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Post by pilgrim17 on Sept 5, 2014 19:19:19 GMT 1
Looking for Anglers For Sunday 7th Sept, currently only 2 of us down to go out on Mumbles Belle? Excellent forecast, HW at 1750, so a 9am lock seems more civilised than 8am on Sunday morning, & back in after HW 1750, names asap please. That had the response I wanted, we now have 4 to go on Sunday, wonderful thing this www. TRIP NOW FULL
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Post by pilgrim17 on Aug 27, 2014 13:16:48 GMT 1
Do we have a volunteer "Sparky"? I have picked up a couple of 12v x 10w LED floodlights to go on the front & back of the wheelhouse roof to illuminate both fishing spaces now that winter approaches. I have also fitted an led stern light (because there wasn't a stern light fitted?), & I would prefer it if an electrician would wire them up, especially the stern light, because it needs to be wired into the existing running lights circuit. The floodlights are not so critical because they will be run off a "stand alone" 74AHC battery so that it doesn't affect the boats wiring in any way. I could do those myself, & I will fit the lights & the trunking beforehand, & I have plenty of butt connectors & male & female bullet connectors, & I have a good ratchet crimper, & heat shrink tubing, its just that an electrician would do a neater job than me, so do we have a volunteer? The only thing I don't have is cable, so if somebody wants to point me in the direction of what cable would be needed, I can get that before we start. Well I got the bits & bobs I needed from Tom Whitehouse in the market, inline fuse holders & blade fuses, inline switches, butt connectors, crimping pliers, waterproof shrink tube the Full Monty. So tomorrow will see me doing my electrical thing, I will be as neat as I can, but finesse has never been my strong suit, but the important part is, that electricity goes in one end, & light comes out of the other, agreed? I surpassed myself, even if I do say it myself, maybe not as pretty at the battery end, where the toggle switches leave something to be desired, but I will make a switch panel to mount those to pretty it up, but at least I have power from a battery through 2 inline fuses, through switches to both LED floodlights fore & aft. However I am pleased with the trunking it fits in beautifully with the wheelhouse. In fact I would go as far as to say, that with the exception of a few more 56lb weights in the stern, Mumbles Belle is fit for service
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Post by pilgrim17 on Aug 24, 2014 12:13:35 GMT 1
Starting to get Very disenchanted by the lack of enthusiasm to get this boat working, I either get no response from club members to go out in it, or I get negative responses to my efforts to improve the boat, & to encourage more people to use it. Having ploughed a lot of my time (& money) into improving it, I am seriously considering removing all I have done to it, & leaving it for the hawks who want to either sell it for what the engine is worth, or part exchange it for something faster! After many years of "small, fast, boating" I can assure you that the limitations that go with it, in terms of weather restrictions, running costs, comfort, & space, means that whoever gets "Mumbles Belle" will get a far more versatile craft than whatever "hot hatch" MMBFC replace it with! Rant over!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Aug 18, 2014 17:42:17 GMT 1
Going to try this I noticed when I had finished the "conservatory" that the canvas was "breathing" when the wind blew, but I can rectify the increase in air pressure, by cutting a "vent window" in each one, with a flap on the outside, so that the flaps will lift to allow any build up of air to escape. I have decided to turn the boat, so that it sits on the berth with its bow into the prevailing wind direction, this will present the full starboard side of the boat to the pontoon to make boarding easier, plus it will throw rainwater from the wheelhouse roof into the marina, rather than onto the seat on the port side, & onto the pontoon, where last winter it was turned into a sheet of ice! If you didn't slip on the pontoon, the frozen water on the seat made sure you did, the duckboards have eliminated slipping on the deck, I now have to eliminate it from the seat & the pontoon, before somebody breaks their leg (or neck). Turning the boat so that it is bow out, will have the desired effect, but it all depends on how difficult it will be to bring Mumbles Belle in stern first! Not being renowned for its manouverability, it will take a bit of practice, & probably some shifting of ballast, to perfect this. If it proves too difficult then I will have to go to "Plan B", but first I have to think what "Plan B" is? Watch this space for updates, poor old Richie will be