Mike Fox

Adam is right. If you can't find your ideal one, finding a reasonable one then "uplifting" it is another option. I've done this on my three previous boats, and while it can be cheaper initially, the cost of upgrades can quickly add up. A brand new boat often needs loads spending on it, to make it operationally effective. Fitting safety gear for your intended usage should be a budgeted priority, and once fitted, the "fun" toys can then follow. Mike

Rob, alas the two lockers are linked underneath, where the hydraulic autohelm, Eberspacher warm air diesel heater, and steering cables all live. Buckets on the side decks will have to do for livebait. I'm currently wondering if watertight doors might be needed in the event of a knockdown, to protect that key central area. Adam, I'll try to take the first piccies on Sunday. Duncan, agree about availability abroad. Will keep the old regulator on board for our longer travels.

Thanks, it helps understanding the comfort limitations as well as the safety ones. We used to take about 9 hours in Frisky, in most conditions. We left in 3-4m seas one year to avoid a previously unforecast NE 6-7, with a view to going to Cherbourg, and ended up coming home, with 35 knots. I think the "making a cuppa in comfort" is an important red line too Mike

Alas, Feisty will be ashore, so the "stealth" / traditional angling boat contingent might not be fully represented this time around It would be much better if there's a host of more typical angling boats. I look forward to seeing the result! Mike

My next challenge is to convert one of the cockpit lockers from a white fibreglass pit into organised storage. I really struggle thinking in three dimensions, and envisaging the end result, so I've tried to break the problem down into discrete requirements. The base of the locker follows the turn of the hull, and is too slippery to get down here regularly, and use the bottom bit. I'm going to use lengths of quadrant or baton stuck to the hull to mark a level, then cover over with removable planks. The odd shaped section underneath will be more accessible if planked, and it's probably somewhere the bulky "tow rope" can be stored. There's a sealed gas locker protruding into the left side locker as you peer down. I think a few sections of quadrant or baton will make a storage shelf with fiddles on top, and vertical batons could allow some kind of retaining elastic line. This is the possible tackle box spot which I've been looking for. Might need a backing pad for a bracing pole underneath, and maybe a length of marine ply along the top edge for rope tidies, so storage under for items like jerry cans and buckets can have a reachable rope loop to pull it out. Will have to see. There's a low shelf the opposite side, which is too low to be readily reached, and too slippery for practical storage. Similar treatment will make the shelf useable, and maybe a site for flares, or a lead bucket or other items, which will be reached via a rope loop, secured above. Out of the way, but still accessible. Should work. The base should have enough space left over for a small fish box. More of a storage receptacle for polish, cleaning stuff etc, rather than a box for small fish Again, some kind of accessible rope to reach it will be needed. The main improvement will be rope and fender storage. I'm going to bond a couple of backing pads so a pole braced between them can go along one edge, and will rig another pair and pole along the back. Warps and shorelines can be dangled from the right-hand one via clove hitches, keeping them within reasonable reach. If this has a gap of a few inches to the side, there might be just enough space for boathook and deck brush stowage, using vertical PVC tubes bonded at the bottom to keep it organised. The other at the back of the locker will be used for fenders in a similar manner, then just dropping them where they fall against the main curve of the hull. The inboard edge of the locker needs a couple of rope tidies fitting for the heavy electrical shore power cables. A couple of backing pads should sort this. That uses the bottom and all four sides. Will stop there for a bit, and see if it works in practice! If there's still some usable space left over, I'm going to try to fit shelves I'm going to look for a spot for a wedge-shaped step. Having been in there, it's not easy getting out again! Throughout all of this, am going to try to work out the implications of a "knock down". The boat is very much self-righting. I just don't want carnage in the lockers if it happens! Might have to take a few piccies....before....fitted....stowed. Mike Locker emptied, looking down and aft. Gas locker is the odd shaped "box":

Think I'll make small but important changes to my plaice drift fishing technique having seen this. Fascinating video, thanks. Mike

I bought a Seago ISO spec liferaft in a canister for Frisky Fox last year, together with an adjustable stainless cradle that kept it secure on the pushpit. I've transferred the liferaft to the new boat, and removed the cradle and fixing brackets from Frisky. It looks like this: http://www.force4.co.uk/force-4-liferaft-cradle-horizontal-stainless-steel.html?gclid=CI3tuePiu8wCFcFAGwodiIoMBg#.Vyd68fkrJaQ Anyone want to offer me £50? Mike

