NeilB

Is this on the way to the millpool above Coltishall?

C.Ricko would be a good person to comment on Nannis, personally I think they are good as they have been in use on hire fleets since the late eighties. He would be a good person to talk about rebuilding Perkins as well. I'm afraid i'm not a fan of 4107/4108's but I used to love the BMC's as they were fairly bulletproof. Of course, non of them are as good as a Volvo

Welcome home Simon

You can get Yanmars on the 42 but If you spec Volvos you will get 60 knots!! http://www.dickies.co.uk/new-boats/bene ... awler-st42 Click on the tech data tab and look at the speed for the D6-310. Not sure why thay are speccing a 310 as thats only available for commercial use now.

The original mould plug may have been made of wood though David !!

Hi Jonny, best not look at this then : http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/WAA078

Going back to the Brooms I can remember servicing a 35ft wooden Broom when I worked at Kris Cruisers, got to have been at least 10/12 years ago. It may have been Snowgoose but I'm not 100%. The old guy who owned her must have been nearly 80 at the time and he had rescued her from a hire yard on the thames and refurbed her himself. My memory is lousy at times as all I can remember is that it had a very old diesel but cannot remember the make!!

I love those old Collins boats as well, they just look so right. That pic of Topaz looks like she is moored at Henley during the regatta. You can see the posts for the rowing course and the marquees.

This is nothing to do with the Broads but I though some of you may be interested in the following. http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/25/giga ... obamas-in/ Here's the actual photo http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapanFulls ... p?id=15374 The zoom is amazing

The AF32 used to be one of the boats in Kris Cruisers fleet when I worked there back in the nineties, either Lady Pauline or Lady Carina. Ok for 2 adults and 2 kids as the bunk cabin is a little cramped.

I would be seriously tempted as well except that if I even spent 1 penny on another boat I shudder to think what my wife would do to me Great pics as well, especially of the wet shed.

Hi Dan There's no rubbing strake on the hull and it looks to me that the aft deck is a lot smaller. Did they ever do a shaft drive version??

I spent a week on Astral Light back when it was still called Astral Emblem back in 1990, really nice boat I thought.

Great photos Jonny, please keep them coming. First time I've seen a Ford Cortina in a long time!!

Hi Jill When ever i did any varnishing I always flatted down the suface between each coat as it gives a better finish. You need a very,very fine grade of sandpaper though.

Boss man at Marine Engineering Looe is Robert Newton, been in the business for years and very knowledgable. Contact at Challanger is John Langan, also a good guy. AD41's are known to be a little on the smokey side and as long as properly serviced they are fairly bullet proof but it definitely needs checking, the same block eventually put out 285hp.

Especially on a friday afternoon when waiting for that clock to move round to 4-30 :-D

I've heard this lovely town will be taken over by some dour individual http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7527591.stm

As far as I can remember it's an old motor boat that was used in WW1. I've no idea how it ended up there but I expect someone will be along soon who does know.

That takes me back to the days I worked at a hirefleet!! We would sometimes get a boat back like that and it would take one person about 5/6 hours to get it looking vaguely respectable. Often a proper cosmetic repair would have to wait until the boat was off hire or the end of the season. Do you know how it happened?

I've never had any problems handling this type of craft before, just have to keep an eye on your backside when manoeuvering Being right in the bow will enable you to put the bow close to shore, then you can use a short burst of power and helm hard over to bring the stern in. Just remember to keep an eye on tide and wind direction.

Here's the answer

I have always fancied staying here and hiring their dayboat - http://www.heron-cottage.com/

I would be very carefull with using Easy Start as believe it or not an engine can become addicted to it!! - seriously. If the glow plug / burner is working properly you should be able to see a cloud of smoke coming from under the domed cover after a few seconds, as John says you should be able to hear something happening as well. The other thing to check is whether there is any voltage drop on the power supply to the plug, if you do not have a relay in the circuit this could be a problem. Some boats took the supply straight from the ignition switch which is not a good idea. If this is working and even after 30 seconds on pre-heat it will not start then it may well be worth looking at the fuel filters to check they are ok. Neil

Did'nt Topcraft have some Alpha 32 hulls modified so you could put a caravan onto them? They used to have a wheelhouse and then a big flat space behind, I think they were converted back to the Topliner spec as it was not a success. Neil