goodall_m1

Would any of the boats mooring ah CH for the Birthday Bash happen to have a spare bunk that I could "borrow" for the night? I can provide my own sleeping bag etc. I wouldn't mind driving up for the do, but don't really fancy a two hour drive back afterwards. Martin

Thanks for the clarification Clive. As with your thread on the RC45 you are really managing to give us a lot of good information on how a modern boat is actually put together! We are all learning from your experiences (and even more from the things that you have to allow for or correct)

Clive, What do you actually mean by the chine was turned the wrong way? Are they supposed to be flatter on the top and curved underneath to direct water / spray back towards the hull? Was this a problem with the original mould or was it your remodeling that was a bit off? So what do you do now, grind it off the new plug and create the desired shape with filler before casting the new mould ? Will this stop you from using the plug as a hire-boat hull, or will you just grind the matching bits off on both sides to make her symetric and then do a gel-coat repair to cover the wounds (or add another bit of rubbing strake)? What are you planning power wise, single screw and shaft for hire-boats with a hydraulic drive and one diesel, twin stern drives and twin diesels for the private versions?

So as I read it you filled and reformed the indentations of the original mould that you didn't want and now will add the bits to this hull where they go into areas where the old mould was solid to make the new mould have the required indentations for the chines etc. Presumably these modifications are really only aimed at the private boat market , as the hire boats wont be going fast enough for them to be noticed. Hold on though, there is always Breydon! So will we see photos of Ricko's hire boats up on the plane crossing Breydon, with the older hirers tossing around in their wakes? Probably not as I reckon that your hire versions wont have the engine power that they would neeed to get up on the step!

Most dogs will be able to swim (or doggy paddle) when they fall in, but getting out again will not usually be easy for them. There are some areas of the Broads where there are "beaches" but they are few and far between. Most boat hulls, and river banks are too high for a dog to scramble up out of the water, and river banks are often either undercut or have pilings. But as Antares said the handle on the back of a doggy jacket can make retreival a lot easier. Smalldogs can be simply lifted back, and larger ones can have a line attached and then be guided to somewhere where they can get onto the bank. Now, of course, retreiving a big dog is going to be harder than getting a Jack Russell back on board... This lady told me the biggest problem they had with this sea-dog was getting him INTO their dinghy. I would have thought it would have been sharing the dinghy with him! (or handling the reaction if he climbed on the side of it to get out) Now I wouldn't think that, given how strong a swimmer the Newfoundlands are, a doggy jacket would have done this one any good. (And there would be no way to lift him back aboard unless they had dinghy davits and a swimming platform, (their boat had both)) Remember that three of the most important things to remember when planning how to handle a "man" (or dog) overboard situation, are: 1) Prevention is better than cure. 2) A life-jacket is only ever going to be any use if the casualty is wearing it. 3) Retreiving the casualty is not going to be as easy as picking up a couple of fenders with a boat hook on an RYA course! At least if you think about these things in advance, you will be more prepared if it happens.

That is what you are doing wrong Jim,... Forget the Quaismodo pose, go for the hammer thrower version! Get it whirling around your head on the chain and then launch it (but make sure the line is all in front of you and that you launch it when it is at the "going forward" part of the swing) Then you will really get the audience attention (especially if you get the release wrong, or are standing on the line)....

Well it won't rust... Must of had to beef up the suspension a bit!

Julz, Going North on Sunday you will probably have a tail wind as you will be well east of the depression. One site I looked at is predicting SE-SW 4 with gusts up to 37 mph for Yorkshire. SE - SW is probably better for you than a head or side wind, especially as your forward speed will reduce the apparent wind and make it go more behind you. It might be a bit windier on Saturday and Monday (SW 5,Gusts up to 44 mph) and then get a bit better later in the week. Have a nice trip! Martin

Isobars are quite far apart over Suffolk on Sunday, so high winds but not storm force, but it looks like Devon and Cornwall will take a hammering. That depression looks like tracking up towards the Iceland / Scotland gap and then just sitting there for a few days. Look further West though! Katia is really barrelling her way across the Atlantic. Now that is one tight set of isobars, and your plot is also showing torrential rain (50-100mm in 6 hours isn't it!) Luckily the Met Office plots show her losing her structure during Sunday and becoming less intense as she reaches the colder waters of the Atlantic. Even so I wouldn't want to put a brolly up in Cornwall on Sunday / Monday! And then Scotland & Ireland are going to get hammered again next week. Is the UK's drought officially over yet?

I got an Email from Blakes today about their 2012 season with links from the email to their web-site.. Clicked on the link and got a very well designed error page... http://www.blakes.co.uk/Web/global/errorpage.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/WebPages/shared/404.aspx Went to the home page did a search for available boats, for the period I am interested in, got a list of options. Clicked on the View button on one of them to see the boat details and... Was sent back to that very well designed error page... Is any one else having similar problems?

