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Norwich YS overnight: Sept 81 £2.00; Sept 86 £4.80; Sept 87 £4.80; Oct 93 £6.00; Oct 94 £6.80; Oct 95 £6.80; Yarmouth YS overnight: Sept 84 £3.80; Sept 86 £3.50; Sept 87 £5.00; Oct 89 £6.00; Oct 90 £8.00; Oulton YS overnight: Aug 85 £2.00; Sept 86 £2.20; Sept 87 £2.35; Oct 90 £3.20; Oct 93 £3.80; Oct 94 £3.90; Oct 95 £4.00; Beccles YS overnight: Sept 86 £2.20; Salhouse: Sept 84 50p; Smith Powles Marina (Wroxham) Oct 93 £2.80; Horning Ferry Marina Oct 93 £5.00 (including use of swimming pool); Anglia Water 12 months fishing licence 1985 £3.00; Anglia Water 7 day fishing licence 1987 £1.50; Anglia Hosts 158 Ber Street, Norwich, Sept 84: Cheese Ploughman £1.75p; Cheese Roll 70p; Bowl of Chips 55p. Rising Sun, Coltishall, Sept 86: Plaice meal £1.95; Gammon meal £3.75; Sausage meal £1.75.

Think you have got it spot on Heron. I followed Maxwellians lead and looked up next year and the three weeks after the school holidays are priced at only a few pounds less. Boatyards could end up with a lot of boats sat in their yards for those weeks. Roy

Part of my holiday was the hours spent leafing through the brochures and comparing boats, layouts, prices etc. To me this is one area where online is extremely cumbersome compared with the previous method. I wonder whether this is part of the reason why smaller boatyards are finding it harder to stay in business. The big boys can afford smart websites with probably more details and pics of their craft (although these are still not always easy to find), whereas the small yards probably find that a website eats up a bigger percentage of their profits. The brochures gave a much more even playing field to the smaller yards. Roy

We are on our shared boat Lightning on the 26th September for a week. Just as a matter of interest I looked for the hire price of her sister ship Beam of Light (both were originally built by Brooms for their hire fleet). Beam of Light is already booked for the 26th so no price was showing. The previous week was £1,529 and the week after £878. This seems too much of a difference especially seeing that neither week are either a bank holiday or school holiday week. Roy

New Inn garden definitely went down to river edge in 1964. Roy

But it seems they are commercial craft when it comes to waste disposal. Don't know Iain, with my rate of catching fish it definitely wouldn't be commercially viable. Roy

If, as Robins says, the fuel is zero tax rated for commercial use as his example of a fishing trawler, then shouldn't hire boats be able to use zero tax rated fuel as they are also commercial craft. Roy

Thanks for your answer Barry. I wondered if it was George Smith. Roy

Just been looking through my old Broads holiday records and came across a receipt for overnight mooring at Smith-Powles marina. It was October 93 and we were on White Champagne from Alan Johnson Boats which was being operated by the Foley family following Alan Johnson's retirement. Also have receipts for the same holiday for Oulton Broad yacht station £3.80 overnight - they put us on the staging (where the houseboat was recently moored) because White Champagne had davits at the time and couldn't moor stern on. Compared with Oulton an overnight mooring fee for Horning Ferry Marina at £5 seems expensive, although it included use of the swimming pool. The overnight at Smith-Powles was £2.80. The mooring was at the marina on the Wroxham side of the river where Powles operated from. I was wondering what the Smith bit was - anybody know. Roy

Probably intentional by Richo's. They know that if you can keep the guys out of the galley their cleaners are going to have a lot less work to do on turnround. Roy

We take over Lightning early afternoon on Saturdays. The last couple of times we have headed upriver the moorings at Bremerton have been full with 'Big Uns' presumably from Brundall. Of course they are perfectly entitled to moor there . . . they will only be staying for 24 hours won't they. Roy

One of the Monarchs pictured from Wroxham bridge looking downstream in I think July 63, when the Broads still looked like the Broads. Roy

Hi Bobdog, We really enjoyed our holidays on the Canal du Midi and Canal du Rhone a Sete (the continuation of the Midi). We went first time in August when it was very hot but the plane trees that overhang the canal gave plenty of shade. Unfortunately a lot of these trees have been removed since to try and eradicate a disease spreading via their roots from tree to tree, so there are large sections with no shade now. Next time we went in mid May and the weather was brilliant never less than the low 20s and not higher than 27 degrees. I think early to mid June would be an excellent time to go. As Alan says most of the locks are manned but there are a few exceptions such as the Canal du Jonction which connects the Canal du Midi to Narbonne. Here the locks are automated, worked by a combination of buttons and magic eyes. The last lock entering Narbonne has a pole on a wire suspended over the centre of the canal which you twist as you pass under. This starts the lock mechanism. Attached is a pic of the seven waterway personnel that arrived to fix a stuck automatic lock. Roy

Midlands you say Jill. Just had a vision of travelling along the Shropshire Union Canal trying to pass a tacking yacht. Roy

Alan, I agree with you and think that Doug has got it right with Reed Bunting. Hoseasons 63 brochure shows two boats in the class both recently built and the hull shape and front windows look the same - can't quite make out the side windows in the pic. These boats were being rented out by Reedling Yachts of Horning. They had 15hp Excelsior "Seafarer" 2 stroke engines. In the 1971 Blakes catalogue they have moved to Herbert Woods and there are now four in the class. The side window configuration is quite clear in this catalogue and seems to match my photo. They now had Volvo Penta 8hp diesel engines. Roy

Thanks Polly, I'll see if I can find it in some old brochures.

Hi again, We are on Crusader 1 from Richardsons above Acle bridge in July 63. I presume the motor cruiser is a Broom's Captain but does anybody know the yacht. Roy

Thanks Carol. Somebody had written opposite Thurne Dyke on the back of the pic and I knew it wasn't there. Roy

Oops, pic didn't attach. Try again.

Hi, Anybody have any idea where this was, and is it still there? Pic was taken in July 63 and I'm pretty sure its on the Northern rivers somewhere. Roy

Hi Iain, I did think of that one but had it in my head that the hull was varnished wood. Will look through my old brochures for alternatives but you're probably right. Roy

Thanks Alan, I was thinking the same. I saw her again 28 years later being restored in a shed at Colin Facey's when we hired Meadow Saffron in 1986. Roy

Not the best of pictures but does anybody recognise the yacht? Taken at the end of August 1958 on the Bure near Wroxham. Don't hold out much hope of anybody recognising the other boat though. Roy

Does anybody know anything about this company? Their website shows a map of Horning and three woodies for hire and another three being restored. Not much other info, no prices etc. Roy

Matt, What's the online code you mention. Roy