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I've never seen such an unfair bet I bet you get a lot more satisfaction out of yours as well!

Ahh yes, but here's my gadget and I bet I use mine more than you use yours.

Yes to the bolt type for the sliding roofs. I had to call them out on the first day to replace one of the bolts because I discovered it had broken. Thankfully the bolts weren't in the position you describe but rather were towards the back of each roof. I'd agree rear visibility was poor but I don't think it's notably worse than any other forward steer cruiser in my experience. If I ever found a forward steer boat with good rear visibility I'd be pleasantly surprised. Re Regal Star, nice design and in fact I'm hiring Belmore TC later this year. I'm not expecting to pass through Ludham though and hence planning to go south for much of the week. I believe they need 8ft 10 or thereabouts. If you want a sedan for the Ant, you might be better with Duet which needs 8 ft 3 I believe. Still no guarantees with Ludham though.

This is the gadget I have, fleabay special.

While it is desirable to optimise the battery connections, its not urgent, a few months are not going to matter, so treat it as a desirable maintenance item to be dealt with next time you are aboard, if needs I have crimper and battery lugs, actually on board.

Sorry I should made clear I was referring to the battery clamps in my last post, yes I would run the negative lead to the other end of the bank but wouldn't worry about changing all the clamps. If it's any help I have a hydraulic crimper that could be borrowed but I'm not about this weekend.

Only just seen this thread but if the dash features the same display I saw on Serenade then I know what you mean about the graphics. It's quite an innovative thing for a Broads boatyard to be experimenting with more modern instrumentation, but I think for a number of reasons they may have been better to buy off the shelf components rather than try to roll their own. The original implementation I saw was running on a Raspberry Pi and had been built by one of their engineering team. I would say that's quite an ambitious approach and could cause maintenance issues down the line, particularly if that member of staff leaves the business. I think the Broads is actually lacking a solution for hirefleet tech so I'm not totally opposed to the idea (though I'm not about to outline the full solution here ) - But it needs to be robust and the user interface needs to be up to scratch.

It might not be broke, but it also isn't optimal. Over time the first battery will wear quicker and shorten the life of the others and normally by the time you realise, it's too late. Having just replaced the batteries, now seems like the best time to take action to protect your investment. It's worth bearing in mind Vehicle Wiring Products when sourcing parts. They also supply pre crimped battery leads in various sizes and this might be easier than crimping your own. Pre Made Battery Cables

I have suggested above why the Broads situation may be entirely different, owing to bank ownership. In my own memory, however, it "pales into insignificance" compared with the number of houseboats in the 50's and 60's. Just because we wish to allow the current inhabitants the chance to find their own affordable arrangements doesn't mean there is going to be an increase out of control. Unless, of course, the current slump in hire boat tourism leads to a follow-on slump in the price of second hand cruisers. As it has always done before. And in that case, the Broads will have a lot more to worry about than this!

I'd keep them as they are, you can still isolate one battery if needed and keep the rest connected as they are, if it ain't broke and all that. Pos and neg posts should be slightly different sizes.

This isn't that straight forward, can't order gear without visiting onboard to take some measurements I'm not sure if our pos and neg battery posts are the same size and need to know which size too even if they are the same To change over to vertical studs I will need new multi strand cable throughout as all ours have soldered ends to comply with the BSS where the cables are clamped onto the battery. To change the ground cable over to the opposite end of the battery run will need a longer length of cable too for both banks and I don't know how long New pos and neg cable throughout plus longer ground cables - £80:00 - ish 12 x vertical studs - £40:00 26 x ring crimp cable lugs - £52:00 Plus I need to borrow a crimping tool for the cable lugs I had intended to sort this lot next visit but I need to get down there and take some measurements. That means two round trips = 640 miles B O A T = Bung On Another Thousand (Yet another one) Griff

