Andy135

Sorry to hear that you two 😔. Fingers crossed you're able to get out as soon as it's safe for you both to do so. I've found it hard enough being stuck inside these last 8 weeks, can't imagine what it must be like for you seeing everyone else get out whilst still being at home.

So now that the government have clarified the scope of outdoor activities and confirmed that we're allowed out on our tubs to have a dangle who will be out there and what will you be aiming for? I'm planning to head east from Langstone with my son to see if we can find a plaice or two. It'll be an early start for us (4am) as we live inland but hoping to get the best of the weather on Saturday morning. Fingers crossed and tight lines all 🤞🎣

The Blue Sea Add-a-Battery kit makes the process simple. It was one of the first upgrades I did on my boat. Well worth it for peace of mind if nothing else.

I see that the engine has doel fins added to it. This suggests that it was thought to be slow to plane by whoever had them fitted. Could be that the engine is undersized for the hull, or that the weight of the engine made the hull stern heavy. What is the max hp for this hull? It should say on the hull plate - take a look when you go for the sea trial. Personally I've always though that doel fins are a bit of a bodge to fix undesirable characteristics that should have been engineered out properly, either by design or by fitting trim tabs/better weight distribution etc. I feel that if doel fins are truly worthwhile they would come fitted from the factory. Just my 2 pence worth though.

I too work from home - have been full time WFH for the last seven years - and it's not at all like people seem to think. I work with colleagues all over the world so quite often I'm still at my desk late into the night, or very early in the morning so that I can talk to the people I need to talk with to keep our projects moving. I couldn't give that level of focus or "round the clock" attention to the role if I also had to commute to and from the office - our HQ is in London, which is a 90 min commute each way. On balance I wouldn't have it any other way though - I get to see my kids a lot more than if I was stuck in an office, and I usually find 20 mins to walk the dog between meetings, so for me the benefits definitely outweigh the down-sides... 👍

Certainly looks the part. Would go well with twin o/b's.

Sounds just like your fishing Neil...

If they get the concept off the ground in a big way it sounds like it could be a good thing for the health of our sea life. No more biomass removed from the food chain for fertiliser and fish cakes = more biomass for our target species to consume = more (and larger?) target species for RSA's?

Yep, registered 👍

Thanks all for your input - appreciated. Just ordered the ACR ResQLink. Turns out Force4 are offering a free strobe light with each purchase. Here's hoping I never, ever need to use it...

Why'd you think I made so many... 😉

Yep, it seems like a lot, but it's easy to get through a fair few lures if the wrecks are hungry. Always better to have too many lures than not enough. 😉

Having an hour spare yesterday whilst the family was out I seized the opportunity to make up a batch of jellyworms and sandeel bodies in preparation for the Alderney trip in May. I reckon they turned out quite well. Let's hope the fish like rhubarb & custard flavour...

Ooh, that is toe-curlingly bad... a proper "dad" joke if ever I saw one... 🤣

I'd like to invest in a PLB - clearly I hope never to need to use it, but just in case... can any one recommend a particular make & model? The ACR ResQLink seems to be well marketed, and their replacement offer is tempting. Any others I should consider?

Hi Colin, As Maverick says, no need for buoys these days. To see the likely drift line I cut the motor somewhere near to but not over the wreck, and I turn on the Track function on my plotter. This traces the path of my boat onto the map; it looks like there's a line coming out of my boat showing where I've drifted. I use this to show me the drift angle that my boat will take when I'm over the wreck. Once I know the drift angle I can use this knowledge to position myself uptide of the wreck and start the first proper drift. When you get a drift right, you can use the track line to simply motor back to the start of that drift track on your plotter and repeat.

Hi Colin, good luck with your wrecking. In case it helps, here's a tip for you. I find it helpful to plot the bow and stern of the wreck onto the plotter beforehand, so I know how the wreck lies in relation to the drift. It also means I can drift each part of the wreck from bow to stern to find where the fish are congregating. The DORIS site is good for noting the bow and stern co-ords of each wreck. If you only have a single set of numbers for a wreck it's worth spending time drifting it to plot the bow and stern so it becomes easier to drift each bit of it next time.

I thought I'd post up here my experience of the Lowrance Active Imaging sidescan transducer in case it helps anyone in the market for a new FF. I was out on a group of four wrecks off the SW corner of the IoW back in the summer, and I wanted to test out the new HDS Live 9 and Active Imaging transducer side scan capabilities. Below is a screen shot of the bow of the Kurland (details here: https://map.forgottenwrecks.org/uploads/documents/FWFWW_Site report_Kurland.pdf) compared with the Marine Archaeology Trust's professional sidescan view from the Forgotten Wrecks report. HDS Live Active Imaging side scan Marine Archaeology Trust side scan Pretty good correlation between the two I think, and decent resolution. The HDS side scan was taken at 455khz for the wider cone angle. Next time I'm there I'll try the same drift using 800khz so that I can get a better resolution image. Incidentally, the Forgotten Wrecks Map https://map.forgottenwrecks.org/ is a great resource for wreck hunting on the south coast . Well worth a browse for the history too.

Shame there isn't an Agree button Stuie. I saw this earlier and thought he got off so lightly he must have bribed the judge... If it were a thief who robbed to the tune of £53m he'd be banged up pronto, so why not this chap? The saddest thing though is the environmental impact on the eel population his actions will have had. 😥

Awesome! Will sneak the kids' pencil cases on board so that I can be sure to rub with the best! Who needs the pub, eh??

Duly noted Ian... Lidl's here I come!!

You boys get plaice over there already? Lucky so & so's! We usually have to wait until April for the early run of plaice in the east Wight marks. Good luck if you get out. 🤞

Occupational hazard of being the new guy, right?!? 😄 I'll be sure to bring my wallet then... and maybe some port... 🍷

I realise this thread is quite a few months old, but in case future members find this thread I thought I'd share my learnings for what it's worth... Plus points: No need to go up front to drop or recover the anchor - can be done from the safety and comfort of the deck area. Done right, it can be a very easy way to retrieve. Negative points: Needs a bit of room to manoeuvre back uptide when retrieving. No good if you have a boat lying uptide of you as you'll need to navigate around/past them whilst trailing your anchor, line and buoy. Not recommended. I found that to begin with I was being too gentle on the throttle and the chain wasn't pulling all the way through the ring, so don't be afraid to use more revs. You'll know when the anchor is fully engaged in the ring as you'll see the buoy disappear under a wall of white water and you'll feel the boat speed slow marginally as it drags the buoy properly. Don't forget to stow your line and chain safely - don't leave it lying in a heap on deck! I retrieve my line into a builders bucket and coil it as I go, ending with the chain, anchor and buoy on the top of the line. As others have said, the best way to learn is to watch others demonstrate the technique, but failing that, find an empty patch of sea, shallower the better (within reason!) and have a gentle practice. Once you've done it a couple of times it'll start to click and your confidence will build.