duncan

hehehe take 4 swivels, 2 beads and a snap swivel................ tie main line to swivel then tie 1ft stronger line,thread bead then through end of a swivel another bead tie to swivel tie to length of rotton bottom to lead link(snap swivel) to lead............giving you a straight line to lead with a running swivel on the 1ft length of stronger line tied between two swivels. attach trace to the other end of this runninng swivel and include another swivel in it's construction (to keep Mustad in business)........... basically a running paternoster with a lot of swivels!

what is wrong is that the power steering fluid is 'crossing over' from it's side of the unit to the raw water side. The hole can't be big 'cos (1) the fluid is under high pressure in use and would quickly get out and (2) when not in use the water doesn't pass back into the fluid at all. however it's not going to be easy to access anything - imagine a smartie tube made of cardboard where someonen has encased the card in copper sheet then remove the card, place inside a copper bog roll tube and hold in place with a couple of thin copper tubes through the wall of the bog roll and connected the walls of the smartie tube............ One of the site's sponsors, Holes Bay Marine, have come up with a s/h unit but it's still around 20 boxes of squid...... However it's a quick/clean solution and I can follow up on getting the other repaired at leisure I suppose. Thanks for the details Mike - really appreciated.

Come on Adam - only 8 squid? You can't be trying to hard then........

Mike, Can't find them using yell; do you have any more details on them please (basically address/contact/phone number)? Barrus have bounced any responsibility according to the agent, but I have just faxed them to ensure that this a true reflection on their position before I go into international rant mode - and worse the 309 quoted is plus vat (a mere

Following on from details in a thread above somewhere I am looking to get the oil cooler repaired rather than face the

Sorry for the late response - having a few network problems at home! The 'concession' is that between 1.11 and 31.3 the 10 knot blanket limit in Poole Harbour waters is lifted for craft in the main channel between the bottom of the Frome to the outer limit (half a mile out into the Swash with the exception of the section between buoy's 20 and 10 (I think they are) ie the harbour entrance itself. The limit becomes 'advisory' in the words of PHC when discussing the action of flying fishemen in October with bemused ( ) yachties over the radio!

well........... (1) we have been loosing a bit of atf from the power steering but had found a tiny weep on the pulley - assumption (still believed valid) is that the seal needs replacing. Job for March. (2) we noticed that (1) above was loosing fluid quicker last month (3) noticed a little bit of oil/fuel in the exhaust at the time of the fuel block/full system bleed anyhow turns out I have a power steering fluid cooler hidden in the bowels of the installation where raw water cools the atf before heading out via the elbow/exhaust...........and it's basically 'failed'; on an engine less than 3 years old when it happened. unless anyone knows a genius on radiator thingys, or Barrus take pity, what looks like a smartie tube in a bog roll tube is going to cost me the price of some boats! I really really am glad people have been abloe to get out and fish - my turn will come; and I felt a little guilty sitting comfortably last Sunday watching some 'bob about' a bit............

Well done Adam and Bob; glad someone had a great day's fishing to inspire us all to greater efforts (or time on water!). I am sure that many will now start making some 'extra strong' traces in anticipation - and even consign some older ones to the waste (suitable processed). Having spent 5 hours (on top of the 2+ each way in the car) pulling the engine apart on Saturday morning, without a breathe of wind anywhere, I sure need some motivation....

Unless you are already anchored, in which case it's a bit late, the bread will bob along beside you as you drift....... If you have a chart plotter then first find your wreck and mark the wreck with waypoints as you drive over it on maximum map zoom (you will loose the map picture but you dont need it now) - one person steering one plotting should give you at least 6 points around the edge of the wreckage. Now stop the boat near the wreck and delete the the track recording to clear the zigzags. Let the boat drift with the wind/tide a bit and you will see the direction as a single track line on the plotter screen. Now go 'uptide' parallel to that drift line and anchor so that the boat drops back along the same direction from the anchor towards the wreck - the plotter showing the boat relative to the wreck and using the scale from the plotter screen you want about the same distance between boat and wreck as the depth when you have finished. But - (1) don't try and anchor with a short scope (less than 3:1) as if the anchor loses it's grip you can say goodbye to it as it get's to any real wreck. (2) plan to recover the anchor after the tide has changed - again if you do it when the tide is running you can be back into the wreck before you realise it. (3) mark your anchor rode accurately, and check the ground uptide of the wreck so that you can let the line down to a couple of metres shallow of the depth well uptide of the wreck then drift down to the position you think you want the anchor to get the boat where you want it, erring as said above on the anchor going early and you letting out extra scope to position the boat. This is a 2 man job based around calling the position on the plotter (line and length) and being prepared to abort the drop if you drift off line and start again. (4) don't bother if the winds are strong or variable. You can just about get away with variable strength if the direction is constant and in the same direction as the tide. (5) practice on a feature such as Evans Rock in Swanage bay or Lobster Rock or the patches in Poole Bay. The latter are in about 30ft so you can haul and drop the anchor a few times before exhaustion sets in! You don't actually need anything to practice on though - just create a way point on the plotter and try and anchor the boat relative to it. Like coming in to a difficult mooring it's something that people just don't practive enough to get confidence. Enjoy

