JawsOrca

Mother read the post! (sorry all lol ).. It says when I go across I wont beat the tide... ( and Dad said it normally costs £70 (and its £75 quid whenever we fill up at horning after 4 days..)... are you offering to pay for our fuel when we are up next time? Awww thats soo sweet of you .... xx lol

Hi Alan, Ok this is bit long winded and I don't want to (and don't mean to) actively market companies as I'm not sure the forums policy.. However as you ask all products are supplied by a specialist company (Hawke house). The adhesives we are using are specially selected by them to do the job required and they are very good products! The contact adhesive is applied with a thick pile mini roller. (Best tip ever is to not do the very edges as you can pull to fit after!) For the foam backed side/headlining: Roller the contact adhesive (SAF111) to the material you are gluing to (So walls or plywood for the headlining). You have about 10 mins "play time"... then use a spray contact adhesive (trade tack) on the back of the foam.. Apply and hope for the best as its sticks and can't be peeled off! For the Bathroom material (we are using Mural Mouse B303) apply the SAF111 to both sides.. again apply within 10 mins and hope for the best... (I must admit this bathroom stuff is harder to install that the foam as bubbles are easier to spot but imposible to shift!). Hawke house have produced a fixing guide which is worth a read if you do want to do this yourself (http://www.hawkehouse.co.uk/headlining-fitting-guide). To be honest we have been following pretty much as per this, except we haven't chalked out as they say and sometimes we do go right to the edges.. (So far I have found Hawke house to be very helpful and a fair price, they are a small company, so I do highly recommend them (p.s Thegluepeople wont sell SAF111 as its a bespoke product to Hawke house only (I tried that one!))... Hope this helps..

Midweek - Sneak peak! We spent a couple hours putting up the bathroom covering.. It's a really strange product.. It appears to be a textured vinyl but looks nice (I can't get a picture of it as the camera can't focus). It's apparently the correct product for wet rooms (its a tanking material).. It has to be contact adhesive applied (with a roller!) so after some head scratching we worked out the process.. (i.e Bit by bit and carefully!).. it's hard work I was hoping to get a few walls done today but we got the biggest bit done though and we were both getting a bit tipsy on the glue fumes so it will have to be a slow process (Its strong glue) Hopefully though we will get it all done during the week though... I've ordered some oak faced ply sheets for the bulkheads which we will collect saturday.. (More to come the weekend).. Shes coming together!! Pic attached

Very true points there Robin. I hadn't thought of it like that! I can't recommend Marthams enough though and above potterham with a cruiser is amazing as its so quiet and overnighting feels special, so I hope you manage to do one day! I think you will also enjoy the different feel of a wooden cruiser We stopped at Pacific for the first time this summer.. just like you did and found them very welcoming just mooring and watched the handover they were very friendly so again I'm sure they will be a nice little yard to hire from. Looking forward to your visit!

Keep these coming Robin these are brilliant as always! That canopy seemed to be a huge let down.. lets hope they can rethink that! My folks boat is an ex brinks and the hydraulic systems which apparently brinks love installing are soo thirsty.. it adds a fair few revs to even think about moving compared to a direct drive but it seems to make close maneuvering a bit easier I have a question I've been dying to ask! Do you still pay to hire boats? surely, as considering you do a better job than certain companies (no names: BA and hoseasons) at marketing the broads surely you at least now get a nice discount? if not you certainly should do! Also have you thought about looking at marthams or the timber maffets cruisers..? These are both very different boats (albeit proper boats!) and I'm sure as independents they would welcome your exposure (I have nothing to do with either.. although Janet is my favourite boat (followed by Silver melody who has now been sold! - Actually Janet was the last boat we hired and Melody was the first...).

