great white

Electrolosis can be a big problem especially for boats kept in Marinas with all the additional metals used to hold the pontoons in place and the electricity to the boats. Sail drive and outdrive anodes can dissapear very quickly if they are not backed up by larger anodes fitted onboard. Sacrificial Zinc anodes work best in Line of sight or close to the worse area of likely electrolosis. [stainless shaft, Bronze prop, rudder area] all anodes should be connected in circuit to share the work load. The electrolosis really gets going if you have a problem on the boats earth circuit and are plugged in to the Marina power. A newish Yacht here came out for maintenance to find his Prop was beyond repair and his stainless shaft looked like swiss cheese with small holes all over it. after replacing shaft, prop and P bracket, further checks proved that the boats electric system was at fault and had in effect accelerated the electolosis. I reccomend to the berth holders they suspend a large anode over the stern between twin outdrives or fit a large anode on the transom to increase protection. They are told to connect these in to the anode circuit by a cable, [ There is one over the back of GW as I Type this] but several just seem to hang them over on a bit of cord??? [ Chocolate teapot time] Charlie

Thats it Jack The secret of your fish repellent revealed at last Tabacco flavoured bait Charlie

I agree with Sam The lads on I Fish are good viewing, I would love the oportunity to fish where they go. and they seem good at all manner of tactics etc. John Wilson is just tiresome. Matt Hayes on Total fishing has some handy tips and lots of variety, but his other programs are dragged out to much. Rex Hunt and John Wilson both get carried away with them selves and their catch, which can wind me up. But its great to see how enthusiastic they still are for a sport that they have been making programs about for so long. At times the real face of fishing comes through, from behind the camera angles and poses. IE Rex nearly crying last week when he broke an old rod that had just been re built, and he was shaking like a baby when he saw the size of a huge catfish before it was netted. John Wilsons face in some of the outakes when a fish gets off or the line breaks is classic. and an old clip when he drops a fish [what a surprise] on a rod and snaps the rod. since getting more fishing through cable at Christmas we have viewed a fair bit and learnt a few tips. ITS ALL BETTER THAN WATCHING SOAPS Charlie

No surprises there then. I like the Navionics gold and as Duncan says the better your plotter the better the definition is. Charlie

You will need to phone the coastguard to arrange a time, but they will take them as Dave said they need to have their container available and some room in it. so call them to make arrangements Charlie

The anti collision rules are international and everyone is supposed to follow them. The main rule is to keep a good lookout at all times, which is what the smaller boat was not doing. But the coastguard boat was the give way vessel and therfore should have altered course to pass behind the boat approaching on his stbd side, especially as he had obviously noted that the other boat was on collision course and was probably unaware of him. If you think there is going to be a collision or a close call you are supposed to take avoiding action, not shout. We should all know the Anti collision rules and observe them. I am sure if a RNLI coxswain was as guilty as the coastguard one, the book would be thrown at him. Charlie

Dave The owner of the company is a bit of an old car freak you should see the lamborgini in the chacon behind the boat that was being sprayed up. Charlie

Not sure why an earlier reply did not come through. Try calling Matt Sydenham on 01202 707007 He runs an electronics company and is a Member He has offered advice to Members on this subject from his broad experiances in the field of Marine Electronics. Matt has offered this service regardless of wether you purchase from him, but he is able and willing to try and match prices. In my view its good to buy locally and support one of the major sponsors of our open competition. Matt has offered me the choice of 2 second hand radar units for the new boat if anyone is interested in a 16 mile radar at a good price call matt or I Cheers Charlie

Hi Charlie One of our Members is the main man in a local electronics company. He has offered to pass his knowledge on to other Members and that is wether you purchase from him or not. Call Matt on 01202 707007 and pick the brains of someone who's business is Marine Electronics By the way he offered me the choice of two second hand 16 mile radar units this week, so if anyone fancys fitting a Radar call me or Matt. Charlie

Good luck with the sale of the Boat Kim and the purchase in portugal, Nice country but I am not a fan of Lisbon. I hope that the lagoon holds a few big Flounders Charlie

Hi guys Thanks for all the offers of encouragement and help. I will be expecting a few volunteers to crew when she is finished and of course anyone that has helped will be made very welcome. I am sure you know us well enough to know there will be plenty of various trips on her, including some that Wendy will no doubt be leaving to us and friends. I have cleared some space in my mailbox so if you have tried to send a PM please try again Cheers Charlie

