Polly

Fair winds and refined Ouzo.

We ate well there this year, ask for small portions!

Sigh! Gracie, it's time you had sailie therapy! So next time you are afloat, PM me. If team Brilliant are in range you can come out for a spin

I have a Windows 7 Notebook that runs at slow or stop speeds. Have debugged, de fragged, dementedly and finally bought a new one. Windows 8 is AWFUL! I have spent hours customising the stupid features on it and still am bumping into rubbish like not being able to email out of Office 13 ...why?!

Life is full of little surprises!

You were lucky! When I were a lad we got thrashed wi' a shovel and chucked down t'pit fer 'aving ideas at all!

Tim might like one for Uncle Albert.

Actually a similar number of letters of complaint to the HLC might be a better approach, I looked for a way of identifying a recipient but got nowhere at first effort.

That appeared to be the target on the site?

15 to go.....

56 more signatures needed as of now.

Signed

Fairhaven Gardens, if you book garden entrance ahead the trip boat will pick you up and drop you back at your moored boat, we mudweight on SWalsham Broad to do this. There is The Granary at Ranworth or the church tea room at Ranworth, both would fit the bill.

I think it sounds like a good idea in principle.

It's not just the mudweight to consider, it's allowing 'scope' the length of rope you let out that is important too. You probably know that of course, but if the weight is really hard to manage, you can augment it with a length of chain, then line.

'Clicked' ..? We have a few Tufnol blocks on Brilliant but I saw no ratchet blocks in their range so maybe they stopped?

Very frustrating, but I think MM is right.

They don't seem to be ratchet blocks though, JM?

Yes but not for long, the hull shape is not up for it. You might hold out the boom against the wind to push you back a bit, say to a mooring buoy you just missed.

For the benefit of those now using Google Translate... Topping lift = oh shoot! I'd better stop this thing sailing!!! Pull it and the wind spills out of the sail...a bit of an emergency brake ?

Cheap solution found! Our topping lift was really stiff to haul up, not good. It goes From the top of the mast, under the boom through a bullseye fairlead, back up to a cheek block at the top of the mast, then down to the foot of the mast; we wanted to lead it back to the cockpit but it was not at all good. It seemed to me that most of the resistance was caused at the boom, so I got some cheap flexible plastic tubing, put it through the fairlead and stopped it sliding out, then threaded the topper through it. Result! The rope slides easily through the tube and the topper works as it should, even from the cockpit. It cost about a squid, and also saves friction on the sails where it once rubbed. One happy saily here

Yes sounds right. Poppy, I really like your idea of reducing the purchase easily.

Yes, then I need to establish the required length of the mainsheet bridle and get it made up in rigging wire with thimbles at each end.

Yes try www.SAPERE.org.uk for good info. When I do this work with both kids and teachers, you see the light switching on. A lot of Values work and RE is now enquiry based, and that is great, I think.

Well and good, new mainsheet collected and soft eye splice is in the end as requested. I also bought some splicing fids to do an end on end splice to lengthen the tail of the topping lift; this is with a view to fitting a cheek block at the foot of the mast and leading the topper back to the cockpit....DO keep up everyone!