Adam F

So what did we all get for Xmas? Who got a rod!?! Well, I have either done something very good and secured a lifetimes worth of brownie points or have sealed my fate and severerly restricted the amount of trips for next year!!!...... Rach and I got engaged on Xmas morning! Well worth at least 2 trips a week I think!......

Also in Angling Times and Mail - I believe....

HMmm, I was going to go out tomorrow....I mentioned it to her this morning.....funny, for some reason I got a really dirty look!...maybe I wont go then!

Thats my Xmas cards sorted for next year!!

Nice one Alun - Xray does the business once again!! Last trip of the year I suspect though? BW will sit in the drive now until the new year, when hopefully a spell of high presure will allow me out! Adam

Bit here: http://www.pbsbac.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=1360

Hi Dave, This subject has been covered before - Ill have a look and see if I can find it. But to answer your Q's quickly... Yes, you always launch normally - reverse down and give it a shove. Plenty of parking - either pay 7.50 for the day (all year) or whack the trailer in the trailer park and stick your car out on the road. Only restrictions are the state of the slip at low tide. Give yourself at least an hour of water and youll be fine. Channel dangers - yep, Christchurch is very shallow - even at HW the channel is 6' max. Use your plotter and youll be fine. In the winter they remove the marker bouys due to the flood water. 'The Run' as it is called is the narrow entrance to the sea. 2 rivers empty out of here making 5/6 knots on a spring tide. It is pretty sheltered though an faces W/SW. Basically, if it is OK to go fishing the run will be fine. Tide times - as mentioned, give at least 1 hour of flood and youll be fine. I would advise that you take one of the regulars with you for your 1st trip, it will help you loads and youll learn more than I can type here. Im happy to oblige any time. Adam

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/F47110/ http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/F46753/ http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/EOC006/ The last one has NO engine....

Where is the quote coming from James? Their have been a few for sale recently, but these are all with engines - you very rarely see any of the small fishing boats for sale as a hull only - I think you will have to go for a new package. A Warrior 165 as a comparision would be about 5k for a bare hull and cuddy and a trailer. Interesting to see what the Raider 16 price would be?

Breathable?? Well, the Sundridge suits claim to be breathable, indeed my combo was made from their material called Silkatex - yes, it does breath, but not like 'gortex'. Basically, the material used for floatation suits that is 'breathable' just means that it is nylon which has small holes in it! When I jumped in the pool, the material as well as breathing and letting air in and out, it also let water in! It isnt proper breathable material. As far as im aware no one makes a fishing suit that has inbuilt boyancy and is made from a decent goretex material - cost I think is the main factor. The Imax suit doesnt claim to breath, but the nylon is a decent heavy duty waterproof quality. I have a couple of Musto jackets, 1 inshore and 1 offshore and a pair of matching salopettes - these are the nuts! I use them most of the year now, except in the winter when I need warmth. I agree, these are made from HPX material and are streets ahead of what you can buy for fishing. So yes - worth the extra money - but you tend to cringe slightly when you spill mackerel guts down the front of your expensive sailing jacket!

Well, the weather is pretty crap at the moment, so not too many catch reports to read - so I thought I'd do a tackle review. When we did the recent sea survival course, I was a little dissapointed with how the Sundridge Combo Suit performed. OK the bouyancy was OK, but it held water INSIDE the suit like a sack! With the help of Ebay, I flogged the old suit for

Well done matey! Tara II then? I presume that we will be boat shopping at the Boat Show in Jan??!!

Tis' strange Coddy - When I had my old engine - what you described above was a risk with me. Often if I left all the elctronics on for more than a few hours, I wouldnt have much kick left to start the engine - even with both batts on. Since I have had the new lump - I leave everything on ALL the time, often all day, and I never have any problems??

