Bob F

Thanks Duncan. I'll keep an eye out next time Im over there. BF

Ducan, what was the $30 downtide rod that you bought? I'm sometimes in the States and might pick one up next time, although the prices in California for rods weren't that much better than the UK the last time I looked. cheers BF

Difficult one to answer, Adam. What price do you put on an extra 40% of range? In most circumstances, a 2W unit should get you in contact with someone nearby who can then relay the message to the CC. In my opinion, if the 2W HH at

Thanks for the warning Alun. It always seems to get a bit tricky to find the bar at this time of year, especially after a few storms. Not sure how long the Whiting will stay. What does the Fish log say, Charlie? BF

I know the feeling Dave. Starting to get cabin fever myself. Not sure when I will be out next, but I'll give you a shout if I don't have crew. Happy New Year Bob F. ps - good luck with the leak.

Or try this. C-Map User C-Card The C-Map User Card is the medium used for transferring saved data (user points, routes, tracks) between chartplotter(s) and your PC Planner NT. The easiest way to look at a user card is to picture it as a floppy disk you would use on a PC. Just like a floppy disk, a user card can be erased and files need to be copied onto the user card to be transferred. Formatting/Erasing: In the PC Planner NT File Manager it is possible to format the user card to ensure that you are starting with a blank slate. In File Manager, click on the C-card icon on the bottom of the right hand side of the screen, and this will tell the PC Planner NT you want to look at the user card. Select the appropriate slot (left/right) from the drop-down menu at the top. In the large white box where the files are listed, right-click and select `Format user card.' This will clear any saved data from the user card. Copying: Copying to and from the User C-card is also done through the File Manager window. In the File Manager window, the left hand side will always show what is saved into the PC Planner NT memory, and on the right hand side you can select between your hard drive, a floppy disk, or a user card by selecting the appropriate icon on the bottom of the screen. The default setting is PC Planner NT memory (left) and PC hard drive installation directory (right). PC Planner NT manages saved data based on what type it is. Everything is first broken down by track, route or mark. Tracks and Routes can be saved as a whole series of data, and the paths will save as well as the waypoints. Marks are further divided by the type of icon that is used; flag, skull and crossbones, x-mark, danger symbol, etc. Also, it's very important to note that you cannot further subdivide each type when you try to save. In other words, if you only want to transfer three wrecks (out of ten) you can't do it, PC Planner NT will save all ten at once, into one Wrecks file. The arrows in the middle of the File Manager window are used to transfer data in the direction the arrow points. To save to a user card, you would highlight the file on the left, click the right arrow, and a window will pop up asking for a name for the file. To upload from a user card, you would highlight the file on the left, click the left arrow, and the data will be APPENDED to any existing data in the PC Planner NT memory. Bob F.

Sorry, you'll need to go to the forum on the left and then select PC Planner NT+, and then look at the last posting. BF

Have a look at this. http://www.c-map.com/index2.html Last posting at the bottom of the page. BF

Shimano did a Triton fixed spool and multiplier range. I assume you are referring to the multiplier. Don't know anything about your Mark 1 reel, but I think later models were the Triton TLD5, etc. Is yours a star drag or LD? BF

Jack, It's a Penn 25GLS but with the uprated Penn 225GL drag. So, it's essentially a Penn 225GL. About the same size as my Abu7000. The Abu7000 is a better casting reel if you were thinking of using it for uptiding, but for downtide work I prefer the Penn. BF

Sam, I'm not a shore expert, but from what I've heard lately, the best chance of catching anything would be at Holes Bay, Rockley or Baiter Park for flounder. You could try Evening Hill by the Yacht Club. Flounder and school bass. Bob F.

My preference is the LD's, but as Duncan says, you need to keep on top of the maintenance. I have Penn and Abu lever drags and in my experience the Penn has a smoother drag and seems to be more robust and has needed less maintenance. Bob F.

Great start to the New Year! I will be giving tomorrow a miss. 4-6 WSW is not my idea of fun, and don't fancy sitting in the harbour. Besides, I've got a lot of stuff at home I should finish. Happy New Year. BF

Don't start believing we know what we're talking about, though... As my old tutor used to say "never trust an expert!" BF

Any way of finding the boat name or mooring and getting notification to the owner?? It might prevent further damage to the boat. Is there a harbour master that could be informed? BF

Congratulations on 3rd place Duncan. A great story about the conger, PD. You must have really annoyed it. BF

Coddy, No, I dont have a SWR meter (Standing Wave Ratio), and it seems a bit of an over kill to consider chopping up your VHF aerial. Not sure why a mis-match in the SWR of your Radio would cause the interference in your radio, especially as you are sure the interference is coming from your plotter??? Perhaps Paul D could shed some light on this?? The SWR is a measure of any mis-match between the transmitted signal from your radio and the aerials impedance. If the aerial is not properly matched it can cause a reflection of the transmitted signal back into the radio, causing interference. But as far as I know, this is really only a problem when you are transmitting. With your problem you are not transmitting, you are just listening on ch16. Generally, the half-diople whip aerials that we fit to our boats (white plastic looking aerial) have the correct 50 ohm impedance, and the coax cable from the aerial to the radio should also be 50 ohm, so any impedance mismatches are usually caused by a poor connection somewhere. I would not cut the aerial up, but look at your connections instead. Has your problem been there since the plotter was installed, or has it developed recently? If recently, it could suggest a connection has deteriated and needs cleaning or replacing. Good idea to try the ferrites on the power leads. Bob F.

A nice start to the new year for someone, then.

Hi Gordon, welcome to the club. Great to have you aboard. Do you have a GPS onboard? If so, we'd be able to PM you a few marks. Is your boat trailered or moored? If moored, where (Poole, Christchurch, Weymouth)? Just want to know which marks to give you. Some of us are planning a trip on Sunday, either out of Weymouth (for Bass) or Mudeford (for Cod). cheers Bob F

That's essentially correct, Coddy. Flood from the west and ebb from the east, but there are places where the current swirls and the flow can be opposite. BF

Dave, I've been thinking about your problem a bit more. If you only get the interference on channel 16 then it suggests you are picking up some EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). A GPS is a passive device, in other words, it is just a receiver, and so doesn't actually transmit a signal to the satellites, it just sits there listening and obtaining data FROM them. But, it does contain a CPU (computer) that will generate a small amount of EMI (apparently at the same frequency as channel 16 in your case). As Duncan suggested, try temporarily using two different battery supplies to the VHF and plotter, but if it is EMI, it will probably be cured by grounding the Plotter more effectively. If there is any metal casing on the plotter, try connecting a wire from the casing to ground. A ground cable should be at least 1.25in and kept as short as possible. Good luck. BF

Yep, Duncan's approach sounds spot on (at least it's what I would do). What radio do you have? Is the interference only on channel 16? Is the radio in duel-watch mode? BF

Splash-Out will not be out tomorrow. The force 4-6 southwest is gunna be too much for me and little Rob. The morning looks to okish (3-4 SW) but by noon they are forecasting 4-6 SW to W with sea state moderate (too rough for me). Good luck to those that do go out. Hope Sunday is better. Bob F.

"congarts on engagement"...ehh?? Adam, you haven't gone and done it, have ya??? BF

Yep, the link works. The panel has the anti-discharge device ( a diode!) which is essential. Not looking for one myself, but is