Drain Plugs (Warrior 165)

[LOVE BITES]

Hi All,

Hoping to do the first launch of our new boat tomorrow night, but want to make sure all is in order.

Regarding the drain plugs (excuse my ignorance, I'm a boating beginner), I am assuming the lower transom drain pug (just fwd of O/B gearbox) is normally in & closed for normal operation, and opened when the boat is removed from the water?

My main question is about the drain plug in the bilge area; is it normally left opened or closed ? (is there a reason why it would be left closed?

Info on user friendly Dublin bay slips would also be greatly appreciated!

Wish me luck

[Jay Doyle]

Hi there,

I'm no veteran (only started last year) but still learning and loving it. The easiest slips to launch from are ones that aren't reliant on tides so the likes of Dun Laoghaire, Howth and Poolbeg. Dun Laoghaire is great but at weekends the slip is normally full of divers and all of their gear and laser dinghy trailers. The only thing with DL is the parking, it can be pricey if you are out all day. Poolbeg is nice too but you will need to ask in the Clubhouse if they will allow you launch from there. They let us do it last year a few times without problems.

I have found that there is a great community spirit amongst boat anglers and there are lads only delighted to chat with you about any problems you might have. Chances are at some stage they have suffered and solved some of the problems you will come up against. Lastly, the SAI website is an endless source of information and you should get answers to any questions you have - trust me I have asked some stupid ones in the past year! The lads are just great and very patient.

Best of luck with the launch.

Jay.

[LOVE BITES]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the info on the slips, I think I'll try Howth.
I agree with you totally about help other anglers are willing to offer, I have already got some very useful info from SAI.

Thanks, Ken.

[SeanP]

Hi Ken,
Yes you are right, the outer plug is closed when in use, put that on your checklist before leaving home, it's easy forgot on the slip! the inner plug is also left closed for normal use, I am fairly sure it's just there in case you have water leak into the floorspace then you can drain it out, may be worth checking to be sure, just raise the jockey wheel right up to get some slope an make sure nothing comes out, the bung in anchor locker has been known to leak (if you have a locker fitted, some don't)
Good luck, hope all goes well.
Sean

[MAC]

Give Howth a bash, should be some fishing fairly close by. The Slip is excellent. Just get there before 11am and you will avoid the jet ski gang and parking will be fine. They can't reverse and they always get ready on the slip........ Someone should write a mini booklit or something.........


Anyway, let us know when you are thinking of launching and I'm sure there is a chance that someone will be about at the same time.

Kevin

[LOVE BITES]

Thanks lads,
My plan is to go to Howth straight after work today, should get there for about 5.30 .
Is the slip your talking about right beside the Yaucht Club (just past it on the right)?

[Jay Doyle]

Drain plugs,

How did the launch go? Any fish on the trip?

Jay.

[LOVE BITES]

Hi Jay,

I eventaully got on the road last tuesday afternoon, you know the usual (have I got everything, keys, locks, life jackets, rods, BOAT! etc....), When I got to the slip at around 6.00pm there was nobody waiting for the slip, so that was good.
I must admit, the launch (my first) was a bit of a fiasco. Got the boat in the water o.k., but found it hard to keep the boat away from the submerged steps at the slip. The main reason for this, was that I made the fatal mistake of NO WELLIES (waders) . The easterly wind did not make it easy for me. Anyway, we managed to all get on and headed out of the harbour, as soon as I got past the mouth of the harbour, I turned right (into the wind) and it was quite choppy to say the least. I was very impressed the way the boat handled these waves, but after a while we decided to turn back and take shelter behind Irelands Eye. We only did a little bit of fishing (no joy, only using hokeyes), as the main reason for the trip was to test the boat and the new engine. By the time we were heading back in, the wind had calmed down a bit, so I gave the engine a some welly on the way in (4500 rpm only as its not run-in yet) . i have to say I was very impressed with the speed of the boat, even at this rpm. Got back to the slip and off came the footwear and socks!, eventally got the boat lined up straight on the trailer (a dislogded centre guide roller pin didn't help and I ended up gettin a couple of scratches on the hull).

I'm sure we must have looked like a shower of muppets, but I suppose you have to make mistakes in order to learn!

[Jay Doyle]

Delighted to hear that the launch went well. It is best to try it when you have an empty slip. You are right, you have to do these things a couple of times to get them right, try to get help from someone experienced if you can,it makes the difference and you will pick up tips that could save your a fortune! Write out a check list for going out and coming in and leave it in the boat. Get yourself a pair of waders or else a pair of waterproof sandles and bite the bullet. When you are launching or retrieving, someone nearly always has to get wet. What boat and engine have you got?

[LOVE BITES]

After taking on board some of the comments from a post I put up on SAI, I went for a 2003 MK2 Warrior 165, which came with a brand new Mercury 60HP EFI Four stroke. I got a very good deal bringing it in from from Wales, but the only thing is, it didn't come with a Fishfinder or GPS Plotter, (last owner had expensive gear and moved it to his upgraded boat), DSC VHF was included, but I'm hoping to pick F/F and GPS up soon (buying through the US).

[MAC]

Hey bites,

I can highly reccommend the Standard Horizon plotters. I went for the 7 inch CP300, but the 5 Inch CP180 also looks the business. MAke sure you go for the external Ariel version. Don't bother though, unless you buy the C-MAP software as well. The difference is unreal.


I will try do a full review of the unit this evening.

Kev

[LOVE BITES]

MAC, did you get your plotter through the states or somewhere over here, and how much?
Was the the C-Map ex[pensive? , I'm hoping to get a F/F/ and GPS that talk to each other (Locking mark locations etc.) and I believe most units of the same manufacturer have this functionality. I'm half lookiong at the Garnin 400C & GPSMAP 5xx, but i'm banking on being able to buy suitable east coast map (Blue chart?) and loading it on Plotter that has been loaded with U.S base maps I'm sure someone else must have tried this already.
All input welcome

[MAC]

I did indeed.

The Standard Horizon plotters come with a fish finder unit as well. I can't vouch for the FF performance though as I have never seen this unit in action. The problem with a combined GPS and FF is you will have to operate in split screen mode if you want to look at both. For this reason I went for seperate units. I went for the Raymarine DS500X and it is a cracker of the FF. I have mentioned it here before, but the 400X uses the same technology and is a discontinued model, so is avilable at a bargin online. It has a 3.4 inch screen and the 500X has a 5 inch.

I got all my hardware from the US and I got the CMAP card from the UK. I purchased the W24 card which had detailed information for the whole of Ireland.

Most of the plotters out there come with a 2 Nautical Mile (2nm) Worldwide base map. IMO, if you are going to use the plotter to mark wrecks and use the charts to find certain features, then you are better off getting the mapping software. The difference is HUGE.... Without the mappping, be it Garmin, CMAP or Navonics you are just as well off with a basic handheld unit.

I will dig out the info of the people in the US and UK that I used.

Kev