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Post by pilgrim17 on Oct 15, 2014 17:24:56 GMT 1
UPDATE
Well the plot thickens on the Plotter/VHF sat on the berth they read very close to each other (but they should be identical readings) & from what I can determine from reading the online Garmin Bluechart the positions that they are showing are accurate to within a second or two. The only way to find out if I have sorted the problem will be to go out & compare the Plotter/VHF reading to chart datum, whenever the weather allows maybe myself & my trust companion Richie will go & test it out before I take any more anglers out! Regarding my scooter, the police have informed me that they have found it, but that it is undriveable? (probably can be got into a Tesco bag) I have to wait now until they have finished with it, to see if it is repairable or written off, see I told you to look on the bright side of life!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Oct 12, 2014 19:42:56 GMT 1
There is some good news & some bad news
Bad news first, today I lost an anchor & the chain, & some of the anchor warp as well! It's ok committee don't panic it was all mine anyway, it just means I have an excuse to go to the boat jumble next week to replace them (at a sensible price!) not at chandlers rates! The good news? Today we found a spot where the dabs were coming up 2 at a time, but unfortunately a lot were too small, but we had some nice ones too & Ken had a nice bag of dabs to take home. Also the seat worked a treat, not the most attractive set up I agree, but even an ugly sit down, is better than a pretty stand up! To finish off an expensive day out, I get home to find that some toerag has pinched my scooter from the side of the house, cut through the lock with a bolt cutters, you cant do much about it when people are prepared to go out carrying a bolt cutters. Keep your eyes peeled its a Piaggio NRG MP3, it has been painted black (badly) over yellow, the reg no is KW04PFK. So as you can see it has not been a good day for me, but as Monty Python said "Always look on the bright side of life" I could have been sat on it when it was pinched!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Oct 11, 2014 17:16:47 GMT 1
A CUNNING PLAN!
Like Baldrick I also had a cunning plan, looking at the available room in the wheelhouse it became obvious that even a swivel seat would not work on Belle, it would mean there would be no room to move to make tea & hot dogs etc ( not acceptable with winter coming). So I did some thinking & some measuring, & came up with "Plan A" & knocked this up in my shed this afternoon. The cabinets are set at the same distance apart as the lockers on Belle, & with this frame sat across it gives a solid base for a seat. Guess what I will use as a seat? my padded top tackle box seat which gives a perfect height for my bum to rest on, then when we get where we are going the frame gets stashed & my box goes outside with me, I will try it out tomorrow & let you know how it works!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Oct 10, 2014 14:48:58 GMT 1
DONT FORGET!
S Wales Boat Jumble at Margam Park next Sunday 19th October for all those things you "need" for your boat I am going to look for a swivel pedestal boat seat for Mumbles Belle, seeing as it takes half an hour to do 20 mins, my back kills me after a while, so I want a swivelling seat to rest my bum on those long trips out & back. It has to be swivelling, because there is no room in the wheelhouse to have one that is fixed, you wouldn't be able to get into it! (well Richie might because he is skinny) but there is no chance of me getting into it from the side! I will sit in it & swivel around like Captain Kirk on the Starship Enterprise, well I have to have some comforts in my old age, & if they can have one on the cat, I want one on Belle!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Oct 7, 2014 20:54:39 GMT 1
Next Sunday 12th
Tide means its a gentlemans lock out at 9am, not sure where to go first, will depend on the wind & sea state but plaice will be the main target as its a biggish tide we don't want to be using a brick to hold bottom so somewhere in the bay will do us for both ebb & flood, we are built for comfort not speed, & certainly not hardship lol
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 30, 2014 18:48:56 GMT 1
It looks like
Saturday's forecast is positive, with the wind W/NW which will give shelter in the Bay, Sunday it is forecast S/SW which is not so favourable, so I have ruled out Sunday I'm sorry, but better to do it now than wait & wait & wait, then cancel at the 11th hour. The tide is quite small at 10.3m at 0250am so we will have to go earlier than "Gentlemans Time" we will have to get the 8am lock to avoid putting the wheels down when we get outside the lock! So the cunning plan is 0730am Saturday for an 8am lock out, & if the plan works back in at 4.30pm with a few plaice in the bag.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 27, 2014 11:28:15 GMT 1
Still only 3 of us for the Belle for a 9am lock out on Sunday morning, I have a cunning plan which may or may not work Ken Davison has a very expensive drifting trace he bought in 2012 which he wants to try out, (which he will probably lose after 5 yds) I will be going for the sausages & rolls soon & if only 3 of us turn up, we will have to eat 2 each. Good trip today, we had a million growlers, a few hounds, a little s/e ray, gurnard, & some very nice plaice, weather was perfect Ken Davison looked like "Muhat mucoat" with a towel over his head to stop being fried. Caught SOMETHING all through the day which is nice, (Ken's "Fisher Price Super Drift Trace" didn't work) , boat went very well, I gave us 45mins to get from Singleton Hospital to the lock, & we did it is 30 mins , starting to come to terms with the lack of response in reverse (it doesn't like going backwards ) Cant wait for the whiting, codling, fat dabs to appear on the Green Grounds, then "Victor's Taxi" will come into its own, yeah!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 24, 2014 19:31:54 GMT 1
