Well, the boat has taken a little longer than expected to get sorted out at the engineers due to waiting for parts to be delivered, But they have all arrived now & the engine is being put back together.
I was lying there this morning at that stage where your not quite asleep but your not quite awake, There I was dreaming away when the phone brought me to reality, debs passed the phone over & there was this familiar voice on the other end, after a couple of seconds I realised who it was I was talking to, "Hello Tony, how you doin m8." it was the engineer about the boat.
As soon as he asked if I was sitting or lying down I had this uneasy feeling that all was not well & I probably wasn`t going to like what he was going to say.
Sometimes you can be so painfully right in your first impressions, Tony had phoned to tell me that he had assesed the wiring work needed on the boat and that it was going to cost me a whopping £1500 + vat.
after a short conversation with him, I got up, cleaned up, had a cuppa & got ready to leave & head down to the boat yard at Portland.
When I arrived Tony took me through all the work needed and showed me the problems that the boat had. So now a few quid lighter I have to wait for another 4-5 days before the boat will be ready to use.
At least I know when the job is done I will have a boat that will be safe & reliable, & console myself with knowing that really its a small price to pay for ones safety.

DSC VHF Course

Well, after all the swatting and panicking for the last few weeks, it was the big day. Up at 7.30, showered, shaved & everything else! I had my cuppa and some toast & was out of the door by 08.15 , in the car & heading down to Portland.
Today was the day I was taking a short course & exam for my VHF users licence, All the way there I kept running through the things I had read that I remembered, & trying to recall other things from the books & DVDs that I hadn`t.
I got to Bluewater Horizons at 08,55 & met Chris, the other student, a lady on the course & ian the instructor. After introductions were over we all went inside, the two of us students were seated in a small room with the instructor & two VHF sets that were linked together.
After the first 20mins all the panicking & uneasiness just melted away as we both settled into the course. We were put at ease by the instructor & he went through everything that was on the syllabus, letting us know when he was talking about something that would be an important part of the test.
We practiced on the setup VHF sets & had a good laugh along the way as our instructor played the part of a coast guard & added a few twists & turns to our radio calls, along with a few cheeky laughs.
Later in the afternoon we revised what we had covered through the day & then came the exam!
This was the part all the worrying was about, It was a doddle! we both finished the paper in less than 20mins, The answers were all fresh in our heads as was the practice through the day.
There was no surprises & no need to worry.
I passed with 100% & distinction, My licence was applied for, When I got home I went onto the net & found the Ofcom site, registered my boat & radio equipment & received my ships licence, call sign & MMSI number.
All in all it was a really good day & so easy, If I can do it anyone can, So if you have a boat & havn`t done the course or fitted a VHF, Get off your bum & do it! you`l enjoy it & your VHF is the number 1 piece of safety equipment on your boat, with it you are never far from help, without it you could be in very serious trouble.
Don`t take a chance, Take a course!

The Boat.

This is the boat, its a Callmark fisheagal 20, It was built (i believe) in 1998 and was comercial grade. It had a Mercruiser 3.0ltr engine matched with an Alpha 1 leg. The boat was bought in July this year and was in a very sorry state, Original cost of the boat was £7000 but as everything electrical (incl wiring.), safety gear, onboard had to be replace & it cost us nearly £1000 to have the engine sorted out, it has now cost us in the region of £12000.

This may seem a bit excessive but when one takes into account the cost of a new 16 footer & then adds the cost of engine package and complete kitting out, This 20 footer was a bargain.

She is called Moonshine & now has an upto date elecronics package including Lowrance HDS-8m chart plotter, Lowrance DSC-VHF, New antenna, Eagal 3D sideband fishfinder, Handheld VHF,

She has been kitted out with new life jackets, coastal flare pack, Chart portfolio, Navigation tools, first aid kit, Anchor & spare, warps & chain, Mooring ropes & fenders.

She now has new rocket launcher & rail mounted rod holders, A working pumped live bait tank, even new fishing rods & gear. I have aquired a Radar which will be fitted shortly as a safety aid in the event of fog.

Hopefully I will be getting the boat back into the water over the next two weeks & she should be ready for the coming cod season.

I will be taking pics of the launch and hopefully of the first good fish to come over the side.