DaveS

Yes, it was pressure wash when it was lifted out Jim. The hull, which was antifouled, is now nice and clean, and ready fro a fresh coat of antifouling. The prop is nice and clean, but its just the lower leg that has a lot of, like limescale on it. You can pick it off with a fingernail, but that would take forever, and leave me with no finger nails I was wondering if something like a kitchen limescale remover would soften it, such as ViaCal or similar. Dave

Is there a easy way to remove scale/encrustation from the lower leg of an outboard or outdrive, without removing/damaging the paint below it? A chemical agent maybe? The boat spends all it's time on the Broads, so the build up of scale is from brackish/fresh water only. Dave

That's a 'belt and braces' approach Wayne, and if you are going to use the likes of blade fuses in waterproof holders, which aren't expensive, then why not. I fitted a Sterling Charger in my boat, but have to admit that I only fused the Positive outputs. Dave

Hi again Brian Nice and convenient for the shop where you are going to be berthed. I'm in the Marina, as is my son (GrantS) and his boat. I have no idea if the WRC is served by a bus, but I would think it unlikely. If I'm around at the time, I'd be happy to run you back to Brudall to collect your car, but I guess if not, then it would have to be a taxi. Oh yes, I think 4 hours is enough time to cruise from Brundall to the WRC. Dave

Hi Brian That's good news, and we look forward to seeing you at the WRC in April. There are a few of us forum members there, but 'forumites' or not, they are a friendly bunch. Are you going to be moored in the marina or the dyke? Dave

You might want to look here then Paul: http://www.waveneyrivercentre.co.uk/ All that you are asking for I think. BTW, a lot of Marinas on the Broads don't have chemical toilet emptying facilities. Pump out for holding tanks yes, but proper Chemi Toilet disposal facilities are not so common place. The WRC does have. Dave

Hi Heather, and welcome aboard. Dave

Hi Brian, and welcome aboard. Also moored at the WRC. Dave

Hi Paul, and welcome aboard. Do you you want Northern or Southern Broads? Dave

As warm as toast I have what we call a 'warm-room' attached to my observatory, which is the 'control room' for the equipment in the observatory. The telescopes and cameras etc, are all computer controlled, so I can sit in warm and comfort, while taking pictures Dave

I took this one last night, and thought you might like to see it, as its quite unique. Its known as the 'Horse Head Nebula' for obvious reasons, and is dark material (dust) silhouetted by the glowing Hydrogen Gas behind it. Its located in the constellation of Orion. Its a mono image, because it was taken through a very narrow-band Hydrogen Alpha filter. Total exposure time was 80 minutes. Dave

If I am to believe what I have heard, on more than one occassion, buying an Elysian should approached with caution, as it appears they have quite a reputation for GRP problem (Osmosis and de-lamination). The story goes that this was due to the less then ideal factory conditions under which the GRP hulls were produced. Don't have any first hand experience of this but, but it was enough for me to dismiss the Elysian from our 'shopping list'. If you were consider one of these boats, then it would definitely be worth doing a bit of research to see if the the problems described, are fact or fiction. Dave

When we were looking for a boat, we looked at the Shetland 4+2 and dismissed it on the size of the accomodation, especially the toilet. The toilet is very small indeed, and with an inboard engine taking up the space beneath the cockpit, I don't think there would be room for a holding tank anyway. Having come from a large four berth touring caravan, we knew that we weren't going to get that amount of accomodation space, in a boat that was fairly new, and within our £30k budget, and so a degree of compromise, was the 'order-of-the-day'. If you want a well equipped cruiser for the Broads, around the 21-22ft mark, with fitted Cassette Toilet, and pump out shower/wet room, then the Viking 22 is worth considering. We opted for the Viking 24, but are now considering moving up to a larger boat. Dave

How can you be sure that I didn't take all the gear on the boat with me Perry Dave

Thought you might to see this one, that I took from last night's clear sky. Its known as the Witch's Broom Nebula or the Veil Nebula, and lays 1400 Light Years away in the constellation of Cygnus. About 10,000 years ago, a star exploded, and the nebula is the remnants of that star. I photographed this a few years ago, and you've probably seen the picture of my website, but this a better and closer 'shot'. Dave

