Ron Elliot

Think they call it natural selection Ian Will stick with a rod and line for now !

We bit the Bullet and took the boat out of the water a couple of weeks ago after realising we had trouble with the tilt on the stern drive that could only be fixed on dry land My father in law did a full week painting and cleaning and organising for the repairs to be done, my dad was on polishing duties and myself and brother in law cracked out the few remaining jobs on the list One week later and the old girl was back in the water and on the mooring. Hopefully we can now get on with the important job of actually doing some fishing. Should have a full crew tomorrow morning as the weather looks promising. I'm Glad that the refit is now complete as it took a lot more work than we had initially thought but hoping for a nice windless summer See you out there

thanks for the reply's think I'm going to go for a separate plotter and keep the current humminbird fishfinder. The maps for the humminbird plotters are a bit expensive and hard to come by for the uk being a usa manufacturer. both the Raymarine and the Lowrance look like nice units and think i will keep an eye out for a ebay bargain as i'm not in a particular hurry. regards Ron

looking to buy a plotter- fishfinder and wondered if anyone could let me have some recommendations for one up to the £500 mark Been looking at the humminbird range but not getting very far as there are quite a few models available. Thanks in advance

Bit of an update on the rebuild. I now have a fully functioning boat, trim tabs now working lights,radar,radio,bilge pumps and engine all work, all of the time and when requested ! Had a bit of a problem locating the stern drive pump motor which needed replacing but did finally find one that looked like it would work but on arrival the machined face wasn't quite the right shape so the input shaft wouldn't go fully into the pump itself. After abit of head scratching and swapping a few parts between the old pump and new I had a motor that did finally fit and that works. Replaced all of the fuse boxes and 90 % of the toggle switches that were playing up. This has sorted a lot of the intermittent electric problems with the boat, it's really frustrating when something works one day and not another. Most of these were sourced from either Maplins or eBay and seem to be reasonable quality. Longest wait that I had was for a engine stop solenoid which came via China and was delivered about three weeks from order date. This is also now fitted and functioning very well. Jobs left to do include fitting an air horn, small amount of fibreglassing and fitting a deck filler for the fuel tank. Also still waiting for the sun / rain canopy to be made and for delivery of a replacement Humminbird fish finder head unit. Canopy is being made locally using the old one as a template with a few modifications to improve it slightly and the fishfinder was the only item missing from the instruments when we got the boat. The new fishfinder head unit is coming from Florida and is an ex display Unit sourced via eBay USA for the bargain price of £40 posted. I was Hoping for a maiden voyage in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately this time of year is full on and I normally have to work at least Saturday's leaving Sunday as my only family day so will have to see if I can grab a few hours sometime soon. However I'm getting quite excited seeing all these cod pictures and may try and make the cod contest on Sunday week. If anyone has a decent mark for a few cod I would appreciate the help as not actually caught a cod before lol. Regards Ron

Hi Brian Wasn't targeting bass as such and it did go back. To be honest apart from a few mackerel everything I've caught this year has gone back. I'm not a big fish eater but enjoy the sport and location more. My mooring is at NHYC so technically outside but not something I plan on doing when the boat is up and running. Was really trying for a few flatties. But thank you for pointing this out.

Hoping for maiden voyage next week stuie As we were waiting for the starter to be rebuilt I took my son down for a spot of fishing off the mooring on Monday night, started off well when I had one really good bite but lost it on the way in, my son did better with his first ever bass which a small one of around a 11/2 lb which went back and a larger one which got off the hook level with the boat. Plenty of further bites but no fish, we lost count of the small crabs we had but a good night with a bit of father son bonding. The starter is now back and rebuilt and looks brand new, had an excellent service all,for £95 including parts and the turnaround was very quick. Dropped off Monday at 9.00 and ready for collection by afternoon the following day. So if you need anything like this done the give ACW on Leigh road in Wimborne a go, top guys

Another update Well after a few days chasing down some really weird electrical issues it looks like we're almost there. Non functioning radar now working, all nav and search lights now operating. Fues boxes replaced and two new batteries now on board and fitted along with a load of other issues solved with another team effort on Saturday. The fuel tank was a it of a pig to get in and still needs to be connected as does the fuel gauge. Propeller tab washer was a bit of an unusual shape and size so a new one located on eBay usa and now on it way. So minor list to complete is, rebuild starter, plumb fuel tank, small bit of fibreglassing to do and a bilge pump to replace. The sun canopy was taken off and is being used as a template for a replacement as the old one was looking very used. We're going to sand and varnish the woodwork in the spring when it a bit warmer. We will leave the paint work till then also. The biggest job left to do is the repair of the deck as this was cut out quite roughly above the fuel tank location by someone previously and I need to find a hatch door of the appropriate size so that it can be glassed back in. Once this is done we will be covering the deck in a non slip vinyl. Happy days

Thanks for the info Malcolm, hopefully I can get the prop sorted. George dropped the re pitched prop back and hopefully it will give me a good starting point to move forward from. Did a few jobs today and got a few things figured out. New tank arrived but didn't get round to fitting it but the boat is now prepared for it and most of the electrical problems sorted I'm sorry that George didnt feel able to redo her but I'm sure she'll be a great boat once sorted.

