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MY littleboat
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Posts posted by MY littleboat
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Well good morning,
It has been a while since I last posted anything here, and I was a little unsure of where to post this! Recently, we met up with Richard and Lisa of @waggiescruising @waghorriand had a good natter - so I have naturally turned this into a Podcast.
If you happen to be driving for 30 mins and wanted to listen to a chat about boating, bridges, future boating plans, the condition of the Chet and the New Cut as well as a good deal of clap-trap, then this may be for you!
Hope you enjoy!
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10 hours ago, floydraser said:
Very interesting and well presented. I look forward to the next one. In the meantime I'll have look at you other vids.
Thank you - I am re-learning to both boat and make videos as I go....... any suggestion for the future is most welcome - I don't monetise and make them for fun. Apart from a recent video of someone trying to make a passage up the, then overgrown, new cut, I couldn't find anything and just took off for the day... walked far too many miles... got wet and sun burnt in the same day, but really enjoyed the time I spent there....
Years ago I made some vids of the NBN meets and I saw that some are still around on my old channel - although I used commercial musc in those days and got a few copyright issues as a result!
I'm working on another two episodes in the series at the moment and one is around the wartime and military connections but, I fear, that will be alot longer in the making!
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11 hours ago, marshman said:
Missed out anything at all about Calthorpe Broad and its interesting stories and the red deer that now live there.
Also the Cut is now navigable to those who can get under THAT bridge, but beware the turning basin under the bridge is not large at all, simply because the BA dredged it fairly recently, along with Catfield Dyke which too is more accessible these days.
Not sure I agree with his comments on wind pumps - money has been spent aplenty on trainee millwrights, but difficult to see where to be honest. Turf Fen needs lots of work done badly, after what was done earlier looks to have been a total FUBAR and as for Clayrack at How Hill, where they actually took the sails off to work on them at least a decade ago. I think I have asked JP many times about that, but I bet no one can even remember where they even are now. What a wonderful attraction the three pumps at How Hill would have been - all three are now just a load of junk festering away these days!
As always, I value your input and I would like to do a similar walk around Calthorpe - it is those hidden corners that I would really like to explore more and although I have seen that Brograve has, in the past, had attempts to correct the lean (I think the brick pattern shows come effort) it and I fear other such as you mention, are being left to crumble.
I saw how quickly the millwrights can turn around other shuttered sails, most recently down here in Suffolk and so it really is disappointing that Clayrack is just sitting there....
Thank you for your valuable and insightful comments that have always, over the years, inspired me to look at the Broads in a new and different way!
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Whilst looking around for places to visit - and after using my old 130 year old 'Rivers or Norfolk and Suffolk' guide - I have decided to modernise and use my 1930s/40s Blakes guide to see a few more places.
Ironically, there is so little about Waxham New Cut, in fact many of the sources I have found have 1820 or 1830 as they year it was dug, and could find absolutely nothing of the old Lound Brickworks - except it had a pair of scotch kiln ovens and was the main reason for the canal to be dug from the drainage watercourse that existed beforehand.!
I took the opportunity to have a peep in the top of Brograve Mill and generally had a really pleasant circular walk! Thank you for taking the time to have a peep at this little known part of the Broads!
PS the drone shot of Horsey is a stock image and not mine sadly.... Last thing I would like to do is upset the NT, who, I feel, have done a great job in managing Horsey and making it as accessible as they have!
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I really wish that I could be there this weekend - still have fond memories from all of those years ago.....
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Welcome to the forum!!!!
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There is a known correlation between dredging and salination - where dredging is reduced, flow rates increase, salination also increases - but more worrying is the water quality and phosphorous and other nasty 'blooms' (sometimes called 'plumes' which result from overflow discharges from our wonderful water companies. BA as well as the government, have slept whilst the recording of these discharges have increased. The result is large algae fields which also kill waterlife, make the water less safe for those who venture in it - including swimmers, canoeists and paddle boarders. It has also been reported in credible scientific journals, that there is a possible link to the high numbers of Avian Flu cases in that the algae may be harbouring the viral spores
EA employ a raft of scientific experts to monitor water quality however, I have never seen an EA tester around the Broads and, being devolved, like everything else is, I wonder if the BA are actually really worried about water quality or just happy to pull up boat yard barriers as a quick fix when fish float around dead on the surface leading to outrage from the public in the press?
