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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 17, 2015 19:06:00 GMT 1
Cut below the door
I cut out the bottom of the door frame, & the glass covered plywood below it, to give "walk in" access from deck to wheelhouse, & it is a pleasure not to have to step over an 18" "doorstep", & bang your head in the process! I have made a "drop in" hatch which will operate between a couple of batons to cover the hole when the door is locked, when I have finished it & painted it, then it should look fine. Whilst I was doing that Richie & Steve were cleaning & painting the wheelhouse roof a lovely shade of bright orange I can assure you that bright orange shows up far better than white, when you are looking down from a rescue helicopter! Although there is a request to take BELLE out on Sunday looking for rays & hounds, I think the run out past the Mixon with a 43ft tide would mean it was only fishable about an hour or so either side of low water, so maybe a different venue might be better this weekend?
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 18, 2015 17:18:17 GMT 1
Carried on with the wheelhouse access
I carried on with the access to the wheelhouse, while Steve carried on painting the outside of the wheelhouse orange, he has done a fine job but unfortunately he managed to tip a paint tray full of bright orange paint, over his hands, jumper, & all over the one leg of his trousers! I don't think that "er indoors" is going to be very pleased with him! I have completed the wheelhouse access door, & given if a coat of clear Cuprinol to seal it & a coat of undercoat, so a coat of gloss tomorrow should see that done, I also fibreglassed the floor which had deliminated, then I intend to start on painting the remainder of the exterior (seating, gunwhales, hatches, floor etc) brilliant white, by the time we go out at the weekend we will look brand new!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 20, 2015 16:53:09 GMT 1
Ready for the off
Finished the last of the bits & bobs that wanted doing, ready for Sunday's trip, Steve has painted everything that doesn't move & now sunglasses are required to view the inside of the boat, as well as the eclipse! We dumped (or hid) all that was surplus (junk) & when my tools were taken off as well it is suprising just how much room there is aboard now, all I need now is one of those plastic boxes that you get in the "cheapy shops" to put the part-full tins of paint in, I don't want to throw any away because they can be used to freshen up in future, & if they are in a plastic box they can be put onto the pontoon when we go out, & be lifted back on board when we come back in. All we need on Sunday are a few fish & an uneventful day out, & some good weather, I will settle for any 2 from 3 of those
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 23, 2015 17:06:05 GMT 1
Well we had 2 out of 3!
Well I did say that if I had 2 out of the 3 I would be happy, & we had lovely weather, & an uneventful trip, but we had very few fish! Being cautious of the 43.5ft tide rip didn't help, so I stayed well within the bay to avoid it, we fished 3-4 spots to see if we could pick a few fish up, but apart from a few dogs, dabs, & some pin whiting, the fishing was very poor, in fact Nathan won the pool with a dab about the size of a tea plate! The day started badly with Ken Davison turning up complete with a cold bordering on man flu, & having lost half a tooth after hitting a pothole so he apologised, & returned home to Ty-Croes to lick his wounds Peter Mansell & I thought we were going to play doubles when Nathan still wasn't there at 8.45am, then he turned up & after we had left the berth told me he hadn't put a ticket on his car so we had to go back in for him to do that, & eventually we "streaked" down the marina to get the 9.00am lock out! We left the river & were met by a flat calm sea & we headed for Mumbles at top speed (7.7K) at one stage we anchored in a hole inside the SWIGG & gave it a go catching some dogs, & a couple of small dabs, & pin whiting, ,so I decided to head towards the pier & see if we could find anything off there but apart from more pin whiting we had nothing. At low water we headed back out towards the Strombus & I anchored to one side of it hoping to pick up something but apart from more dogs we had nothing. The wind came up from the south which put paid to my plan to drift across from Mumbles to Singleton (the southerly blows you inshore & you have to keep adjusting using the engine) so I decided to go back to where we had started, & to where "Bad Buoys" had anchored all day! We stayed there watching Nathan land more dabs & whiting, (& win the pool) while we carried on catching banned from the pool growlers! Set off for home about 4pm to catch the 4.30 lock in & got there just in time which pleased me because the boat went well, & handled better at low speed, the new windlass has made raising/lowering the anchor no longer a chore, & you don't mind moving now & again to look for fish when it doesn't involve a hernia. The other modifications to the boat make entering & leaving the wheelhouse no longer a steeplechase, & making a cup of tea & a sandwich is no longer an episode of "Krypton Factor" (apart from when Rinker's or Rodwell's flash past at 30mph ). The next trip will be on a smaller tide, & we will aim for a different set of tactics provided we get the weather, I am looking forward to the new season provided we don't have to leave at "Stupid o'clock As something of a PS we tried to speak to "Oystercat" on a couple of occasions, but once we left Ch16 we couldn't hear them, & they couldn't hear us? along with the chartplotter not communicating with the radio on DSC we now have another "gliche"? Maybe next time out I should take my sextant, my hand bearing compass, & a basket of carrier pigeons just to make sure?
