TomBettle

My other half, Abbie, has never caught anything bigger than a Mackeral so I took her out to the A Sky for a bash at some snakes. Fairly meaty tide run when we arrived at about 09:00 and 2lb plus needed, but the moment it began to ease the little blighters came on the feed. Nothing big, but every bait was getting snaffled by fish in the 20lb to 25lb bracket. Trouble was, Abbie was struggling to hang on to them and reel at the same time so after a lot of efforts, a number of fish to the boat and a load more dropped through fannying around I decided to come in onto the banks and arrived to what seemed like a car park with boats everywhere. The chatter on the radio was pessimistic with not a lot being caught, but we gave it a go with the first of the flood and were straight in to a stack of pout and dogs along with a lone Whiting and a couple of small eels around 15lb. Certainly not a day to remember for a regular angler, but Abbie was dead chuffed that she now new what it felt like to hold my throbbing rod and see a very grumpy eel on the surface. Tom

Rich I take it you mean the chap with the RIB and full crew that was tanking it back at 50mph from Cowes fireworks a year and a half ago? Messed himself and his crew up quite badly. I was out that night and was passed by them travelling at break neck speed at Calshott. It was only because I was heading up the Hamble that I wasn't first on the scene. Didn't even know it had happened until the next day even though it was only half a mile away. Drinkng on driving boats, can be just as dangerous as cars and then driving at speed the consequences can be horrific. Tom

Absolute ruggish! Are you sugesting that 14, 21 or even 23 kts are possible with say a displacement hull with say an 18hp 2 cyl diesel? Of course not. There is no such figure as a crusing speed that is applicable to all boats. Cruising speed is and can ONLY be what a helmsman decides on the day, to suit the conditions AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT WHAT THE BOAT IS CAPABLE OF. The next thing will be someone asking what a comfortable cruising speed is Vs maximum cruising speed Vs top speed. Mad Mike Mike The quote you have taken from Duncan refers directly to Coddy's own boat on the figures that Coddy himself povided. Cruising speed is the boats most comfortable, fuel efficient speed that still provides reasonable progress through the water for the particular hull type. It IS down to the boat driver to a very great extent, but if you own a plaining hull, but decide to potter around at 6 knots that would not be regarded as cruising speed as it is not seen to be making reasonable progress for that particular hull. 6 knots is regarded as displacement speed. In addition pottering around at 6 knots in a planning hull is often not very comfortable as a lot (not all) of plaining boats "wander" or "swan neck" at displacement speed and in open water can sometimes be a handful at slow speeds. Tom

Strikes me this is the right forum!!!!!

Told you Duncan had some good blurb on this!!!!

Mike and Martin have given pretty well text book answers and you have summed it up very well. Your own cruising speed will change from day to day and be dependent on the weather, your mood and how much fuel you want to burn. Volvo tend to use about 10% of maximum revs when quoting approximate fuel consumption figures. In my mind 10% would be at the top end of an engines cruising revs, but as said, it is down to your own choice. Duncan has got some great technical blurb on fuel economy and some people relate cruising speed to the boats most economical speed, again as mentioned it is as much to do with comfort onboard as economy. My own boat, "Quest II", is no sports boat, shaft driven and semi displacement. Her rpm tops out at about 3500 with a clean hull and light that produces about 23knots, but guzzles fuel. Knock it back to 3000 RPM and light she will do a respectable 17 or 18 knots and burn almost half the fuel. You only have to come back to 2800 RPM and she is still planing at about 15 or 16 knots and again drops fuel consumption by a third again. This trend continues pretty much right through the Rev range and tickling along at displacement speeds almost all boats sip fuel. Add a full compliment of fuel, crew, fishing tackle, dirty hull from a season in the water and the general crap we all take on a boat and Quest II drops her performance by about 2 knots per 200 RPM, she won't quite pull maximum revs and uses a tad more fuel than she would normally. I am using Quest II as an example as it is my own boat and I am most familiar with her, however most boats will have a similar pattern. Outboard and outdrive boats can improve economy and comfort (and to an extent any boat with trim tabs) by correctly trimming the boat for the prevailing conditions. That is a trial and error thing and a bit of practise or tuition should allow you to get the best from your's. We are not normally in a hurry on Quest II and crusing speed is usually between 2800 and 3000RPM depending on our plans. The further we are going the lower the RPM to maintain the best economy. Why is it everyone else can do short, simple, concise replies and mine are always epics?

Was it new record of at least 100% of specimen, or just new record?

Busy day today, but nobody from the forum.....

...comapared to what? Considering a decent 165 is 11-12K, it is another 3K potentially, may be less...I cant think of any other 17' sports boat with a 100+hp engine that stands head and shoulders above the rest - IMHO all small boats such as this hold a similar share of the market? Adam IMHO, as far as Open Cuddy fisher's go you own and are looking to upgrade within the best brand there is. My point was simply about it seeming quite a pricey pakage compared to the miriad (some very VERY good and some considerably less good) of other styles on the market in that sort of size range. Centre Console models offer an enormous amount of all round space and generally exceptional storage, but only offer the protection of a small screen. Pilot House models (IMHO don't get one less than 17.5' as they are too small) offer tonnes more comfort and protection with huge storage, but loose a bit on open deck space, although most will have bags of room for three. With the correct engine choice, both "alternative" styles will also offer very good levels of performance and economy. In addition, depending on brand, they will also offer all the sea keeping of the Warrior. You are buying the best of the style you like and that is fantastic, my point was that Warrior's, being the best in their class, are expensive with many other styles of boat coming in at the same or less money, but equally as good in their respective class and almost always offering the benefits of built in fuel tanks, self draining decks, good freeboard too. You really enjoy your 165 and undoubtedly will love your 175. Tom

