NeilB

Yes, Ad blue. The gases all exit through the exhaust. You won’t see this in leisure boats for a long time, if at all.

For engines in leisure boats under 24m the current UK and EU emission regulation is RCD 2 which was introduced on new engines from January 2017. A review of this should be completed by the end of 2022 but how the UK will handle this remains to be seen due to Brexit. There are other regulations for new engines larger than 130kW for commercial use but unlikely to affect the Broads. The next big one is IMO Tier III which is global, it’s being phased in now depending on installed power, vessel size, location etc and will be fully implemented by 1st Jan 2021. Recreational boats less than 24m are not affected. Engines that are affected will be using exhaust systems similar to the one below, nothing new as they have been used by trucks for years. As to the future, well the buzzword at the moment is electromobility, we already have electric cars and buses with trucks from 2019. It may take a few years but it will eventually reach the Broads.

Very good Chris, for number 5 when you walk up to security make sure you have a pronounced limp as it helps ! As an exhibiter here’s my version. 1. A nice lady at work books the appropriate nights at the Grand Harbour Hotel. Nice hotel but has pictures of some grumpy chef all over the place putting you off your food ! 2. Drive car to concierge who takes keys and probably dumps car in a back street as their car park is now part of the show. 3. Blag another staff members room number so you can wrangle a breakfast. 4. Walk over road to stand and discover no one has emptied bins, cleaned glass, dusted, topped up brochures etc. 5. Stand on aching feet all day awaiting someone to dump a bag of oily 40 year old engine parts on a nice clean white counter 6. When show quietens head over to the “secret” Guinness bar with the real stuff from Ireland. 7. On way back to hotel pop into the Dancing Man brewery for a quick one ! 8. By 9pm realise we’re still in the Dancing Man but hungry so try and find somewhere who can feed us. 9. No idea what happened next - honest!! 10. Wake up next morning and say “ I’m never doing that again”. Repeat for however many days you are there for. 11. Last morning at checkout enquire why you have 14 breakfasts on the room number when you only stayed 4 nights and where is my car? 12. Last half hour of last day wander round seeing how many freebies or deals you can get. 13. Spend 5 hours sat on the M3 / A34 at 15mph. 14. Receive abuse from wife as I’ve been enjoying myself and getting a suntan etc, etc

That's a bit of a trek, our lot moan if they have to walk more than 10 minutes !!! Mind you it does have a slipway, you could borrow Rascals jet rib to commute in !!

Where on earth is that?!

As I get older I realise that most people are just winging it, including me !

I hope you have sorted a hotel as they get booked real fast and prices get very silly.

Not unexpected but still sad news, I'd be surprised if it's taken off hold. https://www.londonboatshow.com/Show-News/2018/May/Statement-regarding-London-Boat-Show-2019

Weren't these originally built by Ferry Boatyard, they had at least 2?

Fully agree. They have been interfering in matters that should be handled by managers where I work as well. luckily in one case the managers stepped in and put a stop to their antics. HR, they are neither Human or Resourceful !!

If the jet rib is proving to be next to useless for your requirements why not sell it and use the funds for a nice day boat? The space could be used for a small dinghy at a fraction of the price if you still want a tender for Indy.

The current VOR boats were built by Green Marine in Hythe and now on their 2nd race. I was offered a sea trial on the first boat off the line back in September 2012, my wife was expecting our 3rd child at the time so it was a non starter. It would have been the Solent as opposed to the Southern Ocean though !

It works ! [emoji106] Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I had no idea what I wanted to do after school but always wanted to work in a boatyard. Left school at 15 due to a late June birthday, had 2 weeks off and started a YTS apprenticeship studying City & Guilds as a car mechanic . As it was with Vauxhall they gave me an extra £5 per week more than the standard YTS !! My boss wangled another £2.50 a week to cover bus fares to and from Watford Technical college - even though I cycled ! College was pretty good, they let us work on our own cars as long as it was relevant to the coursework ! Once my 3 year course was coming to an end I contacted a few boatyards on the Thames within driving distance of Bushey. Bourne End Marina, Kris Cruisers and Aquamarine which was run by our very own Vaughan, long story short I worked at Kris Cruiser for 10 years. Had a great time, learned lots of skills, met some great people and even turned Vaughan's lovely clean boatshed blue while repairing a fire damaged Seamaster 25. The fact I knew one end of a boat from another gained me a job at Volvo Penta UK head office. Still here now 16 years on carrying out various tasks from checking / placing orders to planning and organising boat shows. We're a surprising small team so most of us are now multi skilled. Some of you mention retirement, I've a few years to go yet but we'd ideally like to retire to Norfolk. Warwick is a lovely place, much better than Bushey in my opinion but too far from the coast and the Broads.

I believe Brooms have built a few.

They probably mixed them up !! Oil analysis is becoming fairly common now in commercial and industrial engine use. With regular sampling you can extend servicing by quite a margin and it’s very sophisticated now. Bear in mind larger engines use several gallons of oil per change and some are working up to 24 hours a day in a few applications, downtime is also an issue.

WD40 attracts dust and dirt, it can also cause some plastics and rubbers to swell or become brittle with prolonged use.

Having carried out several hundred trial runs I can also vouch that teaching your other half or close family how to control and moor a boat is not worth the hassle!! Strangers, some of whom not speaking English - piece of cake. My wife - nearly ended in divorce !!! Perhaps an RYA inland helmsman's course would be a good investment, your mum and partner could probably take this on their own boat giving them more confidence?

There's a company called Mouldcam who have been making moulds for a few years now using foam plugs from a huge CNC machine. Some of the UK builders use them.

On a Broads cruiser engine placement may be a consideration when designing the hull but don't think it's critical. Both Bounty and Alpha had rear mounted engines on hydraulics and mid mounted shaft installations on the same hull. As long as other heavy items have their locations planned it should be OK. I have heard rear engines Alphas handle better than mid engine but not noticed a big difference myself. Planning boats are a difference kettle of fish and weight distribution is critical, even moving a pair of engines a few inches can make a huge difference.

There's probably a few moulds lying around in various places although a lot are destroyed once production ends. I know of one UK builder who ordered a mould chopped up, the workers destroyed the wrong one which was an expensive mistake!! Sealine went bust April 2013 so they didn't build many T60's, if anyone did buy them they would be advised to re-design the machinery layout. Remote mount v-drive gears was not one of the best ideas Sealine had and added significant cost. I did send the specs to the gent who bought the moulds from the administrators so he may still have them. The Sealine T50 moulds made their way to Norfolk, there were plans for them but it died a death, not sure if they have been disposed of as well.

And in other news Richardson’s plan a new leisure complex at Stalham !!

I know they are dated now but I’ve always liked the Pearls. Cramped for 6 but great for 4 people. It would be a shame if they were cut up.

I'm sure this didn't help either http://oysterstory.info/

There's a report in the EDP - http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/broom-boats-brundall-norfolk-broads-to-stop-building-boats-1-5445395 that states up to 20 jobs although some could move to the leisure division which I assume is the hire boats. It also says they have 24 hire boats which sounds a lot? With Oyster re-opening lets hope there will be a few jobs available where previous workers have moved on. EDP doesn't seem very good on facts though, they state Oyster and other boat builders in the UK have been struggling. Oyster had a full order book, they closed for other reasons. Princess and Sunseeker have very strong order books, you would struggle to get a build slot at any for at least a year. Fairline are doing very well and even smaller builders like Cockwells are expanding. So it's not all bad in the marine industry.