Reading the manual, and having a bit of common sense makes a lot of difference... Unfortunately there are plenty of hirers who dont seem to have either. I have also done three return trips through Yarmouth over the years, but I still read the manual before I go into it again, just in case something has changed since the last time. Personally I think it comes down to people not realising that rivers, and especially their estuaries, are not like a boating lake or a canal, the water depth isn't constant! You may get through a particular spot at high tide, but then run-aground the next time because the tide is lower. Those of us that live near the coast, or play with boats on tidal waters, know about tides, but a lot of the population have little or no idea about them, hence why they get cut off on rocks etc when the tide comes in Of course to really see tides in action head over to the Channel Islands or the Bristol Channel... There you can get up to TEN METRES of difference between high and low water, and picking your way through the hazards really keeps you on your toes.

The depression off Southern Ireland is expected to track north up the west coast of Ireland and Scotland so we should miss the worst of it, but I agree I would stay in the marina. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/surface_pressure.html Katia is the one shown off Newfoundland, but the hurricane watch sites show her following a similar track and getting between the Western Isles and Iceland by 02:00 on Monday. This is not a good week for going out to sea!

"ITV1 worked with the RNLI to produce a series called Mayday Mayday. The series follows the men and women who volunteer to help those in trouble on the water, and follows incidents up and down the British coastline. The footage from the crew’s helmet and boat cameras, filmed as they are on active duties, forms the basis of the stories. The viewers experience what the crews see as they attend emergency call outs 24/7. The series starts at 7.30pm on 13 September on ITV1." http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/news/news_detail?articleid=720344

There are times when it is better to find a safe harbour to sit the weather out before a storm comes in, but at least in the UK we have the RNLI to help if things go wrong. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be out in those seas, and the RNLI crews (except for the Coxwain) volounteer to do it! They certainly deserve our respect (and donations)! There is a bit more about it on the RNLI web-site: http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/news/news_detail?articleid=720747 "The 24m former Brixham sailing trawler, Leader, was a mile south of Portland Bill when the alarm was raised. The volunteer crew were launched at 5.43pm following reports that the vessel, with 16 people onboard, required immediate assistance. Conditions were tricky with a force 7 west south westerly wind, a rough sea and rain. The wind speed was around 35 knots, gusting up to 40 knots at times." A mile south of Portland Bill would put her right in the Portland Tide Race, and the sea state in the race can be terrifying even in good weather.

My parents took two holidays on the Broads, but in both cases I paid for us to do it. When I was a child holidays were far simpler than they are these days, few people went abroad, and our family holidays were built around a family seven day rover ticket on the Southern Railway. Day trips to Portsmouth, Arundel, Littlehampton or Bournmouth and the highlight, changing at Havent onto the "Puffing Billy" steam train and down to Hayling Island. When we started to get adventourous Dad and I went Youth Hosteling on our bike (a 1939 Tandem), and over the years covered most of Great Britain, with a trip from Southampton to Loch Lomand and back being our longest expedition (1100 miles in 14 days). Many families these days wouldn't think of these as a holiday, and the price of travel and the expansion of traffic may have made them a thing of the past... Compare the price of hiring a boat on the Broads with other family holidays available, and it isn't necessarily that expensive, especially if you have a large party, (e.g. I can take eight people and a dog out for a week in August for about £22 per person per night.) How does the cost of hiring a static caravan on one of those coastal parks, compare with hiring a mobile one on the Broads? I know it is a lot cheaper to go to Norfolk than think about taking a large family overseas, or even on the canals, There are still lots of people who can't afford a "real" holiday, but on the whole our standard of living, and disposable income, in Britain has risen over the last 50 years. This is also indicated by the rise in private boat ownership, but that is to me a definite realm for the richer side as I can't justify it on the amount of time I could use my own boat. In yachting circles there is a saying that "A boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money". But even here Norfolk isn't as costly as other locations, look at the prices for a marina berth on the Solent and cringe (One of my friends was paying £7200 a year for his 42' Bavaria on a floating berth accessable at all states of the tide)