In tonights Echo - two chaps from Poole who had a cracking haul of cod a few weeks ago! Adam

Kam, I agree with Duncan. 2 batteries should be more than adiquate - I think 3 will further complicate things, aslos you run the risk of more things to go wrong. The 85ah batts you have at the moment may be a bit small, even together. With my old engine I had a 85 and a 110 - the 85 struggled on its own. Id go for either 1x 85ah and 1x110 or a pair of 110 AH batts, these should provide all the power you need. Adam

I agree with Steve - I wouldnt want to be tied off to the anchor. A small football sized bout is enough. I also like to have too much warp in the boat. I have never even come clsoe to using 3/4 of my warp - this also gives you a safety margin when letting warp out, and allows me to adjust the amount of warp out easily without worrying about running out. I think I have about 400 mtrs.

I cant fish the 30th is the ONLY mandatory day of the year when ALL staff must work, NO exceptions. So while you lot are cod fishing ill be driving up north to do a stocktake audit!

I use about 4 forecasts, but I have known all of them to be wrong when out at sea. Tides, depth of water and swell can all effect how the sea behaves. This is mainly learnt through experiance and in many cases - the hard way. Last Friday we fished from Weymouth. Out at Porland Race the wind was barely a F1, yet 6 knots of tide pushing 140ft water into 30ft of water created a HUGE swell and breakers than only the largest charters could drift though - the smaller boats (23ft) had to sit it out or drift the slacker water. My solution to abandonment is now as follows: ALL crew wear a lifejacket at ALL times. I have a grab bag ready to go. In here is a full set of Offshore flares, a set of waterproof personel flares and soon to come - a submersable VHF. On a small boat (under 25ft) what more can you reasonably do? As Charlie says the committee have been in discussions over this issue, and a few recent incidences have caused us to consider our position. Adam F

There are a few rope specialists on ebay - Paul D and I bought some cracking, decent quality rope a few months back for a real bargin - ill try and see if it is still on my history. Failing that, a local chap sells pot rope on Poole Quay at certian times of the month for cheap as chips!

Sorry to hear you had a bad day Kam. Sometimes, no matter what you do you have days / trips like that! Just take it in your stride and concerntrate on getting it right next time. A few commenst though, that arnt meant to sound like teaching egg sucking or damage pride, so dont take them that way! 1.) I have been away fro 2 days, but I know the forecast wasnt too good, could it have been a better decision to have postponed the trip? Waves tipping the boat over aint fun! I should know!! If it was that bad, you should have stayed up the Solent?? 2.) Have you got the anchor rigged right? In the 3 years we have had a boat we have never lost an anchor...come close a few times (stuck in the side of pots etc) but have either managed to pull it up by hand or motor it out. Changing the amount of rope, angle of pull etc can all help the alderney rind method work. Finally - if you had tied it off to the bouy, a club member who is also a diver has offered to retreave lost anchors for a beer or two. If you would like any more hands on help only too happy to come out with you again! Adam

Hi K2 - why dont you register on the board?? Just looked at the photos!! - WOW!! Very, v,v,v,v jealous! A common Skate is one of the few fish I havent caught in either the sea or freshwater in the UK. A few of us looked at trailering up to Oban to have a bash, but havent got any further than pipe dreams at the moment! Adam F

Jack, dont be too put off by my experiance - loads of people buy second hand packages and have no problrms at all - I was just unlucky. Yes, I did have a qualified Mariner engineer look over the engine, but he didnt do a full survey - how far do you go? Keep looking - you WILL find what youre after. PS: Did you know that 2 types of Alaska are available?? The older Shetland Hull and the new (preferable?) SeaHog Hull. Bob F has one - field any Q's to him. AF

I had a nightmare looking for a Warrior 165 about 8 months ago - everything I saw advertised either was sold, a real state or out of my price range - in the end luck stepped in and I found one not being 'commercially' advertised at a brokers in Portsmouth. Hang in there - it only takes one boat! BTW - whats your budget? In hindsight I wish that I had gone new from the outset....4 months after buying my 165, the 5 year old engine went bang and it cost me

Sean, Cracking boat! - Bet you cant wait......gunna be an extra special xmas this year!

Jack - Will do. You have probably already seen it, but www.boatsandoutboards is one of the best places on the net to look. Just had a quick look and by co- insidence this one has just been advertised today: http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/PMB140/ Adam