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 24, 2015 19:49:21 GMT 1
This is probably the cause!
Of the anchor rope catching itself & making loops on the drum, which I had to unwind. I changed the anchor rope from 13mm Seasteel to 17mm nylon when we were using the Alderney Ring method of retrieval, as it was kinder & easier on the hands, & I think that the texture & diameter of the rope, was the reason I had to bring the rope off the winch drum at a sharp angle to avoid it trapping a loop. Seasteel is much more "springy" in texture, & tends to resist coiling more than the limp nylon ropes, so I will revert back to the 13mm seasteel & see if I can get an extra loop around the drum, & avoid the slippage I was having on Sunday. Hopefully next time we are out we will see the full potential of the windlass with the change of rope, watch this space for an update. I still have to work on a counter measure for the Rinker & Rodman wakes disturbing the catering department, maybe a surface to surface missile system? or a torpedo launcher, or a double barrel 12 bore
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 25, 2015 19:19:43 GMT 1
Not had chance
To get down to the boat this week, the rear indictor stalk fell off the bike, tried to repair it, & it fell apart, so new one arrives tomorrow, plus today was my brothers 85th birthday, & my niece & nephew brought him down to see me, & we went to Rossi's for fish & chips (his favourite ever chippy)! I will put the new stalk on when it arrives & get myself down to carry on with my chores, first job will be swap anchor ropes yet again! The weather looks to be turning bad for the next few days, so there is no rush, but I want to do a few more modifications & finish off the white painting before Steve does it all! Hopefully with the smaller tides next week there will be a chance to get out & look for some of the "Dustbin Species" (rays,hounds,conger etc) that appear to mean so much to some people, so Mumbles Belle will go "down market" & look for them for part of the day, then go back "Up Market" when the tide turns The prospects of fishing Oxwich this season appeals to me, with an early lock out corresponding with high water we could be there in less than 2hrs, (it's only 23kms or 11.5 nautical miles) stopping to feather for mackerel & Pollack on the way down. Fish the moorings or the Knoll for flats & come back on the flood tide to catch a late lock, this will give some variation on the local marks in the bay, & I also intend to spend more time fishing Langland & the Mixon this year, now we have a windlass lifting the anchor in these areas is no longer the nightmare it used to be.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 26, 2015 16:35:00 GMT 1
Back on the road!