Hi Ian They were £80 when I bought them I bought them because they scored very well in a review 15x75 Bins, and they haven't disppointed. That said, I don't use them terrestrially, as they are quite large and heavy, and at x15 not too easy to hold steady. When I use them its on a tripod, albeit the plastic tripod mount that comes with them is a bit flimsy for astro work, so I bought a metal one. For general terrestrial work, a pair of 10x50s are a much better option. Dave

You could have a look at my web-site Mark http://www.progressiveastroimaging.com/davesastronomy/ Dave

The darker evenings are here again, and I'm now back in my Autumn and Winter hobby of Astrophotography. Here's the first picture of the new season. Its known as the Cocoon Nebula, and resides 4,000 Light Years away, in the constellation of Cygnus. Its 15 Light Years wide, and is a star forming region (where new stars are born), comprising of dust and gas (mainly Hydrogen). To put it in perspective, if you could travel at 186,000 miles per second, it would take you 4000 years to get there For the 'Techies' the images comprises 6x300 sec exposures through each filter, Infrared blocking, Red, Green and Blue, making 24x300 sec exposure combined (in software) to make the final colour image. Dave

That's the one Neil. Its at Stonham Barns, which is a right turn at the crossroads (slightly offset) in the Village of Stonham Aspal on the A140. Then its about three miles up on the right hand side. Well worth a visit. Dave

Unfortunately, I think the answer to that has to be a definite yes Gordon, as varnish is not a suitable substrate for expoxy resin, or styrene based resin (as in fibre glassing. It would have been better to have removed the varnish with Nitromors or similar, and then left the hull to dry out in the garage over the winter. However, given that Nitromors will attack the resin that bonds the fibreglass tape to the seams, it has to be used with care. About 5 years ago I bought a Miracle dinghy in which to teach my eldest grandson to sail. The hull was in good condition, but the varnish and paintwork was long overdue for some serious attention. Rather than just rub it down and repaint and varnish, I stripped the entire boat back to bare wood with Nitromors, and started from 'scratch'. Here's a couple of photos of the stripped back boat, and the finished job. BTW, the grey paint in the bottom is not to cover up bad wood, as there wasn't any, but was anti-slip deck paint which was applied over the varnish. Dave

Seems to me that yoo dont need it John, cos I can sea thears nuffin rong wiv yor spelin Dave

Hi Paul, that's exactly how the canopy on our 2006 Viking 24 went It was already at that stage when we bought the boat at 3 years old, and this fact was refelected in the price we agreed to pay for the boat. I suspect that around that time, Viking may have changed the canopy material suppliers, or that batch of material was sub-standard. I say this because I raised the issue on the Viking owners forum, and was told that some boats still had very servicable vinyl canopies that were 7 to 10 years old. However, for the sake of spending a couple of hundred pounds more, I opted for the new canopy to made from Acrylic Canvas. Albeit replacement canopies of either material, are not a cheap items. I have kept the old canopy, and will be putting it back on the boat for the winter, with a tarpaulin over it. The new canopy will be coming home and stored in the garage until I put back on in the spring. Dave

Photographed these two lovely specimens on a visit to the Suffolk Birds of Prey Centre the other day. The 'big fellow' is a Snowy Owl, and the other a Peregrine Falcon, who gave an amazing flying display, rising to some two thousand feet, then circling before diving down a rocket speed to grab the lure. Canon 30D + Canon 75-300 USM Zoom Lens. Dave

Thanks Paul If I can get there, it will be as a customer, so the free admission is good news Dave

Its interesting to note that they have gone plastic body on the 60D, something more akin to the cheaper 350D and it's successors. I went from a plastic bodied 300D to the metal bodied 30D (now superceded by the 40D & 50D), as it looked, felt, and handled like my old metal bodied 35mm Canon SLRs. The 300D was a good early release DSLR, but its not in the same league as the 30/40/50D. Dave