Paul D

Given the forecast and given that I plan to be fishing tomorrow....... What would be advised if out fishing and a thunderstorm approaches ? Would you put the aerial down ? Put the graphite fishing rod down ? Steam home as fast as possible ( but storm would probably reach you before you could get back ) ?

Update : Tested engine set up WITHOUT hydrofoil attached and using the 9.9 x 9 inch propellor with engine trimmed to three notches out ( as advised by Duncan - prop is parallel to the boat ). Success to start - 17 knots with occasional 19 knots ( on slack water ). I am now going to try with a 9.9 X 11 inch prop to see if speed is increased or if the pitch is too high. Interestingly, as luck would have it, I saw a brand new 520 ( called Dream On ) at Wick today and even more lucky it was fitted with a 30 HP Honda. Quick check of the prop on that motor and they are running with 9 1/4 inches X 12 inches. ( This seems to imply that my 9.9 X 11 should do ). Also, the owner of this boat claims to have done 25 knots with just himself onboard ( per GPS ). Still, I am happy with 17-19 knots, since any faster gets rather bumpy ( as Alun J spotted ). Finally fuel consumption is back down to nice low levels.

Towing

Adam, FYI - The slip at Wick is OK right the way across now ( at least I retrieved with no problems from the side where the huge hole used to be. )

Plenty of boats on the "secret Bream mark" Steamed over on Neo at a nice 17 knots with occasional 19 knots. ( See Mike, it is possible ). The trick was to remove the aerofoil wings and to get the trim correct. Boat still lists slightly to the right but I put that down to just me being onboard along with having two batteries both on the same side. Didn't have any groundbait available so fishing was a little slow. Had one Doggie and two Garfish and lost what felt like a Bream. Still not bad for a few hours fishing. While the boat was in SAL Marine at Lymington, I took the opportunity to look over the Saturday market and found a stall selling fishing rods ( nothing unusual there ) but they were selling the new Fladen Solid-C rods at

I dont know about prop for your boat, but the Honda ones I have cost around

Anyone fancy crewing on Neo on either Sunday or Monday or Saturday PM from Wick ? Just have to get out for those bream

WICK appears to be open now. ( Went down there today and cant see the repairs as it was HW, but there is evidence of sand/gravle etc having been applied. ) Slipway was in use when I got there, so looks OK to launch.

Gordon, Where you launching from on Saturday ? Weymouth or Poole ?

I was wondering if Wick would be back in action - after all it is the Bank Holiday weekend. Do you know if Wick is repaired now Paul ? I will give you a call Paul when the boat is fixed on Saturday ( hopefully should be around 11 ish ) - unless you are going out earlier. ( R you planning on taking MarineBoy out ? )

All I need is for repair to my tilt mechanism ( Saturday morning ) and then off for engine testing

Dont forget Mike, I have the VHF if you are still after it ( or did I read you had one already - in which case I will sell it on E-Bay ).

A little history here might explain why I am not so sure the engine is the problem. Bought boat and runs fine. 17 knots ( on GPS ). After 1 year of use speed drops and starts only doing 9 knots max. Fitted Dolfins that Martin lent me. - bad move boat is unstable. Played around with trim setting of engine to get better power Changed prop to 9.9 x 9 pitch as current prop was damaged on ledge- better but still not right. Removed Dolfins as they were bad news. Have engine serviced - mucho improved. . . . Decided to fit smaller hydrofoil - seems OK but speed reduced. Amended trim settings. Boat still not performing as it should. . . Engine serviced Tried 9.9 X 11 prop . . So I now have a much different setup to that I started with initially. Therefore, my plan of action is going to be as follows :- Remove fins Put engine at same trim angle as it came initially Test with 9,9 x 9 prop to see if can get revs up and 17 knots ( ish ). Try varying trim angles. Replace prop with 9.9 X 11 prop Retest with varying trim angles. I am 99% convinced I will find that the 9.9 X 11 prop with no fins and trim angle of about three notches out will improve things. First I need to get the engine tilt mechanism repaired and then will report back. If all the above fails I will "consider my options" regarding engine choice.

