Paul D

Nice fish Gordon - was it spawned on the last drop of the day by any chance

Glad all turned out OK ( and that the boat was not Neo ! ). We had fun getting in ourselves yesterday and the waves were trying there best to turn the boat as well. Out of interest what time of day was it ( we headed in at 3-30 and any later would have been extremely hairy. What astounded me was the rollers look much worst once you get through them and look back. I think someone ought to get the entrance dredged - it surely is a safety issue.....

Alun, The thornback is swimming waiting for you

Late trip ( 10-30 AM launch ) out from Mudeford, myself and Paul J on Neo for further engine trials Water was shallow on the bar ( coming back in it went down to 1.5 foot and prop now has slight "christchurch" scar on it ! ) Steamed across to the end of the ledge. Anchored down and caught a couple of doggies and then caught what we both thought was a cod but turned out to be a 9 lb thornback ray which was using the tide to its full advantage. Steamed towards a wreck mark ( I can do this now ! ) but didnt get there as it was still a little lumpy out, so stopped on edge of the Dolphin Sands and fished a little - nothing showing. Steamed West to Xray, past a charter boat. Nothing apart from the solitary dogfish. Steamed back to Christchurch as we had not realised it was getting late ( 3-15 PM ) and the bar is phenomenally shallow. Clipped the bar on way back in whilst surfing the waves, but nothing horrendous. Nice day out

Tom, Belated wishes - I seem to have missed this thread.

Signed. The reason cod are becoming scare is because the scientists state that a fishin moritarium is required in order for stocks to recover, yet this never happens and the fishing continues. We need to learn from history - Grand Banks ..... As regards "how can you ask the professional fisherman to curb his income by accepting size increases, in fish and net mesh sizes . " ..... If they don't there wont be anything to fish for anyway, which will certainly curb their income !!

Paul, You are dead right about the trim. Today I had the engine trimmed down and the boat handles much better ( although it wants to turn right all the time - so I shall have to adjust the trim anode ). Fixed the GPS problem - I had a loose connection for the earth. Still well shallow today and prop has a very very slight scrape on the side now - care of Christchurch Ledge. 1.5 Ft of water and it was just coming off HW as well - they are going to have to dredge the bar or the yachts are going to have readl problems. Sea much flatter than yesterday, only slight chop on the water and I caught a nice 9 lb Thornback today as well.

Paul, Glad you enjoyed todays trip out. Looking forward to seeing the piccies you took.

Kam, Haven't looked at the reservoir yet, but it is true that they use more oil for the first 10-15 hours.

Radio Solent on a Friday has a "Catch of the Week" slot at 7 AM. This mornings had someone on from Hayling Island - Northney Marina who was saying what a bad idea the BASS Management Plan was - because it wouldnt mean the French etc. would do the same and would be harmful to commercial fishing etc. Julian Clegg ( The presenter ) requested that anyone who would like to put the counter argument ( or agreeing ), could they call on 0845 30 40 961 or text him ( didnt catch the text address though ). So phone away !

Martin, Top RPM at WOT is quoted as 5000 - 6000 RPM. It is a little early to compare fuel economy with the Honda but from the first trip it would seem to be very much similar.

Took Neo out to see how the new engine performs. ( Met up with Paul - Sinbad out by Clan McVey ) Incredible how easily the engine starts, not as smooth or as quiet as the Honda when travelling slowly through the harbour ( but I understand they get smoother after 10-15 hours running ) and it is hardly loud, just a "powerful" deep noise You dont get the clouds of smoke that "normal" 2 stroke engine emit and the unburnt/oily 2 stroke smell was non-existant. Through the run ( shallow or what - under 2 ft, so engine on large degree of tilt - how did I live without power tilt I wonder ). Then opened her up the acceleration is phenomenal and the engine gets smoother the faster you go. Took her in burst up to 5000 RPM - the engine makes about the same degree of noise as the Honda but the big difference is the noise sounds good ( hard to explain ) - the old Honda sounded as though it was about to disintegrate. Had a bit of fun trying to work out how to trim the boat - I think it runs better into choppy seas with the engine trimmed close in - trimming the engine out the nose lifts up but the ride gets bumpy. Prop seems to be well matched pulling 5000 RPM ( ish ) at 20 knots. If I had nerves of steel and it had been a bit more flat then 25 knots would be do-able but I can see why Orkney say 23 knots max as it gets hairy around that speed! Only problems I had was the GPS kept turning off ( bad connection somewhere ) and the cable for the tilt mechanism managed to get wrapped around the trailing/tilt bracket. Used under half a tank of fuel ( around 10 litres ) so not bad considering the way I was steaming around ! Really shallow coming back in ( as Sinbad warned me as well ) but now I have power tilt no prop damage at all. Back out tomorrow to use the rest of the fuel

See attached

Found the following link which gives some useful advice on small boat safety and some eye opening stats ( like boating is the second highest cause of fatalities after motoring ) See what you think Navy Safety Centre such facts as Most people who drown while boating have personal flotation devices (life jackets) aboard their boats, but when they die, are not wearing them. The overwhelming majority of boat operators who have fatal accidents have never taken a safe boating course. The main causes of these accidents are collision and falling overboard. Alcohol and drug use is often a factor. Boaters who have fallen in the water with alcohol present in their blood stream have been found to have swum to the bottom rather than to the top due to the inability to determine which way was up. Forty percent of the body's heat is lost from the head. Wearing a hat is very important.

Of course it was deliberate Mike

Adam, Strangely, Helen disagrees - she says "To keep my wife in the manner to which she has become accustomed"

Paul, If you are out Friday PM that would be great as I am tempted to test the boat Friday PM.

Gordon, I assume spelling dyslexic that way is a deliberate "faut pas" You need some help from this place !! ( which I found double checking my spelling of the word dyslexic was correct ). Spooky. Found this !

I probably will run it in a bit ( at least until I get used to how the boat handles - should be 10 mins or so ). Of course I will need to see how many revs it is pulling on WOT just to be sure it is propped correctly The prop is 13.5 X 15 inches which looks huge compared to the one the Honda had, but I note that the E-Tecs have oodles of torque to turn such a large prop. Let testing begin Oh why do I have to work PS: I did discuss about selecting the correct prop - will have to see how it handles with the one it has first.

Best wishes Martin - have a good birthday

Saturday AM - Launching from Mudeford with PJ as crew. Unless I can get out mid week ( looking unlikely ) this will be "E-Tec" maiden voyage Off to some distant wreck sounds like a fun idea.

Registered forum users should be able to create their own albums and upload pictures to them now. Give it a go.

You should be able to toggle through the images. ( Admittedly they are not fantastic but you can definitely see the outboard )

Best wishes.

Neo - Not great piccies but it is dark outside Its here and what impresses me is the low profile of the engine and the prop looks huge !