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Thanks folks. I should now be able to work out how poor I'm going to be.

Trying to sort out how much gas I use at home but some of the terms used are confusing to say the least. Switching sites ask for your gas usage in kwh but my present energy company gives my usage in mega joules. When looking to see how to convert mega joules to kwh I have also come across gas measured in cubic feet and cubic metres. I would be grateful if somebody could enlighten me on how I can make the conversion from mj to kwh.

How long before Broads have to be renamed?

Had holidays on a couple of them: White Champagne & Clear Horizon 2.

Looking through a 1997 Connoisseur brochure I noticed they were doing one-way holidays between Wroxham and Brundall. I had in the back of my mind that they had hired between Wroxham and Somerleyton, perhaps that was another company. Also I seem to remember one-way holidays from Hearts in Thorpe to a northern boatyard. Does anybody remember any of these or other one-way hires?

Only remember the two. I think they were intended to replace the Admirals, but I always thought Brooms had made a mistake by not building them with an aft well. I think the model was called the Saxon 40.

Originally working narrowboats were built from wood, which was then superseded by riveted iron. Welded wrought iron was tried in the 1930s but after the second world war commercial carrying began to decline rapidly and apart from two classes of boat (River Class and Admiral Class) which were built between 1957 and 1961 of welded steel construction, very few steel working narrowboats were built. After the second world war some of the first canal pleasure boats were converted ships wooden lifeboats, but they were generally wider than 7ft so could only be used on wide canals. In the 50s and 60s a few boat builders were building wooden narrow beam cruisers on the lines of Broads/Thames cruisers but were generally only about 30ft long. A few builders used old full length wooden narrowboats cut in half to make two 35ft cruisers but they were not very good "swimmers". Companies like Maidline did build some nice looking wooden narrow cruisers up to about 45ft in the 60s and 70s. Quite a lot of small grp canal boats were built in the 60s but became less popular with the rapid increase of steel built narrowboats for pleasure use from the 70s onwards and the subsequent increase of risk of damage by collisions on narrow canals. One builder Morgan Giles did build larger grp narrowboats up to about 43ft in the late 60s at their Teignmouth boatyard. They were very solidly built and a few are still around today. Extract from Morgan Giles history website: "As a canal cruiser is restricted to a 7ft beam to allow it to pass through the canal lock gates, it allowed a unique feature to be incorporated into the Morgan Giles canal cruiser hull mould. The parallel sides of the hull allowed the production of the boat lengths from 31ft to 41ft and 43ft 6ins from a single mould, having a movable transom section in the mould; these were made by the Morgan Giles shipwrights at the Teignmouth yard. The superstructure moulds were separately moulded. Another unique feature to maximise cabin space was the Morgan Giles hydrostatic drive propulsion system. This allowed the engine to be placed right in the transom locker, the power to the propeller being transferred using hydraulic fluid via a Dowty pump to a Dowty control valve to facilitate ahead and astern functions via a Denison Derry reversible motor. The power was transferred to the propeller by a right angle drive. Steering was via a conventional wheel and rudder. The engines used were initially four cylinder Perkins Diesels, later BMC Diesels were fitted that ran much quieter and smoother than the Perkins. The cabin interiors were made to the usual Morgan Giles high standards by the company joiners."

Hello Vaughan, I received an email of LeBoat yesterday offering last minute discounts. On the website is states that although Trebes is closed as a hire base for this year (as it was last year), it is still owned by LeBoat and overnight moorings are available for their boats from other bases. Maybe hopes of it reopening in a year or two?

Lovely boat. Enjoyed my 8 or so years as an owner Really easy to handle, especially from the upper helm. Spent a lot of the time just the two of us, and we are in our seventies. Never a problem for two of us to moor even at places like Reedham - the bow thruster came into its own. Only health issues made us sell. Got a static caravan now, nice but not the same - nobody speeding past to grumble about (apart from the odd youngster on an electric scooter), and I miss the rocking motion sending me to sleep. Good side is I don't have to worry about finding a mooring for the pub.

According to his son Cris he did go into catering for the oil rigs after his restaurant days.

The menu came from the Acle Bridge Inn (I scanned it from the 1965 Broads Book), but it seems Norman Chalk had other restaurants in the Broadland Area. The following is a post on this forum from Norman's son in 2014. I don't remember any of the other restaurants though: "Further to your question regarding Norman Chalk's restaurant, I am his son, unfortunately he died about 12 years ago but he did certainly have several restaurants in this area. The one in Reedham was I believe initially in an old hall which he had used as collateral for a bank loan, the bank manager was rather annoyed when he then knocked this hall down to put a new building up so the collateral had disappeared! the phone number was I think Freethorpe 343 which was tricky to say after a pint or two! He had the Mariners at Winterton I think as well as a restaurant in a barn on the carpark of Acle Bridge Pub and then the thatched cottage in Acle Village which became Acle Cottage Restaurant, then Grumpys which now is the Olive Tree. I hope this reaches any interested parties and would be very happy furnishing any further information if I can. Regards Cris Chalk"

Does Norman Chalk ring a bell?

Neither of those two - here's the rest of the menu.

Not that one either. I don't think that opened until the early 70s.

sorry, not that one

Part of a 1965 Broads' pub menu - any idea which one?

If you can't decide whether you want a sausage roll or a meat pie, there's always one of these . . .

They are varying widths. A 12 ft beam would be limited to below St Ives lock to Denver Sluice - a distance of approx 38 miles plus the three tributaries: rivers Wissey, Lark and Little Ouse, a total of about 32 miles. Then there is the river Cam which is about 15 miles. So probably a total cruising range of 85 miles although the upper reaches of the three tributaries can be quite narrow - I can remember on one of them having not much room either side of the boat for a couple of miles with a 10ft 6ins beam.

i suppose it would make a decent livaboard, but very limited cruising on a 12ft beam.

Turks were in the 1988 Hoseasons and it appears as Sunbury Minstrel. Still as two singles in the rear cabin with the washbasin is in a different place, but that is possibly down to the person drawing the floor plan. Turks weren't in 1989 Hoseasons.

Connoisseur were there for a couple of seasons. Can't remember exactly when but possibly late 80s, early 90s.

I didn't remember her having twin berths in the rear cabin but she must have had, as when you came in the rear door there was a hand wash basin on your right behind the door - ideal for a quick hand wash after handling ropes at the locks.

I've often wondered if it was the same boat. It was "Maid of Chertsey" whereas Craig's database has Coral Horizon as previously "Maid Clarissa". I suppose it could have changed names more than once before coming to the Broads. One possible way of discovering if it is the same boat is if you looked at it close up you could make out the name of the original owners "Turks" in large letters under the paint on the angled part of the roof. Perhaps one of the forum members who moors at Richardson's could have a look sometime?

And finally, approaching Richardson's boat yard at Wallingford from downstream.

Leaving Benson Lock