Removed the old anchor rope today. It's about 25m of 3-strand 18mm nylon, stained brown and green and stiff with salt, silt and age. It was so twisted and cockled it could never have come out of the anchor locker, and one of the twisted loops had tangled with the knot at the "bitter end". It was a major fight getting it out of the locker, until I dropped the freed end down to ground level where it continued to writhe and squirm like some mythical serpent. A serrated blade knife quickly destroyed the back splice to the 10mm calibrated chain, and the whole rope finally fell away to ground level. Carol and I stretched it out in the yard again, releasing 30 to 50 of the kinks and twists. Finally, we'd tamed it. All I had to do was to coil it. It proved to be so stiff, I couldn't do it, and ended up making a loop and rolling it like a hula hoop about 3' wide to collect the coils. Carol helped me squash it, and tie it in the middle, and we stuffed it in the boot of the car to wash at home. Easier said than done, it wouldn't fold to get into the washing machine. We stuffed it into the bath first, to try to soften it. We had a bucketful of Studland sand, and the same amount of Newtown Creek mud. Not sure the previous owner went anywhere else. Tried re-tying it into a smaller bundle, and stuffing that into the washing machine, but no chance Carol finally fed the rope into the machine a yard at a time using all of the available space. Will have to see what it's like ...but the jury is currently out. Am sure it has value, perhaps the 7 tonne likely beaking strain means it could be a tow rope in an emergency? All we have to do is clean it, soften it, coil it properly, and file it away somewhere it can't escape by itself and eat us all in the dark.... The second major job of the day was modifying the removable butt flap ladder. This is about 4' long, folds in the middle one way only, and has two hoops at the top, and normally lives in a cockpit locker. To deploy it, the 1" stainless tubes fit into a 1" deep recess in stainless fittings, so in theory you can swim off the back and get back aboard. A bigger problem is the height of the topsides, and the heroic leap needed to get down to a pontoon, even if you use the "fender step" gadget. Carol is less keen on leaping heroically than when we first started boating (he said diplomatically ) so we need an improvement. This ladder with a pair of offset legs to keep it vertical and away from the hull could fit beautifully amidships. The stainless welder who did such a good job on the boarding ladder set to with some leftover bits, and permanent, but adjustable legs were fitted. The bad news is there wasn't enough depth of teak to take an inch recess. Luckily he had some stainless tubing that fits inside 1" standard tube, and cut some 15mm slices. These he welded onto drilled stainless disks, and made 4 custom "feet" for the ladder. Plan A is to fit these directly onto the teak deck, with ample Sikaflex, and securing screws through. Plan B, in case Plan A fails, is to recess the stainless disks into the teak, and screw into the deck itself, using ample Sikaflex to prevent leaks. Plan C, is the same as plan B, but to bolt through - but am not currently sure I have access to the places needed. Wish me luck with Plan A, and no filming of Carol leaping heroically when we first try it out! Mike

