TomBettle

Admin Sorry for the blatant plug, but a number of members have been asking when the boat will be here. The Merry Fisher 585 has arrived and is currently ashore at my offices in Salterns. I am still finding my way around the nooks and crannies, but on face value it does seem to be everything it promised. Dates still to be arranged, but she is to be launched for just a few days to allow Sea Angler magazine time to come and carry out a boat test. Within reason, any members will be welcome to have a short sea trial during the period we have her in the water. The sea trials will be without obligation. The boat we have here is with the standard 70Hp Suzuk which wuill give an anticpated mid 20 knot performance. The boat will take up to 100Hp and with a Suzuki 90Hp we guess she will do +/- 30knots. As a passing thought, we will be needing a camera boat for the Sea Angler review so if anyone is free and fancies meeting Dave Lewis then I would be very grateful if your boat was available. I will cover the cost of fuel during the boat test. Cheers Tom

Just had the pleasure of having a look around the Westport Pilot 4 and thought it made a cracking little fisher. Ideal for the harbour and inshore in fair weather. Couple of little adaptations I would make personally, but the makings of a great entry level boat with, by all accounts, a serious turn of speed too. Martin, I know that "we" are the key boat sponsor of the site, however I have no problems at all if Pete wants to offer sponsorship. I personally see this model and style as complimentary to what we do, in addition, the dealer provide many, MANY other marine services that members can take advantage of, particularly if we can persuade Pete to offer a special "members only deal". Tom

Just heard this morning that it has been put back another week.

In principal only bringing one fish to the scales is OK, however you'll find that people will catch 10 Bass, dig around in the box of dead fish to find the biggest and only weigh that one in. In addition, it is just as bad killing a superb big fish as it is several smaller fish. Ultimately the big fish is a healthy breeding fish, probably responsible for far more seasons worth of schoolies than the one that has only just reached breeding size. I would suggest: Each boat must carry a cheap digital camera complete with tape measure. The fishes length and girth are taken, complete with photo's as evidence and it is the measurements that are used to guage the biggest fish. It is up to the angler to decide if he wants to keep the fish for his own purposes, but he should be free to return it if he wants. Tom

I think it would be great to have a Bass comp I'd certainly be keen if it was catch and release, but not so sure if it was a keep it to win it comp. Chances are it will be won by a large fish 12lb plus and it would be a shame if that had to be killed for the sake of a tin trophy. Just my opinion Tom

Hi Dan Your VHF is one of the most important things you should have on your boat. Certainly more important than fish finders and chartplotters. You should try and find a few extra pounds and invest in a good unit that you can put your trust in. also remember that once you have the radio you still need the aerial and so on. Just my opinion, but a

Gotta say Simon ...you are spot on, SAFETY FIRST. ...bow down to offering the simplest, but possibly dangerous route. Mike's method is the official "safe" way to do it and should be the way practised by any DIYers. Tom

Rich You are pretty much right, but good driving and using the theory in my post above will help stop most potentially dangerous incidents. Tom

I take the point about the possibility, but the chances are so incredibly slim with the battery isolator off, the kill cord out. All you are doing is feeling for a little resistance not trying to "spin" the prop in the way you might start a plane engine. I have never seen a single marine engineer go to the trouble of removing plugs on any boat be it a 2.5 hp aux or a 1200Hp MAN engine, just to establish if it is in gear. It is a different story if they are actively working around the prop (ie removing it), then it is 100% insured that the boat is in neutral.