Wind looks favourable For a change, W/NW most of the week but swinging back to E/SE on Saturday & Sunday but it is forecast to be only 5/6mph with gusts of 10/12mph which should be ok as long as we don't try to be too adventurous. So far there are only 3 of us down for Sunday, but that doesn't worry me, I want to try a couple of spots, & as long as I have enough on board to grab the ropes in the locks it will be ok. With HW at 0915 it should be pretty calm on the ebb with a E/SE wind, & if it starts to get choppy on the flood, we will fish in the river for an hour until we get enough water to get the 4.30 lock in I am here for a long time as well as a good time Well didn't get any more anglers for Sunday at Club Night, in fact we couldn't have raised a football team, it seems too many members have too much money & are wasting it on foreign holidays So there are still places available for Sunday morning 8.30am for 9.00am lock out. I am not taking any notice of BBC on Saturday they cocked it up last week, so the decision will be made at 8.30am on Sunday morning (before I buy my bait) today was supposed to be blowy, but I went down by the observatory, & the bay was as flat as a witches t*t, & that is how I will judge it on Sunday morning, forecast is 5mph SE swinging to 5mph SW in the afternoon, so Belle goes! (ding ding)
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 21, 2014 11:03:17 GMT 1
Who can you trust? I called off todays trip on Belle because last nights forecast was 12-15mph Easterly wind, on top of the last week of easterlies, & because Oystercat reported the conditions not to be good yesterday. As it turns out there appears to be very little wind at all (so far) today, so it seems like a I made the wrong call, still as conditions usually change with the change of tide, lets see if at 1200 if my decision was the wrong one, if it was sorry guys better luck next time. The BBC are now boasting winds of 3/4/5 mph hr W/NW how is it that 12 hrs ago they were predicting easterly winds of 15mph+ which caused me to call todays trip off! What do you do? bring people from Ammanford & Llanelli down to the marina early morning & then tell them that its off? Or do you contact them the night before, & using the best "scientific weather predicting service" tell them its off, only for the BBC to get it TOTALLY WRONG making you look a absolute plonker! I am open to any suggestions during next week when the wind seems to be set from the west again, send in a request if you want to go out.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 18, 2014 17:33:54 GMT 1
The heat wrap arrived! I only ordered it yesterday, & it arrived this morning! Going out fishing on "The Pallet" tomorrow, so I will fit it on Saturday, ready for Sunday's trip, hopefully there will be no more "smoke signals" coming from under the deck. It's getting to the point where there will soon be nothing left to do, except dip the oil, check the water, & start it up & go fishing. Maybe its time to get another one to keep me occupied? It does want lifting out scraping off re-antifouling & the blade on the steering tube extending to give better helm response, maybe even a lick of paint? maybe a change of colour even? But that can wait until the lock gets serviced in the New Year!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 17, 2014 15:51:50 GMT 1
We wuz lucky! Richie & I removed the hatch cover & the ballast from the rear compartment, & sponged out the dirty water & deck rubbish that had washed into it & gave it a really good clean out so the dog could see the rabbit. I found what looked like a drain hole in the bottom of the compartment & when I pushed a welding rod through there it moved the crud that was blocking it, & we could see the wire poking into the main bilge. We enlarged the hole & poked away the foam to give a clear drain hole, & drilled another hole the other side of the prop shaft to make sure. We put the hose pipe into the compartment to check that it was now draining, & watched it drain totally into the main bilge (which cut in, & pumped it out again), another little success story. I took the old exhaust heat wrap off the exhaust pipe (well it mostly fell off) & it smelled like the back of the old coal merchants lorry? I tried to lay it out on the pontoon to measure the length but it fell to bits as it was straightened, but it was ~7yds so a 10m length has been ordered off E-Bay complete with stainless ties to secure it, for the grand total of £11.69 (please don't begrudge us that) hopefully that will be here Friday, & fitted Saturday, & in use on Sunday when we are due out. A short message to the "cabinet maker" who fitted the stern rail, I removed the two bits of "kindling" that were being used to hold the rail in place (it was only secured by 2 out of the 4 screws that had split the "wood" that was supposed to be holding it), & replaced them with 8 off 6mm stainless nuts & bolts. I actually saw somebody use that rail to secure us in the lock it was purely by accident that I saw that "carpentry", when I was working in the rear compartment, I happened to look up & saw it. I don't think I should look under any other "strongpoints" in case I find more of the same.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 16, 2014 11:23:23 GMT 1