I too would like to add my thanks to all those whose efforts made the Competition so enjoyable for us competitors Outwith arrangements our comp on Phaeton started in earnest at 1930h in the Marina Club - pouring Stella down the necks of any charter skipper that would 'talk' ; the following morning we had vague recollections that we had been succeful but couldn't remember a damm thing about the marks! Despite the tooing and froing around an anchor for Kam it was duly handed over at 0714h at Cobbs and a rush back to get the boat ready saw us leave the pontoon at 0740 heading for the only thing in the plotter - the bit of ground shown in the post 'how would you fish this?' Baits down at 0831 and a nice whiting on board by 0840 - going to be a good day? Things quietened down a bit until Dave hooked into what seemed a good fish - bit of puffing and panting produced a very nice whiting of around 2 - 21/2lb but with 2 leads and 2 hooks in it's mouth - and they wern't both Dave's Given the previous post on the matter I decided it wasn't getting weighed in to avoid any 'issues'! Whilst watching a rod tip behave a little out of character a seagull decided to practice bombing and hit me good and proper - that's good luck pipes up Dave (with a smirk). Sure enough the rodd trembles a touch and a minute later a fish is on - and going the other way slowly but surely. A protracted fight (30lb pike wire snood and tiny swivel) saw a blond to the net - which it didn't fit so off it went again whilst a gaff was dug out of the bowels of the boat.......... (fish took a 2 inch cuttle strip on a 2/0 circle hook) At slack water a long squall set in and we had jsut moved anchor when, with nothing doing on the rods and everyone else seeming to have moved in, we hauled anchor and set off in. Approaching old harry we saw it was a little calmer 'west' so head off to find mirror calm seas! Zipped over to the eddy off Avil/Durlston for a wrasse we had met before, but he was out. A mate of under 3lb came to say hello, dressed in colours to die for (but he didn't and swam happily away). Quick zip down to a mark off dancing ledge saw a lot of tide but no fish so we pulled anchor at 1415 and tied up at Rockley at 1455 for an early bath. Thanks again to the sponsors and committee for their contributions

will call you Mike - I am sure that one way or another Kam will have an anchor as I won't leave without making sure he has! Martin's approch will help us both I think and remove teh temptation to go hammering around too which I agree would be very bad for the club. Last thing we want is to lose the concession in the main channel too! You have my number from the membership list Mike. Duncan

Nope 'cos I'll be getting the boat ready and sign in isn't till 0730h......oh and Kam said he wasn't going to even be at Cobbs 'till 0730h so I am getting confused! We have a similar probloem to you re timing and had planned to send a man to baiter by car for 0730h sign in and then pick him back up from Poole Quay or wherever we can get boat and man together! He would leave the anchor and rod for Kam at 0730 Baiter. However if you can see a better way let me know! really daft thing is the boats are only a mile apart if that. Logistics coming back in are going to be no better and with tides etc we are probably going to have to be back in and tied up by 1500h - or land back at the Quay and run round with our pouting to be weighed in and hang around until 1830h when I can get back on the mooring (thus missing beers etc.......... ) I am thus anxious to get out asap and be in a position to fish from 0830h Now if boats could only sign in a bit earlier then we could swap everything over bobbing off Baiter at 0730h ish to be waved away by the committee! Never thought I would wish I was using a trail boat! Alternatively I can hand everything over Saturday night if you can take it in the Poole area Mike/Kam

SW in the morning W midday NNW by the time the hook comes up at 1500h all around 10 - 12 knots but not much around in the approaches and SW3 all day Sat so shouldn't be much of a residual sea (famous last words!) above all from theyr

will leave it with the rod at the sign in Kam - it's fully rigged and runs around 50m

well you just know it won't go near my whiting rod - Berkley Firestick 50lb/Formula 15kg 2 speed/ Fireline XDS 50lb.............. this sounds as though it may have been the source of Dave's 'fun' a few weeks back too. anyone betting on the beastie? Thresher?

I'm with you Mark - skippers the last to know what's going on ! Shame about the weather - Saturday looks really excellent - but Sunday's showing promise unless the systems speed up at all, in which case we could be heading back with a stiff Northerly Suspect that Baiter will be somewhat less of a challenge through the day than Kimmeredge was for some crews

I can lend you a 7.5kg claw to 15ft 8mm chain spliced to 50m 14mm octoplait for Sunday if required - all rigged and ready to go.

ah - the rod in the background looks a lot lighter than that, as does the yellow hook length in the fishes mouth!

Nice fish and picture Kam. Forget the comparison with JIMBOB, looking at the picture in detail I surmise that you landed this on a spinning rod with a light fixed spool reel, thin nylon snood to at best a medium wire hook. That is a great angling feat for any conger! Hope to see you Sunday

a good handheld will get the coastguard in the club waters up to around 15 miles off - but that's more money than a fixed unit I am afraid. It won't keep you in contact with other club boats over the same range though. I regularily see SH units around 50 - 70 but again the gap to new isn't much I know it's easy to say but a radio is pretty valuable out there - even more so with the club being as active as it is 'cos youmight even get to hear about some fish when you're blanking

I'll keep a 40 lber against boat based claims given recent radio chat but seriously I couldn't agree more. It's not about winning anyway..............

but not the place to take further. Thanks for taking the issue forwards at all given the tight timescales and difficulties - look forward to appropriate discussions in due course.

come on Paul - make a real game of it and fish flounder rod and reel with a mullet trace and 6 squid in 90ft of water...................[smile] seriously the more I think about it the more sensible the split between prizes and pool comp basis seems I make no bones about it I am only there for the beer - the 48hr specimin hunt is best (fairest) comp for small boats as far as I can see - but it will be nice to see some decent fish weighed in next Sunday. Where did the decision on 'sharks' get too?

still around apparantly............