At last I have my wheels back, too late to do anything today but I am ready to get stuck in tomorrow! We have a strange situation where I live, the "Evening Post" gets delivered about 8am (what about todays news?), & the supposed "morning" Post Office postman arrives about 2.30pm, which means that when you get something via the post by the time you fit it, the day is over? If it isn't raining in the morning I will go down & swap the anchor ropes back around, to see if that makes a difference hopefully it should solve the problem of the trapped coils, & make the anchor lifting even easier than it is now. I see that they are looking for people to "familiarise" themselves with "Oystercat", I may well poke my nose in to see what is happening there, although not wanting to do the sort of trips the cat does (too often & too far ) I have skippered a 28ft twin engine "Princess" & it never hurts to keep your eye in, just in case one day something happens & somebody needs to step up to the plate to bring it home, worth a look, it costs nothing, & you can never be over qualified However I have several more things to do on the "real" boat before it is 101%, & I still have to solve the Rinker/Rodman problem but I don't have a clue about making a gimbal type fitting, maybe a shufti through You Tube might throw something up? Keep watching as I wont give up until I find a solution
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 27, 2015 14:20:53 GMT 1
Not much chance
Of "gimbalising" the table top, so it looks like I will have to put up with these "need for speed" merchants, who insist on showing you their new toy, from close range! Went down the boat this morning & swapped the thick soft anchor rope, for a springy 13mm rope, hopefully this will solve the problem of the rope getting caught in itself on the drum. I checked the antennae connection on the back of the VHF & there was some powdery corrosion on the PL259 plug end, & in the socket on the set itself so I gave those a clean up & put it back together, & got a "Loud & Clear" from Milford Coastguard so maybe that was the problem? I still cant find out how to make the chartplotter talk to the VHF? The radio is still showing "No Time" "No position" etc which means that it is getting no information from the plotter? Despite reading the instruction manual I cant find out how to get it to send information to the VHF, & for the DSC to be effective it has to have that information, so if anybody reading this knows how to make them communicate, please let me know Unfortunately the brilliant white interior of the boat seats, has a nasty habit of transferring itself onto the ass of your trousers we think that maybe the paint we used was a "2 pack" paint, & somebody forgot to put the 2nd ingredient in it so I will go over it with some "cheap & cheerful" from Buyology or B&M to try to cover it Bad forecast for this weekend & most of next week will prevent me taking the boat out for a while, but if it stays dry at least I will be able to solve the problem of the colour change to peoples trousers! According to xc weather forecast the weather is well suitable to go out on Friday 3rd April (Good Friday) HW is at 6.45am with a 38ft tide which bodes well for a trip around to Langland to see if we can contact any late codling, & we will probably have huss as well. We can nip over to the "Mixon Dustbin" for rubbish rays & other such exciting species, then finish off trying for a few "spotties" before legging it back at ramming speed to lock back in probably on the 6.30pm lock-in (or earlier if the fishing is crap )
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 28, 2015 14:51:41 GMT 1
Possible solution to the problem
I have been told that if the internal battery in the chartplotter goes flat (a possibility because the boat doesn't do enough trips) that it reverts to "factory settings" which may be the reason why the plotter/VHF are not talking to each other. It may have defaulted to its original setting instead of NMEA (which is what it needs to be to send to the VHF) so I will go down tomorrow if its isn't raining & check it out, if so that will be another job ticked off the "bucket list" Don't forget to contact me on my e-mail address or my mobile number if you want to go out next Friday (Good Friday) April 3rd because Trevor is on holiday & you cant book via the website, you either have to contact Dean or myself if you want to go.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 28, 2015 20:25:15 GMT 1
Just noticed!
That it's only Good Friday, Easter Monday, Mothers Day, Xmas Day, Full Moon, Half Moon etc on "Oystercat"? No such details on Mumbles Belle's booking form, its getting to be beyond a joke now, talk about the poor relation, I am starting to get an inferiority complex! Weather Forecasting? It's a joke! Firstly BBC Weather forecast light NW winds for Good Friday, & XC Weather agree, so I post a trip for Good Friday. 12 hours later BBC change their minds & raise the forecast wind speed to "marginal" but XC still show light NW wind for Friday. Today neither give a forecast that is anything like their predictions of 24 hrs ago? Now the "possible" option for Saturday on BBC has vanished to be replaced by wind gusting to 25mph, & XC are giving much the same speed with the exception of a 2 hr window at 8pm-10pm on Friday night (which I think I will give a miss lol). All I can do is take pot luck & prepare the boat for a possible trip on Friday, & if the wind stays at a sensible speed from the W or NW we will go, otherwise we wont. I see the boat committee made a sensible call on skipper training today, even the marina would not have been a sensible venue today, so those who were going to do skipper training can come & help me put my garden fence back up after it blew down during the night!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 30, 2015 16:03:19 GMT 1
Driving me mad!