Starting to see progress now the boat is ashore. The mast has been removed for essential maintenance. Corrosion was so bad they had to cut the rigging. Apparently, delaying longer could have caused real issues. If it can all be corrected, I might get it re-rigged within a week. With the mast down, withdrawing the different ropes and washing them shifts all of the salt and algae. Five done so far. Seems to be far too many bits of string left over.... The rails on the back didn't permit a conventional outboard bracket, so bought a lump of teak and some stainless fittings. All fingers and thumbs fitting it, and spring-loaded nuts were pinging all over the boatyard . Found some...not all. Definitely a job for ashore! I bought two folding boarding ladders, and asked a stainless fabricator to make them into one. He did a cracking job yesterday morning, and Carol and I fitted it this afternoon, with her electing to get into a locker to tighten nuts, with me outside dangling precariously on the butt-flap. Astonishing it wasn't factory-fitted. Key safety item I'd have thought. Lifeline attachment point fitted near the bathing platform. Will keep one there permanently so someone unhooking a large fish can clip on easily, and stay aboard. Seemed obvious, so just did it, using a stainless fitting once bought for our second boat, Flying Fox, about 20 years ago and never used. Couple of new bits today. 30m of 18mm anchorplait with a 7 tonne breaking strain to replace that manky knotted rope under the 30m of 10mm anchor chain. Now have to get the old stuff out, and find some YouTube videos on rope to chain splices. It means that if I anchor in 2-3m of water at low tide in Brittany, and we get one of the big 13m Spring tides, we'll have enough combined scope for 4x depth. The fishing anchor will be additional. Still not sure how small I can get away with for that! New gas regulator. Previous owner used small expensive Camping Gaz but the, but the huge gas locker takes 2 x 4.5kg butane bottles, which is much cheaper. Looks Like I get back the price of the regulator on the first bottle. Seems a tenner well spent! Price Kg £/Kg Butane £18.75 4.5 £4.17 CampingGaz £30.00 2.7 £11.11 Tomorrow will start organising locker stowage. Have a nice piece of marine ply which I'll break down into handy sizes, bond them to the hull, and attach fittings. Simple things like a length of shock cord and hooks to keep the anchor locker lid up when doing stuff there. Mounting points for rope tidies, so the shore power cable can be coiled and accessible instead of just dropped in a deep locker in a mess. I really want a shelf for my tackle box, and a couple of braced poles to store ropes and fenders. Have a length of PVC tubing which might be useful if bonded to the hull in short lengths, for brush, boat hook, "Mr. Snappy" (a plastic gadget thing for picking up moorings), and other unwieldy items. Then I should have enough usable space for rod stowage when out on travels. Been watching catch reports enviously...need to get out there and join you all! Mike

I nearly typed "up the chuff", but combining that with "butt flap" comments might have been too much for your sensitivities Rob

Cobb's had been booked solid for boat lifts for weeks, after the long wet winter, and last Thursday was the first slot at high tide I could book to have Feisty lifted out. It had been lashed firmly to the pontoon since we delivered her, as she really needed ashore maintenance. As Carol couldn't get time off, I was going to take the boat around to the slipway solo for my first time, but an offer of assistance from Neal was gratefully accepted. I got down to the boat just after 8, and started preparing lines, and Neal arrived in good time, and I showed him over briefly. It was blowing a F4-5 Easterly, right up the stern, and I knew I'd probably not be able to spin the boat between A and B pontoons, and head out forwards, so I needed to back out to the main approach channel. As the boat slowed, I popped it into ahead, and gave it a burst of revs, to slow the reverse, and bring the bows through the wind, and I momentarily forgot that I had 10-11 tons there as it took longer to stop from 2-3 knots than I expected. As the boat speed dropped, the wind caught the bows, and quickly blew them off, and with zero boat speed at the turning point, I couldn't do anything about it. I increased revs to bring the bows back, and nothing happened - the bows kept sliding downwind. I increased revs again to about 80%, and finally, I achieved some "grip", the rudder was about 45°, and doing the "stern thruster" bit, and finally the bows started to turn through the wind. Lesson learned - even with lots more horses under the throttle hand, low-speed control in a cross wind needs space and great care! Can see why some bigger boats fit bow thrusters... The rest of the trip to the slipway was uneventful. It was out of the wind and sheltered, Neal and I lobbed loops over the bollards, and the Cobb's travel hoist did it's thing. It was good to have help, and made an anxious trip into a routine one. I was able to lower the transom (why do I keep thinking of it as the "butt flap") when the boat was finally settled in the steel cradle, and my normal extending/step ladder just reached with a few inches to spare. A 2m keel plus high topsides, plus being chocked above ground level meant the boat is higher than I like. No chance of boarding amidships, and a new ladder is needed to get aboard safely. Need one that fits in a car with no roof rack, so maybe a telescopic one. We now have the normal winter maintenance to perform, but key will be the safety items picked up on the survey, and further structural operational improvements: - The mast had to be removed for rigging replacement. This came off Monday with difficulty. Corrosion and a lack of maintenance prevented it being removed cleanly, and the budget for this has just increased. - The seacocks had been left open for much of the 15 years since new. Neglect has all but destroyed them. Replacing all is going to be needed to have any confidence in them. If you have them, keep them worked! - A small area of blistering needs to be investigated. Now scraped off and opened up. It's looking like a void in the mat under the gel, but will get this checked out carefully. - There's no boarding ladder in normal usage. Lowering the transom and fitting a bathing ladder might be ok for a sunny anchorage, but if you fall in when on deck alone, there's no way back aboard. A permanent ladder is a must. - Stainless handrails for the companionway, so you can move down below in a seaway more securely. Improvements while ashore are now needed to get the boat to the same spec as Frisky: - Mainsail to launder and overhaul, foresail to replace with new. Sprayhood to reduce in height (previous owner was 6'5"). New cockpit enclosure. - Chartplotter/fishfinder at the binnacle, so going for one with downview imaging and side scan - which needs a hole in the bottom - Cockpit vinyl cushions for comfort and to reduce the mess and bloodstains One important upgrade to the spec of Frisky: - AIS with personal MOB devices as an uplift. Going for the DSC alerting, to give the off-watch crew an alarm, in the event of MOB. Target re-launch is 20th May. The annual species hunt will have a much later start this year than hoped. Thanks again for the help Neal ! Mike