OK we shall give it a go. The Brill is a possibility in Alderney, but I would think that the Alderney "A" team will collectively have more chance, however we shall do but try. The Turbot, that is quite a biggun and seeing as my best to date is a baby of around 7lb I certainly have my work cut out. ...Mental note: Need one months holiday and 4000 live sandeel's plus room at Armourey though the whole of May. Need second months holiday, tonnes of ammo blast frozen launce and see if Chris Caines will let me lodge with him thoughout August. Oh and speak to Andy the fuel guy in Weymouth to see if he can put a whole tanker aside for me for all the runs out to the Shambles....

Duncan I somehow lost the first Quest to a bloke in Essex somewhere. Quest II is great, but I am still not sure what I am searching for.....

Right that should do it. I can put my feet up with nice cuppa and wait for lot of fishermen with glazed expressions to walk through my door with their cheque books out. ..... not sure can get away with this at today's sales meeting and whether the boss will agree that my new leads list includes 120 hypnotised Dorset boat anglers, but I sall give it a bloody good go Tom

Alun The queasy feeling is my attempts at trying to cast a hypnotic spell over you through cyberspace... ... You do want a new boat, you do want a new boat, you do want a new boat.... Must see Tom, must see Tom, must see Tom.... Big discount on lovely boat, big discount on lovely boat, big discount on lovely boat

Rich Adam will have a much better idea of all up weight than me as he is familiar with the boat, but real approximation without any specs etc is: Boat 750Kg 115 Suzuki 189Kg Fuel 90Kg Fishing Tackle Anchor & Junk etc 150Kg Trailer 450Kg The engine is the only one I know the actual weight of, the rest are guesswork. Fairly expensive package Adam. I hope that it is worth the money. Tom

Sam / Charlie Call her anything you want Tom of QUEST II !!!!!

Good Luck guys it is quite a project!!! I am sure she will be a stunner when she is doen and look forward to seeing her over taking me on the way to the offshore marks. Any idea when you think you will have her finished? Tom

Don't think you would have to have a twin axle trailer. My trailerable boat weighs nearly 1.5 tonne and sits happily on her Bramber single axle trailer. Adam, I do take your point about ease of use and were not aware of all the extra benefits that the 175 has over the 165. Integral fuel tanks alone, sells it for me. Height above the water shouldn't be an issue really. When you think how high most of the charter boys are, it just means you need to lean a tincy bit further. How much is the 175 complete package and what do you get? Tom

Hi Adam I really think the Warrior range are about as good as it gets when talking about open cuddy boats, but is the 175 going to offer a big enough jump for you? Don't worry, this is not a sales pitch, all mine are pilot house style, but the 175 isn't that much bigger than your current boat.... Tom

Hi Bob We sell a lot of Navman kit on our Fishers. I have to say I wasn't paying huge amounts of attention, but Peter the Navman rep popped in yesterday for a coffee and showed me some of the new stuff. It will be in their new 2006 catalogue, but I am not likely to have that until London Boat Show. Basically they ae moving forward in leaps and bounds on last years kit (which was OK, but not exceptional). Everything is much higher definition, more colours, higher power, more functions etc. The next generation plotters will all be C-MAP NT Max+ or whatever it is called, and a the higher end fish finders have a record function. They will also have a lot more choice in screen sizes and layouts etc. One thing I am keen on will be their new 12" multi function unit. The only thing they bare still missing (on the drawing board) is a radar. Once they have that I reckon they will equal anything else on offer. Sorry I can't give much detail, but I was only browsing the catalogue with the rep. If anyone goes to London Boat Show, the Navman guys are in the north hall not far from the west entrance to Excel. They should have it all on display there and either Mark Parkin or Paul David wil be able to give you a proper demo.

This coming generation of Navman sounders have a record function, haven't gone much more into detail than that yet, but they do look like they will be very good.

I have the luxury of a broadband connection at the office and generally have the club site up most of the day, even if I am not actually looking at it. Typically during the day there is a mix of one or two people popping on the site and then disappearing off quite quickly. I know what time Sam gets home from school as he posts more or less as he gets in, but I tell ya, there is an awful lot of people who bunk off work early here. Half four, quarter to five and the site is suddenly full of people! Part timers!!!

"Drifting" More like paragliding. You may be lcuky and pick up a flounder or bass to worm baits, but make sure you don't drift too fast.

Still worth checking the lines Sam. Those winds I have mentioned (which have now gusted to 86mph which is well over 70knots) are expected to increase tonight. The bosuns here at Saltern's are wearing life jackets actually on the pontoons whilst they are checking the boats here are safe. I have had to remove covers from my stock boats and stow them as one or two others have simply blown away. In addition, the boats on the windward side of my pool area have had extra lines placed on them "just in case". I wouldn't be at all surprised if one or two boats have broken their moorings within the marina by the morning. Anyone with lighter boats on trailers may even be advised to check that they are actually strapped down too. I have seen little diddy boats actually lifted off the trailer and chucked along the yard in previous big blows. If you do check them, be safe on the pontoons and for those whose boats are actually still on a swinging mooring, good luck. Tom

Guys Anyone who keeps their boat on a mooring may want to double check her mooring lines etc as it is currently holding almost 50 knots and gusting to 70 knots. Not very nice! Tom