LondonRascal

If you fancy seeing me trying to do car reviews - and failing, here are a couple from the archives:

I have my Mercedes SLK oil changed that often without fail, despite the fact it lives in the garage and came out 6 times this year. Why argue with a customer wanting to spend their money? Better than a customer arguing something does not need doing when it really does need it, or chasing customers for payment..

I was sharing my opinion, and my opinion is Volvo cars are not all they are made out to be as far as reliability - this was my third Volvo (previous two were V70's). I waited patiently after the other two V70's to try and find a decent one and liked the idea of the XC70 (having found the XC90 too slow and also costly to tax but under is the same drive-train as an XC70). I travelled to Peterborough, Leicester, Norwich, Corby, Penrith and then finally found the one I went on to buy in Epsom. One former lady owner, full Volvo main dealer service history. Impeccable MOT history - what exactly do you expect on a 17 year old car? I was not looking for perfection, I just wanted something comfy to take big things to the local tip in and be a stand in car. Of course it was not the former keepers pride and joy, it is a car - for lugging stuff around for a family. It was not my pride and joy either - I reserve that for my Mercedes SLK - but it had served them well (ish) having kept on spending and spending out on above usual costs - £16,000 over a 15 year period is excessive. It made sense when the rear light cluster got broken and Volvo wanted £490+VAT to replace and fir they threw in the towel and ridded themselves of it. It had TWO cam belt changes before I bought it, so was not due one when I bought it, but I had it and the water pump done in the first month of ownership. I don't think this was a gamble or being brave, it was calculated. I want any car to be reliable regardless of age once it is in my ownership. Few would buy a car of that age and expect to do little with it, but also few would do much with it - if you spent £4,000 on a car with 134,000 on the clock, regardless of who it was manufactured by, it is likely to begin having issues. Usually those are 'every day' things like the suspension bushing wearing but here I am having thought at the time " That was bad luck the Power Steering pump failed but lucky I did not have to replace it" - having failed at only 112,000 odd miles, it went again last year with under 150,000 miles - so original Volvo part sourced and fitted and here we are and it is leaking again! So this car requires a new pump - a third in its life - that is not (in my mind) usual. You've seen the costs I have incurred and the moment anything happened it was straight booked in - garages telling me I was 'off my rocker' spending thousands on an old Volvo worth a few hundred quid, but on I went, not because I have a passion for the car or Volvo's but because that is the sort of owner I am. If it needs doing it gets done. I am not however vein enough to worry about having the door resprayed to get rid of the scratches because that is cosmetic and does not do anything, its why I always use brushed automatic car washes none of this 'double bucket fear the swirls' nonsense. So, I think you are being unfair, because I was not 'dissing' the car, but whenever you hear of this generation of Volvo it is seen as so reliable, bullet proof even - but go on a Forum and see the same issues time and again and so I think hmm, maybe this is just as good as a Ford, or a Citroen but is it 'above average' for reliability? I see countless other high mileage diesels out there with blown turbos, injector issues, blocked DPF's, EGR's clogged with soot - none of that is any issue with the car, its a bit of plastic that operated the swirl flaps which caused the chain reaction. Oh, and the prop shaft - and how many cars of this age have already had a new one of those - yep my one had, and here I am looking at another needing doing, so I called time and thought nope. It has been fun, yes it is comfy and yet I have to draw the line keeping putting not hundreds of pounds, but thousands of pounds into a car that is nothing special at the end of the day. So it is going and a new Audi A6 AllRoad is coming on Thursday. I am also considering getting a cheap used EV for local trips that I can run on pennies charging it up and see what this EV ownership is like without having to go full in and it be my owner car.

