duncan

mine's running well but the need for a mesh over the inlet (as indicated above) became very clear as the buggers jammed up the inlet pipe very quickly once the pump was switched off!. I have the well outside the boat on the bathing platform so I elected to connect the inlet to the bottom - on a length of pipe as Charlie has - but have drilled holes around the circumference of the tank about 6 inches from the top - thus the colder water comes in at the bottom and the warmest surface water gets drawn off; well that's the theory! Other options I found with the length of pipe were - 1, Letting it all out got the pump a metre down into 'better' water and 2. holding the pump up next to the side of the boat on the surface provided a great mixture of water/air bubbling up through the tank and I believe got more oxygen into the water in the tank than would otherwise have been the case. Now where the hell are the joey mackerel though?

Rich - just pop into Walmart and get what takes your fancy!

They were trawled Adam - our's was out of commission due to a broken (completely messed up) chain and we had made arrangements over a few beers the night before..............as you do! Trawl should be fixed soon. Livebait well worked pretty well (whoops) but need to put a mesh over the water inlet 'cos the stupid eels swim up the inlet pipe jamming it full at times) and right into the damm pump as well - not easy to get out and a lid of soom sort as we lost some (er many actually) when we ran off to investigate the small craft in peril at 30knots

Phaeton got out Saturday too but seemed to miss all you guys somehow? We were hoping to drift for bass so collected a few hundred eels (needles) off Hook and headed West. Drifting between St Albans and Durston on the flood we saw no action at all over 10 or so drifts (other than a pretty big SW swell) and were just moving onto St Albans ledge for the brief slack when we responded to a call from Portland and ran into dancing ledge. One helicopter, One police rib, Swanage LB and an official looking jetski later, not to mention what looked like a salvage specialist (offshore25 based) and the guys in the helicopter, boats under tow and we are released to go back to fishing. We drifted around along the picking up the odd pollack, wrasse and bass (well one of them...) when the wrong rod - not mine- bent double into something altogether better. Everything screamed 'good bass', including Dave!, but 10 minutes later it turned out to be a massive Ballan. Beautifuly coloured fish that weighed in at 5lb 4oz. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera, but Dave's thoughts of taking it back and getting it weighed properly lasted only a few seconds ....... As it only came up from 28ft, and very slowly, it went back happily enough (for me to go and catch again later!) One of the prettist fish I have seen for a long time.

Clearly they add drag and that is the primary reason that manufacturers don't put them on! The second is the inconsistent impact they have on different craft/engines. They can improve everything, even perversly top speed!, in certain situations/combinations but equally can do nothing but degrade performance and add unstability in others. I would recomend you try them in controlled conditions and with care and be prepared to remove them and fill the holes (isopon mettalic filler, prim, paint etc) if they don't improve things for you.

actually I am not sure that is the question (sorry ) I believe the first question is closer to whether there is a duty to inform about potential hazards outwith marked navigation channels.......... If it was in one then I agree with your interpretations of the next question

Only a bit sticking out - most of it is clear of barnacles etc; but agree unfortunate that he hit it as no one else has. I believe that some people only insure their craft 3rd party.................... Now if PHC new of the existance of a potential hazard and didn't take steps to warn people....... One to run I believe

I am now led to believe that it went aground on the soldier bank but was unlucky when the tip of the stock of an old anchor that was 95% sunken into the bank came into contact with it's hull............ The anchor has been recovered and is estimated at 6-7 tons! This is goign to get messy for a whole lot of reasons, some indicated above, others rumoured and there is the small matter of insurance

I don't think he was in fog - the fog bank, within which vis was down to 50m, was sitting outside Poole Harbour (according to the skipper Sealine F43 I was chatting to at the time of the incident). Sounds like either the slipper was distracted and hit a mooring buoy, or the gravel bar mentioned above or he went over the reef SE of the Fuel Barge on the way into the Wytch Channel. In either the first of last he could well have come to settle a long way from theh impact. Interesting the latest article refers to 'charter vessel'. It will only take one of the 'customers' to make the police or rescue services aware of the fact that they had paid for a charter (as opposed to contributed to the costs of a friends trip) for the MCA to get involved after an incident such as this - basically they will have to pursue.