Mike You are pretty much spot on. The heavier a boat sits in the water the harder it will be to "spin" it round. A keel really helps counter this effect, but is not the total solution on smaller boats. Where possible a smaller boat needs to have the nose trimmed very slightly up and the power applied to insure the boat stays ahead of the sea. This can be quite hard work with the boat being driven hard up the wave and then backed off a little on the crest allowing you to surf safely down the other side. If the power was held on you would tend to leap off the top of the wave and slam into the next (or dive into it). If the boat isn't trimmed effectively (nose down) and the boat is driven fairly hard as you clear the crest of the wave, instead of surfing down it using the hull, she will plough down it using the nose to create a furrow. It is as the nose digs in that the boat will broach, often when the wave you have just beaten catches back up with you and gets underneath the stern, simply picking it up whilst the bow stays glued down.. You will more than likely be caught up as the braking effect caused by ploughing into the next wave will slow you down too much. Trimming the boat out alone isn't quite enough (as mentioned above), for if you have the boat nicely trimmed, but run too slowly a wave can still pick up the stern and spin you, however this is less likely to happen than the other situations described. The above are not scientific and more based on trial and error experience. Some of the more experienced skippers on here (Shytalk or some of our Charter Skipper friends who have or do spend thousands of hours a year on the water) may be able to give a better answer. Tom PS: I tried to demonstrate this to Paul J and Bob F during last years training day when we had a very interesting "break" out at the entrance to the harbour. I think the idea kind of worked although the conditions were a little extreme.

You'll have fixed several O/B's gear adjustments then Duncan? You do it your way, I'll do it my way. Mad Mike Mike You must admit that your way is a hell of a lot of effort compared with simply turning the prop....

Surely the point is that you want some resistance. 1) No resistance = In Neutral 2) Resistance = In gear I am with Duncan on this one. You aren't putting loads of force or trying to turn the prop at speed as if you were getting a airplane engine started. You are simply feeling for resistance or not.

I put it to full screen and managed 2230 before someone came in the office and I had to do some work....

Managed 1030, but cr@p most of the time

Broaching in a head sea is very odd. A following sea, maybe, if trimmed wrong (nose too far down), or running too slowly... A head sea is the one that would generally cause a boat to slam and crash unless the speed is backed off and this can also be reduced by dropping the nose to present the V of the bow rather than the flat of the hull.

Gordon Interestingly on the new 585 you can choose open or closed wheelhouse. As you know we do fit the "gin palace" style patio doors rather than "solid" grp doors with small windows. Some don't like patio doors because they seem "posh", but the truth is they give enormously better visibility. With the layout of the new 585 both skipper and crew can sit inside with the doors closed and easily see out to the rods. Paul, In this instance the 585 is likely to come round by road, but don't worry, as soon as I have a test boat ready, those club members who have expressed an interest will be invited to come and try her. With a bit of wangling, I may be able to use her for the next PBSBAC tuition session (if one is planned). Tests like this, with anglers onboard are welcome. As you know, the 585 is a brand new model and we at Southern Motorboats and as a result, Jeanneau, will be keen to hear about any minor mods that us crticial anglers need to make fishing easier. Any little mods we discovered (I said little, not completely redesigning the hull - which it won't need) can easily be retro fitted to customer boats. Tom

Two now in stock in our Hamble office with one of them being rigged to come down to me "any day" now. Very smart looking boat and I stongly suggest the build quality / finish comment that Mike's friend had is reviewed. Take a far closer look at fixtures and fittings and how the whole boat is screwed together. There is a big difference between different brands. At the risk of sounding a wee bit biased, I personaly have found the Quicksilvers and Arvors to handle a little "differently" at sea, with a tendency to crab slightly. All will do the job and all will (on most days) put a big smile on your face. Speak to "Cascars" and "Nipper" (Mark) about their Quicksilver quality issues. On the flip side, all manufacturers have the odd Friday boat, but I think you'll find that there are several more Fridays in the week at Quicksilver than with many other brands. The 585 is still very towable with most larger family cars. And our 625 with a bigger vehicle (an SUV, transit, MPV etc). The 625 makes a cracking fisher for two, but is a squeeze for more as most of the space is taken up for creature comforts. The 585 has similar deck space to the Quicksilver 580, but a slightly higher finish inside and a little bit more styling (all in my opinion of course ) Tom

Bob If you ahve neoprene socks your feet will sweat like an absolute wotsit resulting in smelly wet feet as the socks are 100% not breathable. In extreme circumstances, the flip side to that is extremely cold feet once they have sweated. Tom

If you want pay

Charlie Any of the chandlers will have it, but it varies in price depending on who!!! I can grab you a tube from here at Salterns, but it will be

Bob I have had both and currently use the neoprene ones. I have to say I am a bit dissapointed in them. They offer very little support around the anckles and although the grip looks a bit like one on a deck shoe, it is nothing like it and offers far less grip than the hot foot ones. If my hot foot ones had given up the ghost after a "friend" decided it would be funny to slip some mackerel into one and I didn't realise until about 3 months later then I would still be using those. Tom

That lot will be a lot more weight. You may want to think about 2 x D4260 and go to shafts, particularly if you go flybridge (don't have a flybridge on outdrives, the balance is horrible).