dragged in as ballast again, & I may need a few sandbags to get full prop bite & steering. Well we turned her Belle is now sat on her berth, bow into the prevailing westerly winds, & access to board is so much better. I took some sandbags, & my fat self, & sat on the stern so that the canoe stern was in the water, & Richie took her off the berth turned & reversed her back in, & it was simple for me to step off onto the pontoon & pull her back to where we wanted her to be. I also fitted proper springs fore & aft to stop her being pushed into the pontoon. Now all I need to do is fit 2mts of square section guttering, a couple of brackets, & a cap end, to throw all the rainwater off the wheelhouse roof into the marina, instead of onto the seat & the pontoon to become an ice rink. It has been a long steep learning curve on this boat, & it still isn't "quite there" with the ballast, but a new member was telling me down the club, that he has some 56lb weights in his garage, if we can get another 6 of those into the stern, I think it will be very close to where it needs to be, at last!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Aug 15, 2014 17:40:00 GMT 1
It's a bit bright! I have finished the sidescreen on the starboard side, & its a "bit bright" to say the least, but it will soon fade to be the same colour as the hull (I hope) I bought the roll of rubber backed material from E-Bay for some stupid knock down price, & I selected "Hot Orange" as the colour I wanted, to make a cockpit cover & an engine cover for my outboard, which would deter people from running into the back of me (which happened & ruined my prop) but that's another story. Anyway I am reasonably pleased with the finished article except for the folding over of the corners, which I found almost impossible, & is one of the reasons I never try to wrap Xmas presents! Anyway it will offer a degree of protection from the elements, & when the port side is done that should provide even more. I have suffered many years of winter small boat fishing, & when it rains, or the freezing wind blows, your only protection is to hunker down into your floatation suit & wish it would go away, hopefully these screens will provide some protection for some anglers, especially those without floatation suits & suchlike! Its still a pity about the colour, it looks a bit like a pikey's caravan at the moment I did tell you it was bright! Well the "Mumbles Belle conservatory" is finished, I really need to put some plywood on top of the engine cover to reinforce it against all you fatty's who are going to run under there when it rains!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Aug 9, 2014 20:08:11 GMT 1
With the weather taking a turn for the worse, its time to think about some creature comforts, ready for the winter. The hot drinks & bacon/sausage sandwich problem has been solved (which means the wheelhouse will be nice & warm ) So its time I turned my carpentry skills to creating some sidescreens for the rear of the wheelhouse, we have a roof, all we need now are a couple of temporary sidescreens to provide some sort of shelter should it get too rainy, & provide some shelter from the cold wind. So watch this space & see how I progress with the "Hotel Mumbles Belle" I need about 16mts of 10mm x 30mm "doorstop" to make the frames for these sidescreens, anybody know where I can pick it up? I have the canvas, & I have the stainless screws & washers etc to secure it, but if I can find any doorstop cheap it will assist the OAP a bit. 10/12mm x 30mm either side of the canvas will give it some strength (somebody is bound to grab hold of it) Forget the request for doorstop I have decided to go for 18mm x 44mm because as sure as eggs is eggs, somebody will grab hold of it as if its a handrail, & I don't fancy jumping into Swansea Bay in December to pull somebody out! Weather forecasts make me scream! xc weather gives a forecast of 6/7/10mph W/NW winds for Monday 18th Aug, yet the BBC give it as 16/18mph SW for the same day? Who do you believe? Surely in these days of satellites, drones, computers, they could get somewhere a bit closer than a 10mph difference? Anybody interested in a trip on Mumbles Belle on Monday 18th get your name down, & watch the forecast as the week progresses.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Aug 8, 2014 16:29:20 GMT 1