Yes we will get hirers saying that they have more experience than they do and hirers who have been before but don't actually mention that it was so long ago that they have forgotten how a boat handles. Also it is not always the person who was on the helm when they did the demo who is driving... On my first trip on the Broads I let my dad drive up the Ant, and we accidentally brushed the side of a yacht moored up on of the bends with our stern quarter. When I remonstrated with him as to "After 25 years in the Royal Navy, how did you forget the stern comes out when you turn the bows in?" His reply was, "Because I was a CPO Stoker not Seaman, and the last time they put me in charge of a boat was to take a motor whaler from Yarmouth (IOW) to Cowes and back on June 5th 1944..." As for those who seem to want to helm and do everything else including jumping off with the mooring lines, there is a general tendency among boaters (on the sea as well as on the broads), for the skipper or owner to helm and expect the crew to do the jumping, even when this isn't the best use of the crews' capabilities. How often do you see some little whippet of a wife / girl friend jumping off and trying to pull the boat in while the rugby player boyfriend is at the helm. (It doesn't always work the other way either, as I found out trying to get Dad to drive so that I could handle the jumping etc. After that first trip I vowed never to go on the Broads again unless I had someone else on the boat who was under 70!) If all the yards went for a minimum level of instruction and a test before you could take the boat out of the yard then they would need more demonstation staff or a lot of hire-boats would become floating bungalows for at least the first night. Perhaps that is the answer, educate the hirers to expect to spend their first day receiving instruction and not to expect to leave on the first afternoon. Where the crew obviously know what they are doing then the yard could say that "You can go off this afternoon if you want to". But I do seem to remember a bit on the Norfolk Broads Yachting Company's web-site about experience..., Yes, found it: "The natural caution of the inexperienced often counts for more than the over confidence of the experienced. We will take account of RYA qualifications, but it is factual to state that some of our worse "mishaps" have occurred at the hands of RYA "Yachtmasters" with no previous Broads experience!!!" I think that it is in the yards' interest to check that the hirer is given sufficient instruction before they let them loose, as they have to patch up any damage that they do, but how do you police it. Unless we go for a "certificate based" system as they do in parts of Europe, we will always have to expect novices on the water, and expect the yards to say "OK" or "I think you need more instruction". But if you needed a minimum of an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) to skipper a boat on the Broads then the hire businesses would probably be in trouble, and many private owners would have to beat a path to the recognised Boating Schools to take their exams. I believe that the standard ICC course is a one day affair, but that assumes that it is just a refresher for someone with experience, and even at that I can't see many first time hirers wanting to spend the first day of their holiday doing a formal course (to say nothing of the wife and kids who just want to get on with their holiday) I have, however, seen the concept of "Gain a qualification whilst on Holiday" growing in the Sailing (Rag & Stick) community. You can now go out to places like Greece and do a "Day Skipper" course which will allow you to then apply for an ICC, but most of those are aimed at only having the students around whilst the course is being run. Other companies run things like "Villa Flotilla" where you have land based accomodation for a week and go out during the day for training whilst the family laze around the pool, and then go off on a yacht for the second week. Perhaps the yards should be promoting something similar, a "Learn to skipper a boat on the Broads" course during the off season. Four or five students and an instructor out on a boat for a couple of days, they could even go through Yarmouth and back on a course like that. I wonder how many first-timers it would interest, and would some people who are worried about taking a boat out be attracted to the Broads? Of course, on the other side, would other potential first-timers be put off if they saw something like that being advertised? Hm, how much experience would you need to be an instructor, could some of us get more time on the water on the cheap?

No wheel position has nothing to do with being "continental" as even in the UK we drive on the right on the water. (That is the international standard) It seems to be down to the boat designer, and personally I hate cruisers with the wheel on the right as it makes handling meeting traffic difficult in restricted waters. With Fly bridge models it isn't so difficult but for some reason Wild's put in a right hand drive position on their Bahamas and judging passing manoeuvres going up to Dilham was particularly fraught.

Smelly I found a web-site that will answer all your questions http://www.deteracat.co.uk/index.htm The catwatch can run on a 9V battery or via a transformer from the mains. They do report that it doesn't always work with older cats, as they tend to lose their hearing as they get old and then an ultrasonic device won't work (Isn''t there a similar product that councils use to stop youngsters congrgating in shopping centres etc? I seem to remember that it doesn't effect us oldies because our heaing doesn't pick up the same range) They also have other products on that site that you might like. How about an automatic water jet that blasts anything that triggers its detector?

My most memorable night passage was rounding Lands End on a moonlit night... I remember seeing the Longships lighthouse and associated rocks in the moonlight, Nessie and her humps! (we had come across Loch Ness on our way down to Cornwall from Inverness) I also remember doing a late westerly approach to Sardinia with little wind and us going straight into the sunset... My sister's comment was "the next time someone suggests sailing into the sunset with me, they can take the b*****y helm! At night, give me open water and a few marks to identify rather than picking my way into a narrow channel anytime....

