charlieannear

That's fantastic! I think Duncan should be awarded a special title for his services to photographic manipulation! Perhaps you can do a tutorial Duncan? Alun- I pulled the gloves on in order to handle the fish- partly for my benefit, partly for the ray's!

Will do Martin- always open to suggestions! C.

Apologies- another long post! Having decided to make the most of the weather, Andy Southwell and I were down to Baiter for 8 am, and had Star Turn in the water without any problems. The new steering was a delight as we headed into the harbour and off out into Poole Bay. Once out of the harbour the Johnson 50hp was pushing us along at a steady 17 knots and although reasonably calm we seemed to be airborne over a few troughs. As I'm not 100% sure of exactly what lurks beneath Star Turn's anti-foul (will be stripping that off soon) I didn't push it any harder on her first real 'Sea' sea trial. We motored out to Poole Patch- the only numbers in my GPS which were put in as a test and were supplied by the sheet given out at one of the club meetings recently. Everything held together nicely and we pulled up on the mark and dropped anchor. This is quite a precarious undertaking in the Shetland as the anchor locker is at the bow, but with no forward hatch the only way to get to it is by climbing out and around the sides. So, having waited for a calm moment between the wakes of the various gin palaces that were steaming past, I climbed out (Mike- I was clipped on!) and carried out my first anchoring of Star Turn in Poole Bay. Thanks again to everything I have picked up since joining PBSBAC this was accomplished without any accompanying horror stories. Sorry! So back onto the boat to bait up and get our hooks and Andy's competition prize Bomb over the side. We were on rag and squid on size 4 hooks. The bomb had more of the same plus some mackie. Nothing happened for a while but Andy said to hang on and I bowed to the superior experience (though seeing what some people caught in other places perhaps we should have moved!) Slight excitement ensued when Andy turned the VHF onto 'high' in order to talk to Prodigy and a fuse blew, but it was sorted quickly with the on-board spares. Eventually Andy broke the drought with a bream, followed by a doggie. I was beginning to think that perhaps I should have bought a shiney new rod and reel like Andy was waving about (he had a rod in each hand like Arnie with twin Uzi's. I must fit those rod holders...) but then after following a few of Andy's tips I had a bend in my rod too. It was no monster of the deep but I soon had my first ever bream in the landing net. Soon after I had a second, smaller one, and soon after that I had a proper bend in my rod. This wasn't responding like the two previous bites, it was keeping the rod bent, and even taking some line from time to time, but before long I had something nearing the surface. "What have I got?" I asked Andy, as he leaned over to see the shape looming out of the dark "It's a ray!" he says "What do I do with that?" said I "Dunno, never even seen one before!" says Andy He swiftly caught it in the net and I got a closer look "I think it might be a Thornback" I suggested "Why do you think that? "Because it has big thorny spikes coming out of it's back, where are my gloves!" Anyway, we got it photographed, weighed and back into the sea. We then entered another quiet phase with me catching one more bream before our time was up. Perhaps the thing which will most surprise Sam Chapman, Tom Bettle and Rich Swain is that I managed to keep my guts on the inside of my body for this whole time! Pharmaceutically assisted I must admit

It's the only place I could think of attaching a radar reflector to get it up high!

And Andy's first of the day.

And my second. Both tiddlers really but good scrappers. This one's a male?

My first ever bream. A female? Caught on rag & quid, size 4 hook. PBSBAC stall second hand Ugly Stik rod, e-bay second hand TLD 5 reel, and bags of luck!

This is my first ever Ray- A Thornback I think? About 10

http://www.tech.co.uk/gadgets/satellite-na...leid=2046970035 C.

Hmmm, if I spray up my Johnson 50hp, will it go faster?

Will do!

A pair of sand ladders and a shovel- worth their weight in gold http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pair-of-Sand-Ladders...1QQcmdZViewItem C.

New cable picked up from Quay West and now fitted. Steering as light as a feather now- roll on the weekend! C.

Quay West call them 'motorwell grommets' No wonder they are difficult to find- everyone calls them something different!

Do we have a club link through to Amazon so that the club gets a few pence when I make a purchase? C.

Hooray, my Shetland doesn't plane like a proverbial brick after all!

Thanks to all for the feedback- all top notch as usual. I take on board the launching advice re the salt water effect on the Paj and will give the rope method a go in future. We had considered it this time but decided to keep the launch as simple as possbile in order to try and ensure a pleasurable first use. The factors to consider for the method used were experience, speed required and also the available manpower! Will let you know how we get on next time. Allan- Dad and also said how the course seemed like an age ago. It soon came back once we were out and about in the harbour though! C.

We're thinking of having some side rails made up for Star Turn, mainly for safety with the little fella aboard. Does anyone have any reccomendations for someone who could make these up? I think I recall Stainless Steve doing something similar for one of you guys? Thanks C.

Will do next time Sam! I guess this is what I need to complete to apply for a season ticket at Baiter?

Good point! Where do I get one of those?

I've seen Charlie C's and I'd never get one of those down my drive! Mind you, I could fly a big Cornish flag from one of those and they are a Cornish boat... Yep, flushed both the main and aux motors with fresh water, and powerwashed the trailer, boat and Pajero. And soaked the winch webbing, any ropes I used and my small anchor and chain in a big bucket of fresh water overnight. Also scrubbed the decks, seats and trim!

Yep, semi displacement. I'm sure you're right Paul- will have to do some trial and error testing, like many of you have, to get the best out of them.

This very long tale may be of use to someone in the future, as it documents the first launch of an untested boat, restored by novices and taken out by very green

I've got a length of 22mm copper pipe (not restricted to broom handle length then) which fits snugly into a flagpole holder. I've made up a reflector-to-ball adaptor. It's basically a block of wood with a hole in the base which is the same diameter as the relflector tube. The ball (or one half of it, so that it can still be collapsed for storage) is fixed to the top of the block. The block (& ball) is then fitted over the end of the tube and held in place with a piece of bungee cord. I'll let you know how long it lasts before it falls off the back!

Thanks Paul, thought it was you but couldn't find the post! Kam She's a 1980, but the I don't think the steering is original. Looks like a Teleflex type to me... but then, what do I know!