Jack I am sure at some stage during the build me and the boys will need to stratch ourselves in the fresh air and bend a rod so if you would like a bit on company and a few tips about wrecking just ask us along. Charlie

Hi all Thanks for the nice comments, you are correct the boys and I are more than chuffed and realise that a lot of work will be involved. The cabin is overlength at the moment and some will be coming off once the internal layout is finalised [one of the first jobs] and a fair chunk of the roof overhang is also coming off. Tom you are spot on as she is there is 12ft of cockpit, whicjh we may increase a bit but want to have inside seating for the whole crew and bunks for the whole family shower, galley etc. Plans are for some long range fishing and Holidays so unlike the current boat she will not be focused just on angling and needs a few comforts Paul I hope we can continue your success rate matey, not to hard to beat really Charlie

Clean and safely blocked off charlie

After a short flight, which seemed to rattle Wendy's nerves, touchdown some time spent setting her up see's her into position in the front Garden ready for work to commence. Ist job get the wash and polish out to remove the road grime, can't have her looking grubby when people pop round for a look. After aa long and trying day she is at last ready for my part of the fitting out to start. one very Happy Charlie and Boys

At last over an hour late the very apologetic crane driver arrives. More Tea to calm the nerves as we get the strops on and the crane ready Then we find out why the small trees were not bothering the crane driver, when he lifted her right over the to of them and the neighbours nice Car on her drive. She may be months away from sea trials but she flies well. Charllie

Well the big days arrived 0700 woken by a call from Cornwall moaning that the boat transport had not shown up. A call to the drivers mobile, found him leaving a layby with a new Tachograph that allowed him to complete the journey. he soon pasified an irate Manager and the Boats up on the crane to be loaded. A reply from the Driver at 0915 informed me that all is well and he is about to set off. A visit to Dans school , haircut, several cup of Tea and some decorating were esential to fill in the hours it took to bring her 150 miles to home. a last minute reminder to the neighbours that they would be blocked in by two HGV's saw a few ladies hastily moving cars just as the rig turned up. At last one 30ft kit boat arrives safe and sound but far from white after 4 hours on the road. A couple of coffees with the Driver some time spent unloading the loose equipment bought from the boatbuilder and still no crane. better move to let the ladies back in and have another brew

Glad the trip went well and a few Eels played ball Its a nice big wreck to practise on and hold many good fish However in teh Summer it is a divers wreck so best left to them Charlie

Nice one Paul and how fast were you running in the new motor mate? Charlie

Hi again The choice is quite endless but after haveing many new fisherman onboard and teaching two sons the joys of landing decent fish I would advise as Adam did to go for solid reliable gear from the onset. I say solid and reliabe not top of the range on purpose. While I love to use my kevlar rods they are expensive and brittle if not used carfully, and my Shimano and ABU reels are treated carefully and washed every trip to prevent corrosion. The boys both have Ugli stick gold rods yes the rings look cheap but the blanks are very strong [unbreakable] and 30lb class will tackle all that you or I are likely to catch locally. Reels however are Shimano TLD's one choses the TLD20 and the other a TLD 15 the quality of gearing and clutches are worth paying for. I would rather have a good second hand shimano than a cheap import. The same advice extends to the lighter tackle although our spinning kit tends to be at the cheap "fun" end of the range. They are still treated quite well. Try and decide what fishing you are likely to want to do, how many rods will you use at a time and get reliable kit. IMHO its better to have two good outfits ie one uptider and one 30lb class with matching reels than loads of cheaper outfits to give you matched pairs of each type How many can you use at one time? Don;t answer that one James, or Adam, or Gary or the rest of the GW crew Charlie

Hi again Charlie Nice one mate, soon have it spruced up and looking shiney Fit a few toys and off you go. If the budget is tight for toys can I suggest a priority of safety first VHF Echo sounder GPS/plotter and I believe some Members are upgrading their kit so there may be second hand outfits available. with a good background. Charlie

What a smart looking craft What are her specs Adam? Charlie

Nice one Adam sorry we could not join you out there today but Dan is still Ill and my back has been very bad since lifting a huge TV yesterday at work yesterday. Charlie

Nice one Gordon I recieved the report 12lb in the book Charlie

B Lucky seems to sum up there aproach to the situation, cross fingers and hope may be more appropraite. Glad that nobody got hurt but I would love to hear what the Inshore Lifboat crew thought. Very good work by the experianced locals to help out, and I believe you made the correct decision to stay out of the way and not make it a two boat incident by rushing in to help. Charlie