I am cr@p at drawing anything, but can describe it fairly well. What I went through wasn't rocket science it is simply a fairly tried and tested basic design that most manufacturers try and stick to whilst putting their own twist to. Also, so many potential customers are looking for that simple layout. Possibly the biggest things to try and achieve are: 1) An island berth in the master cabin 2) A combi grill, oven, microwave (sounds daft, but everyone asks for it) 3) Double helm position (at 35 feet you should be able to di it easily) 4) All round visibility

Tough call this one Sam, turning a 1st rate angling boat into something for all the family and still leave room to fish 4....? 1) start the wheelhouse about 4 feet further aft and raise the foredeck height marginally to allow a proper forward cabin with standing headroom at least in the entrance. Fit a decent split rope locker in at the bow with an lectric windlass. 2) Within that forward cabin the bed must be a good sized double, preferrably as an "island" berth rather than a V berth with an infill. 3) Make use of all nooks and crannies in the forward cabin (and the rest of the boat for that matter) for cupboards, locker space and at least one (even if small) hanging locker for the ladies. 4) A standing headroom heads is a must. A decent basin with a shower style tap that can double up as a hot water shower on a hose. Try and fit a small bathroom cabinet in there for toothpaste, soap, shampoo etc. 5) Make sure the heads are connected to a holding tank of at least 90ltr. Connect that to a macerator to pump out and ideally have it connected to a 3-way valve to allow it to be bypassed or pumped out at a waste station. 6) If you can fit it in, try and put a small, but usable second cabin in. This will need to have headroom when you walk in, but will inevitably shallow as it slides underneath the main deck. Make sure it has natural light. 7) If you have space, keep the galley down at the height of the cabins as this will maximise the room in the saloon / wheelhouse. Wherever the galley goes you must have a fridge with some freezer space, plenty of cupboards for pots and pans (complete with a hidey hole for a bin), a minimum two burner hob and ideally a combination microwave / grill / oven that is either wired to an invertor or simply run off shorepower or a generator for the wealthy. 8) The helm needs to have a bench seat that will comfortably seat two, all dials and electronics need to be in the field of view and reachable (in a heavy sea) to the helmsman. A small chart area would be nice if space allows. 9) Try and maximise the space in the saloon area, clearly you need to extend the standard wheelhouse considerably. The saloon needs to be spacious, light and airy as this is where the "family" will spend most of their waking time. Comfy seating with a dining table (that possibly converts to a double - this is a must if you don't have the second cabin). Remember to use the space under seats for storage, but leave easy access to service the engine/s. A nice deck in the saloon is needed for aesthetic purposes and excellent sound proofing down to the engine room as the saloon will now be directly over the engine/s. Also, try to remember not to make the saloon so wide that crew can't get to the foredeck easily. Outside foredeck access needs to be at least 9" wide with plenty of grabrails. 10) Use bright and light woodwork or clean lined surfaces to give a modern interior that doesn't feel claustrophobic. **** Given that the 105 is about 35' long use the following as a guide. Rope locker 3 feet Forward cabin fwd bulkhead to cabin door 8 feet Galley / heads area 5 feet Saloon / Helm area 12 feet (remember 2nd cabin can tuck back under the saloon and the dash area of the helm can extend over the top of the galley to give a true 12 feet in the saloon. If my calculations are correct, this will leave +/- 7 feet of flat open deck and the full beam to use for angling. Further storage can be had under the deck for fishing tackle, fish hold etc. If a bathing platform of about 2'6" is added to the stern of the boat it will also leave space for a tender etc. In this style, you will have a coupe along the lines of a Nimbus or Saga. You could mount a flybridge on top of the main helm, thus giving even more usable space. If you do, you'll need to think about flybridge layout, helmsman's visibility (he must be able to see allround when manouvering). Also go for steps rather than a ladder. Step design is something that will need some thought. Hope that helps Tom

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