Hi Charlie, Can you remember the forecast and the actual wind conditions and sea state you experienced in 2011? Many of the club members might struggle to appreciate how offshore conditions change beyond the lee of Portland, and how they're compounded by the stronger tides on the French side of the channel. Thanks, Mike

Juniors first and second...so far... VERY well done from me! Mike

Hope you had a good one Chris Mike

Regretfully, due to previous long-standing commitments, I can't make this one. Hope all have a great day. Mike

Nice one Duncan - on your new boat? Mike

Met with Chris Ellery of Greenham Regis today, to discuss electronics. Currently looking at a Garmin EchoMAP CHIRP with HD sonar. Anyone have experience, before I commit? Also looking at a Class B AIS Transponder, with Ocean Signal AIS/DSC/GPS devices for life jackets to help MOB recovery. Also drilled a load of holes to install new interior fittings. This afternoon was anchor duties using the electric windlass for the first time. Took a hacksaw to the corroded shackle, replacing with stainless, which I moused to prevent it vibrating loose. Then ranged the whole chain on the pontoon, and found there was 30m of 10mm chain on a 20kg Delta, marked at 5m intervals, with some twisted 16mm nylon behind, with more knotted on, and hence jammed in the locker. After failing to deploy it when lashed to a pontoon, I think we need to replace it. Frisky had 60m total with 40m of chain, to allow 3-4x depth in Brittany (13m tide, assuming anchoring in 2m at low tide). Think we're going to need 30m rope, which wasn't budgeted. Nylon or anchorplait I guess, with a rope to chain splice, with a lighter line at the "bitter end" that can be cut in an emergency. The 5gk Bruce clone fishing anchor might be a little small for this one. Have a separate anchor well for it and our 110m of 12mm nylon, but I might need something chunkier. Rob, lots more cockpit space, and a lowering transom (nicknamed the "butt flap") to allow unhooking of GTs, Goliath Grouper, etc in future years. No rod rests, but plenty of guard wires and rails. She seems to lie beam on on the drift, with the helm locked to windward. It's a narrow keel, with higher topsides, so drifts faster than Frisky. The real shock is the teak cockpit. Gorgeous to look at, but a nightmare to maintain. Am told tuna and mahi mahi blood doesn't soak in, if it's kept soaked in clean seawater Mike

The refurbishment will need to move quickly, as we hope to complete and re-launch mid-May - The stainless rigging is time-expired, and riggers need to remove mast and do all of that; - all of the ropes are green with algae, and stiff with salt and lack of usage; - The sails are grim. One is salvageable, the other needs replacing; - Will need canvaswork changes and improvements for the cockpit; - The electronics are 2001 vintage, and while Raymarine, do not extend to the wheel. I need a plotter / fishfinder, and I'm looking at AIS for MOB recovery. - Safety gear is being transferred from Frisky; - The seacocks appear to have been left open for 15 years and neglected. Most will need replacing There's also an 18 page survey report, with a stack of other recommendations, a few of which are potentially scary. Wish us luck! Mike