I MUST sort this exhaust problem out now Now that Mumbles Belle has been given a reprieve, I must sort out this stinky/steamy/smokey exhaust problem somehow! Either I remove the pooling water from this part of the exhaust, or I remove the exhaust from the pooling water, but which will be the easiest (& cheapest). The water that falls onto the deck/seats/superstructure is supposed to run through drain holes into the bilge, where an automatic bilge pump removes it, when it reaches a level set by a float switch in the bilge. This works perfectly in 95% of the boat, but this small sealed compartment at the back of the boat, receives the water that drains into it from the deck near the stern, & because it is quite a small compartment it doesn't take much water to fill it. Normally this would not be a problem as a few strokes with a whale pump would empty it, unfortunately the last section of the exhaust pipe also runs through this compartment, & when it fills with water that section of the exhaust is submerged, & its wrapping gets wet & impregnated with whatever is in the water (oil, fuel, etc) & when the exhaust gets hot the wet wrapping steams as it dries & whatever else is on it dries as well, causing fumes, which worries me! Options! (a) Fit an automatic bilge pump into this small compartment (not practical as the pump would be off/on all the time when it rains, & quickly run down the batteries) (b) Re route the exhaust above the deck (not practical as it would be a real trip hazard) (c)Re route the exhaust up the outside of the wheelhouse & fit it with a heat shield (a second hand lorry exhaust would be suitable & already have a heat shield fitted) (d) Re ballast so that all deck water runs through the existing drain holes into the bilge & not into the rear compartment (not practical as that would cause the stern to rise & take us back to cavitation & loss of steering) (e) Drill holes through the wall of the compartment so that the water can drain into the bilge, & be pumped out with the rest of it by the automatic bilge pump. (IF the compartment is ABOVE the level of the water in the bilge, if not, then it isn't an option) There are so many problems that arise from carrying out a conversion like this, that almost as much time has to go into the planning, as goes into the actual manual conversion, & as usual money is not an option, "Just don't ask for any!"
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 14, 2014 18:45:22 GMT 1
The origins of the smelly smoke/steam I lifted the rear hatch on Belle today to try to establish where the smelly smoke/steam was coming from under the deck near the stern, & I found what I was looking for! During her "unloved" period, water had been draining from the deck, into the compartment just in front of the steering mechanism, which contains the rear section of the exhaust pipe, the exhaust is wrapped in some sort of heat resistant rope, which has become impregnated with dirty/oily/smelly water, which steams/smokes when the exhaust gets hot. I doubt very much that this will dry out if left on the exhaust & exposed to the elements, it is more likely that it will partially dry, then get wet again when it rains, so I propose to change it for new (pending the outcome of Monday's Management Meeting). It may be possible to remove it & wash it in a washing machine, (depending if the wife isn't about for a couple of hours), but at the moment it smells like a wet dog, & when it gets hot it smells like a wet dog on fire. The small bilge pump I have put in there will keep the water level down in future, stopping the covering from getting saturated again, but the smelly damage has already been done
Somebody on WSF just said "Have you considered taking the exhaust up the outside of the wheelhouse? That would solve all your problems"! Don't you just hate it when somebody else comes up with the perfect solution, he is absolutely right, no more pumping/sealing bilges to keep water levels down, exhaust up the outside of the wheelhouse with a heatshield around it, a "flapper" on top to stop rain getting in, or a bend to guide the exhaust gases backwards, job done! Attachments:
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 11, 2014 17:36:38 GMT 1
Testing, testing, 1,2, 1,2 Going down to Mumbles Belle this evening, to test & adjust the newly fitted LED floodlights, a bit worried they may be too bright, but if so some coloured cellophane, or some lens paint will take the edge off the brightness, I just hope I have wired them up properly? Back to the drawing board, the one for the front worked perfectly & lit up the bow like daylight, but the stern one never worked, so its down with the tester today to find out where the problem is, it cant be much, either a fuse, a dodgy toggle switch, or a bad connection, should be easy to remedy. "It should be easy to remedy!", it nearly drove me crazy trying to trace the fault! Battery to fuse "check", fuse to toggle switch "check" power through switch when switched on "check", power from switch to light "check", power through the light "check", power from light back to battery "nothing"! Where I had crimped the eye to connect to the battery, I had crimped too hard & although the cable was held really tightly (indicating a good connection) the wires inside had been sliced through, remade the joint & bingo floodlight in the stern too! I told you my "Sparking" ability left a lot to be desired, but its all shipshape now, bring on the dark winter evenings!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 10, 2014 14:50:33 GMT 1
Testing, testing, 1,2, 1,2 Going down to Mumbles Belle this evening, to test & adjust the newly fitted LED floodlights, a bit worried they may be too bright, but if so some coloured cellophane, or some lens paint will take the edge off the brightness, I just hope I have wired them up properly? Back to the drawing board, the one for the front worked perfectly & lit up the bow like daylight, but the stern one never worked, so its down with the tester today to find out where the problem is, it cant be much, either a fuse, a dodgy toggle switch, or a bad connection, should be easy to remedy.
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