Meantime

Hope it's all sorted quickly and your soon back underway again. I thought the fairlead was more to stop the rope from rubbing when the boat is moored up. I'm not sure I'd trust it to the stresses and strains placed upon a tow rope underway! The towing post will be securely fixed to the structure of the boat, the fairlead looks like it is just screwed to the deck.

It's about 2.2 miles from Salhouse moorings. It's 1.4 miles from the moorings to the Stag pub, then a further 0.8 mile to Black Horse Barn.

It doesn't really matter which way around you read or interpret the headline it is wrong! In the UK a takeover usually refers to the acquisition of one public company by another public company. In this case HPC a private limited company has purchased Broom Boats another private limited company. Acquisition or purchase are the correct terms the EDP should be using. Horning Pleasurecraft increases bookings after the purchase of Broom Boats would be correct.

Bikertov, I'd quit whilst I'm ahead if I were you. unless you fancy riding pillion

There's no need for sarcasm, or to take a holiday from posting. This is just a discussion. Apologies if I've offended you in some way. I didn't say the no mooring signs wouldn't deter people mooring there, but I do wonder about the validity of them being put there to stop the land owner being sued. Only the land owner will know the real reason why he doesn't want people mooring there at the moment. It is also a popular walking route, so if the land owner is worried about being sued, then they should undertake a proper H+S assessment and take care of any foreseeable risks to safety. Those same potential risks apply to both boaters and walkers.

They may reduce, but will not eliminate the chance of a claim, if indeed that is the true reason why the signs went up. This same story is often trotted out when previously open moorings are suddenly closed. Land owner threatened with being sued when someone trips or falls, so they have closed the mooring. The simple fact is that occupiers of land are responsible for ensuring safety on their property, not only to employees, but also to visitors and strangely enough, trespassers, under the Occupiers Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984. Sometimes signs alone can be counter productive. A pub near me has put up signs warning that the outside decking area can be slippery when wet, you might think they have absolved themselves of any claim or responsibility. In actual fact, what they have done is admit they know there is a problem and done nothing about it, such as close the decking area when it is wet, or clean the algae of it, or apply non slip paint etc.

Simply putting no mooring signs along that stretch would not be enough to prevent any claims, if there were real grounds for a claim. It would have to be proven that the land owner knew about a defect and took no action to keep the public away from the area. No mooring signs alone are unlikely to be sufficient. It is more likely that the mooring has been closed to prevent any further damage to what is already rather fragile quay heading and to discourage the use of rhond anchors where there are missing posts etc. There is a public right of way all the way along that bank from Acle Bridge up to and along Upton Dyke. Walkers would have as much chance of suing the land owners as someone who had moored there if there are known trip hazards or other things likely to cause injury. If it were truly to avoid a public liability claim the owner would need to fence off the mooring leaving a pathway along the bank behind the mooring. Although it might be fairly obvious to most adults where the public footpath along the top of the bank is, it is not marked and even less likely to be adhered to by children who could easily venture onto the mooring and find any hidden dips behind undermined quay heading, or trip over broken mooring posts etc. To the best of my knowledge there are no signs on the landward side warning walkers not to venture onto the mooring or even any signs that say private no trespassing. Only the land owner will know why they have put up no mooring signs, but if they really want to reduce their risk of a claim, they would need to undertake a regular inspection of their property and identify and take action on any defect likely to cause harm, whether that be by fixing, or fencing off the area.

If you live on your boat and it catches fire you haven't just llost your boat but your home as well, and more than likely all your possessions apart from the clothes you are wearing. It's worth taking five minutes to ponder how you would be feeling now before jumping to conclusions or reaching for the keyboard.

I always assumed that as the marina is private waters, that it wouldn't be the Broads Authority's responsibility to mark the height, but the owner of the marina, therefore the black normal height gauge was for Wroxham bridge.

I'm not sure, the thing is, You know the rules and so do I (do I)

Oh no! more time in the Broads for Grendel then. Soon he'll be spending more time in the water than on the water!

Still waaaaaay to early yet!

Back and Forth by Cameo. They covers all helms, even Griff going backwards.

I've squeezed my 35ft through at 6ft 4.5in, but I'm far more comfortable with 6ft 6in, however like I said, its the pilots who will decide what you need for the boat you've hired.

If heading to Coltishall don't forget you will need to use the bridge pilot. They will know the height needed for the boat you are booking.