Do we add this to the set of "Famous last words", I hope not I held my dinghy club's capsize record for many years, (and may still do so as I left them many years ago) I capsized my Laser SEVEN times and still finished the race (I didn't win!) (They didn't count the time I retired after 10 capsizes, you had to finish for it to count!) My worst capsize was when I inverted my Laser (i.e. right upside down), but the capsize wasn't the problem, it was the fact that the depth was just about the height of the mast.. All was well until I climbed up to right her and pushed the mast into the bottom, oops! The Laser is a shaped bathtub with a sail, and not very forgiving, but I find the little lug-sail dinghies some hire companies let you rent are actually even more tricky.. But the Laser has inherrent bouyancy, capsize a Norfolk lug, right her, and you actually have to bail her out before you get back in, and the hire cmpanies don't supply a bailer...

Don't forget that you will need to recover it as well... Sliding a dinghy over a quayside is a lot easier than pulling all that weight back up again. (especially as it may be half-full of water by that time... (says someone who once managed to capsize a sailing dinghy whilst getting out of it when it was tied up at Ranworth) There is a thread on the forum for slipways... http://www.thenorfolkbroads.net/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=22 Rockland St Mary and Hickling have public slips with a broad nearby... This doesn't mention the various sailing clubs etc who might also let you use their facilities for a small fee (or find a mate who is a member and get him to go with you). All I can say is that if you are new to flappy things, 1) Launching somewhere public might prove embarassing for a first timer, e.g. the Horning public slipway next to the Swan Inn . 2) Make sure that you have some oars as well (useful for getting out of the trees etc) but make sure thay are secured in the dinghy 3) I always like South Walsham Broad for sailing a dinghy as it is nice and quiet and less embasasing when you make a whoopsy. (compare it to Malthouse Broad (Ranworth) or Barton Broad and you will see what I mean) but I have always towed the dinghy there behind a cruiser... 4) Remember to put the bung in before launching! (I borrowed a laser to try it out before I bought my own but when I launched my new one for the first time there was a hole where the other one had a optional self bailer.. ) 5) If you can't find a suitable launching site, find a mate with a power-boat, launch in their boat-yard and then get them to tow your dinghy to a suitable spot to try sailing. (That way you will also have a rescue boat on hand if thing go really belly up) 6) Please wear a life-jacket when out in the dinghy, capsizes and thumps from the boom are fairly common especially whilst learning! Good Luck Martin

Except perhaps for things like: There have been quite a few changes in the boats that are out (the average size is now much bigger!). Potter Heigham bridge has got lower, (or is it just more difficult to get through it?)... There are a lot more boats chasing the available moorings. There are now boats chasing the few electric points available, bring back the oil lamps! There are some all electric (or should I say "gas less") boats out that must have power to cook, run the jaccussi, or even to boil a kettle so they NEED to run their engines at odd hours (and that is after the BSS has made boats a lot safer than they were).... Sound systems and getto blasters have become more portable... So it isn't only the "party" boats that make noise sometimes!

Bit of an anti-climax last night, I thought that he was doing a circum-navigation of Great Britain, and yet he managed to cut off some of the most scenic bits by cutting the corner and missing the Western Isles. There was a wee mention in last night's episode that they were "going to leave her in Scotland until next year", but we know from the blog that that the latest series was actually filmed last year. Will the North Sea passage be shown in this series or in an other burst next year? Only time will tell, or perhaps a sneak look at the BBC 4 schedule for next week Hm, 20:30 Wed 7th September , new 4 episode series "Storyville" about a judge in ancient china.... Looks like it will be a while before they release the rest of the voyage of the Princess Matilda.

If it wasn't drummed into them that crossing Breydon isn't easy then wouldn't we have more problems. Those that think it is hard will probably take more care to read the instructions etc. If they were told that it easy to go through Yarmouth and up Breydon we would probably have a new spectator sport! Lights on Breydon, not a problem for the hire-boats, they aren't supposed to be out at night! Personally I don't mind night passages on the sea but the thought of creeping up a Broads river in the pitch-black would terrify me. How the private boats do it amazes me, but I reckon that there is a lot of them with spotlights that are almost searchlights on board to turn the night into day.

In the last few years I have been "Down South" with a single level Bermuda (Eden Bridge out of Bridgecraft at Acle) and also done two short breaks on Spitfire and Hurricane out of Alphacraft at Brundall (and on one of those we actually went back "Up North" anyway) I would say that the South, i.e. south of Stacey Arms on the Bure, tends to involve higher reed beds etc and there is not a lot to see in places from a conventional single level cruiser. Having something with a higher view-point does, in my opinion, give you a better view, but it can make getting through Yarmouth just that little bit more difficult. Picking your booked period to match good tidal heights and convenient tide times can allow you to work around the additional air-draft though. Also don't forget that there are three main rivers "Down South", a trip up the Chet is well worth doing. Another thing to remember is that the tidal range, and tidal currents are a lot higher "Down South", nothing to worry about but something to remember.