Adam F

Where are you based? I would suggest Bournemouth Battery Centre - I guess you'll need an 85 Amp Hour Leisure battery, they are doing them for about 45 squid. http://www.bournemouthbatterycentre.co.uk/

Andy / Paul, Enticer has a 50l tank but it is not built in, Gordon can 'see' how much he has left. He took 50l plus a 25l jerry can. My tank is 90l and I took 20l spare so we had plenty of fuel. Both boats have a similar power to weight ratio and both cruised at 20/22 knots and 3500rpm no problem on the flat sea. Charlie, The fish were taken from outside club waters 28 miles SW of the Bill.

28 miles off... flat calm!

With the perfect weather forecast, the plan was to give OotB a run out mid channel for some crash diving pollock. An early start meant crawling out of the pit at the ungodly hour of 5am.. a uneventful tow down to Weymouth saw us readying OotB under a blood red sun with a rising temp... all looked good! Rounding the Bill at 8am, we pointed SW and cruising at a steady 22 knots anticipation was high. The first wreck on the edge of the shipping channel was hard to find but threw up my brothers first ever pollock which bought a HUGE smile to his face. We had a few more and the best of the day at 12lb but the fishing was a little sparce. We then moved again to some 'dodgy' numbers but soon found the wreck and fishing started in earnist. Long story short, we filled the new Icey Tek box with pollock, had a glorious day in the warm srping sunshine and gave the new boat a good working over. The final surprise was the fuel consumption. Enticer returned a remarkable 55l for an 80 mile round trip. I was unsure with OotB, as the gauge showed empty on the ay home and bounced alot, but on fueling her up on the way home, she took 58 litres...only 3 more than Enticer but 1/2 as heavy again and 2x the HP - the new Honda seems very frugal!! A thoroughly enjoyable day!

Used the Icey Tek for the first time today....WOW!! I put a 5lb box of squid in in last night and it was solid this morning, plus the inside of the box was icey.... I put a litre of squash in their on the way out this morning and it was icey slush when we arrived at the mark.... The 56L box took 12 pollock to 12lb, before we had to fillet them down - most of the fish had began to 'stiffen' where they were so cold. After filleting, we managed another 4 fish on top. Easy to wash, no scrubbing, just the deck wash - A1 recommended.

Duncan - Ill drop you a few via PM - ring me if you need more. I'm just the process of moving my marks to my new plotter. Adam

Nice piccy...

Paul, You have a few options. Bob F has a pretty good knowledge of these and the cross sections they throw out. An old topic here: http://www.pbsbac.co.uk/forums/index.php?s...ic=347&hl=radar For our small boats, a tube type reflector is a good option, fairly small, easy to fix out of the way etc. - http://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/chandlery_prod...lector_tube.htm The bigger dome type units I think have a better reflection, but are more suited to wheelhouse boats or yacht masts. - http://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/chandlery_prod...tor_echomax.htm Finally the best option is a SeaMe unit which electronically ampliflies the signal - but not cheap!! http://www.sea-me.co.uk/ I'll be interested in what you choose as I am considering one also...

Good point - I think that Icey Tek's comment applies to using the cool box in general, where keeping the internal temprature down is critical....such as keeping the beer cool! In our circumstances draining the water would be the best option to keep fish tip top.

Interesting comment Tom... ....the info and advice that comes with the Icey Tek advises against draining the water away - 'it takes more energy to cool air than it takes to maintain cold water'

Dan, http://www.marinemegastore.com/jump/4/cat_...-AQU_Q06341.htm These are fitted as std to Warrior's, I bought one last week. 10% discount for your 1st order and next day delivery - good solid aeriel, and comes with the ratchet mount as part of the kit - all you need is 4 SS bolts. I looked around all the local chandlers and this was the best deal I found. Adam

Yep, sorry meant current. Duncan, you're right, the output is similar, but the big pump pushes out 40 PSI and draws 6 amps, whereas the little Rule moves alot of water, but simply stops if you try and force a back pressure of more than a couple of pounds. The Rule also only draws 2 amps.

Dont get me wrong, the Coleman boxes arent too bad, but when you compare them to these there is no comparison. The Coleman's are a lot better than domestic boxes, but I just found the front catches and the thin plastic lid retainer flimsy. But your right - they did work for us!

Ready to be filled!!

Rach bought me one of these for my birthday - Ive been lusting after one since I first saw their review about a year ago, but havent had enough deck space to fit one until now. Anyway - I have always used a big barrel to store my catch in, but the fish end up curled and squashed and it gets pretty warm on a summers day. I have seen used the igloo boxes from Coleman, but the one we had on Cyclone in the CI's last summer didnt last well and was not commercial enough for regular use. This is a hefty beast, but still the smallest in the 'long' range Icey Tek do - at 56L its roughly 950x450x450mm and weighs in at 10kg. The construction is very tough and they are made in Australia for commercial everyday use. It has tow tough rubber catches, two moulded polyprop hingles and a rubber seal around the lid. It has a removable linner which helps to keep it clean. Finally a 1" drain plug at each end which means it drains regardless of it's orientation on the boat. It is an A1 piece of kit, and hopefully it will get some good use! http://www.iceytek.co.uk/ The 56L box comes in at

The pump was bolted up out the way, down the side of the transom - a 10' hose and pressure trigger simply plug onto the end of the pump with a hozelock fitting. I now get a Britboard style 50' jet!!

Just for the record, I have now finished installing my deck wash / livebait set-up. In the end I decided against a through hull set-up, not because I didnt want to drill the holes, but because had poor access to fit the fittings. I went for a through transom option, sort of half way and piped the water round the transom to a 17 LPM high pressure pump- this will run my deckwash. For the livewell, I decided that the 17 LPM was too much voltage to run all day for a livewell, so a 500 GPH Rule pump was installed on the transom as it was a tried and tested method I used on BW. I used JG Speedfit plumbing fittings for the whole job which interfaced with all the components well, was flexible to the route I chose and was descrete.

It's looking good! Who's coming then? I have crew already I'm afraid.

The forecast for the Easter weekend looks spanking!! A decent sized tide, clear sunny skies, warm and light winds for most of the week! I'll be there on Friday morning bright and early at Weymouth

Thanks Guys!! Had a good day thanks, esp. as it fell on a sunny sunday. Best pressie - 60l Icey Tek cool box for the new boat from the wife to be!!

Graham, Yes, I agree for night fishing could be helpful, however in a small boat the MK1 eyeball can be just as effective. Do you have a plotter on the boat? If so, I would say this is much more essential - if you do have a plotter AND room for the radar then a good move IMO.

Graham, Do you really need it? Not being rude, but in a 16' boat I just wonder how likey you are to need it? Do you regulary fish in shipping channels, in all weathers? Personally, I find that I could have used a radar about 3 times a year out of say 60 trips, so about 5%. Unless you have got it for a mega cheap price, I would suggest the room on the boat could be better used. A radar reflector is a cheap, efficiant way of making your boat better seen and takes up next to no room. Adam

Like wot Duncan does:

Nice one Tom - as Martin says, better than a day in the office! I was tempted to go out today, if I had known I'd have come and joined you - mind you it was bitter in the wind today and the rain wasnt nice, wonder how the others got on with Shogun??