Well, the end of an era is approaching.We'd owned Frisky for 13 years, and got to know pretty well every knot and wrinkle. Frisky has now been up for sale since November, and despite a low-level flurry from private adverts, and just one viewing, I couldn't get anyone to bite my hand off, even though the price has reduced. Frisky is now under brokerage at an even lower price, and am hoping they can do better with trade adverts and onsite support. We completed on our new boat at Lymington on the first Saturday of March, after the previous owner had basically ignored it since our sea trial last year. We verified the inventory, took notes from the owner's comments, and did the credit transfer to the broker. The new boat was ours! We came home, re-grouped, loaded the car with the essential safety kit, and had a frosty drive back to Lymington for 9 a.m., admiring the traces of snow left in the New Forest, and the shiny glaze over pontoons and previously grey/brown teak decks. It took an hour to load up, run through basic checks, warm up the engine (fired first time!), and cast off, taking it out of a marina berth for the first time. We motored up to Lymington Yacht Haven for fuel, which we'd arranged the day before. The fuel berth was tucked into a dead-end corner, the fuel filler points were starboard side, and had the excitement of my first three-point turn, and tying up. The fenders kissed the pontoon gently, Carol and I lobbed bites of ropes over pontoon cleats, and we were tied up for the first time. The bad news was we couldn't get off. The topsides are much higher than Frisky, and leaping onto a frosty pontoon looked too scary. We were left a fender step, that needed to be transferred from port to starboard, and when rigged, it was a simple single step down, with much better grip than we first thought. The new boat takes 220 litres of diesel in each of two tanks. One took about 30 litres, which was re-assuring, and we hoped it was the "empty" one. The other took about 220 litres, and we were glad we filled up! Have never put so much fuel into a tank. Guess some in the club take much more! We were away by 11, the frost had cleared, and we retraced our steps out to the river, then followed the red and green stakes out into the Solent. The wind was on the nose, the tide was fair until 14.11, and the target was Old Harry for low tide, then trundle in for the 3.30 bridge on a flooding tide. We cleared Hurst Castle at 12:00, confirmed that the Needles Channel would give us wind on the nose all the way back, but the North Channel close to the mainland shore gave a slight angle, which meant we could try the sails. We hoisted both sails for the first time, and I zig-zagged back towards Old Harry over-steering constantly until I got the "feel" of it, regretting the lack of a plotter at the wheel. The autohelm made it look embarrassingly easy. The wind and sea state increased, as did the boat speed. We'd gone from flat calm in the Solent to a F4-5 NW over tide, with breaking white tops. As we cleared the Piers, the wind freshened to a F6, and being slightly overpressed with full canvas we reduced sail, which kept the boat upright, and improved comfort, but all too soon, we reached Old Harry - just before 2 p.m. Think that was our fastest ever crossing of Christchurch and Poole Bays, in just under 2 hours. I'm not sure our 7 knot speed will threaten too many other club boats, mind! The engine went on, we trundled into the Swash, and had time for some figure of eights ahead and astern, practice crash stops, and got a feel of the momentum that 10-11 tonnes gives us, before going into the basin, and up to Cobb's. We found our new berth easily, and pulled alongside, but had no permanent docklines rigged, and while the boat was stopped alongside, while trying to tie up, we just touched the pontoon with the bows. Finally, we were attached, and were able to turn off the engine and enjoy the moment alone. The place was deserted. Well, it was a quick pack down, leap into Carol's car we'd left at Cobb's the night before, and back to Lymington to retrieve my car. Coming back in convoy through the Forest at night we encountered horses, cattle and two deer, finally getting home for a well earned glass of something. It took us a few months to come up with a name, but the new boat will be "Feisty Fox". Let the refurbishment begin! Mike

Hi Mick, George is interested. Can he have first option please? Thanks, Mike

If the limit overlaps with another country's waters, then it's traditional to split the difference. So for Poole/Cherbourg which are about 60 miles apart, the line would be 30 miles out... Mike

My gut feel is we'll constrain RSA bass catches and commercial landings in the way the EU should have implemented it....and enforce a 200 mile limit. Mike

I think PBSBAC could have a good chance, being home waters, if we put forward our most skilled and experienced team(s). Should our Spring Species Hunt be used to select the top anglers, and maybe our A-Team and B-Team? Or should we use a different method to pick the best team players rather than individuals? Do we have skippers who might volunteer to help, so they can win the prize for themselves (plus one)? We'll be against teams of England anglers who will work together efficiently to find the most species for the team on the day. If we can't do that, we'll be shut out of the top places. Mike

A million RSAs doing the same thing, Martin, would be enough to get Britain "off the fence".... I'm in favour of restoring a 200 mile limit, and building a significant fleet of Fisheries Patrol vessels, with the mandate to evacuate the crews and create new wrecks wherever necessary. Mike