mbird

I heard a whisper the other day that someone in the far east has started manufacture of the 150BMC again (probably the Chinese at a guess), and they are available in UK for about £3.5k. Dunno how correct that is, but for someone thinking along the same lines it could be a viable option.

Hi Luke Yes, they can still do that except at weekends and bank holidays. I would have thought, though, that the power needed to get up on the plane on a flat river is a bit different to what would be needed at sea with anything more than flat calm isn't it?

Hi Simon According to info posted on YBW, the P33 MkI was a SD hull, but the MkII was deep-vee planing hull with a shallow keel. This concurs with all the info I have read elsewhere, but I'd have thought it would struggle to maintain the plane with 130's, which is my concern. If it can't keep up, you'd end up with a planing hull stuck in displacement mode, which can't be good! This is the info one member posted for me, which was taken from an article in MBM covering 25 years of boats. Sorry for the drift of fred peeps

SWMBO took quite a fancy to the P33 MkII Flybridge on Sunday . I'm still not sure how well it would go on the twin 130hp diesels, but something posted on the YBW forum reckoned that should be good for 17-18 kts, which sounds quite good to me. I guess it would be planing at that speed, but then what the hell do I know !

One day maybe

We had a great evening, and it was fantastic to meet new friends and old. My thanks to Ian and Jonathon for allowing us to poke around on their boats, as that's another two models we have looked at to help us decide what we want. There are just so many choices; hull design, outdrive or shaft, petrol or diesel ..... If we haven't made our minds up by Easter, then the offered seats for the Scroby trip will definatley be taken up. Many thanks to all concerned for making it such an enjoyable evening, and the food at the Ship was pretty good too, helped down with a pint or three of Golden Jackal Our kids went off after a while and joined in the pool competition they all seemed to have sorted out, so it was great to see them interacting with other youngsters. We hope to see you all again soon . Mark, Sharon, Jack (lanky one) and Harry (Shorty)

Hi Bob Darren always has a stack in the yard so I borrow them. I can find out where they come from if you like!

Our bilge under the engine is dammed off from the rest of the bilge, and raised above it, such that no oil etc can escape into the main bilge. After a clean-up, I tend to put oil absorbing pads in there, just to soak up any errant drippings. Makes the whole thing a lot cleaner at oil & fuel filter changes, as after the filters have been changed, you can just dispose of the dirty pads and put new ones in.

There's some skillful joinery going on there Clive!

See you Saturday Col Do you want me to bring that reflector and soft box for your to play with?

Thanks Barry, but I think all 4 of us will go, so we'll make out own way. Very generous offer though, thank you

Thanks for the explaination David. I have a lot to learn about salty stuff!

Not a silly question at all Wayne, I was wondering the same.... can you enlighten us please, David?

Great shots Simon. Those finches are beautiful!

I got caught out last year when we had that really cold snap before Christmas. I hadn't winterised as we intended to use the boat over Christmas, and the cold weather normally comes around January. I hadn't drained down the water tanks (though I had added anti-freeze to the raw water side of the engine), and everything froze solid Luckily, when a thaw occurred we had got away with it, partially I think due to the Hep2o pipework I had used, as this can expand by 7% due to freezing and reduce the chance of damage. It was still a bit worrying though, and I'll make sure I drain down in plenty of time this year and then use bottled water when we are on board for New Years Eve (assuming she hasn't sold by then of course).

TALENT

Hi Baz No problem. It really is pretty strightforward when you've done it once, and certianly not worth paying anyone else to do IMHO. The offer still stands if you decide you need help. A PM the day before you come up would be enough notice as I am always around.

That's somehting I forgot to mention. Last year I did my oil and filter change before the winter, for that exact reason, but did my fuel filter changes at the beginning of this year.

Hi Ian What sort of time will you guys be at the Ship? I might well be able to come along and pick your brains on salty matters (as I soon hope to be of a slightly brackish bottomed persuasion )

Hi Baz My winterising regime is basically as described in all the above posts. In addition to this, I also disconnect the hose from the drinking water tank at the water pump and allow this to drain. Before doing this I normally introduce some sterilising powder to the tank just to get rid of any bugs. As the pump is lower than the tank on my boat, I am then sure the tank is empty and there is no water left in the pump to freeze. When pouring the antifreeze into the weed filter with the engine running, ensure you can kill the engine quickly. The antifreeze will disappear very quickly into the weed filter, and by the time you get to to the kill knob, the impeller could well be running dry and be damaged. This is probably more appropriate for a mid engined boat like mine, where the weed filters are behind the cabin door and it takes me a while to get to the kill knob! I would also usually leave one battery on board to run the auto bilge pump, and as I am fortunate to be just down the road from my boat, swap this with a fully charged one every few weeks. If you need a hand, drop me a PM as I am only a short drive from your boat. David, do you ever consider removing the impeller so it isn't stuck in one position all winter? I never have but have read that some do....

Hi Col I have a reflector you could borrow, as well as a mini lightbox and stand for a remote flash. It is quite fun experimenting with different light sources in a controlled environment, and is largely the key to successful portrait photography. Coloured filters over flashguns can also make a huge difference to the mood, and a pack of free samples can be requested from the Lee Filters website (I think its in the Gel section).

Thanks Barry, that's very interesting!

Hi Col, good shots! I agree with Trevor on the first few shots, in that the aperture needs to be set just right to ensure there is enough DoF to get the whole of the subject in focus, unless of course, it was your intention to only have part of it so. I suspect that a large aperture has been used simply due to the low lighting conditons. When taking pics under such controlled condition, exposure time isn't really a consideration. Personally, I would set up on a tripod, use live-view and adjust the exposure using the histogram to ensure a correct setting. You will need to set the apreture first to get the desired DoF, and then adjust the shutter speed to reach the correct exposure. I would probably be worth exposing just slightly on the light side so you can always drop the exposure back in LR or PSP, but will ensure you don't lose detail in the shadows. Once all that is set, use either a remote trigger, or self-timer to take the shot. There will be no need to use mittor lock-up if you are in live view, as it is already out of the way and therefore won't induce any vibrations. The other thing you can try is moving the background further away from the subject if it is visible, which will effectively make the background less noticable. You could try using a hand held torch, maybe with a peice of tissue paper over it to soften the light, to provide a little key lighting? Certainly the crystal would benefit from some sparkly highlights. These are all just my suggestions for experimentation, Col, but it's great to see you having a fiddle with the new toy! Keep it up, and let's see the next batch

I bet you're nice and clean now though! There isn;t any packing material or plastic wrapping that needs removing before use is there? (Sorry to state the obvious)

There's always one, Jimbo!