Mike, Who said anything about 30 knots ? The 520 is supposed to be capable of 22 knots. Mine is doing 10-11 knots flat out and you can tell something is amiss as if the power is being lost as the hull starts to lift. ( Also the boat lists to the right under power and it is not because I am overweight ! ). 15 knots cruising speed would be an improvement at the moment ( In the past 17 knots was readily achievable ).

Paul, I have a Honda on mine. The tilt mechanism is broken on it at the moment , but as you say, I can adjust the trim by moving the bar on the mounting bracket. Plan for the weekend ( or as soon as my outboard has been fixed ) is to change the trim and to remove the aerofoil wings I currently have fitted. Then test with a 9.9 X 9 prop to see if what it is like and then switch props to the 9.9 X 11 one. My friend from work is convinced it was incorrect trim setting and I tend to agree as the boat was displaying all the symptoms detailed in my earlier post ( ie. Torque steer etc. ). I am going to check all possibilities with regard to setup of the engine first before deciding to get a new engine. Watch this space !

Second hand boat ( although it was barely used ) , so no dealer to take back to

Studying on the web and I have an idea what is causing my lack of performance. Symptoms are :- Initial acceleration is fine. Get to around 10 knots and then boat fails to lift on plane Applying more throttle has no affect. Then found this info ........ So off to test different trim settings once I get the engine tilt mechanism fixed ( SAL ordered the wrong parts .... ) What effect does trim have on boat performance? The trim angle of the outboard/stern drive has a distinct effect on the planing angle of the boat, which, in turn, significantly alters top speed and handling. The engine/drive should be trimmed in for best start-up acceleration and shortest time to plane. The engine/drive would then be trimmed out for peak performance. If trimmed "in" (under) too far, the bow drops and the boat runs too wet. In this condition, top speed drops, fuel economy decreases, the boat may oversteer in one direction or the other ("bow steering"), and steering torque will increase (to the right with a right-hand rotation propeller). Occasionally, extreme trim under can cause a boat to list to the left (with a right-hand propeller). If trimmed "out" too far, the propeller may lose its hold on the water. Fast vee-bottom boats may start to "walk" from right to left to right, etc. ("chine walking"), steering torque will increase in the opposite direction to that when trimmed in, and getting on plane may be difficult or labored. Porpoising of the boat may also occur.

Using language like that in front of the youngsters as well. What is the world coming too

Sam, You will enjoy using that rod - it is my favourite. Is yours the 12-20 lb one ?

Didn't see any of it in Cghristchurch Bay / Christchurch ledge / X-Ray either.

Alun, I was tempted to upgrade to the 590. However, I cannot afford that at the moment ( new car coming ). So, now tempted to get an engine with power tilt/trim etc. , since as you say, it is almost essential at Christchurch ( my dinked props prove the point ). Staying with Honda the smallest they do with power tilt is their 40 HP model ( actually same engine as the 50 HP ). Orkney rate the hull to 35 HP but I have seen plenty of 520's with 40HP outboards fitted. Presumably one of the factors is the weight of the engine. Checking the weight of the Honda against others ( Suzuki / Yamaha ) and the 40HP engine is in fact lighter than the others and also comes with Power Tilt and Trim which the others have only power tilt and manual trim. Just need to find the money

Paul, Exactly the same thing happened to me when I was fly fishing in Scotland. It was only a small thing ( but the biggest thing we managed to catch ) and we actually managed to release it ( it wasn't very happy ! ).

Had engine serviced. Nearly lost the wheel of the trailer ( found out why the nuts kept wearing loose - the studs were worn. ) I went around a roundabout and managed to break one stud..... so off to Ambrose Trailers ( nice people ) and bought a new hub with bearings ( Note : For my trailer these cost

I wpuld definitely like to try some out. Especially as the bream were elusive ( altough I didnt make it to my bream mark on the ledge - which seemed to be surrounded by charter boats yesterday )

Nice one Mike. I bet you can;t wait to get the boat. See you out in Christchurch.