duncan

a good friend has lost the end cap from his beloved M624 - suggestions where I can get hold of one? Alternatively if anyone has a dead reel lying around it would be appreciated as there are other bits 'missing' but bodged too (handle, handle lock washer and nut). cheers

generally the issues for a boat reel are - drag drag and drag nowadays with a bit of corrosion resistance on top braid has made spool capacity pretty irrelevant with the possible exception of congers on wrecks the rod does the work not the reel so winch grade gears are less relevant but it's important that they aren't crap either! however gear ratio's need to be appropriate and this Diawa's, being a beach reel at heart, are a bit highly geared I think. if you are looking to aquire reels (as oposed to haveing a couple of these already and wonder if they will do) then I would look at 7000 size reels that have proved themselves as good boat reels such as - Shimano - TLD10/15 or Charter Special 1000s, Calcutta 700 Penn - 310/320 gtis, 25gls or 225, Int 975s Abu 7000 Okuma Titus Gold 3/0 there will be others of course but I bet most here have examples of these reels in their box. re level wind - some of my reels have them others don't - for small boat fishing (where you tend to put rods in rests more than on charter boats) I find a LD more useful but lever drag level winds are king! You quickly get used to spreading the line.

Martin - I think these 17lb traces must be a Christchurch thing as I had to have some words about them on Phaeton too! There still seems to be a thing about using traces lighter than the main line to 'save' gear/mainline or whatever but the fact is that if you main line does part it's going to be at the knot to the swivel or leader if you use one for new line, and somewhere in that area for an older line which will proabable have developed a weak point near the boom area. My preference remains to use 6 inches of 20-30lb wire to the hook and the balance of the trace in 80lb hard nylon despite using 20lb mainline. If nothing else this does give you the confidence to hang on in there knowing that you have a true breaking point at about 18lb on that braid/swivel knot (if done well!) Really sorry to hear about the lost fish; not sure how buoying the anchor would have helped other than to initially change the angle of the pull on the ray to release it - couldn't you have let out another 50 m anchor line to achieve this? Bit easier than buoying it off etc. Suspect you would still have had a similar problem even drifting as the fish is simply using the speed of the water (which hasn't changed).

Adam, Am sure I have some that will suit you (you can choose!) so would love to do a swap. Duncan

not aware of any like that in the range being discussed Kam. Last time I looked the 60 ELPTO was a 3 cylinder, 996cc, 3 carb electric start, long shaft power trim and tilt model with oil injection that hasn't changed a whole lot in ..........a lot of years. Refined certainly, including the PTO bit, but no fundamentals. however I will now go off and check! hmmm - hard to pin it down but it looks like the model kicked of in it's current guise in 1988 - facinating stuff on the older models everywhere but not a lot on recent history anywhere!

OK. I'll bite competent as in ? who says the skipper's competent anyway.... ? Oh well I wish you all luck - don't think I am going to get a pass this time round.

now either that's a very very small trout...................

Hey no dispute Kaptain - and the best of luck. I am sure you will see some difference from a new engine. Kam - where does efi come into this? last time I looked the Merc/Mar 60's had 3 carbs bolted to the inlet manifold...........

I always though the reason for compromise gearings was that you never knew when you were going to have to retrive the lead alone or argue with a serious fish! given that you really shouldn't be winching any fish on the reel anyway a single speed in the 3.6 to 4.1 range, with strength appropriate to the activity, is what most use - isn't it?

Thanks Adam - looks even more necessary to have a definitive statement than I thought then! Also make the requirement to book in over the VHF before fishing a mite interesting - Charlie taking a handheld to bed with him ???

Slightly confused here but how do the timings work for Sunday? Is this a 'window' based comp where people fish a 7 hour session to suit launch times or has it a fixed start and finish? Right now this is probably achedemic for me as I haven't dared even ask the FPO but with the light winds and tides I will probably raise the subject at some point!

not being funny but why do you think you are going to get more power from one Merc 60hp 2 stroke OB than another? Equally why should the fuel consumption differ significantly (they have evolved a little in this area but not significantly - it's still going to drink exactly the same 6 gallons per hour with the throttle to the stop)? I am, in the above, taking your expectation of a decent trade in to indicate that the existing unit runs OK. Changing to a 4 stroke or direct fuel injected 2 stroke is however a different matter.

wow 5 - I'm seriously impressed! great going with the eel - long fight. what depth were you fishing? Didn't you have a fair aount of tide to contend with as well? good report as well - nice going all round.