Just to follow on from Robin there (I know Robin you are up there a lot more than me though so I'm sure you know this but just for any newbie readers ... I religiously aim to hit yarmouth 1.5 hours after low tide for me I really hate beating the tide.. beating the tide is such a bad idea.. not only the waste of fuel but it really doesn't do the engine any good (considering how under powered broads boats are and you need to think what will happen if the engine gives up the ghost just as you turn the corner and give it full throttle!). (This may also be down to owning a sailing boat where even a bit of wind on the bow with the engine at full throttle and the boat would go backwards (We changed the prop in the end!)... But as long as you are after low water your main concern isn't the bridge height (because we all know there's plenty of room) but the strength of the water running through there. When my folks boat had engine problems I proved the benefit (unintentionally) of this.. we ran from Horning to Brundall on tick over, catching the tide all the way and we used £23 worth of fuel! Normally the boat uses about £70 quid! that's a huge saving! (and when the only bill is the fuel bill its worth timing it properly! I'm soo tight!). (I know going north is a bit harder but an hour and half still works well just need a little more throttle )

One day Iain... One day!!

Lol Mum goes white when the wash of a dinghy goes past though dad! I hate breydon water.. each time we go over its a millpond Next year we need to book the trips on the back end of a "hurricane" and go back and forth! We have been out with 3 meter swells on a fishing boat and I was at the helm.. couldnt stop laughing .. brilliant fun!

You are right I got a bit carried away!

Lol has that chip shop actually been sold yet? Apparently another forum came first so that got the officialness, although I found NBN one first (Not sure how google managed that one.. perhaps the other one was having hosting problems)....(Plus the NBN burgee looks better!) so this one is my favorite.. (Not to mention that everyone on here appear nice and helpful! - like real people!) (I actually tried writing this to empathise an impartial view of internet forums - but failed miserably - sorry Mods!)..

Please can we not go down the Liveaboard argument on this forum please.. You clearly get the good and the bad in every walk of life.. even in well to do areas of Norfolk...

Lol Iain.. I forget you have to use a boat after rebuilding it..! Thank you Mother (She really is my mum.. it's not a secondary account..!) it's hard work aint it! I prefer to look at it as not a boat no one wanted but a boat every gave up on (Our last boat had 7 people try and fail!).. thats ones only had 3.. this will be the last one for a bit although we will probably wanna change houseboats in a couple of years. There will certainly be guided tours when shes done although I suspect everyone will be sick of hearing about it! (If there's anyone left reading this by the time we finish!!)

Lol thanks Iain.. It wont be long now! This time next year we will be bored lol

Thanks Alan appreciate your comments I know we arent making it easy on ourselves to try and do it well but every little step at a time.. I must admit though I think we are both at that stage we just want it done.. But standards won't slip.. be nice to get the shower room finished next weekend...

Todays update (and Picture update!). Dave wanted to get the gas locker drain in mainly because the leaky canopy leaks straight in there and the way its been raining at the moment we almost have a fish tank... Unfortunately the bespoke gas locker is about a foot thick and it took some time to do this and I made him start and finish it as theres too many uncompleted tasks.. We finished off with putting the posh stainless steel skin fittings on... I was getting bored (and to make dave hurry up) I started unscrewing the screws in the wheelhouse windows and removing the nasty softwood window trims.. We ordered and collected sapele batterns a few weeks ago (and I varnished a few weeks too).. so I thought it would be good to get these done... We had a scary moment that I didn't order enough (and they wasn't cheap!) but quick maths I worked out the best way to use these and only had two 6inch off cuts spare (Close call though!).. It looks soo much better now (Pictures don't do it justice!).. It wasn't too bad to do. Finally a bit of tidying up and the final gloss coat on the shower room floor ready for the shower covering to go on.. We was planning on going up to norfolk next weekend but we think we will stay here and use the 3 days to get a bit done.. I may even order a couple of sheets of the oak finish boards to start and finish some of the walls of... I'm starting to worry about the weather turning and getting stuck with cutting the boards... But fingers crossed the weather will be dry.

They dont normally have stock of these... we will still have a wonder around Norfolk marine though just in case theres a better one

lol.. I should never have explained what that blue "NBN" flag meant!