I have already had a tirade about weather forecasting (or the lack of it) & I booked a trip for Mumbles Belle on the only day the BBC & XC agreed was going to be suitable, & that was Friday! Now they have changed their minds & Friday is the only day that ISN'T suitable now! Thursday, Saturday, (Sunday is marginal) Monday, Tuesday are now all suitable & I don't know what to do! If anybody wants to pick a day I will "go with the flow" it seems every day I pick comes with a health warning, so if somebody else would like to nominate a day, then ring or e-mail either myself or Dean & we will put your name down, I wont say anything in case there is somebody "up there" listening to my plans!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Mar 31, 2015 12:34:11 GMT 1
Nearly blew me off my bike!
I want to go down to the boat to check the settings on the chartplotter to see if they are being sent to the VHF, & I want to start the engine to charge the batteries, to make sure the automatic bilge pumps operate properly in this rainy weather. However when the rain stopped yesterday I went to Lidl to get a few things & I nearly got blown off my moped every time I went past a gap in the houses So I will give it a miss until this wind drops, & hopefully Steve or Richie will be down there & check it out. Last time I went down in a strong wind I very nearly ended up in the marina when I went past the gap in the buildings opposite the big tower block, I was almost through the door of the tower before I got control back An Asian guy standing by the door nearly got run over Still hoping this weather is going to moderate by the weekend so we can get out to catch a few fish, I am starting to get withdrawal symptoms now! Don't forget, if you want a trip on the weekend either ring or e-mail me or Dean & let us know.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Apr 2, 2015 16:41:15 GMT 1
Still not been down!
High wind & rain have stopped me using the bike to get down to the marina, plus a bad back that coincided with my "wind wobble" that very nearly had me in the gutter! So hopefully Steve or Richie will have been down & started up the engine, I will find out tonight down the club. Regardless if its fine tomorrow I will make my way down to try to sort out this electronics problem & run the engine just in case we get the chance of a trip over the Easter weekend, wouldn't want to be caught with my batteries down!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Apr 3, 2015 14:38:43 GMT 1
Belle trip on Sunday 5th April
Oystercat is going to Lundy but I don't plan to be quite so adventurous! I reckon that a stop off in the "Blin Hole" just off Mumbles Lighthouse to see if we can find anything different to dogfish, then about 2hrs before low water if conditions are ok head out for the "Dustbin" outside the Mixon to see if we can get any "photo opportunities" rays, hounds etc, then on the flood head in to see if we can pick up a plaice or two either at anchor in one spot I know, or drift across from the ILBS towards Singleton Hospital. The forecast is good, the tide is high at 0745 so a 0900 lock out sounds sensible, & lock back in 4.30pm, 5.30pm. 6.30pm whichever takes your fancy & depending on the fishing. You can get your bait at the Marina Shop from 0800 worm for plaice, & either mackerel or squid for rays, I look forward to getting enough to run this trip so ring me asap 07814528082 or 01792527518 or e-mail v.lilygreen@ntlworld.com By the way I sorted the problem of the chartplotter not talking to the VHF, when the batteries went flat from pumping the bilges, the plotter was working on its internal battery, & when that went flat the settings reverted to "factory settings", which meant it was no longer transmitting data to the VHF. Now that the batteries have been charged I reset the NMEA settings & the VHF is now showing the same lat/long as the plotter, which is comforting to know.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Apr 4, 2015 13:11:17 GMT 1
Sunday 5/4/2015
Because of the booking form not being available online, some people seem to think there is no trip available this week? "Mumbles Belle" will be locking out on the 9am lock Easter Sunday 5th April so if you want to be on it be at the berth at 8.30am or contact me on 07814528082 The bait shop is open long before we sail, so you have no excuse, be there or be square
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