Adam F

So far we have: Neo (Bob F and PD) Nipper (Mark & Rich) OOTB (Me and Brother Greg) Enticer (Gordon & ??) Cimmara (Simon, Al + 1) Fat Chance (TBC) Come on guys!! - we must be able to get at least another couple of boats????

Bang on Paul, although downtiding will still work and lug may also we worth taking. The biggest tip I can give is to keep fresh bait on your hooks due to the murky water - 5 mins bottom time max. ....may be worth taking the burley bombs?? Still waiting to hear from Craig at Burnham re. timings etc - Ill chase him today.

Wasnt on my boat Trev, so didnt have my kit with me - next time... Also - still dont seem to be able to post the photos as large as Duncan can??... Ideas?

Looked and fought bigger than it was - but a cracking fish anyway!

Who has theirs? I called OFCOM today as I had sold BW and the MMSI obviously went with the boat. The website is not that easy to use, but after a quick bit of coaching from their helpline it took all of 10 mins to surrender my hold license and details and create a new one - plus, no more tax disc licenses anymore - you simply download it (it is now an A4 certificate) Easy!

...where do you stand?

Bought BFM again today having never missed an issue since it began in 2002 - what has happened? I had to check twice to see if I'd picked up Sea Danlger by mistake Dont get me wrong it is still better than the others, but there has been an increase in seasonal 'how to articles' (Cod in winter, Plaice in March etc) which do have a place but surely not every year and thus every issue? Advertising has jumped up a huge amount which I fully appreciate is needed to run a magazine (and a business) but as a comparison this months had 34 full advertising pages out of 98 pages compared to just 5 full pages out of 98 in issue no.2 Earlier issues had many more submitted articles from writers which tended to be more varied both in theme and style, I get the impression now that a smaller pool is writing giving generic aricles. Thank goodness for this forum!!

Bang on advice from Tomo - Trev. I take it you are trailering for the moment? Have you found a mooring? I havent forgottern your request for a contact, just cant find the number in the middle of moving house...

...tempted Al - what time you planning to be in?

...and just to completely hi-jack Tom's thread, but still on the theme of reels... I have had on one of my spinning rods for the past year an old (6 yrs) abu that I used when I was a shore dangler - it is the 6500 C3 Syncro. I never gave it much though except when I became addicted to shallow water bassing with very light tackle. It isnt anything that special, just a small 6500 push clutch reel - BUT, the syncro drag (which was a big gimick at the time) has proved invaluable. Basically you play the fish as per normal and have you drag set as you would usually, but at any critical moment, say when the beastie dives deep at the net, you can 'backwind' but 1/2 a turn instantly backing the drag of by about 50% - it has saved me dozens of lost fish and is equally as good for big bream. It is the same principle that Shimano introduced a few years back call the 'fightin drag' I have just picked up another from flee bay for just 15 squid! Oh - and they are the 'good' ones - i.e made in Sweden - not Taiwan!!

Tis' alot of dosh...

Tis correct Mr Burt - thats what prop revs told me anyway - rule is to go 1" smaller. However, the HP of Paul's engine may provide an exception to this rule. When I had my 60hp I enquired at PRev's about a SS - they told me not to bother as I wouldnt see any advantages in performance due to not having enough HP - they advised that over 90hp are worth it. Unless you have found it at a bargin price - in which case you have a cheap replacement.

I find it easier to tell when you have 'fallen 0ff' the plane as opposed to startef to plane. BW started to plane about 12/13 knots, OotB startes about 13/4 - below this it is a fine line between heavy semi displacement and planing. The smart tabs I fitted knocked about 1 knot of the min plaing speed. 5 knots is very slow, I would be surpised if even jacks little Zodiac plans at 5...

It's a risk that you take when importing from overseas, in my experiance about a 1/3 of imports get through. One tip is to ask the sender to unpack the goods, send the receipt seperatly and mark the item as a warrenty return - they wont charge import duties then, hwoever it is a hastle and not all senders will do this.

