HAVE YOUR SAY IN PRINT AND ONLINE
SIMON ELLIS took this beautiful photograph as he and his two teenage children settled down for the night on their Fairline Targa 40 in Studland Bay, Poole, stating simply, “Life doesn’t get much better than this.”
PHOTO OF THE MONTH winner will receive a bottle of Mainbrace premium golden rum. Mainbrace rum embodies the courage, teamwork and friendship of those who love being on, in, or near the sea. Send your photos to mby@futurenet.com
WORTH £34.99
RECORD BREAKERS
Regarding your website story about the water speed record contenders currently under construction, there are two other projects also under way; one called Blackbird in New Zealand and one in Norfolk run by a man called Alan Sabberton.
I would be interested in knowing if you can obtain any further details regarding them.
Good knowledge! I managed to find a Facebook page about the Blackbird project but even though there are pictures of the hull in build there doesn’t seem to have been an update since January 2021. Alan Saberton’s attempt sounds even more intriguing.
I found a local newspaper report about it and sure enough he does seem to be building himself a twin jet-powered hydroplane for an attempt on the record. It sounds like a long shot but then the current holder Ken Warby built his own craft too, so it’s not as improbable as it might sound. I’ll see if we can find out more.
WINTER WORRIES
I bought my first boat over the summer, a Beneteau Antares 7.5 with a 140hp Suzuki outboard engine. I am planning to store it ashore over winter at my local marina but can’t decide whether to service and winterise it now, or winterise it now but leave the servicing until the spring to make sure it’s all working then. Any advice on what you’d recommend?
I have a similar quandary with my outboard-powered Karnic 2250 and take the view that it’s better to get it serviced now. I prefer to leave it with fresh oil sitting in the engine and gearbox, plus it means the engineers can give the cylinders a good dose of fogging oil while changing the plugs. The other big advantage is that it’s ready to go next spring so that you can launch the minute the sun comes out rather than finding the engineers can’t fit you in for weeks as every other boat owner has had the same idea.
ELECTRICKERY
In the wake of increased content regarding electric motor boats in MBY magazine, I’m curious to know why we all seem to be heading so blithely down the electric cul de sac when it’s so clearly a flawed solution?
The vast majority of batteries are huge plastic boxes filled with toxic chemicals that arrive at the factory with a deeply undesirable carbon footprint. T
