MEERKAT ....... the birth!

looking good just a pitty i couldnt go on maiden voyage i was gutted to see it sail away without me after all the work
but it shows we have done a good job ill soon make up for lost time happy birthday meerkat jonty

Darth_codhead wrote:First time out with chris
first of all i got back in one pice

here are a few photos and vids that i took

going to the sea



Time to go back



Down the ramp



Out to sea





20 Nots



we had one little place as well

now iv'e had some sleep I can do a proper report
Wednesday was the only opening in the weather to get her out. i had been fishing at anchors and got home at 2.30am was gona go to bed for a few hours but no. head was spinning with fear and excitement about getting meerkat on the water. i knew steve was working away and jonty had just got back from iow but rang him to let him know but he could not make it to sail out with us because of commitments. tim had offered the night before to help so rang him and met him at knottend slip.
i was sh*ting my self believe me

once the boat was in the water i was a little happier even though it was a bit harsh.
so we set of out to sea great fun up the channel we went. half way up lets go right slowly the sea got rougher so i turned back and anchored up for the first time haha how do you set an anchor lol we did it and fished for an hour.
then set off back north over the channel and anchored up that's where tim had his plaice.

feck it i say lets go fish rossall point off we go over the channel and head south well feck me.
the sea got big then bigger to the point my knees was shaking and turned back.
that was it for me GET THIS BOAT BACK on the trailer (i need to know more before i take this boat out again) with the help of TC i now know why and what
bring on the next trip

yup just getting a boat and going out is a whole lot different to actually knowing what you are doing when you are actually out there
why do you think i have been really taking my time? i have ( very ) slowly been learning seamanship
navigation, control etc ( cheers Birdy )
there is no law that states you cannot take a boat of any size out to sea!
bringing it safely back is your problem
and that is how it stands

when we was at sea the johnson 9.9 would not start so me and steve fixed it on saturday the carb needed to come of and be cleaned. runs like a good un now

Nice too see you finally get meerkat on the sea after all the hard work you all put in good luck
on your next adventure


Cheers Dave

Congrats on all the hard work, I have to admit I didnt read all 13 pages but the videos on this page alone show all the hardwork and the final results. I wish I could of been there!

Maybe one day you'll motor down to the south east to fish! If so any chance you can nip me to france for some cheap cigs and booze?

Buck

the boat ive been going out on this summer the guy that owns it always runs the engines before we go out and then leaves the fuel lines
hooked up to both then runs them again on the return in. we striped a Yamaha right down you should have seen the cooling chambers
through not flushing after a trip they where clogged up for fun. im sure george will answer this one

because the sea water is (assidic ?) is there anything you can flush through with to slow the damage it causes i was told
the cleaner the building trade use to clean bricks will work but you would also have to flush with fresh water two ( what a job that would be )

Nice to see the boat on the water chris it looks a credit to those who worked on her well done guys

tuesday & wednesday are looking real good to get the meerkat out on the water jonty and steve.
i will do both days

Fingers crossed for you the conditions should be ideal if the forecasters are to be believed.

Gordon

jazzman wrote:the boat ive been going out on this summer the guy that owns it always runs the engines before we go out and then leaves the fuel lines
hooked up to both then runs them again on the return in. we striped a Yamaha right down you should have seen the cooling chambers
through not flushing after a trip they where clogged up for fun. im sure george will answer this one

because the sea water is (assidic ?) is there anything you can flush through with to slow the damage it causes i was told
the cleaner the building trade use to clean bricks will work but you would also have to flush with fresh water two ( what a job that would be )

Nice to see the boat on the water chris it looks a credit to those who worked on her well done guys

Sea water is the bain of both outboard and inboard water cooled engines. Although not acidic the effects are just as damaging in the long term. The attack of salt water on unprotected surfaces is relentless. With outboards the build up of salt crystals clog up the flushing/cooling channels and slowly destroy the engine from within. The only way of protecting the engine is proper freshwater flushing for a minimum of 15 minutes on the return to shore. The earlier the flushing is carried out the better. The principal being to flush out all salt water before the water can evaporate leaving the destructive salt crystals to do their dirty work. The mantra is PREVENTION, PREVENTION PREVENTION.

thanks george
living two mins from the shore its easy for us to do. we even flush the standby although its not been in the water

Sadly we're putting MEERKAT up for sale.

If you're interested, the Ebay number is

That seems a shame after all the hard work that has been put into making an old wreck(not you Chris )into a good looking seaworthy boat

Meerkat SOLD.