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Well we are back again - at the end of 2022, we made the, very cold journey, to the boats new home! Mutford Bridge was broken - kinda sums up our Broads boating - there always seems to be a drama - although we didn't expect a 13% toll rise and a slap around the face if we wish to visit Reedham this summer!!
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On 11/11/2022 at 09:44, Bluebell said:
I’m fitting a solar panel…😎
I'm getting a cap to cover mine!!!!! :)
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After more than 10 years away, the decision was finally made that, for 2023 at least, we would be returning to the Broads! So on a wet and windy early January morning, myself and a friend trudged up, through a broken Mutford Lock and along the Broads - of course stopping for the obligatory lunch at the Reedcutters!
All in all, we are chomping at the bit to get boating in 2023, but in the meantime, have to make do with looking back at our memories of 2022 - and, although we didn't get on the water nearly as often as we would have liked, we did manage to have a few really great nights onboard!
Here is a quick (under 3 min) vid I popped together for our (non-montised in any way) channel
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I think our small dog has the same claws though!!
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I think it would depend on your maintenance schedule and how long the impellor has been in-situ - If you know it has only been in for, say under 2 years, then 'on inspection' would be good - however, neoprene and other rubber derived items will degrade - especially if not flexed regularly, and I would change it. I would also change it if it had not been used for a very long time (ie a season out of the water) Otherwise, a good inspection will suffice, but take the opportunity to fit spin-off wing nut cover screws and carry a spare as it is easy to identify if things arent going well (ie housing not cold!!!) and rectify - well that is my plan anyhoo!
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Now live and available in HD - The 4K version may take a day or two :) As I have mentioned previously, we do not monetise and make these short films to remember our journeys and our boating ups and downs!
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On 12/10/2022 at 12:09, FlyingFortress said:
Good points as always 👍
As an example of how dangerous a boathook can be in the wrong hands.
Moored at Ranworth last year down the side.
Had been chatting to our next door neighbor on a large well equipped hire boat. He was decrying the lack of experience of some hirers as he had a yachtmasters certificate.
He then did a pre departure briefing instructing the crew exactly what their roles would be. All very professional except the bit where the other male crew member was to fend off with the boathook. Thankfully not my boat. 😥
The shout "Fend off" was heard followed by a splash. Yes the boathook had slipped on the fibre glass and the fendee was in the water.
A second hire boat was attempting to take the vacanted space and had a fixed boarding ladder on the stern and as they had stopped their engine I tried to manoeuvre the man towards the stern and asked if they could cast off their dingy to assist. Unfortunately the boarding ladder had been crushed and was useless so with the help of a couple of large bystanders got him to the quayside and dragged him out thankfully no worse for wear. No lifejacket of course. 😳
During the subsequent retrieval of the dinghy and stopped hire boat I spoke to the helm who said she was a first timer and didn't know what to do except switch off the engine. I assured her that she had done exactly the right thing 👍
So what do we make of that? 😐
A qualified helm putting his crew in danger, and a first timer showing remarkable common sense
As a skipper of nearly 40 years, I can honestly say that I am as prone to mistakes as anyone - and that is alot of boating every year and not a 2 week holiday once a year for 10 years (Which equates to about 5 months irregular experience...) As you get older you get wiser and realise that over confidence exists in all sports and past times... Human Factors leads to mistakes with the vast number of air accidents, for instance, occurring in the cohort of 'experienced amateurs.'
In my professional life I work for the emergency services and attend ALOT of Broads incidents and I find 2 things are common (Without exception, but my personal experience. sorry no double-blind trials on this one...)
1. Women listen to safety briefs very carefully and are quicker to react with the cautious drills (ie engine off) and are less likely to make a situation worse and subsequently ask for help early.
2. The more serious incidents often involve those who 'perceive' that they are experienced and do not match option 1.
Sadly - I have never been able to establish the reason why those in category 1 need to bring 15 bags of stuff with them for 2 days afloat though!!!!
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On 05/10/2022 at 20:10, Meantime said:
Sorry to hear you were hit, but good that everything is ok. We need to bear in mind that in the event of any accident the other party should stop and exchange details, however as annoying as it might seem, saying sorry is to admit liability, which most insurance policies expressly insist that you never admit liability even if you are at fault.