Jeez Mike whilst there are some important issues I can't help thinking you are a little over the top here.......... Kod, If you have no experience, no equipment and no mates who have both then it's probably best to get it done professionally by the firm you intend to service the beast through it's warantee period. If you buy the unit from them in the first place too then even better. If you ask their advice about which unit would both be easy to substitute on your rig, and deliver the improvements you are after before buying it then this should enable you to pin them right down on installation costs as well! There are reasons for doing it yourself (in my opinion) especially if you don't intend to rush it - 1. You get to check over the transom and fittings at your leisure. This can allow you to refinish the holes in the transom properly - ie sealing the insides properly and redrilling for example. 2. You get to learn about your steering and control mechanisms for the future. Yes they are heavy but only really to the extent that they demand respect. You will need the installation inspected as Kam highlights, again by the people you intend to service/warantee the unit is sensible and it won't cost the same as an installation. Having said all the above I would probably get it supplied & fitted simply so that I could throw it back at someone if there was any problem at all without getting into arguments about who's responsible - this only applies if the supplier is fitting; if not you already have an unfortunate recipie. All the best PS why are you looking to change?

Presume you will take it back then. Any particular reason to get that model? I got a cheap one from Asda in Poole a few weeks back and it seems fine - Pacific I think; around 30 squid.

hmmm looks like I have missed another (not bothering to weigh a coalfish 'cos it was only a couple of pounds) club record then......will go back and catch another gilthead. They aren't huge (mainly around 1lb) but there are some on at least one area I know.

Cobb boat suitable BBQ link - I promised those from Sunday the link and it's here these are efficively old stock clearance and won't be around for ever. you can also get the latest one with a teflon coated grid, bag and recipie book from Nauticalia, the online chandler, but they want a lot more money! as some of you gathered I really rate this product - I use it in preference to my large gas BBQ's now too.

we seem to be getting into some interesting arguments again on anchors! anchoring in loose shingle will require both a significant surface area and a design to 'dig deeper' under load - with this load being applied from the best direction too. some bruce copies are better than others for the latter under these conditions - they are definitely not all the same! additionally as highlighted most claw anchors loose 50% of thier holding once the pull is raised above 20 degrees so they like long heavy chains and big scopes. a large fishermans pattern (not the basic wire hook but one with good flukes) will operate well in these conditions - but it will need to be relatively heavy. a spade or oceane anchor will outperform either on a power to weight ratio significantly in these bottom conditions. seperately to the shingle factor - the chain is primarily in the rode to prevent damage to the section in contact with the sea bed; in most conditions (not too extreme) is has an additional function of helping keep the direction of pull on the stock near horizontal but pound for pound having the weight in the anchor will give a better hold - ie a 5kg bruce plus 5m of 8mm chain to nylon will not provide the same holding power as a 12.5kg bruce to nylon if both deployed at 5:1 scope.

reading through the thread a couple of things that might fit the small, light and potentially usefull - black bin bags - not for the fish ( ) but if someone gets their clothes really wet (like falling in!) a quick couple of cuts and they can put the bag over their clothes creating a very efficient heat barrier preventing heat loss for a long time. Once warm, and if you do have a change of warm clothing(!) change later. gaffer/duck tape and big cable ties - amazing what can be bodged up with these!

don't forget that the 4 stroke saves the oil as well (but normally increases the servicing (costs) sticking the same power unit on and using it the same way you might see 20% according to some of the comments I have seen else where. where both 4 stroke and direct injection seem to really seem to score is where larger units are run at lower throttle settings. here the relative savings are significantly greater - Maverick for example is probably 40% better off than the 150 carburated unit when running at 3500rpm. I wouldn't bother to change now if you are happy with the engine you have otherwise. DFI and 4s have a way to go in their competitive cycle and their prices will come down in due course - ie it's an issue for the new boater and when replacing a broken engine!

personally I see a proper sapare anchor on a par with the auxillary engine. Whilst as fishermen we tend to view the anchor as a means of keeping us on a mark it is a vital piece of safety equipment in it's own right. as an example I would return to te Kimmeredge scenario of last year (with apologies to those who have put it out of their mind ). Returning to a launch site which has become impractical to utilise, low on fuel for an alternate and having lost the anchor on retrieval (OK that's an embelishment but not unrealistic in that area at all! - Shelia's Promise had her's stuck there Sunday, and I took 40 mins to recover mine too that day) anchoring in the best available spot and waiting out a tide (or 2 or 3) would have been a better option that attempting to get to Weymouth (or Swanage) on an auxillary! yes it's big, ugly, heavy etc but...........

yep - heading out to Guernsey...............again subject to the weather! Worst case we go Sunday which is shaping up on most sites as a stunning day with no wind at all!

Jack - here's the schematic for the CV30L - the best match I can find I am afraid

alway's happy to give you a few but most have been discussed here! they key 'round West' is time and tide - where alone isn't enough unless you are happy to sit on an area for 12 hours straight!

which model Jack? Think I have the diag for the 20L somewhere.