We finally did it....new boat on Saturday! Pics Added

[sprocker]

Well she's now home!! What a perfect way to spend a Saturday.

The weather was superb for our initial trip from Plymouth to Torquay. Reasonably heavy seas on leaving Plymouth (Coastguard said Force 5) but she handled everything really well and was a real confidence builder.

I limited the first half of the trip to around 12/13 knots, as didn't want to unnerve Mrs Sprocker with any slamming.

Once we got around Start Point the seas flattened out (Always amazes me how much it can change in 200 yards) I opened her up a little and we crossed Start Bay at her theoretical best cruising speed of 18/19knots, with a spurt of WOT to see what she can do getting up to 30 knots (Lowrance GPS measured).

The seas picked up again passing Salcombe and Dartmouth, so again I slowed it down a bit and enjoyed the stunning coastline.

Called into Brixham outer harbour for a little 'close quarter maneuvers' practice, just to get used to her slow handling, before crossing the bay and into Torquay Marina.

As expected she is more wind affected than our flat Bayliner, and my first attempt at docking on the new pontoon had to be aborted as the wind blew me off the pontoon. After a slight adjustment of angle of attack, the second attempt was good and we were home safe.

Pics to follow!

[sprocker]

Leaving Plymouth, it looks OK at the moment, but 10 minutes later we were into 'exciting' seas.


Nervous Skipper


Rounding Start Point, as the seas started to calm down.


The obligatory wake shot across Start bay


The Dart Estuary


Brixham Harbour


Safely Home in Torquay 3 hours later

[Ianfs]

How's the new boat? You Still like a dog with two tails?

[sprocker]

Absolutely Ian! SWMBO says I need to stop cleaning her though.....

We've been limited to getting out by the flippin wind though, (not wanting to upset SWMBO in seas that are a little 'tasty').

We managed a quick fish 'n chip trip across to Brixham a couple of fridays ago, then a decent few hours out last Saturday morning.

Hoping the weather holds up for this weekend for a trip around to Dartmouth and up the Dart.

[ColinR]

Lovely write up and a brave trip for the first one out

You look very comfortable at the helm there. How do you find the handling compared with the smaller boat?

This weekend is looking good so hopefully you can get out and have a play in more relaxed seas

[sprocker]

When compared to our other boat (Bayliner 192) the MF is far better in rougher seas, seems to cut through the waves more than bouncing over them as the Bayliner did. Neither SWMBO or myself had any problems with the force 5 on our return home from Plymouth.

With the 115HP Suzuki she is not as fast as our Bayliner, but then again we're not into speed, preferring a comfortable ride these days, but gets onto the plane very easily, and cruises nicely at around 4000RPM for 18/19 knots.

She does catch the wind much more than the Bayliner, as you would expect with the taller sides etc, which does make docking 'interesting' in a side wind.

Unfortunately our side of the pontoon means that the prevailing winds around here are mostly blowing us off the pontoon from the starboard quarter when we are docking, which means more stress until I get used to her close quarter handling. I can no longer blip the throttle and let the wind carry me onto the pontoon, I actually have to drive her onto it, so double the amount of fenders deployed at the moment!

I really do prefer the handling of the outboard than our old Bayliner outdrive, much more responsive in terms of steering capability.

[Ianfs]

So you went and got her in an F5.

Reasonably heavy seas on leaving Plymouth (Coastguard said Force 5) but she handled everything really well and was a real confidence builder.

But you are unsure how The Minister of Home Affairs would react to recent breezes, or am I not seeing the whole picture here and has it been a tad nifty where you are? ......

We've been limited to getting out by the flippin wind though, (not wanting to upset SWMBO in seas that are a little 'tasty').

Y'know, what I like about those MF's is two fold, one the hull construction and two the protection, it's almost like being in an allweather lifeboat and you have a good fishing area to sit in!

[mark101]

Hoping the weather holds up for this weekend for a trip around to Dartmouth and up the Dart.

not jealous at all Sprocker. Did Salcombe to Dartmouth a couple of weeks ago (the Monday after you fetched the MF(I really hope MF stands for Merry Fisher ).

Hope you manage it and lovely boat.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[sprocker]

So you went and got her in an F5.

No, if a force 5 had been forecast we would have left her in Plymouth until the following weekend.

We sat down with the broker in Plymouth and checked & discussed the weather before we set off. Forecast was force 3, rising 4 in the afternoon. We would be home before the weather picked up so made vthe decision to meet off.

45 mins outside Plymouth the coastguard VHF weather forecast stated 4 rising 5, but I knew with the wind direction we were heading towards more sheltered waters, so made the decision to push on. I have to say the boat handled everything very well indeed, with not even the slightest concerns.