TomBettle

Just a thought.... You mention that the boats are porpoising at high speed... What sea conditions does this happen in and how is the leg of the outboard trimmed? I know a lot of you guys are very skilled helmsmen so my guess may not be correct and the old trim tabs could be the answer, but by timming the engine back in just a smidge should stop the porpoising. On a lot of boats you can find that a little bit of swell coupled with a fractionally over trimmed engine will induce porpoising. On the other hand, trim tabs may well be of benefit to drop the nose a little more in a head sea and help prevent slamming. And before Duncan jumps in I know trim tabs are not supposed to be for longtidutinal trim, but on a small boat they really help when weight distribution effects the boats ride.

Don't have them to hand, but an Almanac will have the navigational positions in there and all safety info etc. Alternatively he sould have access to a chart on which he could find the positions. Does he have a GPS / Plotter as this will make life 100% easier.

Come out of Weymouth harbour turn more or less South, steam for about 7 miles and bob about between two big floaty things that are positioned at either end. When you gt a bite, mark it as a waypoint and pass the numbers to me please.

Fit them for peace of mind Adam, but seeing as the boat is only ever in the water for a few hours a week as opposed to 24/7 plugged into shore power in a busy marina with cr@p wiring you will probably find the anodes last about 20 years.

Having a bash selling one or two things on Ebay at the moment and you really do get some "interesting" questions that really don't appear genuine. I am just replying politely with the technical info about the product and directing people to PayPal after.

Excellent evening. Well done to Charlie and the committee on such a great job. Abbie and I really enjoyed the company, the drinks and I enjoyed my food! Thanks very much Tom PS: Great leaflet Sam. Somehow I spawned a few photo's of or on Quest II

Nice demo site Alan. Have to say I have never spliced to the chain, but have always used a "Dogs Dick" or Back Splice which works perfectly with minimal wear. It runs freely thorugh my windlass so I guess will be fine with Alderney ring too. Take two of the thee strands through the end link of chain and work backwards with all three as normal. Works well, wears well, is neat and tidy.

Price Reduced to

Adam I wouldn't recommend leaving it hanging down 20 odd feet and driving slowly mainly because the drift could be very long and it could take you 20 mins, half an hour just to get back up. No problem once you find where the fish are hold up as you will just drift a couple of hundred metres, but until you find them it could be a long long way. Bring it in either tight to the bow roller or in to you rope bin / locker to start with.

I imagine they will be a bit like eating a couple of old leather boots at that size...

Mothers Day tide is a neap and we shouldn't need to drag a weight. At least I hope not as I haven't got one (BB can you confirm we won't need to?). The weekend after will be a spring and yes you will need to drag a weight.

Currently on Ebay Item Number: 6611035609 Or the one I got and the guy has more, just contact him Item Number: 6605529638

If I was on the scene first, with my first aid training the first thing I would have done would have been to set up an IV drip. Straight into my arm

I use a Nikon D70 on the boat and have never had an issue as it stays in a case in "a safe place" until needed for the shot. It takes professional quality photo's even auto when being used by a numpty like me. Big lump of a camera, but superb... ...Very pricey though.

There is a new one out (Check out Ebay, they are bound to have them) from Igloo which gives 7 days. The 150l Igloo on Bliss2's link I think is an older model...?

I have two on / for Quest II One is a large one, fairly square that sits in between my fuel fillers on the bathing platform. I built it myself and it is excellent at keeping cool, but is likely to rot in a couple of seasons. I put two to three fish boxes of crushed ice in it from Weyfish and it is still full of ice 4 or 5 days later when I return from Alderney, despite going in and out often. I have just bought, but can't comment on a 150l Igloo box. Coffin shaped as you say. It is light weight and will double as a seat / store etc on the boat. The makers claim it keeps ice frozen for 7 days at 90 degrees F. We shall see as I hope to use it this May in Alderney. Bought it off Ebay. Not cheap, with delivery it was just under

Get the margard and tint it

I have used braid on a fixed spool, but mainly for spinning / casting in which case I up the braking strain considerably as braid tends not to like the sudden shock of casting and can break more easily than you would think. EG: I used to use 40lb braid when Pike fishing, not for the size of the fish, but to withstand the cast. This heavy braid isn't necessary for "drop down" boat fishing as it doesn't come under the same load. Here I rarely go above 20lb unless I am game fishing "stand-up" style and want to use smaller lighter reels that don't have the line capacity of traditional big game reels.