Not always Kam - in an ideal world yes, but often mine fails to lodge in the ring. It is good practise anyway to have a long length (as stated) of 'heavier than your anchor' chain to not only assist in retreaving, but to help hold the bottom

To be fair Pete my Mariner was a ropey anyway - overheating was just one symptom, I think the big end went in the end.. Running them even with the fast idle engaged is not the same as running them on the water. Also - I guess one of the problems you may have is flushing the engine through after use if you are on a mooring?

Pete, I'd personally get it down to the people that (are supposed to) know... My 50hp Mariner had a very similar problem but was intermitant, and after a few months of DIY checks and guesses at the problem it went bang - result, 6k lighter = new engine, your's would be alot more.... Just another thought, surely at that age it is still under warrenty?

Just had an email from Craig at Burnham in preparation for our trip in a few weeks: Hi Adam Just to let you know our recent competition fished on Sunday showed that there are a few big Thornbacks showing up to 12lb some hefty congers to 24lb abd the bass are also around with fish to 7lb see pics. Hopefully they will all still be in residence when you visit us. Hope the fishing is as good in your neck of the woods. All the best I'll put full details on here shortly.

In an effort to de-clutter before the house move, I have: 1 x 2kg bottle anchor, chain and warp 1 x 2kg bottle anchor and chain 1 x 3kg bottle anchor and chain 1 x 5kg danforth anchor and chain 1 x 15" Orange Buoy (suitable for Alderney ring system) 1 x 24" white and blue fender 4 x 12" white fenders Offers invited, esp if it helps out someone who is new to boating - I dont need them and they are in the way. Collection from Verwood prefered, although I may be able to arrange delivery or bring them to a club meet.

Anyone got about 2/3' of outboard fuel line laying around? I bought some from the chandlers today but as well as being very expensive it looks like it is meant to pump crude oil from the north sea - twin walled, re-inforced etc... what I need is the flexible thin grey rubber hose. Ta

Yes Terry - absolutely. (BTW I did mean US and not UK) Seemingly very simple situations end up hugely complicated - too many chiefs and all that....

I'm for it if we could achive fisheries like they do in the UK or Australia, however I doubt we will / can / would..... I'm against it in the case (likey) that it would create jobs for the boys, endless paperwork and bureacracy....

The large commercial ships will be monitoring Ch16 and also the commercial channels - so a call on the VHF along the lines of: ' The container vessel at position 001 52 151 002 03 111 this is xxx xxx ' should be sufficiant to get the boat's attention - this is certianly how I have heard it doen in the past.

Gord's best fish..

In an effort to enjoy the good weather as much as posible Gord and I headed out for a short eve session from Mudeford last night. The conditions were bliss - oily flat, warm spring sunshine - but only a small neap tide... Out at the mark saw Tomo and his lovely boat Just Perfik anchored nearby (Sorry didnt pop over chaps - were keen to get fishing!) Fishing was slow on the flood, but as the ebb slowly swung into action the TS groundbait mix started to work and a steady stream of bites started with plenty of rod wretching bream smashes Light spinning rods were the order of the day and I forgot just how hard these little scrappers fight - always a welcome reminder of the spring. Ended up with over a dozen fish with the best going 3lb 9oz, all bar returned bar 3 males taken for the pot. Average size was good, with not a single fish under 2lb. A final nice surprise was the 2lb lobster which took a liking to my bream rig on the last cast of the day! Fianlly, on the way back to the run, I noticed a familar boat about 1/4 mile south also heading in - I said to Gord that I reckoned it was a Faeton 630 like the one sold from under me at Christmas....anyway the closer it gets I realise it is a 630 and is identical to the one I almost bought. We get the boat back on the trailer and as we drive away notice that it's moored alongside the quay - so pop over to have a look - well blow me down it's the same boat!! ' Marnia' - the Faeton 630 Sport I almost bought from Plymouth - ended up in my home port!! A few piccies - as you can see conditions were terrible...