I spent a week aboard Encore 2 last year. Had a nice holiday, and it is (tbh) not the "Plus", so it did not have some of the additional toys (it had regular gauges, didn't have bluetooth on the stereo, etc - I didn't listen to music for an entire week! I refuse to play it on phone speakers and I was relishing the opportunity to not hear the news as ambient noise in between music on the radio...) I think it shares the engine, steering, throttle, possibly the bow thruster (which if it isn't the same, is very effective and embarrassingly loud - it reminds me of a "waste disposal" in a sink) etc with the Plus, though, and the general layout. I agree a lot with features that the boats have in common, especially on the aft cabin layout being bad, it was optimistic to try and fit that feature in such a space and causes more discomfort than it solves, but more er - broadly - I did not like the layout with regards to visibility for boating. I was aboard with my Dad, and he's not massively confident with his boat handling nor his hip when making the big jump across a small gap, so a lot of mooring involved me standing on the side of the boat calling out distances and clearances at the stern, whilst he was at the helm trying to get me in a position where I could get a line secure. This visibility issue shows up most starkly when mooring with the starboard side to the bank, you cannot see the stern at all other than through a narrow doorway and then a window onto the aft deck/well/engine cover. At least on the port side you can lean out a bit... I also found that if we were being gradually overtaken on a river, it had a dreadful blindspot rearwards. If I was single crewing, I'd probably want a mirror on a stick! For a boat that is, well, clearly more designed to be a useful caravan-on-water and makes many design concessions that improve that aspect (and probably improve the appeal of the boat for people who aren't inclined to ramble on about boat layouts on forums) it probably makes things harder than it needs to and - ironically - makes the experience worse for the first-time hirer. I would - if I could go all "Changing Rooms" on the boat - swap the orientation of basically everything that isn't the helm, all the vision-blocking elements can go to blocking the port view (where you can just lean out of the window/roof to deal with it) and then put a window in to allow a view through the aft cabin's exterior windows. With interior curtains of course! And rotate the bed or... make it fold out. The inconvenience of assembling it beats having a disrupted night of poor sleep. A question for OP - was the sliding roof secured by what I can only describe as "brass door bolts that you'd usually find holding a toilet door shut", and were they positioned above the lovely throttle so as to interfere with all attempts to use that small ledge alongside the window as an armrest? Because it really was positioned, on Encore 2, in the most horrendously painful place. When I think more about the "Elite" description, it does not match up. It's a small thing, quite literally, but it was hard to ignore when going from Beccles to Ludham Bridge, against the tide all the way... (being in the book as 6'10, as long as the ebb hadn't really got going by the time we had definite clearance, we enjoyed being able to get through Yarmouth just after high slack water... but it was not good for the fuel gauge. The Yanmar in the back did a sterling job.) Being creatures of habit, though - we love a trip to Roy's in Wroxham to stock up, daft I know - we are going back on another Barnes boat this year. Regal Star is the plan at this point. More boat-y, much taller - I'm a bit concerned with water levels, I really like the Ant and we're going at neap tide... it may be worth asking Barnes some questions on that front... ("can you chop the roof off and reattach it a bit lower?")

,Well it's that time again, first trip of the year. A few jobs need doing, a clean out and air of the boat. The trip here was horrendous, roadworks all the way up the a11, accidents here and there, then just short of my turning for beccles they had shut and blocked the a11. I headed in the direction the one sign showed, then drove 5 miles without a side turning or another sign, so I turned right where the car in front did, only he pulled up as he was lost too. Eventually by keeping the setting sun on my left I found a road I sort of knew, arriving at beccles after 9pm, a good 5 hours after I set off. Right time to get the kettle on and get a fray bentos pie in the oven, gas on, now where is the matches or lighter, in the drawer - the one that'd stuck fast 10 minutes patient prying with a screwdriver and I was rewarded the lighter was out of gas on fortunately the spark did the trick. Just waiting for my pie to cook, then it will be bedtime.

We caught the sunset too! A lovely end to a lovely day.

Actually, we were stalking you for longer 😂, from not long after Thurne Mouth, except there was another boat between thee and me.

Love that sunset. Hope you're both enjoying this trip. Tony is certainly getting some variety.