I do tend to use a medium / short nylon leader. Not so much for cushioning, but more that if I get snagged the line breaks at the braid / nylon knot and I don't loose expensive braid. In fact you can put fairly heavy nylon on as a leader and it will still break at the knot due to the cheese wire effect of the braid.

Out with the old The title was a bit misleading and reminded me of the film "Loguns Run". On reading further it isn't a club policy of using the senior members of the club as rubby dubby on the next sharking trip. ....Jack, you and Geoff McGratty are still safe... for now! Tom

Matt at MES (Formerly Golden Arrow) in Poole will also be able to source spares for Lowrance, Raymarine etc.

Quote Mad Mike the chance of any one particular person on a bill fish charter trip of landing one is extremely remote as the the number of strikes in a day is very low, maybe only one or two, therefore with a 5 man charter 3 will never hold a rod! End Quote Mike You got as many strikes as that!!!!? I used to charter the boats for myself and the best ever was three strikes in one day. Of those three strikes the longest the fish stayed attached was about 10 minutes. It was quite an awesome sight with the biggest "A grander" taking the lure in the wash of the boat, but not worth the tens of thousands I threw at it. I have to say, one of my favourites is Tuna on medium / light tackle (depending on species). All of the tuna species have an incredible brute strength and dogged resistance with an amazing turn of speed. Even a 10lb Bonito on the sort of rod you may use for Pollocking will put an enormous smile on your face. If Billfish are a must then it has to be Cabo San Lucas for Striped Marlin. Here you are "almost" guaranteed a fish or two, with other species to keep you busy. Another location becoming hugely successful is Guatemala for Sailfish. The fish average about 60lb and on 12lb / 20lb stand-up gear or the fly are hugely fun. Using tackle any heavier and the spectacular leaps and short sharp bursts from the fish are lost as it will lose stamina far too quickly. Apparently anglers are getting as many as a dozen fish a day here. For general allround fun with a good mixture of brute strength bullies and super fast mini species Key West is a good bet as is Cuba. Another rapidly growing Bonefish location is the Seychelles. Finally, if price is a big issue and you want to tie in with a sunny Family holiday then the Canaries are always top dog for a mix of fish. It is where I got the bug for Big Game and landed my first ever Marlin. As mentioned, avoid the advertised "Marlin" trips and book one of the smaller boats. Fuerteventura is a great location with a couple of really old ex sailing catamarans. They take you out and catch your bait with a throw net or similar then you will go and drift or sometimes anchor for all sorts from Bonito to Barrcuda and 5 foot long Garfish to Snapper and Moray on the bottom and there is always a chance of a Yellow Fin, Wahoo or even a shark. Haven't been there for a few years, back then the cost was 5000 pesetas. Even with inflation it is still less that the price of an individual space on a charter here. Tackle for this is a fairly light spinning rod. Either freeline or hang off a float your livebait or drop to the bottom. Lunch is normally thrown in and consists of a Canarian style salad with some fresh fish. Ohhh, I am dribbling just thinking of all the fun i had when I had a real job and could afford to do these trips regularly. Tom

I love fishing in warmer locations. Been a long time since I could do it regularly, but I would certainly be up for soemthing if we can combine it with a holiday for the Mrs too. Having done an awful lot of game fishing I would strongly suggest a location with a really good mixed bag of species. The only reason is that if we go on a "Marlin Fishing" holiday, 95% of those who go will be dissapointed. If we go on a fishing holiday that has a chance of a Marlin then that may just be the icing on the cake of a great trip. I have a number of contacts for both hot and cold water holidays and will be happy to see if I can help should you want it Adam. Tom

.....hang on a minute.... Jack, I thought you never caught any fish?

Hi Kam I heard from my colleagues at Universal Marina it was now very expensive, but I didn't realise it was even dearer than Salterns now. ...prices are starting to get ridiculous. Had my renewal through from Weymouth council and that is now starting to get expensive. It is still less than