Adam F

What are you boys paying at the moment? As I type this I'm sat on the IOW ferry from Lymington and have just passed the big marina as you exit the harbour - they are currently on 80p a ltr up to 100l, then 78p, then 75p for over 500l. I filled up JV at Parkstone bay on Mon eve and paid

Thinking back there was alot of French being spoken throughout the afternoon on Ch16 A really sad outcome. I can only guess the fog was a real pea-souper as the Condor makes a hell of a noise even 1/2 a mile off.... did they hear it and make a run for it, but go the wrong way? The Condor doesnt hang around speed wise.

Blimey! Didnt hear that one on Ch16 this morning... well it wasnt me they hit! Hope all are OK?

Not good mate. Covered by insurance I hope? Dont forget the cost of the braid when you claim! I suspect they will turn up on ebay in a few months time - but how to trace them back?? Did they take anything else?

To be honest any 4 stroke in the 60-75hp will be good. Mariner, Honda, Suzuki etc - Out of these three the Honda and Suzi will be the smoothest and quitest. I had a 60hp Mariner on mine, and whilst it was fine, the 75hp is the optimum engine size IMO. BUT! My overall choice nowadays would be the 75hp Evinrude Etec - awesome, engines, slightly noiser that the 4 strokes, but lighter, smaller and bags of power. A Warrior 165 with a 75hp Etec on is THE package to get.

Bigger isnt always better! Bigger often means more expensive too! The advice the guys have given is spot on. However if you do go for a Warrior 165 you wont be dissapointed! They are superb boat - you dont need a recommendation, just look at how many are out there - people vote with their feet. I had one for about 4 years and was very, very pleased with it. In my opinion they are hard to beat for a 16' boat. My single piece of advise is to be patient and get one with a good engine. Adam

I'll have to find out for you Martin - Ian sourced it.

Thought I'd share this with you. It's my new bait table for JV - I'm well impressed with it - it's lightweight but very strong and doesnt flex, it's got moulded sides to stop mess escaping off the sides, it has a built in sump at the rear for either storing whole baits ready to be cut or for pushing the waste into, and finally it's got a drain plug that you can attach a hose to if you wish to drain off fluid.

I did a set here in A4... and they were a right handful - 13 seperate pages! Hence why I put them on 5 pages. Ive put them back to back and laminated them so now have a 3 page tidal atlas. But if youve got bad eyes....!

Result!

The best one Ive found to date is this: http://www.basstastic.co.uk/shakespeare-in...g-net-314-p.asp Most tackle shops sell them - they are strong and very light. The one on JV has lasted 7 years and counting. They are about

Rob, I cant download external software, company policy. I'm happy to send to you to do??

PS; if anyone wants a copy of the tidal atlas PM me your email address. I spent about an hour this morning putting them into a document in the right order so they can be printed off and kept in the wheelhouse. The file is in Powerpoint.

Nice one Rob!! Did you pay for these? Great resource. I'll print off and laminate a copy. Does anyone have the correlation between these and Poole HW (as opposed to Dover)

A bit of a window is sitting over Monday at the moment. I'm crewed up and will be heading West for a day at the Plaice. Anyone fancy buddy boating??

Rob - there will be a 5lb lead timit per angler this year on JV For those who fancy an earlier start, I'll be leaving Poole around 6am, will fish the mid-channel wrecks on the last of the ebb, then crack on towards Alderney over the afternoon slack (not fiussed about anchoring for eels) I'll then re-fuel and head out for tope for a few hours, before picking up a mooring around 4pm and heading off to the B&B.

Duncan, OK - looks like I calculated the hours after Dover wrong, looking at the tidal flows on the link Rob put up, the channel is Ebbing to the west all morning, HW mid-channel around lunchtime, then a flood in the afternoon? So reverse my above plans - head off West in the morning, then catch the flood into Braye for the PM?? Correct?>

To hold the rod and feel for bites? Instead of just picking up the rod with fish attached?! I like to use my other senses - sight, sound etc (and let the bite develop!!!). Anyway, better than giving my rod away with a 20lb turbot attached!!!! Ouch!!

To hold the rod and feel for bites? Instead of just picking up the rod with fish attached?!

Ah ha! Rob my good man - I'm one step ahead. Whilst I do have bilge cleaner onborad now, this very morning I have ordered an 12v inline pump to transfer the diesel from cans to the main tank - voila' no more spilt diesel whilst trying to pour it through a 8" funnel in a F4!

For those who havent been before some usueful info here: http://www.alderney.net/documents/SAILNEW.pdf http://www.sailalderney.com/yachtguide.pdf (tides out of date on this one) http://visitalderney.com/files/managed/pdf...tables_2011.pdf (these are the 2011 tides - bear in mind you need to add an hour as these dont include BST) It is also worth getting a Chart of the island in detail, and one that covers the channel as a whole.

Thanks Charlie. To use the tide that really means taking in an Easterly route, and then getting a push in the afternoon into Braye on the Westerly going Ebb. 10.00am is too late for me, I like to make the most of the trip so I suspect we will leave the marina between 5-6am and make a plan around that. I'd rather fish wrecks on the way back than on the way over and have fish sat on ice for 4 days. Dont think these have been posted yet: http://visitalderney.com/files/managed/pdf...tables_2011.pdf Looks like plenty of water all afternoon in Braye for re-fueling. Has anyone dropped a line to Mainbrayce yet to advise of how many boats / sort discount etc?

You presume correct. Ive dropped you a PM. Basically it is one of the mid-channel wrecks that we usually fish if we take a Westerly biased route over, and might make a good ren-des-vous For me, the tides will dictate weather I go out east or west on the way over - after pushing against it last year, I wont bother again! Anyone - know what the tide times are for Thurs 12th May?

I was pondering my next boat today.... certianly another home build, certianly bigger.... until.... I cut and polished JV for the first time top to bottom all the way round - 23' is plenty enough for me thanks! Got blisters from holding the polisher!