift" used to make the good ones and the "Far East chaps only worked Friday PM's, now they have swapped over. A Friday Afternoon reel from Abu is a good one in 2007. Tom Just an opinion and by no means the only one for all you millenium Abu reel lovers

wow - that (WOT) represents a 42% improvement on the 'old' fuel injected or carbed 2 stoke consumption from only 10 years ago. I knew things were moving on and they had gone through 25 past 30 but that's excellent. 70 litres per hour..... Cheap as chips! ...Only

Just for the record.... WOT will be 160 per hour, but at a more sedate cruising speed you'll be closer to 70 per hour at somewhat over 30 knots....

No I am not jumping ship. I am still Jeanneau through and through, but I am now very excited at being involved, at least in a tincey whincey way, in a brand new project. Can't say much as of today, but "Troms Explorer" is due to be launched in April of this year and, as the name suggests will be plying the fjords, offshore reefs and glaciers of the far North Western reaches of Norway from May onwards. Primarily a first rate stay aboard angling boat she will be hitting the massive Cod, Halibut and Coalfish that frequent the area, but more than that, she will be a base for the more adventurous to use for exciting holidays, Glacier Hiking, Eagle Watching, Whale Watching etc etc etc. Troms Explorer is a 13m x 5m Displacement Catamaran. Her wave piercing hull should provide a maximum of 32 knots from her twin Iveco Neff 280Hp engines and at a more sensible 20 to 25 knot cruising speed she'll return remarkable economy. At full displacement speeds she would be capable of crossing the Atlantic (via the Azores). The green light on the project has happened and this Saturday I had the pleasure in visiting the Cornish yard that will be building her. The photo's are a little dark and dingy, but show the mould for Troms Explorer about to be cleaned prior to having the releasing agent added. For anyone interested I'll try and use this thread as a blog during her build and maiden voyage along with her first true trips in May. Exciting times are ahead.... Troms Explorer - The mould prior to cleaning. To be amongst the first to fish from Troms Explorer please PM me and I will put you in direct contact with one of the managing owners. Tom