Well here is something to watch and urm, enjoy? Here I show you what is wrong with, and why I am finally giving up on my Volvo XC70. These cars are often thought to be reliable, well I've had much work done on the car (almost £6,000 in two years) and the single owner before me spent over £16,000 in the 15 years they owned it. Despite all this love, care and money some things are coming back previously fixed at great expense in 2017, and others are popping up with new issues. But it is not all bad, she these are very comfortable capable cars too so we have a little review of the good bits too. And this is makes you pleased you are just watching, not paying - we go through each invoice and tally up the costs over the years:

I amazes me that any business in 2023 would no be 'all over' Social Media - as part of the business plan! Just as you would take time out to do stock check, do your finances, take an hour to check your reviews left by customers - and reply to and learn from them. Update your opening hours on Google (it takes under 30 seconds) and the same adding a post to your Facebook. Not doing it, means people like myself won't just understand and be patient - I just won't go use the business again. Happened with a local Pub I'd wanted to try their food at, after 3 attempts and finding it closed, or open but not doing food, I gave up - it should not be this hard.

I had the sour taste that this is another example of where a business is doing okay, but not as okay as the owners would like for their pockets. This seems often the case where people have come to an area, taken on a business radically different to anything done before (or their previous job) and is also often the first time they have had to run a business. So, close it down and enjoy the location as a private dwelling. It is an easier, more rewarding long term financial proposition for them but a loss for the village and visitors.

Insurance has increased across the board. I found a little trick, go looking for new insurers 30 days away from the current your current policy expiring - it will go up as the days pass closer to the expiry. I found this year oddly it was actually cheaper to stay with my current provider (Go Skippy). Firstly nobody was as reasonable to begin, but they did not know that, and when called to say I was very pleased with their customer service and package, but I could get a better deal with Admiral, they agreed (without any need of proof) to reduce the policy by £35 just for me asking. I now only insure for third party fire and theft, sometimes it is cheaper but sometimes more expensive (depends I think on car and risk profile).

I've had a quick glance at the report, and views expressed here. It seems much the same as years past when the Broads Authority have shared their projections, almsot as if to make the actual increases easy to stomach. They have for a while not had much money when you look at what they get, and what they spend. The issue is being repeated with the Canal and River Trust and a huge can of worms having been opened up for Canal users whose licence costs and terms are changing. I think it is pretty basic things showing their ugly face. The country is in a pretty bad time economically and things are really starting to bite. The Broads Authority have for several years been looking at dark holes in the finances and hoping big Toll increases would help patch them up - this has not been working. No Government will want to be seen doing too much for inland waterways, be it the Broads or the Canals when it effects such a small proportion of people, when frankly they are not able to fund our healthcare system, education and law and order to the right degrees. Any public service is cash strapped, and the number of companies going bust is on track for being the highest this year since 2009. Not nice to think about, but in my opinion very valid. I don't think there is any easy way out of this. I think there are going to be a reduction in hire fleet numbers, and many private boat owners are going to be looking at the ownership costs - leave aside usage costs, from fuel to pump outs, meaning next year may well be their last season. What is the biggest problem is it can only get worse - fewer boats be it private of hire = less income. With less income, less money for basic upkeep of rivers, moorings and no new investment. Loss of services and moorings mean the area will loose it's appeal to those who might want to holiday here on a boat, or own one. Bit by bit the rot will spread and I cannot see once that process has gathered speed, how one might reverse it. I guess what may have to happen one day is the Broads Authority really has to 'lean up' and relinquishes some of the roles it has taken on in more prosperous times and focus more on basics like navigation, the environment. The current leadership won't like that, but it may well be what causes change at the top - but sadly, may well then be too late for businesses and holiday makers on the Broads.

