great white

James You are being missed mate and it will be good when the kids grow a bit and you can get afloat more. I am sure when the new boat is finally finished I will be able to get you out after the congers Charlie

Nice to see a good selection of Members able and willing to fish Including some of the Bass "Experts" I am afraid that we can not join you But we wish you all tight lines and some trophy fish Charlie

Thanks all for the nice comments It is really down to a very long list of finishing jobs, Survey and launch So if I can get enough hours on it the end of the tunnel is in sight. Rich, Wendy is not giving me much grief about the scaffold and we are very appreciative of the loan for so long, but it is there for the collection when you are ready. Tom you are right, Martin had to come up to get the controls to talk to each other and the engine, after a few mix ups all parts now seem to be ok. Hopefully I will not have any more Volvo people on the boat until it goes down to be launched and have the props fitted. Charlie

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After a few hitches and another PCU unit from Volvo at last the controls are now all talking to each other and the engine purred into life for the first time yesterday. Clock the grin I have a never ending list of finishing off jobs and a few llarger ones but the completion is starting to get nearer Charlie

Get your coat mate

Nice one Rich Nice to hear that you are getting more than your share Next week is the Bass only comp not a species hunt, but I expect you were aware of that. Tight lines Charlie

Nice one Mikes This moring I was at work listening to the Yachties moan about no wind for our three sailing events. Made worse when I sent a Rib out into the Bay to be told it was 2 to 4 knots variable. I knew some lucky lads would be making the most of a calmer Sunday, glad you had a bit of sport Charlie

I am still struggling with the concept of the Tour de France starting in England??? Charlie

Reading the start of this thread it sounds as if this slip is intended for the small tenders to the boats on the trot moorings and not for trailered boats. I believe that this one has been discussed before at meetings, but it is a shame that they could not take the opertunity to put in a useful slip instead of a tender launch ramp Charlie

Nice one Duncan You even managed to make the bad bits interesting. We are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel now, First fuel in the tank today and Volvo PDI engine and controls tomorrow, with luck I may hear the D4 growl very soon If progress continues and I can get enough hours away from the Yacht Club we may still make a trip over in 2007 Charlie

I am working this weekend and unable to join you I hope that the weather allows you to get out You will need good weather to get to utopia but if the weather is from the west the Island offers good protection and there can be good fishing on New ground, around the Dean tail buoy area and in the bay at Shanklin. We did not have GPS when I fished there so I have no numbers but I could give a few pointers if you can not get the info from a more up to date source. The east winner bank [ very close in] can be a good bait area, look for the diving gulls and cast feathers to them for mackeral. another good bait area was the Dean tail Buoy and the concrete wreck close to it. The Edges of new ground were very good for rays and the odd Bass and smoothounds. The rough spit on the south side of these grounds is a good bream area. Some areas in Shanklin are very good for Plaice, Turbot and Bass basically if the weather is poor look for the charter boys sheltering in these areas, they will be on the general fishing marks, have a look around close [but not that close] to them and I am sure you will enjoy some sport Very tight lines stay safe Charlie

That is what happens when several tons of ballest comes off Suddenly the centre of gravity and the centre of bouyancy change places and the Yachts mast decides it should be the keel. and she does a 180 degree roll. As Adam says they are lucky we are at mid summer and the water is warm for this area. and that they were very close to the helecopter base at Lee on Solent Charlie

I had heard it was raining Cats and Dogs last night Obviously Felines and Hounds to you posh folks Charlie

I think I had better put the scaffold back up and the covers on Perhaps that would bring the good weather back Charlie

Don't do it Dan We will be adding them to the record list next Nice bream Charlie

Mike When do you think you will make the decsision about the Comp? I have been loaned a boat again but need to make some decisions on other things to free up some fishing time Tides are a lot bigger this Sunday so potential for wind over tide kicking up the sea is greater Charlie

Well done guys It looks like you had some sport, what bait were they taking out of interest. Charlie

The boat will not be ready for any of those, so I have no preferance. Charlie

Bloody Hell it worked Charlie

I have the Skates and rays paperwork thanks to Dave M I will try to add the link http://www.seafish.org/b2b/info.asp?p=191 and you can downlod a copy Charlie

Hi all I am very tempted by a bit of hound bashing If we do not go out this weekend and work on the boat , I would probably try and make this trip instead Gordon I would like to go on the list as a last minute crew If a space were available Charlie

Mike F Where I saw Frisky the other week is very close to a couple of good banks for Blondes especially at the end of the summer Stick to it out there and George will soon get his wish. whole squid or fillet of mackerel cut in half along its length will do the job. The traces you made are what I use for tope but will of course take the other species If I were just ray fishing I would not bother with the wire end, just use the 70lb line throughout. Charlie

I think Duncan has hit the nail on the head with this one Its down to overall costs during a season. mooring, depreciation, equipment and boat maintenance, fuel, bait etc. I once started to work it all out and realised that its cheaper to just use charter boats, but our way is more fun and you get more satisfaction when the plans work as Ahoy said at the start the engine boat package costs were a consideration as they are with all of us. I was wondering if the engine hours used are off your instruments or from a log? If they are from the instruments they will include all idling and it is surprizing how much of that we do, stopping to drift for bait, talk to other boats, stow or prepare lines and tackle etc Of course the idling is at minimum fuel consumption and may be why the average speed and fuel consumption is so low Charlie

Nice one Kam I hope all the Dads in the Club had as good a day as I did. Some presents, Bacon rolls for lunch, some help with the boat build and a chinese take away in the evening Great Charlie