charlieannear

Excellent, something else to add my list then! I'll have to sell the boat to pay for all the stuff that I want to buy for it! C.

One more question as it's almost the weekend.. Does anyone here have an hour-meter to keep track of their engine use? And can anyone suggest where to get one from?

Thanks Martin. Bob's Boats looked like it had 'gone' when I drove past on Sunday. Have they moved?

After 18 months sitting on a driveway in Wick, Star turn needs a good scrub. If she was a car I'd say she needed a good wash, T-Cut and polish. What do people use to achieve this on their boats? Also, what do people use to polish up perspex? i.e the windows and windscreen. Finally, where can I get gel coat filler in 'Stone' rather than white? Got a few little dings to sort out... C.

Charlie, you posted that response on my other thread! C.

Thanks everyone for your help with this. Fantastic! C.

Thanks everyone for your responses to this! C.

Hi Alun, yep, I also phoned Brian earlier in the week and Andy and I are going over on Sunday. C.

Thanks Tom. You must be reading my mind as this is pretty much the conclusion that I have come to. I just wanted to see what people reckoned about Navman as a product. I'm doing the VHF course on Sunday so all being well will soon have a user licence and a ship's licence. Was looking at the Navman 7200 radio, seems to do a lot for the money. Was originally looking at Garmin Chartplotter/Fishfinders, but they do seem more expensive as are the charts. Then noticed that Navman radio plugs into Navman chartplotters/fishfinders to give more features. Plus the C-Map MAX charts are now out, and are still cheaper than Garmin cartography. Just need to persuade Dad to stump up his 'share'! Ha ha!

I think having a look at one or two boats before I get stuck in is a good idea! To answer Paul- I live in Parkstone. Star Turn has a 50hp Johnson and the book says it puts out 12A. Don't think there's much danger of drawing too much power even at anchor: VHF transmitting on 25w can use about 5A Chartplotter about 0.5A Fishfinder about 0.5A Lights (if I'm out in the dark, gulp!) won't use much either Going to put in a car radio/cassette too, but that won't draw much current... unless I install a subwoofer! But I like the security of 2 batts provides, running the toys from a deep cycle battery and always having a full one to start the engine. Don't want to have to use the pull start if I can help it!

Star Turn has a battery connected to the outboard, but it's not connected to anything else! The last owner wasn't bothered apparently, but I obviously need to sort this out. I'm fairly experienced with domestic and auto electrics, but my boat electrics knowledge is only recently learned from books. What I would like to do is install a system that does the following. Engine start battery Deep cycle battery Clever split charger Distribution board (with circuit breakers?) Switch panel for helm (not confident that existing one is any good) Also needs the basics, i.e cable and battery clamps. Does anyone have any advice on doing this?

Mornin' All Today's question is this... I'm looking at fitting some toys in our boat and have been looking around on the internet for inspiration. If you are a gadget freak like me, this is a very dangerous thing to do! I'm trying to avoid getting carried away but it's very difficult! I generally try to future-proof myself when it comes to buying electronics, and of course, this adds to the cost... I'm completely new to boat electronics and so don't really know what the manufacturers reputations are like. How well do people rate Navman radios? Looking at Chartplotters and fishfinders, would you go for seperate units or a combined one? C.

Excellent, congratulations Charlie! Look forward to reading the fit out reports C.

I'll keep an eye out then! C.

Thanks Guys, this is great stuff. I haven't got money to burn so I want to make sure I make an informed decision on what I buy. The trouble is lots of reviews round and about are really just adverts, so your responses are really appreciated. Although on the face of it the choices are endless, there are certainly some common opinions here. Will go away now and draw up a shortlist! C.

Thanks for starting off Adam, exactly the sort of advice I was hoping for. Anyone else got any suggestions? Any club-friendly shops I should visit?

Well, I've got a boat, now I need a rod! Anyone got any reccomendations? I know one of the first questions would be "How much do you want to spend?", well I guess the answer is "I don't know!" So imagine you were choosing 3 rods: A budget one A medium one An expensive one What rods would you go for? The same for a reel! And finally, do prices vary much from place to place? C.

Not going to worry about the Golf as it is soon to be replaced by a newer Audi. Also seem to have several volunteers with 4x4's all of a sudden! Will get those bathroom scales out next weekend.

Went over to Wick on Saturday morning with my mate Matt to bring Star Turn, a 1980 Shetland Family Four, back to Parkstone. The last owner, Sid, had organised a good working party to help shift the boat, which hadn't been moved since Oct 2003. Unfortunately moving it about 3 feet highlighted the fact that the port side trailer brake had seized on. Discovering that my wheel brace didn't have a big enough socket (and having left my socket set in Parkstone, along with my wallet) about 30 mins of 'Nope, too big. Nope, too small" ensued trying to find a spanner man enough to get the wheel nuts off. Neighboring van owners were unable to help, but helpers eventually found a spanner that was close enough to do the trick. Luckily I did remember my trolley jack... (To do list item number 1- Purchase bigger wheel brace) Wheel off, then a bit of wiggling plus application of little hammer, big hammer freed the brake. Wheel back on, trailer back on the ground and manhandled the trailer onto the road. (To do list item number 2- Service trailer brakes) Then used my foot pump to inflate the tyres from 40 to 90 psi. Any more of that and I'll have calves like Geoff Capes... We were going to whip the wheels off and get new tyres, and check/grease the trailer bearings, but as bearings weren't noisy and tyres were looking fairly good, and having spent an hour longer than planned so far we decided to see how lucky we were and go for it... So, now to hitch up to the car, which was our... MkII Golf. OK, so I slightly underestimated things here! As we wound the jockey wheel in, the back of the car slowly sank closer to the ground. Jockey wheel up, and still a bit of give in the rear suspension. OK. Load the car up with all the other kit (suggestions of attaching heavy items to the front bumper causing great hilarity), deep breath and go for it!! (To do list item number 3- chat up all known Land Rover owners) Well we set off very slowly and cautiously. It's been a while since I towed anything bigger than a 4' trailer... The engine, clutch etc were coping admirably, but I felt like I needed to tilt the seat forward a bit! The seized brake was grabbing every so often, (it soon stopped) and we were just trickling along listening for any nasty sounds (other than the grinding of my teeth). Pulled over after a bit and checked things out- all OK so carry on. Every mile clocked up on the odomoter was noted, occasionally pulling over to let other motorists past (waving at us? ), and before long we pulled up in Parkstone. My mate Stu turned up totally by coincidence, and just in time to help lower the trailer down the driveway. So my wife Di came out, and the four of us guided the boat down the slope. The brakes definitely don't do very much! Matt's wife Sarah held onto Sam (our son, 18 months old) who thinks it's great to have a boat in the garden and insisted on having his lunch aboard. Andy (CREZZ) & Bob dropped in by chance a little later on and had a look. Got them excited about taking their boat out the next day. Shame they didn't catch anything! Now I'm going to spend a couple of months sprucing up and sorting a few things out on the boat (no electronics fitted so will have fun choosing some!), alongside doing some training. Then when the sun comes out and the fish return I'll be ready to get Star Turn out on the water. Watch this space! C.

BBC Devon News C.

Signed. Hopefully I'll catch a cod one day! C.

Got a late pass from the Boss so will see you later! Should I wear a name badge?

Yep, I second that, it's a very useful site.

I couldn't agree more, everything I know about boats I have learned from this forum... That's a compliment, honest! I now have a boat, so will continue to bug you lot with daft questions for the forseeable future. Will bring some beer vouchers to the first available club meeting too!