Weather looking poor Well for Mumbles Belle it is, winds are "marginal" for the next week, but with them coming from mainly a W/NW direction it might be possible to get a trip on at least one of the days. This is where I see the "flexible trip" coming into its own, if the wind is SW on the proposed day but is forecast NW the following day, we just merely postpone for 24 hrs, & take advantage of the cover the NW gives. So study the weather forecast & if you want to go contact me on 07814528082 or 01792 527518 & lets start filling out John Elvins new log books? By the way I did go down Knab Rock on Wednesday to drown those worms I was going to use on Tuesday, (they didn't take much drowning) despite being kept in a cooler bag, with ice packs underneath the newspaper, they were still very dead by Wednesday morning?? I "painted" them onto the hooks, & held then on with manky razorfish from the freezer, which I tied on with elasticated cotton. Anyway it managed to attract 2 palm sized flounders, & a tiny gurnard, (which is more than I usually catch on Belle) so the day was not totally wasted!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Aug 5, 2014 17:14:25 GMT 1
Not what we wanted
We met at the boat at the normal time with conditions extremely poor, & decided to make a cup of coffee & have a natter, & catch the 9am lock to see if things improved. Well it did stop raining, & the sky brightened, & with the forecast predicted to improve as the day went on, our "Chinese Parliament" decided that we would lock out & see what the sea conditions were like. This we duly did & from the time we cleared the piers, the SE wind over the flooding tide made it less than pleasant, I headed down towards Singleton hoping to find it calmer so we could have a drift back, it became obvious that there was going to be no respite, & there was really nowhere to hide (except in the river) until the "predicted improvement" arrived. Working on the assumption that by the time conditions improved enough for us to fish, the chances are the anglers would have deteriorated to a position where they couldn't, I took the decision to reverse course & head back in to the marina. With the bow into the SE it was a more pleasant run back than it was down, & once I got to the Inner Fairway Buoy a sprint for the river saw us back in calm water. As predicted the weather has improved, & the SE wind dropped right down & swung from SE to SW (again as forecast) but we would have been uncomfortable to say the least if we had stuck it out, best to be tied up at the berth. All I have to do now is take my ragworms down to Knab Rock tomorrow, & drown them!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jul 29, 2014 21:03:01 GMT 1
We have discovered! The dogfish capitol of the world! That dubious honour goes to the entrance to the Neath River, & within a couple of miles of it the only time we weren't plagued with them was when we were trolling! We drifted & anchored, & drifted & anchored & regardless of whether we were stationary or moving, they threw themselves at any bait offered! "Stan the Man" managed to break the monotony with a dab, & a bass, along with 100 dogs, the rest of us just got dogged to death, still we now know yet another spot to avoid. I certainly do like the look of Aberafan beach, I reckon drifting close in could produce some good fish, maybe next time. I think there is also potential in fishing close in to the Long Arm, casting close to it should produce masses of growlers . I remember catching sole shore fishing from one spot on there, it would be well worth the trip to catch a couple of those, & if not there are always lots of growlers around the Neath River entrance on the way past! Tuesday 5th Aug looks the best forecast low wind speeds from the west, & HW @1320 means we can lock out leisurely & head across towards Port Talbot with the flooding tide behind us. Provided there are no pots or nets set along the Long Arm we can anchor in quite close, & those who want to, can cast in even closer. This will be a "one shot" trip, once we get there we will stick with it until its time to head back on the ebb. It gets even better! The Origo Spirit Stove has arrived, this beauty is so safe, it is not even covered in boat coding, so its hot drinks, & bacon or sausage rolls with your dogfish, what more could you want? Apparently it takes a long time for it to boil a kettle of water, I bet its quicker than the one that was on there before!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jul 27, 2014 14:58:23 GMT 1
We have a full boat
For Tuesday 29th, the "Cunning Plan" is to troll across to the outfall buoys with shallow & deep divers to see what we can frighten, then anchor down near the outfall to see if anything is attracted to it (apparently it is safe to drink the discharge, but we wont bother!) Depending on the concensus we might have a few drifts near the outfall buoys to see if anything is attracted by it. At near to low water we will make our way to the Neath River entrance & fish the first couple of hours of the flood to see if anything is at home, you would think that flatfish & bass will be attracted to an estuary like that. I would like to drift off Aberafan beach too, reasonable catches are being made off the beach so it may well be worth drifting a new area, but I don't think we will have time on this trip, maybe next time.