Quick mid-weekend update.. During the week we got the shower room floor primed and 1st coat of gloss.. The walls in there have also been smoothed off so its ready for the shower covering.. Unfortunately the supplier was out of stock of this but they called me yesterday and advised its back in stock and will be with us monday so we can make a start on this midweek. The heater parts arrived. Today we went to canvey island chandlery and spent £160 on hardly anything (well no we brought a solar vent, 10 meters of loo pipe and stainless skin fittings.. Also they had some cookers in stock!! We both like the look of the moonlight.. it does feel better built and doesn't have too much stainless steel I think we will put up with hot knobs I didn't buy but only because they didnt have a new one in the box and I want it new! Back after lunch... solar vent put in above the shower room! And we put our two little vetus stainless mushroom vents in above the kitchen and dinette... this seemed to take ages (although it was a bit of a work as we had to measure cut glue etc... We also glued down the pullpit as these have been left loose after doing the headlining.. although this was a pain too as the bolts had to be cut down to go in a doomhead bolt.. but looks neat. Finally this evening we installed the bolt switches and a light switch panel.. I'll get pictures of bits tomorrow.. promise!

Hello Daddy... (It really is like have your parents on facebook!)... It was kinda open a few weeks ago and I agree with the other Iain, its really in the wrong place and really needs to be good place to get people there although I think its a bit too big to make money.. So don't even think about it!!

Looks like a great trip... lots of familiar sites! I still want a river boat.. I still want a river boat..!

Geez lots of posts where do I start! Thanks Finny and Alan for the tips on the rule pumps to be honest I have been looking at these and we will probably go down these lines, it certainly makes sense! Theres some I've seen too which don't have a mechanical float which look good too! Thanks Doug, hopefully we wont be the "how not to do it Guinea pig"! I'm looking forward to reading your progress too, so please keep it coming! We'd love to have a woody but our pockets and time aren't deep enough (Our last boat was a sailing boat which was half timber and she was scary maintenance wise!) Good luck too and thanks again for doing your restoration! The broads wouldn't be the broads without these stunning boats! Pauline (polly) thanks for the pictures! She looks lovely (and Brilliant!)! as above the broads needs these lovely boats so well done for restoring her!

We are back up next weekend on Sweet Kingfisher. (Friday 22nd very late though (Coldham hall, yare pub or surlingham broad) -> Loddon Saturday (hopefully) -> Sunday walk round norwich, Overnight Rockland - Monday Brundall and home).. Give us a wave if anyone sees us (P.s.. It's been may years since we done august bank holiday.. is it going to manic?)

Hi Alan, Sure have, these things are keeping me awake at night! Thanks again, this really is the stage where it should quickly come together although theres still a mountain to climb! Kitchen wise at moment we really need to decide on the cooker so we can carry on planning the kitchen and get the cabinet ordered (I know we should make them up but that would take weeks and for now its not worth the time!). I have a rough idea where things are going (actually thats a lie I know to the nearest cm where things are going!). We have already put in the gas pipe work although as you say the gas tap etc will go on once the cookers in and we know for sure how much space we have and a sensible place to put these.. obviously there's lots of other bits going on so the kitchen area is just one of these things to worry about (I don't know how my blood pressure copes with this!). At the moment we are looking at getting the electrics completed and daves gone back down into the engine room (the canopy is leaking like a sieve and the bilges keeping filling up so he's going to install the bilge pumps so to save us pumping it out...(we are going for 1 manual and 1 larger backup (float switch slightly higher) and a loud bilge alarm as it shouldn't have water down there really and we want to know about it!). He will probably want to get the duct work for the heater in too, water pipes are already in too so it did make sense to get the heater this week so effectively first fix will be completed soon (then veenered panels can go in... then fixings.. then headlining.. then curtains.. then relax!

Lol.. remind me again why I don't have a wooden boat?! (Do you really sleep with one hand out the bunk so when the water gets high you get woken up and can swim to safety?!! Sounds a bit like my mum at the horning boat show.. the poor boat needed a cuddle and shes shopping for teak deck! You can never let a deal go past though Pauline! I think we need to see some pictures of Brilliant

I think I need to hold fire on buying the cooker until it can go straight in! The spare cabin on the hb is currently full of parts! I think we will need to lag the pipes as they go in as the lagging just slips over the pipes and the pipes will largely be between the inner and outer hull so we will struggle to access them.