I think some like to see things all neat and tidy, but I also think overall a small fraction of customers would really care so long as the service is good, interior of the boat is clean and tidy and all systems work meaning a flawless holiday. If you had boats come back and as part of the pre-handover cleaning someone had to get a dinghy and go tidy up the hulls, that won't bring in any money - but will take someone either paid to simply do this, or otherwise slow down the fleet overall turn around time while they do the hulls, then clean the rest of the exterior. It is economics frankly. What Richardson's do is a great winter program of maintenance - so come the new season the premium boats will have had a compound and polish, many of the legacy boats will have had a lick of pain on the hulls, ropes tidied up, new fenders if needed, curtains removed and washed etc. Now other yards do this too, but some (like Herbert Woods or Barnes Brinkcraft) seem to operate on many boats only having this level of work done bi-annually. So you see boats go out the following season with a light brush up, but lots of last seasons knocks and scraps, rust stains from rubbing strake bolts, dirty fenders - you get the picture. This is think can cause more customers to begin caring. It is one thing for a few knocks and marks on a boat, but when you tip a line and it moves to looking tired and unkempt, how well is the mechanics going to be maintained? Is the interior going to be clean? and then you've got reputation being questioned and you certainly don't want that can of worms opened as a business.

Just an idea, i bet you could get a free (or very cheap) sample of the real vinyl used for the canopy from a canopy maker since it is so small. I guess the issue then is, being so small, would it actually want to folder over - or would it 'spring back'.

What you might like to consider is having the fuel polished - basically the fuel is sucked out the tank, sent through two filters of normal and higher filtration and back into the tank over and over in a loop. I had this done when i bought Independence and is something which is done at the boat, as long as you've got 240v power for the machine.

Talking of laminated and veneers I had great results using some very thick wood effect Vinyl on Independence when I owned her. It had a true 'wood grain' you could feel, and was an exact match to the real Teak which had suffered with some bleaching from the sun on a sliding door. Below is an example of some Ash Red: However, I also thought after having Karndean flooring fitted at home, what versatile material it is. You cannot see the the joins between the individual 'planks' and so I thought it one was to have an older boat with some decent Formica as some hire boats have, why not fit Karndean panels over it to re-fresh bulkheads and so on. The options for colours textures and styles is almost limitless. I did like the the Diamond 35 at NYA, despite the paintwork outside, inside is a pretty easy refresh and some new upholstery, worktops, cupboard fronts and lighting would transform the boat as the base is very decent. The only thing that troubles me with anything ex-hire is high engine hours and many previous wallops over many years which always leave their signs which makes me feel if you are going to go that route either get one cheap warts and all, accept it and enjoy it with minimum expense - or get one two or three private owners down the line since hire. If they have had things like a professional re-paint, thrusters fitted, maybe a re-engine and so on because while they were owning it they wanted to make it the best they could, it will never really give back what has been put in financially, just will be a very lovely 'ex hire boat' still but somebody else spent big before you.

I am not going to argue that Daniel Thwaite does not know his stuff - he deals with all four sides of Broads 'business square' from that of boat hire, holiday accommodation, boat sales and marina private moorings. I don't see how you can blame the weather any more though - it might affect things, but when many book well in advance are they really basing a a holiday costing many hundreds if not thousands of pounds on if it is going to end up sunny when they go? I think in the past though we have seen 'bad seasons' and then things make a bounce back, but now no more. I think this is the start of a real downturn in boating (for holidays) and as I have said before here and on Facebook commentary when this sort of point is raised (isn't it quiet this year) its not just weather and it is not just cost. It's relevance. Why do I say this? well put it bluntly you can see what the majority of people who go boating are by looking at data when you want to sell advertising on Facebook and target people who Facebook think will be a good base based on their likes, groups they belong to and interactions with things like boating. You can also see the many thousands of members (active or not) on the main Facebook groups dealing with boating on the Broads what areas they are from and the type of people they are. The average 'Gold Gem' hirer is the type who will have been more effected by the other things going up in life, food, energy, mortgage, and then things like just running a car - insurance costs have gone up a lot this year, fuel costs for it too. This impacts ever more on the disposable income for a holiday. So these (the bread an butter customer) is increasingly out through cost, there is no 'new blood' coming in to fill this gap. In short, for probably decades now the industry has relied on loyalty and the same groups of people coming year after year - even if not with the same boatyard, they will still come to the Broads, it may be because they are a bit older, less mobile, kids have grown a little and there is less shore side activities for them - it could be a host of things, and many will say people are going aboard, but this too is more costly than it ever was before unless you are looking at more basic accommodation in less decent resorts. I think the industry needs to tap into a new type of customer or, I fear it will be toast. There has been a huge shift in boaters, while there are some Stag and Hen parties still, nothing like in the numbers of the past, and some may welcome this but like it or not they brought in good money booking older, large boats up and then they would frequent riverside pubs in large groups spending a fortune on drink and that has shifted now. Another loss is affluent, younger couples - not married and without children from larger cities from say 25 to 30 years old where are these people on boats? Where are people from minority backgrounds with money to spend - they come on Dayboats why do not move up to an actual holiday hire boat? Why are decent river side properties doing okay, but not boating holidays? Trust me there are many thousands of people not at all affected by the cost of living going up and spending on holidays and themselves, but it is vital such people are made aware of the Broads as a possible holiday destination and it is also vital that local businesses take note - look at how well The Granary is doing at Ranworth just as an example - complete change of direction compared to what this place was before and it has tapped into something big. Popple who want quality food, in a nice venue that is licenced, but not a pub. My mother and step-dad have decided this October to hire a Narrowboat, it is not 'fancy' by any means, and it cost nearly £2,000 for a week - just as a new hire boat on the Broads might, but they found they had to go in October as this was one of the few weeks the boatyard had availability, which suggests Canal holidays are not in the same plight at the Broads - and they have the same weather and the their boats are not cheap...Back to the Broads not being relevant in my opinion anyway.

