Paul D

The E-Tecs can be set up by the dealer to use "standard" XD-50 oil or the special synthetic stuff which is sold at around twice the price of the "standard" oil. The upside is the engine uses half the oil, so although the oil costs twice the price it costs no more in the long run and because you are burning less oil there is no smoke and because the oil is thinner it is better in the winter ( they do a "winter formula" version as there were problems in the winter with the oil injection mechanism which were solved by a software change and the "winter formula" oil ). 5 litres costs around

1 can( bottle ) lasts a whole season though.

Gordon, Here are some useful articles on 4 stroke V 2 stroke. Stroke for Stroke E-Bay Guide Quote :- Consider different strokes for different boats Those who think 2-stroke engines are being phased out for environmental reasons are way off. Thanks to stricter EPA and California Air Resource Board (CARB) rules, manufacturers now produce simple, efficient 2-stroke engines that produce fewer emissions and offer better fuel economy than older models. For example, Evinrude E-TEC and Mercury OptiMax engines are rated three stars by CARB as low-emissions engines and already meet CARB

Adam, Agreed that the 4 strokes are quieter than the new generation 2 strokes, however, they are no more economical. In fact I am getting far better fuel economy with my E-Tec than I ever achieved with the Honda. Have never used more than 25 litres on a fishing trip yet and averaging around 1.5 to 1.75 NM per litre.

Damn, I've been rumbled ( No commission at the moment, but could be a good idea - I'll get straight down there )

Car engines have a 12K ish or annual service primarily because you need to change the oil. 2 stroke engines have no oil to change. L&J recommend dropping the gearbox each year, just so you dont find out the bolts have corroded in after 3 years. What is there to service on an E-Tec ?Injector seals and spark plugs and the impellor. Also, no problems with a flat battery on an E-Tec, it will start on a pull cord. ( although I must admit I wouldnt fancy trying to start the 100 HP + engines this way ! )

Gordon, I would choose an E-Tec if I were looking for a larger engine as I have been well impressed with the performance of my current one. It get smoother each time I take it out ( and is more economical than my old Honda ) and 2 years to go to my next service and then it only invlolves changing injector seals and spark plugs.

Disk of images arrived in the post today ( I assume you sent them Gordon ? ). Have taken one picture of each winner and placed them in the photo album in the "2006 Nov Comp" album, This link should work. Nov Comp Album

Jack, You can tell your friend he can relax as this is a hoax. Olympic Torch Hoax

One earlier shot for the Poole Bay Doggies ( who I think were fishing the comp from Sea Spray ? ).

Also, forgot to mention the fun we had steaming back in through Sea Spray's wash ( we had waves form the ferry coming in one direction and wash from Sea Spray in the other which made quite an interesting time ! ).

Headed for Baiter at 6:15, picking up Soleman en-route. My crew for the day, Westray ( Steve ) travelled from Portsmouth. Met up at Baiter, registered and blagged some marks from Dean . Steamed out to the "Gravel Bank" mark following Whistler and another boat. Nice big swell and I was feeling pretty grotty as had little sleep the night before. Hook down and I got a knock on the squid rod almost straight away. Steve then hooks into a good fish and 20 minutes after dropping the hook a 13lb Blonde Ray is boated. Returned the fish as surely more than 60% specimen is needed. I only managed the one dogfish in the end - but it looked pretty fat and at 2lb 1oz was 66% ish specimen weight so dropped this into the bait tank for later weighing. Tide then slackened and fishing stopped. Once we had turned we were fishing on much snaggier ground. ( in hindsight we should have re-anchored ), however, plugged away and I had a small bream. Decided to move to the Gulley where we were joined by Illusion and then tried near the Spoil Ground and near the training bank ( where we noticed they were netting ). No luck apart from a couple of wrasse, so headed to Brownsea castle where Steve had a schoolie ( should have weighed it in retrospect ). Tried for herring ( what happened to the one weighed in as sounded a good size )- no luck there so back to Baiter. Exhausted today but already looking forward to next years one. PS: Heard the suggestion that maybe we should consider having a greater % specimen weight for Eels, as there were quite a few weighed in which did not figure in the final prizes. Sounds a good idea to me. Picture of Steve's Blonde Ray attached

Bob, Don't forget the B.A.S.S. Catch and Release prize ? I would also like to take the opportunitly to thank all who organised and planned the event.

680 looks tempting I must say. Presumably they are semi-displacement vessels, similar to the Orkney range. I presume the 680 actually 6.8 metres long

Will do - I'll let you have it once I have caught my prize winning fish with it

Only need to earn another $4.00 from advert clicks / google search and the next competition will be ready to run. Hopefully just in time for Christmas. So get viewing the adverts and searching from the Google link on the site,

I was going to mention that it is only certain engines which need the fuel filter change. Mine was OK.

Police in Lymington have recovered more than

Just downloaded IE 7 and it is pretty good. The browser now has tabs and it has some nifty new features. Hasn't crashed yet either ! www.microsoft.com has a link to download it from.

Nice fish Andy. Dont forget to send in the catch report.

Had mine done a month or so ago. Can't say I have noticed much of a difference but the engine is running like a dream at the moment and very frugal with the fuel as well. You can actually buy the diagnostic software and the lead from Evinrude but I think it is a bit pricey.

Dan, Parking is only

Talksport

Fished both 4th November and 5th November. On the 4th with Richard as crew, followed Enticer out to a wreck for a go at the bass and eel, no luck on both accounts, although I dropped a good fish whilst at anchor and just before the anchor tripped and fortunately didn't get stuck in the wreck. Tried to find the Happsburg but neither myslef nor Gordon could track this down. Back towards Dolphin sands and spotted what looked a promising mark en-route. Stopped to fish this but only dogs showing. Tried another good looking mark to end the day and had around 10 whiting to 1 1/2 lb. ( I suspect this latter mark is the "cod motorway" that Bob F refers to. Its currrently closed though ). Nice day out nonetheless and had a good race in with Gastrononaught, until my GPS turned itself off due to the connector not being in securely. Economy of the E-Tec is looking good as Wick to wreck to Happsburg, back to Dolphin Sands and back to Wick, I used 11 litres. ================================= 6th November. Another early start from Wick. Foggy morning and fun getting out the harbour and through the run ( see other post ). Due to the fig we stopped on the ledge to let it clear before crossing over to the Needles. No sooner we stopped the fog lifted. Quick steam over to the Needles ( get there so much quicker nowdays ) and we drop the pick down in the "car park" and join the other 35 boats. Fishing very slow with Doggies and Pout. I had two small whiting which went back. Then on the mackeral bait ( which was supposed to be for the dog ) I had bite after bite bite but couldnt connect. PJ then puts some mackeral bait on and second s later is into a good fish. We both think "big bass" and as the fish comes to the surface it looked like one at first. Not bass though but 10lb ( easily ) of Pollock. ( Weighed on the boat the fish went to 10lb 8oz but Paul then bled the fish and it lost almost a pound ). ( Whilst fighting the conger we realised that we were "on the move". The anchor was not holding and we were slowly drifting. This is the new "pollock drift anchoring" technique evidently Reset the anchor and fished on but nothing else of note caught. Set off before dark to cross around the shingles at LW ( slack ) as I didnt fancy crossing in a strong tide in the dark. Stopped off on the ledge and pulled a number of doggies and pout up and then back to the run. Get to the run. Where are the buoys ? - Whilst fishing they had been removed. Fortunately I had the nice track I made on the way out. Another great day out in good weather and good company.