While traveling in France I
chanced on a fishing tackle
shop with a sale on. I
purchased a 7m telescopic
fishing pole for r22. Apart
from pulling fish from a river
and fishing out errant radio
controlled (out of control)
model planes from trees, I
have found another very
useful task for it, so it lives in
the back of my van full time.
When I put my mast up
recently I found that thelazyjacks were the wrong side
of the top pair of spreaders.
Using a piece of wire, bent as
shown, I was able to poke a
length of line with a couple of
nuts for weights over the
spreader and with some
vigorous shaking, the line
came to deck where I could
attach the lazyjacks and pull
them back over the spreaders- thus, saving a ride aloft in
the bosun’s chair.
The other piece of metal at
Fishing pole tip
Ply spanner
A telescopic pole could save you a
trip up the mast, says Sam Longley
Heavy duty
boathook
As the owner of a Moody 29 with
a swinging mooring on the River
Cleddau, I sometimes found
wind and tide tested my
extending aluminium boat hook.
Despite much searching I
couldn't track down a heavy
duty hook, so I made one.
I bought a sturdy 8ft (2.4m)
ash pole, sold as a ‘bargepole’
from canal and narrowboat
specialists, Midland Chandlers
(midlandchandlers.co.uk),
delivered by a mystified courier,
then commissioned a
blacksmith, John King in
Bedfordshire
(johntheblacksmith.co.uk), to
make a 200mm hook from
wrought iron.
The hook arrived in the post
the same week and although it’s
a one-off, he only charged me
£10, which I thought very
reasonable.
I bolted the hook to the pole
with stainless bolts and all I
need now is a fast running tide
to test it out!the top of the picture was
used to hook an errant flag
halyard in the wind for a club
member and has saved trips
up the mast on a number of
occasions.
If looking for a pole, 7m is
about the longest worth
buying and go for the stiffest
possible option. If you don’t
need the full length then fix
the wire hook to a thicker
section rather than the top
section. Wires can be bent
to a multitude of shapes to
suit the task in hand. For
r22 it was well worth the
money and second-hand
ones often come up from
retiring fishermen on
well-known internet sites.Tony Riches
gets heavy
with a bespoke
boathook
ABOVE
A wrought
iron hook
fixed to a
stout pole
for fending
off and
fetching
duties
aboard
Moody 29
SheerwaterRenewing my leaking tap,
I found that I could not
get enough leverage to
turn the securing nut
under the worktop, writes
David Mead.
There was ’t enough
room for any of my tools,
either. I could just reach
the nut but not turn it with
my fingers so I made up
a plywood spanner just
small enough to fit in the
limited space yet big
enough for me to get the
leverage to turn the
plastic nut, job done. I
used thick plywood for
strength as the grains run
both ways unlike plain
wood which could have
split with the strain.