Hi. quick update I spoke with the mechanic this morning who had previously worked on the boat and the propeller fitted apparently is just too big for the boat. The boat was not getting up on the plane because the engine was not revving enough for the fuel system to enrich properly to allow the engine to make full power. I told the wife bigger isn't always better !! Charlie, when i spoke to the mechanic this morning he also mentioned the Way family and their Cygnus with the volvo engine.He said it was a fantastic boat and how pleased they are with it. Anyway the propeller is being dropped to me later today after being re pitched and although it's not going to be right for the engine it will allow me to confirm the dimensions of the center of the propeller and hopefully get one that will match the boat better. After a quick look round the boat we realised that the trim tabs were stuck in the down position and wouldn't come up. A quick google of the make, which are Bennett trim tabs, turned up a number of posts with trouble shooting guides. Long story short, a full 12 volts are required for them to work properly, something that we weren't getting at the motor. We changed the terminal wiring block between the loom and the motor for a new one, as there was quite a lot of corrosion on the existing one, which did restore the full 12v at the motor. Still nothing but applying 12v to each of the valve wires and the motor forward and reverse wire along with a expertly applied sharp tap with the handle of a large screwdriver had both the valves firing and the motor running both ways. We now have a fully working trim tab system. I sure if the tabs were stuck in the down position before this would not have helped the planing situation. Confirmed specs for the boat are Sabre ford turbo charged diesel 6 cylinder 225l engine with borg warner velvet drive with 1-1 ratio. Still unsure of the stern drive but will confirm the make one low tide this week. Anyway, new marine grade aluminum fuel tank, fuel sender and fittings arriving on Monday so will be fitting that on Tuesday as have a unusual free day next week so will be making the most of it. PS looking for some advice please I'm looking to fit a couple of new batteries for the cranking system and would appreciate a suggestion on size if anyone has any thoughts / experience with this size engine. Also looking at some new anchor rope and was thinking 12mm braid and 150ft long what are your thoughts. currently have about 15ft of chain and no rope, boat is 23ft long Thanks in advance

Its a family project as the Shetland I'd bought at the beginning of the year was too small for everyone that wanted to go out. I'm putting in the labour and sourcing the parts needed and others have paid for the boat. I'm also supplying the equipment I had on the other boat which a new tender outboard and some electronics and bits and bobs. think its a fair deal all round. Ŵ It was built in 1995 so getting on for twenty years old but its in good shape just need some tlc. I'm not sure why the prop was off but the former owner is popping it round in the next few days with the prop. He was having it re pitched so will give it a go with the new pitch and quiz him on the reason hes been playing with it. Just need to run a diary or well be fighting over who's taking it out ! PS thanks jim for sorting out the photos

Here's some photos

Same hull but different top half Thanks guys I'll give them both a call see what I can find out

I have embarked on refurbishing a 23 ft Cygnus cygnet. I have spoken with the mechanic that has worked on the boat and the previous owner was mucking about with the prop and never got it right apparently. Would anyone know the correct propellor needed for this boat. I've done some googling but can't find any info Engine is saber ford 6 cylinder diesel think hp is between 230. - 280 hp with cathedral hull Thanks in advance

Cheers Martin

No problem thanks for checking

Thanks for the marks list but haven't been upgraded yet so can't see the members only part of the forum yet Yes my boats a 535 too but with only a 30 hp engine but gets it going as the boat not that heavy Regards Ron

Thanks guys Hoping to make it along to a meeting soon Regards Ron

Cheer Mike, thanks for the helpful pointers. Spoken with a few members at baiter when putting the boat in and you all seem very helpful and keen to help. Guess catches will improve with time, it's never a bad trip out as the scenery is outstanding round Poole. Regards Ron

Just a quick note to say hello I've Just joined the forum and the club and thought I'd introduce myself. I have a small Shetland fishing boat which I share with my father and we are just getting back into sea fishing after many years away from the sport and this is this year is the first time we have had our own boat. Had a few trips out this year and really enjoying just bobbing about and catching a few. Hoping that we can improve on our catches, had a few mackerel, dog fish, pouting, whiting, wrasse, squid and even a couple of bass which were unfortunately to small and had to go back. As been a bit hit and miss but guessing we where in the wrong spots. We've been fishing the harbour entrance and Bournemouth rocks with best results but not got anything much from elsewhere. Hoping to upgrade to a larger boat this winter as it's a bit cramped on the Shetland. See you out there.