Can I just say, I love discovering new music and reading about Luca Sestak I bunged this it into Spotfy (yeah I've not bought or listened to a CD since 2010) and found the album in question - what a great artist! I can see myself listening to this with a glass of Rum watching the sun go down next time I am on Barton Broad..

I have air-con units at home, and am considering going for a proper multi-room system from a single outdoor unit that will heat and cool and because it heats, it qualifies for zero VAT. But during looking into this, I found this little unit - under £500.00 for motorhomes and caravans: It does (like all systems, even Marine) need 240v power, but that could be from shore or a generator and while it's power is small in producing 3,000BTU of cooling power (1400w) it would cool a space and most importantly reduce humidity within the boat. They do a larger and more expensive 5,000BTU model too. You have an outdoor condenser unit which has a short 'umbilical' cord easily passed through an open window and secured to side deck, or an outside space through an open door. You can find more info here.

And some of the issue is the Pub is just managed - and the companies behind it (The Stonegate Group) will dictate much of the pricing, the issue is this company (and others like it) are in my mind in it for themselves while they can suck as much out of the public as possible, and then the bubble bursts will sell off and get the hell out of Dodge and on to new ventures. Now I cant stand Mr Martin of Wetherspoons, but I will say this at my local dive you can get a pint of Guinness for £3.09. Indeed if you go for a Ruddles Best a whole pint is yours for just... £1.77! Now I don't expect the New Inn to charge such low prices, but I think they and others like them are taking the P with the prices they charge, and then the non-refundable mooring charges too. Put it like this, Shiela and I had a Sunday Roast at the New Inn recently, and for both of us with two Cokes it came to £39.90. That is the issue - local to me a roast is £11.99