Thank you Newboy.......I didn't intend to show surprise only concern. My reason for the latter is that something in his setup has to be fundamentally wrong if he is obtaining more speed in other than a straight line, whereas other forces could come into play in a number of ways to create the turning moment but you would expect all of these to deliver a reduction in speed.

Agree the trim tab/anode is most likely cause. One other thing - as the boat will steer to the trim of the engine, ie if the prop shaft is anything other than horizontal there will be a turning moment, have you changed the fore/aft weight distribution of the boat significant;y such that your normal trim settings for the engine when planning aren't achieving this same propshaft angle? Having said that the speed thingy is quite disturbing in that is suggests a more fundamental allignment issue like engine not centred on transom?

powerfull drums too - I live 150 miles away! South 36's must be real beasties - the 32's are huge with a 16+ beam so what the hell do the 36's come in at? Ah - checked - they are a stretch with the same beam. Just as well really as they are soooooooooooo wide anyway

I confirm that I will be out on Phaeton sometime that day and will therefore fish the comp. I will not be available on here that week but will telephone in to Charlie my success (or otherwise)!

I believe 4 big cats have been order - Sundance style - by Poole skippers

OK which fireworks are these? Bournemouth or Poole and if the latter where are they - Quay or Sandbanks?

and it should get even better - I understand there are a number of 'beasts' in the offing which, if they all stay in Poole, should significantly up the profile of the port for charter fishing overall

I only counted enough ***********'s for flaming............

JIMBOB, a mate Dave and I headed out on Phaeton mid morning Friday aiming to take advantage of the promised 'cyclonic 2' that evening together with the 2300h high tide on the Ledge. Well the weather remained snotty all day, with Solent CG reading out the same met - SW 3-4 decreasing cyclonic 2 then NW 3 and then giving the conditions at Lee on Solent as SW5! Headed to Peveril for Mackerel and suggestions around a small bank inshore off ballard that should be sheltered............well it wasn't. Decided we might as well hang around off Swanage as anywhere and anchored over a bank just outside thet charter fleet. Radio sugested they wern't having fun and we left at LW slack having had a decent Thornback and a few dogs. Ran over to Xray, picked up fresh bait in the bay on the way over, and settled down to the flood. Wind eased a touch, and was now with tide but still "snotty". Enjoyed great fun with pack tope to around 20, another smaller Thorny around 7lb(that attacked JIMBOB whilst being unhooked) and a few wooofers. Decided conditions weren't goignto get worse and might get better (we wish) so moved off the end of the ledge looking for congers. JIMBOB had a good fish on briefly - then the hook snapped. Otherwise we seemed to have our mackerel baits being attacked by crab and cuttlefish constantly. Saw tope and bass in the lights swimming on the surface by the boat but that was about it. Got back in just after 0100h having stayed well out in the bay and plotted our return back along our previous route to reduce the risk of pot/net lines........no great fun.

can't fault the photography - great picture of a great fish I know how you feel aboout manuals - have been snapping away with mine too but am now startign to realise I am not really doing it justice! Just found the manual though so now I just need the fish.........................

lovely looking fish - but why is the photo date stamped 27/06?

Rich your Hilux has a limit around 2800 - bit different....... Agree with Bob in principle - you shouldn't knowingly drive outwith the legal limits. However there are so many technical regulations re trailers that it is exceedingly unlikly that anyone is actually fully compliant. I include in this everything from props to lights, mudguards to reflectors and brakes to vin plates............

bet you wouldn't have had any problem at all providing you kept the trailer brakes in good working order and kept to around 50. towed mine all around france and the UK with a Renault Espace 2 litre in blissfull ignorance. Kept trying to convince myself it was only 1600kgs light - then loaded it up for family self catering holidays..............!!!!

you don't specify where the corrosion is but if it is on the boat side of the circuit - ie the plug that you disconnect from the unit when you remove it then the answer is to isolate this from the current source when the unit is removed. Basically the live is leaking current to the air and corroding as it does (Garmin plugs were a bitch for this, as were Lowrance). Battery isolator in the +ve feed will resolve - as long as you switch it off! Is this what you mean?

we met one whilst about 3 miles of Hope Cove in a mirror with a seagull on the back - we thought we knew what it was but (I am ashamed to say) didn't hang around to check! They are big, and relative to a mirror they are *****y big!!!

What bait were the Smuts taking? Interesting that they were also ignoring fish baits?