pks1702

Headed back across Breydon yesterday; boy does it bring home how long it takes to get anywhere but had a steady tootle and did not upset the natives. Moored here overnight - Guesses?

It was a great weekend and good to catch up with a few forumites both those planned and those unplanned which it was very good to meet again. I will post some snaps when we return. We even got Jim using his 6 year old BBQ for the first time After being tucked away at Ranworth Island we needed somewhere to hide for safety for the night and dear old Gus had just the place

Moored up enjoying the sunshine before a pint and something to eat. I can vouch that the boat handling on the north does not match the south

Passed part of the Reedham Navy sleeping on their berths and anticipating a run soon.

Your welcome Jimbo; any-time Stopped at Goodchilds to say hello to Alan Sue and the team who are busy with Rod's new taxi's. Topped up the Diesel which at 105.6p 60/40 split is excellent. I can confirm the Fisherman's is very worth a stop we enjoyed a lunch time libation in the sunshine; very pleasant.

Here you go

Thanks for stopping by Paul it was great to have a beer with Jean and yourself. Stunned at the quality of your workmanship on Swordfish the engine installation is superb. Stainless manifolds build by you and Treadmaster standing points Will post a couple of snaps I took when I find a bit more bandwidth. Sorry we missed you Paul & Lorna

Locks here we come

Not sure we did a great job Jimbo; suggest you send for that new boat wash as advertised elsewhere on the forum

It was always good when we used to go Ian - Still get e-mails from them The Bear & Bells is back to its very best after a few years in the wilderness. Have a good trip south

I think I saw Jimbo's Conger

One I prepared earlier John

They managed to get some off there is actually 1400 tonnes on board; Conger Eels flown into Billingsgate if it goes up. http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/ops-row-mca_r ... report.pdf Chances a pretty remote but it has been hit a couple of times by coasters. I think you will find our pilot passes this on an almost daily basis

Not sure if you have any shaft showing on your ship John but if so you could fit this type of Anode http://www.anodeoutlet.co.uk/product/22/asa30mm/

As a youngster living right on the North Kent Coast I used to lay in bed imagining this going up......... http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mcga07-home/e ... gomery.htm Good job we lived in a house and not a bungalow What was more amazing was that a local attraction was trips round 'the wreck' on the Silver Star getting almost touching distance from it.

Fantastic! 'Black' humour at its best.

Seems it has escaped http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-14172966

Thanks for those Gav. Mortified to have a hanging fender and on the side deck But in defence we had a bilge full of water and the fenders were from Kingfisher alongside out at Languard. I was more concerned about getting back to Shotley and sorting our issue than fender etiquette

Caister is clearly logistically much better for you but Steel Developments really know what they are doing. I have had really good service from them. http://www.steeldevelopments.co.uk/Prop_Repairs.html

Seahorses are just a ruse in my view. Its all a ploy by the nudists to stop anchored boaters pointing and laughing

Good to hear you "Escaped" OK and had a good run back. It was a great day for a run which made our issue all the more disappointing Still no harm done which was the main thing.

Cleaned the bilges right enough Just thank ful it was close to home rather than halfway to Belgium. Still a timely reminder that this oft overlooked item is as key as it gets on a boat.

Bit of a mixed weekend. I had a bit of an engine room day planned with Primary and Engine Filters to be changed and a general poke around before our holiday in a couple of weeks. Fuel filters for what the cost are a very expendable item as far as I am concerned and I often change these every 6 months. Saturday evening saw us head of to West Mersea where our yacht club had a meal at The Victory http://www.victoryatmersea.com/index.cfm as I was in mechanical mode and the weather on Saturday was pretty gusty we decided to go by car and had a very pleasant evening; thanks for driving David my turn next time we need. On Sunday the weather looked great for a run out and although I had tested the seals on the fuel filters under load in the Marina I was keen to give Kiki a run before our holiday. We locked out in company with Kingfisher and had a steady tootle to Languard the amount of yachts out racing were significant but most were going nowhere fast due to the lack of wind. We increased the revs heading out towards the Naze when I smelt a burning smell and backed off immediately. On lifting the engine hatch I was greeted with smoke, steam and sea water gushing in from a 'popped' hose from the Oil cooler. It was particularly lucky it was calm and Kingfisher came alongside to lend a hand, we had a fair bilge full of water and the pumps were active. After a hand from David we refitted the hose and tootled back at low speed to Shotley to try to patch things up. On the way back we passed G&A making an "Escape" sorry for not hanging around guys but I had a bilge full of water and was keen to get back to our mooring and sort the issue; we don't normally run with fenders on our side decks On return to the Marina I was able to inspect things more closely and it it clear that despite a bit of an OCD for checking hose clips are tightened; the pretty good quality Turkish Clips on Kiki do not have particularly good machined threads meaning you can think things are tight but perhaps they are not as secure as you think. I only really trust one make of hose clip http://www.jcshi-torque.co.uk/ and not just that Palmtree of this manor an engineer I hold in high esteem works for this business but they hold Lloyd's Register approval for marine and offshore use. I had started a programme of changing over to these but still had some to do - needless to say this is a priority to complete now. Hose clips are a low value item but perform a critical function. Based on today if you do nothing else check your hose-clips!

When we moored at Goodchild circa 4 years ago this boat was moored there.