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jul 26, 2014 10:57:29 GMT 1
Neath River Entrance
I fancy fishing the first couple of hours of the flood at the entrance to the Neath River, live eels would be ideal, trotted back on a light lead, but we would need an air pump to keep them alive in the bucket, anybody got one? I fancy a troll across from the Inner Marker Bouy with shallow divers (or poppers if you feel brave). If nothing happens off the river, we can always have a few drifts over different ground, because the commodore has caught all the plaice off Swansea beach If anybody is up for it, we can also try off the stream on Morfa Beach, its about the limit of our range (10.5km) & it could be a waste of time, but if we don't try we don't know, again we would want to fish from bottom water up. If anybody has any suggestions then contact me & I can look at the electronic charts, the tide tables, & the weather forecast, & if its "doable" let's do it!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jul 22, 2014 20:21:36 GMT 1
We got out at last! My "maiden" trip as skipper on Mumbles Belle, with some "heavy" observers to see how I managed (including the "Skipper of the year", & the Vice Commodore) straight through the marina lock, a delay in the basin for the Tawe Lock to open, then a fairly trouble free tie up in the lock, with a minimal bump as we came alongside, then out into the river & away into the bay & headed for Mumbles on an oily flat sea. We decided to start at Langland reef, hopefully for a bream or two well I dropped one first drop down, then we proceeded to catch the usual "trout", baby huss, smuts, a large edible crab, but no bream . We stayed until about 2 hrs into the flood, then set a drift up across the Mixon, hoping to catch a turbot or a plaice, but all we had were small gurnard (tubs & greys), tried for mackerel outside the Mixon Bouy in the deep water but nothing doing, motored up to the SWIGG & drifted but again no mackerel so we resigned ourselves to coming inshore, & drift up from Oystermouth towards the West Pier. Richie had an undersized plaice & a growler, Ray had another gurnard, Stan & I were "also ran's". the Commodore came past & took great delight in telling us that they had done the same drift before us, & had picked up 4 keeper plaice . We carried on the drift until it was time to head back to catch the 4.30 lock-in, quite uneventful apart from a very large Rodman, that came howling down the river & gave us a curler on the bow, that sent Ray & Stan running for cover Locked in uneventfully with no bumps, & made my "gaff of the day" by asking the marina for permission to lock through & I called them "Tawe Lock" in my best voice procedure, only to get a vinegar reply that they were Swansea Marina! ! Now comes the big test getting her back onto the berth without sinking those either side, or ramming the pontoon, so I come around wide keeping the revs up to keep control, turned the nose in towards the berth, & put her astern with left hand down, followed by a short burst ahead to come straight in & stop her perfectly alongside the berth. I caught no fish worth talking about, but I passed my "test" with flying colours, so next time I can concentrate on the fishing, instead of worrying about my "L" plates. Tomorrow I hope my golf is better than my fishing!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jul 16, 2014 10:49:24 GMT 1
Saturday is looking good In terms of wind speed & direction (1 - 6mph) but the tides are not great HW @ 12.21 & 0100 but we could get out at 0800 & come back in at 1530. Probably get mackerel from around the SWIGG, then maybe spend an couple of hours at anchor off Bobs Cave up to HW to see if we can pick up a few plaice if there are any about. Then we can come into the bay & have a drift from off the hospital back towards Mumbles, then head for home about 1430 to get us in for the 1530 lock in. Not exactly "Deadly Tuna" I know, but it could be a tidy little trip. But you wont know, if you don't go
It's now midday Friday, & no takers as yet for tomorrows proposed trip? Ok so there is rain forecast but you all have waterproof skin Maybe Richie & I will do our "shakedown" trip, we have tried often enough, maybe tomorrow we will do it? Maybe we wont, Richie has been saddled with domestic chores , so we cant even get out to shakedown! I will probably go down & finish filling the anchor locker with sandbags to trim the boat, & run the engine to make sure the batteries stay topped up. If anybody wants to go out on Wednesday 23rd July tough, because I am playing golf (very badly no doubt) with some ex army friends, & there will probably be some beer drunk after, so if you want to go on Thursday be prepared for a "snakey wake"
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jul 14, 2014 13:35:36 GMT 1
Ballast problem close to being solved I have put all the "borrowed" weights in the stern of the Belle, which has taken the stern down to almost the "canoe stern" feature of the hull. & I have cut down a plastic 45gall drum to use as anchor warp storage, which means that the current anchor locker can be used to hold ballast. I have purchased polypropylene sandbags, which hold about 55lb of damp sand & I hope to fit about 8 of these into the anchor locker, which should take the bow down to make the boat level, so that the automatic bilge pump functions as it should. This should also make the idea of "walking ballast" less of a chore than it currently is, & hopefully we can be less regimented when we are on the move, than we are at present. I intend to do a "shakedown" trip with Richie later on in the week, to see exactly how she handles, but from the look of it she is sat down enough to get a good prop bite, & reasonable tiller control. If so, we will be in the same position as Oystercat where you walk on, start up, & go without having to shepherd anglers around. Watch this space for results of the "shakedown" trip!
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Post by pilgrim17 on Jul 12, 2014 18:33:16 GMT 1
Once Again My request for anglers fell on stoney ground, & this set of suitable tides passes without event, the next set of suitable tides (that will assist us going out on the ebb, & coming back on the flood) are not until 25 -31 July. In the meantime there are plenty of days when we can fish, its just that our range will be limited. My number is on the booking form, & all you have to do is put your name down if you want to go.
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