Unfortunately, unlike motor insurance, and even though on inland water under which Broads Bylaws exist alongside other navigational rules, the duty of a Master of a Vessel (even if a hirer) is to stop and ensure those details are given. There is no 'designed for the Broads' boat - unless you have a wherry or commercial craft, and ours, for instance, is particularly thin in places. A few years ago, another of our boats, sustained thousands of pounds of damage from a swipe and go. Now we always have a camera - it is sad that boating has come to this as accidents - especially when inexperienced skippers who are on holiday often, and sometimes private owners too, feel that this sort of behaviour is acceptable.
Saying sorry is not an admission under maritime collision liability and, if you read the literature from your insurer, that is often made perfectly clear!
Even the Broads Authority give guidance in their video series of what to do:
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Well, after more than a year Friday Night has again wet her hull with Broads water! As always we have included our journey in our vlog and our latest upload will be available at 19.30 this evening. We have really thought about this upload and included as many cinematic shots of The Broads and some of the favourite places we have visited. Please enjoy and feel free to comment... EXCLUSIVE - We have made the decision to have a full season back in the Broads next year - More details to follow!
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11 hours ago, Smoggy said:
Dougal's beast if I recall correctly, elysian 27 hull I think.
Was a drunk conversation so happy to be corrected.
I think it started life as a marine projects 31 I believe
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I have been uploading a few memories of boating years gone by and am about to re-do some of the old NBN stuff! in the meantime, who remembers tis when they passed Reedham?
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On 03/07/2022 at 12:25, Smoggy said:
You must have met one of the grumpiest landlords in the area then, ye olde sun, trip advisor is a funny read if you look for a comment by sandyman under terrible as the description is spot on for quite a few saturday afternoons in there, ignore the anti-vax/mask comment though as I know that are all jabbed in there as swmbo was working in the vax centre and saw most of the regulars and staff, a good little 'proper' pub though with good prices.
Tha Ale Taster is well worth a visit, if you like something obscure to drink they have a 'fridge of doom' and discount for takeout beer.
Haha I popped in there the other day - I wish I had read this first! lol!
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3 hours ago, Smoggy said:
I have done similar a couple of times and taken my chainsaw to the boat and sorted a couple of fallen trees across the permissive path from surlingham ferryhouse to the rspb bit, probably classed as criminal damage as it's private land but it made it useable again and it's such a good dog walk when moored at the pub.
On the playing field behind my house they cut half and leave the rest to grow with a few wandering paths cut through it (it was used for football years ago), I spoke to a mate who used to work for the town council and he told me it was due to a lot of local folk wanting to see more habitat left to grow so I have no problem with that, it's still well used with short cut areas.
And such a very important area - although the charitable trust do an excellent job with the study area, it seems Ted Ellis would be turning in his grave if he thought that access to it was being restricted!
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59 minutes ago, Bernard said:
Since they changed many Byways to Restricted Byways near where I live if they are not used by farm machinery most are now overgrown, the odd vehicle passing along used to keep them clear.
Good old Richand Benyon MP... stop those wretched people using them... Bring on the 'Trespass Act July 2022' criminalise everyone with a camper van or a tent!
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I love this phrase 're-wilding' I have seen it used to justify a number of what are, obviously, cost cutting measures, but more worryingly, like many other maintenance tasks, have often been placed out to subcontractors - at a higher cost... well that is if you do everything the local authorities were doing before - solution - do less - save money.
I am not sure this is lost on the Broads also - I am just waiting for a financial justification for things such as 'coloured pig/cow/insert random painted fibreglass animal here' trails which I am sure will be coming to our riverbanks soon!
As far as the Broads Authority are concerned, I can already vouch that I have seen the Pink Elephant! I win!
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16 hours ago, SwanR said:
I will definitely get to this one at some point. We're working our way through your back catalogue and thoroughly enjoying your videos. I would highly recommend that folk get themselves over to YouTube, subscribe and enjoy. :)
Thank you so much. The Boating Memories snippets are just me sharing my thoughts and memories and a more akin to short rambles - I really hope you enjoy thm, got a few more Broads related ones to make over the next few weeks whilst I am getting boat withdrawal symptoms!
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The River Chet
in Holiday Tales & Blogs
Posted
It has been a while since we have posted purely Broads related content, however, we have popped a short episode of our 'Another River' series up this evening and on Wednesday there will be a 'Slow TV version with just a trip to Loddon with open audio and immersive sound! I really hope you enjoy!