TomBettle

Pack it out with a bit of nice whipping thread and continue the whipping beyond the tip to give personal finish. Quick coat of epoxy will tighten it all up and levae it looking pretty where seen and very solid under the ring and the last coat of epoxy will hold the tip eye in place. Tom

Luvly Motor Gov'ner Genyin mileage, full service history from us. Even got one of d'em new fangled sat nav thingy's n all. Disclaimer: Deals on Wheels can not be held liable for any claims as to the age, authenticity, mileage, history and any equipment fitted to their vehicles

roflmao I have no idea what you are talking about Mark... Would you care to divulge? I am sure the forum and web in general would love to hear about Princess Yachts, your latest lady friend called "Christina", incidents in Salterns, lessons learned about looking where you are going instead of trying to fix a dodgy GPS and how stainless steel pulpit rails are great for stopping you from falling over board, but bend when you use them as a battering ram... Like I said, I have no idea what you could be talking about.....

Nice one Crazy! I know how lumpy it was. At 09:00 it was gorgeous so I took the chance to run a 8metre sports boat to Southampton and bring a Merry Fisher 925 back. Wonderful journey round with some left over swell from the last few days, but glorious and around 30 knotsish all the way. Well, the weather must have been sitting right on my chuff all the way as by the time I moored it at Universal Marina and stepped on the Merry Fisher the flags were sticking straight out and large black clouds were rushing across from Fawley direction. With no other means of transportation I had no choice but to go for it and the lad at the fuel berth in Warsash looked bemused as I headed out into the Solent. Lots of WAFI's all over the Solent all flopped over on their sides and still only doing 6 knots whilst tacking for the small amount of lee offered by Isle of Wight on the run up to Yarmouth. Even the Solent was offering up swells approaching the height of the flybridge and I decided to swing around and head back to the marina.... ...B@gger it did I! I did have to reduce speed considerably after deciding that when the whole 32 foot of boat leaving the water and burying a wave (not spray) right ontop of the flybridge probably wasn't a good idea. And so the next two and a half hours were spent at 10 knots ploughing through a 25 mile mailstrom that looked more like a complete continuation of Portland race as far as the eye could see. Taking the north route believing it would be slightly better was certainly not a good idea. Lobster pots which weren't there just 30 metres before were mysteriously appearing at the side of the boat and it was pointless trying to see out of the windscreen as I don't think it cleared of green water fully for almost all of the journey... ...not to mention that starboard screen leaked like one of my daughter's bath toys (the joys of delivering uncommissioned boats!). Finally as I reached Boscombe pier the sea was down to a short chop with lots of frothy stuff on the top and I cuold open her up again all the way along the beach towards the chain ferry. Anyone who moors in Saltern's will know that it is tighter than a badgers @rse (sorry Rich - not implying you are a skin flint or anything). So handling a 32 foot single screw into a slot which is 32 feet 6 inches with quarter of a million pound boats all around whilst a force 6 is blowing from the port quarter was interesting, but with a little feathering of the rudder she slipepd in beautifully and no damage was done. I was met by Phil the Bosun who was waiting for Tommy to return in his tupperware box, so I hung around too to see how he had done. Very well by all accounts as he had lost count of the fish he returned and proudly donated three nice fish around the 2lb mark for me to keep the FPO happy. The bream are for tonights tea, baked with a little soy sauce, ginger and spring onion. Yum! Couldn't be bothered to cook last night so it was off to see if the rumours were true. The rumour being that Crazy never actually does any work at all. Not being quite sure if I was at the right place I asked at the counter if this was "Crazy's shop" and the lovely lady said "yes, do you know him?". Kind of, I replied, I am i the same fishing club. The very nice lady explained that he was off fishing, "again". I guess the rumour is correct. Crazy doesn't actually work for a living, he just fishes. But then I suppose I don't really work for a living, I just boat! It's a hard life. Nice chish and fips Crazy! Very tasty. Tom

Terry Didn't you see Top Gear last night? Duncan has doen the opposite with his winter refit to Phaeton and attached wheels to the bottom. He's driving straight to Beaulieu and straight up the slipway. His new awning on Phaeton extends out to make a full trailer tent and the roof lifts to form a double bed. I heard that Winnebego have asked him to help design their next camper....

Move the comp to fish Liverpool beaches and you have a nice westerly 2? Am I being helpful?

Just having fun When we can't get out we have to stay on here and wind everyone up. ...I seem to do a real good job at that

Duncan For once you have gained an "A Star". Your maths are spot on. 35kph is a smidge under 22mph which is a titchy smidge over 18kts. Unles one is giving East and the other is giving West I would suggest both are very similar forecasts.