We had a very peaceful night at Womack staithe. The day dawned quite bright, but cold. Then it clouded over and looked a bit drizzly. By the time we cast off it was ok again. And that’s how it’s been all day really; can’t quite make its mind up! Moonlight Shadow was behind us for part of the journey and they turned into HPC as the Southern Comfort past us both on her first trip of the day. First option - Horning staithe Second option - Horning church Third option - Fleet dyke No space at the staithe (well there was plenty of space but split in two by a boat!) so I thought I’d motor on to show Tony all the houses on the way out of the village, then turn round and try Horning church (that had one boat on when we’d been past and room for us too). Coming round Swan corner I spotted the boat taking up all the room just leaving, so I made my intentions very clear to the boat that was approaching from the other direction by whizzing over the river (he was further away than me anyway and theoretically should have needed to turn round to moor against the incoming tide) and I shoved myself right up just overlapping the little dyke outside the closed Staithe and Willow cafe. That gave room for the other boat to also fit and I helped him in. So two boats moored where one boat had been! Good. I don’t know why, but I’ve felt very sleepy today. I could easily have just cosied down with a book but the dogs needed walking and we had a few jobs to do. So the day passed. I took the dogs out on my own; past the radar museum and over the fields towards the new radio mast on the Ludham road. On the lane of the way back, I even managed to have both dogs attached to just one hand, with loose leads - almost unheard of for spaniels, the hundreds and hundreds of hours are paying off very occasionally. I bought some pears in Tidings newsagent to go with the last of the rhubarb from home in a crumble. Other than that, an unremarkable day, just very relaxing. My new TV aerial sitting nice and snug under the grp canopy in the front well. I’ve been trialling it for the last few months and It’s picking up signals extremely well I just need to tidy up the cabling when I have the right bits. It’s a Moonraker 1000 Digi Pro, popular on the canals. Someone I know also bought one and it didn’t work though, so not a complete 100% recommendation. And a nice Horning sunset.

I spotted you in my new wing mirror on the big bend where the wild moorings used to be under the trees between Ant mouth and Ranworth Dam. Glad you’ve had a productive day.

Ah yes, the famous orange juice. A navel legend is our Griff.

So there were a few tell tell signs that perhaps going to the Lion might not be such a good idea,when after a really good breakfast at the Rainbow cafe we were then supposed to go to Tescos for some shopping........No,Griff forgot and drove us back to the wet shed,looking back now had he already started drinking?? When we moored up at Thurne,i was on the bow rope,Griff on the stern rope complaining that he couldnt pull the stern in cos i was pulling the bow in....had he been drinking to much orange juice?? If only i had thought about it i would have realised what trouble was to be fall me. After a very pleasant couple of pints in the Lion{ i had Tom Cat very good] Griff had a couple of pints of some more orange.He left me talking to a Broads ranger and we watched him tacking his way up the staithe to BA,if only id seen him trip over thr blade of grass i would have rushed to his rescue.When i got back to BA,nobody had told ne the side doors needed a very firm push,so not wanting to damage the boat, and stern doors were locked,what was one to do??? On peering through the saloon window,what a sight! Griff asleep on the settee.or was he? lots of banging on the windows,shouting,ringing his phone,Purdy barking,How much orange had he drunk? After about 20 minutes of trying to wake the dead,getting colder and wet an idea,open the canopy and shout....no repsonse.......hit him with a sausage,eventually,yes he livesAll joking apart,i had agreat time.BA is just WOW,and Griff well considering he related to God,hes not a bad bloke either.

Back on the subject, once fully off 10-30 seconds should do, probably better that just a restart. Other trick is to open settings-> Apps-> your browser-> clear cache (under storage setting on my samsung) Assuming android, know nowt about anything begining with an i.

We returned to Horning this morning, following Springer’s Retreat up the Bure from Ant Mouth, then we drove to Great Yarmouth where we had a super excellent meal in The White Swan (the fish restaurant that’s near the yacht station). Then we went to check out the historic quarter along the South Quay. All in all, we had a very pleasant afternoon.

I'll ask my mate how long he reckons it'll take him. If a job's worth doing, it's worth paying somebody else to do it.

There are places in and around London where that has already been reached if not exceeded, I am familiar with one particular stretch in East London where for 3/4 mile or more the towpath is nose to tail with boats of every description and in some cases double moored and there is nothing to stop others joining on. While many feel aggrieved with the situation on the Broads it pales into insignificances with some areas. Fred