I find it interesting how I am getting older, but rather than 'mellow' or mature and have a more of a laid back 'make do and mend' mentality, I am still leaning towards the less compromise the better it is. I don't think we should be limited to the logic that we are onboard a boat therefore we cant do this or use that. There are simple solutions but you need to decide if the cost is worth the comfort and convenience. When I was looking at a boat to live on, it had to have things like a household type shower and toilet, be able to do laundry and dry it without any 'doing it in the sink' or off to a Laundrette. I've just been emailing a UK battery manufacture about their Lithium-Iron marine batteries. They have quoted £1,000, I could replace my three 110ah lead acid batteries for a single battery with a 400Ah capacity - with the ability to use 100% of this capacity 3,000 times or 80% of it 10,000 times. It has built in battery management software and balancing of the cells, and a Bluetooth capability to use an App to see the health and state of charge of the battery at any moment. Because of the onboard chipset you don't need anything fancy between it and the current charging system on a boat, just wire it in and away you go (you would need a Lithium capable shore powered charger mind you). But do you want to spend £1,000 on a battery and a new shore powered battery charger? Hmm, no I don't think I would but it opens up ideas.. Many new build hire boats are beginning to have Lithium-Iron batteries onboard and this opens up a world of possibilities because they can discharge at incredible amperage loads with no issue, and then likewise re-charge at high very amperages continuously unlike any other battery chemistry. So some of the boats I hired from Barnes as an example, do not have an Alternator providing power to the battery bank, instead a pair provide power to a separate multi-stage charger that then re-charges the domestic batteries rapidly. Then you can have your Nespresso machine (because fewer and fewer households use kettles after all) and so having those connivances of home afloat is important for people spending out on such accommodation. Now that should not mean the boat needs to run its engine endlessly when moored, but I have found boats equipped with generators/hybrid drives, are very different in sound pollution - firstly no exhaust discharge, its under the water, what you hear most of externally are the large squirrel cooling fan's sucking in and exhausting air from the soundproofed generator bay. Unlike a diesel engine running and discharging water every few seconds and as it does and the sound of the engine note changing the hybrid boats generator will run smoothly at a set speed and emit the same 'tone' (a bit like white noise to me). I am not saying these boats are 'silent' by any means, but they are not as intrusive outside as BMC 1500 running at a fast tick over in my opinion. Contrary to popular belief, not only can you dictate when the generator kicks in, the boatyard prevent their operation through software between 9pm and 7am - they can even stop the shower sump pump operating after a set time to stop noise, though this is not implemented i was told. These settings can be manually overridden on the distribution panel and I think it is what some hirers do - press and hold the manual override button and start it up regardless of if it is actually needed. As for toilets, I cannot stand the 'pedal push flap open' type - in fact I have in the past not hired boats if they are fitted with these, the pump-handle ones are okay if maintained (I have one on Trixie and having replaced the seals and pump it is incredibly smooth) but some of the new electric flushing toilets, like that which we have on Broad Ambition now are not only super powerful (and whisper quiet) they use so much less water to flush. I guess one easy fix to legacy boats to improve battery performance - go 24v - then you halve the amperages of anything, from the lights, to the toilet, to the water pump but you'd need 24v versions of these items and a 24v-240v Inverter too.

I think it is more about the care and attention to hire boats from the business hey are hired from that counts. I won't name and shame but some have been fine, some were not and swapped without fuss and one company needed shall we say a little more reminding about customer care before the issue was rectified. Most hire boats have at least 3x domestic batteries, many have more - a heater using 2-3Amps when running should not dent the capacity of these banks much over night, if you get 3-4 hours out of the heater before you need to start the engine to produce more power, and you've had many hours of run time during the day, something is very wrong with the batteries.

Richardson's have four 7Kw chargers now just as you enter the site on the left. Handy for those looking to top off charge before (or after) their holiday - but frankly anyone could use them since the gates are always open even when the office is closed.