Not a bad guess mind!

Have just been seeing what the club record for Bogue is after Crazy's catch and spotted that I currently hold the club record for Herring. Whilst it was an extremely good fish, no doubt beating the British record by 10% or 20% and very tasty too it wasn't quite as big as shown at 1lb 15oz! That would have been a monster. My Herring weighed 15oz once headed and gutted. Still a big one mind, but thought I'd better own up. Tom

From the NFSA website: BOGUE (Boops boops) B 1 13 0 0 822 1981 K McBride, Eddystone Reef S 1 15 4 0 885 1978 S G Torode, Pembroke, Guernsey, C.I. At a guess.... yours is about 9oz? Hard to tell from the picture. Tom

It is a Bogue or Boops Boops. Occasionally caught off Devon and Cornwall, but far more common in the Med. I think it is fairly rare up this far East. Not a record unfortunately, but a nice catch anyway. Tom

It has the dorsal of a goldsinny, but not the tell tale spot on the root of the tail. Doesn't have the vivid "salmon pink" colours of a golsinny, but maybe it is 'cos it is dead? My money is on goldsinny and a record at that! Tom Edited! Had another look, defo NOT a goldsinny. They have two separate dorsals, black spot at end of tail dorsal and black spot on tail. Also this fellows eye is a bit big....

I reckon the gunner had eaten some dodgy fish n chips the night before and couldn't see straight. Either that, or he knew exactly where he got the fish and chips from and was simply a very bad shot!

They are very nice men, polite and extremely helpful and friendly. I know them reasonably well as I have a habit of "forgetting" that the big bangs I keep hearing over my right shoulder have large firey lumps of metal attached that make a big hole in your boat. Don't know the number though.... hmmm, maybe I should find out after my sentence above....?

Andy It's a kiddies swimming pool boat. Bigger oars required! I think the club ran a trip out there last year in various small boats....? Before my time, but I am sure Adam or Martin or one of the guys that went can fil you in. I remember hearing that about 6 boats went from the club together for comfort and safety as it is pretty well mid channel. Tom

Approx 22 miles South of Poole Harbour Big area of banks, but only a couple of "special sections" that fish particularly well

Arrrr Mike The sea will be like a mill pond compared to when we had those 86mph winds back in the Winter There is a guy on a another forum asking if a Seahawk 300 (Kids inflatable) is any good for boat fishing. I may see if he wants to go halves and borrow it to head to the rips at the weekend.... Tom

....Just seen Branksome Chine and it is already really snotty and the wind isn't even up yet!

Coddy Next time your boat is in the water with what will be her normal "resting" load. Take a quick picture from each side (boats are rarely completely level). Or leave in for two or three days to get the makings of a scum line. Antifoul an inch above the photographed waterline. Don't antifoul too high as it looks naff. Some people like to rise up at the flare of the bow. This is personal choice and serves no purpose apart from looks, but again, don't go too high. 1) Mask carefully where the antifoul line will be. Make sure you don't leave bubbles in the tape. 2) Using a fairly fine grade sand paper, lightly rub over the whole hull, etching it. This creates a key for the primer to stick too. Avoid using the likes of "Self Etching" primer. Some people use it so that they don't have to etch their boats with sand paper, but I am yet to find one that works well. 3) Prime using a roller and brush in awkward places (radiator roller). 4) Allow to go off and then touch up as necessary. 5) Apply two coats of your chosen antifoul and touch up as necessary. 6) Remove masking tape ASAP after finishing as it stickls like b@ggery if you leave it on. Keep a little acetone near by for splashes and misshaps. Use top brand paints like International as the cheaper ones aren't as good. Don't buy bargain bucket paint from a boot sale etc as antifoul has a short shelf life and this cheap stuff has probably been hanging around for a year or two. White paint will go a dirty pink colour on contact with water. Blue and green will both fade slightly. Good luck Tom

Weather looking cr@p! We are probably cancelling our cruise to Salcombe as it really looks very messy this weekend!

Sorry Paul! 6.3MB of Nikon Digital SLR camera's fault, not mine.... honest!

Glad you had a good time Alun! Nice boat too, more a cruiser than a fisher, but very comfy for two to three anglers! Go back and get some Bass! Tom

Just thought I'd let you know that my colleague, Martin (Snag Man on the forum), borrowed a stock boat yesterday and bagged himself an 18.5lb Undulate Ray using a carp rod. Unfortunately, Martin likes Skate and kept it so I can verify the fish, but he will at least eat it... Unfortunately again, the fish was caught East of the Wight over the Nab grounds so worth diddley squat in the club. Still, a nice fish anyway. Tom