So, the August Bank Holiday weekend was upon us and Shiela and I had come up with no viable options on what to do, or where to go that would not run into several hundred pounds. So a plan was hatched - we would go away on Trixie. This is an incredibly rare event because boating and the Broads has become increasingly something Shiela has cooled off on - and if I am honest, the same for me too. I think what changed things to begin was living on a boat for 3 years in Brundall and all the places around the Broads being a drive away so popping to Ranworth, or some eating some Chips while watching the Swan's at Wroxham lost their sparkle - it was very much the same old repeated. I now very much like the rugged landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire Moors and Highlands of Scotland (and we even looked at Van conversions to 'stealth campers' to explore more - but both decided we liked a comfy bed and decent shower in a B&B than to be too much of an outdoors couple). Despite this, I was especially surprised Shiela had wanted to come on the boat, and was not going to do anything to change this. I drove to Stalham and got the boat ready, then went to Wroxham to pick up Shiela who'd got the train. We then both went to Tesco for supplies and by the time this had been stowed and we had done our last minute preparations, it was around 4:30pm Friday before we got underway. Our first nights mooring would not be that far - Barton Broad at a new location I have found to offer better reception for EE who is what we used for the boats onboard WiFi. We have got rid of a television aerial, everything being streamed through a 'Roku' device on the television and music is streamed via Spotify. Now usually I'd have more to say, and post more photos but you know I mentioned about this silly idea of filming a type of 'video diary' of our travels, and how it would never take off (ha!) well, I have only gone and done this and the two episodes are below..But, here are a little extra things to share here: Bridge Inn, Acle Ribs for Shiela Haddock for me Rain at Horning Staithe, cosy inside the boat still - watching Task Master Part One of the video special: Part Two of the video special:

When I have been afloat in the winter the heater goes on and remains on 24/7 - often just on low without shore power. I don't want to be cosy and warm only some of the time and at other times be chilly, or come back to a cold boat and have to wait for it to heat back up again to a comfy temperature. Once running they only consume 2/3Amps as its only the motor running consuming power to distribute the air. When I lived on Indy in Brundall, the heaters longest run continuously (Beast from the East time) was 6 weeks!

This is not going to be a popular opinion but if you are on holiday - regardless of your boat or its cost and you want to heat some water up, or use the microwave onboard, is it so wrong to start your engine? Yes to many it would be seen as selfish and wrong - and I might also agree if it was say 10:30pm, but just after 8pm - no I don't really see a big problem. I am guilty of this, indeed far later than 8pm - albeit I am on a Broad alone or some out of the way wild mooring, but I feel just a little more relaxed about this sort of thing. I think we have to learn to accept that for an increasing majority doing things that some may regard as anti-social is normal life to them, and if you do not talk to those who do this (not in an impolite fashion) they will not know they are doing anything that might annoy others. It is why I am so fed up my next door neighbour constantly complains about people 2 doors down to me, but will not talk to them because he is worried of 'making a scene'.

Is it down to the fact you've just not discharged the batteries enough? On my boat (90Amp alternator fitted 2022 replacing the old 55Amp one) - all new wiring, batteries, charge controller etc but it wont do much if my batteries are only 20% discharged, but if I discharge them more - it will (as expected) begin with a higher amperage charge. You don't want to force too many Amps into old fashion batteries, same with my shore based supply - while it will charge at 14.4.v from the get-go (unlike the alternator which starts at a lower voltage and rises as the amperage deceases) the charger will not put out full 50Amp if the batteries are not discharged too much. If you really want to go for rapid recharging ditch the batteries and go Lithium-Iron and have charger a multi-stage alternator to battery charger to take all the Amps and manage them to the battery bank. Never charge lithium off an Alternator without current limiting, because it will overheat an Alternator sucking the full 70Amps.

I am pleased it is not just my Sheerline 740 that is 'a right faff' to put the canopy and screens down on. So much so, and because I am usually single handed on it, I regard it as only if essential to go through this faff and so if visiting Wroxham by boat pay to moor in Barnes yard than go under the bridge. The above said, and having been on an Elysian 27, the space in a Sheerline 740 is not far off for what are both very similar layouts, just a little more length and width in the Elysian - everyone who has been aboard mine, comments on how much more headroom there is than appears on the outside. This said the SAS now train for tight space deployments by attempting a shower in the Sheerline's heads. It is literally a cupboard lol

What sad news to hear. Mike was a lovely man he was and always helpful on here and in person when we'd meet at NBN Meets and at several of the Wooden Boat Shows he took Chameleon to. And Pat, ever by his side and handing me stickers and coasters for the NBN to hand out to people I'd meet along the rivers to help spread the Forum far and wide. A true loss, my condolences.