BrundallNavy

Someone at my yard had one and changed the petrol engine for a ford diesel one, nice boat I seem to remember the side decks are quite narrow. You can get poly tanks made to any shape and just a case of plumbing it up, not a cheap option though. As long as the flexi tank is well supported and in good condition should give years of trouble free service. Doug.

We sailed past this twice on Saturday and I could not believe the noise and smell, I always thought the cottage on the other bank looked quite picturesque but now I'm not so sure. Doug.

Politely tell him to get off my boat and help from the bank if required. Doug.

The weather is going to be good this week Pauline hope you have a good time. Doug.

I too work on trains, might have to start a new area just for us. Although I can read the forum at work I cannot post until li get home. Still makes a change from soaps !!! Doug.

Just make sure you get two, or you will spend all week going round in circles looking for the other one Doug.

Mine's a cappuccino please Barry, one sugar Doug.

Robin, As you will have discovered on the many hire boats you have had, a newer engine does not necessarily mean a quieter boat or more economical to run. Some of the older engines such as BMC or Perkins although noisier tend to be a better choice. Doug.

As I couldn't see a picture of the day for Monday I thought I would add one. Doug.

""However, I did clear up dog poo from the lawn but it all fairness it wasn't any of the big dogs I believe it must have been a tiny dog who was just making room for more food or was just in a hurry!!! "" Oh Jason, I do hope it wasn't one of ours, mind you the pup did disappear quite a lot. Please accept our sincere apologies . Doug and Hele.

Many thanks to Martin, Fiona and Jason for a very enjoyable evening with some lovely friends. Doug and Hele..

Glad you got it sorted Pauline. Doug.

No JM not the yellow post but one at the other end. We had had a nice sail back from Cantley and the plan was to drop the sails before the rail bridge. As we were having such a nice time we carried on, big mistake. As we went round the corner on the way to Breydon the wind slowly picked up. We are now on a run and the wind is building all the time to the extent we should have a reef in, two motor boats are now right up my chuff and preventing me from coming up head to wind so we carried on until the second cruiser decided to overtake both of us pushing us to port. We are now on the point of gybing which would have taken out the windows of the cruiser so I had to luff hard to starboard. As the boom swung back out the topping lift looped the post bringing us to a very abrupt halt. With the boat now at over 45' and the deck under the water and the sail still full the only way was to cut the topping lift. Hele went down below and came back with a dinner knife, no dear a large kitchen knife please. Once released the sail gybed causing us to heal 45' the other way while pushing us forward into the mud. PL only has a small 5hp outboard and there was no way this was going to pull us off, so with Hele on the helm the outboard going flat out in reverse I tried to push us off with the quant pole as the tide was still going out I was eager to get us off the mud. After around 10 mins we stared to move. With no damage done we were very lucky as the only one wearing a life jacket was the dog. Big lesson learnt , stick to your plan and always respect the weather as you can quickly get caught out as we did. Doug.

Was never keen sailing on Breydon, them posts keep getting in the way . ( Yes there is a story connected with that ). Doug.

You best hide that Broom Jon, or the Queen will be getting jealous Doug.

You need to check with a meter the battery voltage with the engine off and again with it running, if no increase is seem then the alternator is defective or you have a wiring fault. Doug.

Just a small update this week. Managed to fit part of the chine rail on the port side, I need to fit the chine plank at the forward end before I can fit the forward part of the chine rail as there is nothing at the moment to fix it to. The floor will have to be chocked back up into position to get the line back. Doug.

It is also nice to be able to use the 'Sea' word without being pilloried or given a black hood! Griff

It depends on the size of the wood, the first three were done for around an hour but two of these broke as the further forward you get the sharper the bend, the last four were soaked in the river over night and then steamed for about two hours these bent easier but one broke due to a knot and me pushing to hard. It's a bit of guess work but the wood needs to be almost too hot to pick up. By the way you should wear gloves when using oak or you will end up with black hands due to the tanning that seeps out. Doug.

Not much to report this week as we decided to have a bit of time out sailing on PL9, had some sun, rain and strong winds but it was so nice to be back on the water. Managed to get a bit more done on the Broom, spent the day steaming ribs for the forward cabin, steamed seven and managed to get four fitted, the others broke do to knots in the timber, just need one more to finish it off. I have decided to replace all the lower planks except the garboard as a mixture of rot and holes left by doubler pads have made it a bit of a mess. Doug.

Nah Iain, I gave him a poke with me quant pole, was fast asleep lazy But??er Doug.

I know what you mean about the weather Alan !! I keep looking at the photo's and thinking do you want to swap but I don't think SWMBO would let me. Looks like it's coming along nicely but I know what you mean about jobs taking longer than planned. Doug.

For those that are interested, Great British Railway Journeys are being repeated this week on BBC 2 . Thursday and Friday are in Norfolk ending in Cromer. Doug.

Despite the awful weather I managed to get some more done to the Broom over the weekend. My main objective was to get the port engine bearer back in, .before this could happen I had to fit the two new frames that run across from one side of the boat to the other. These are made from 2" square oak and were well past their best. The forward one had been cut off each side of the engine bearer and the side pieces replaced at some time in the past, this left a weak spot in the centre, the aft one had been repaired with fibreglass and once this was removed all that was left was lots of mush. The frames will not bend round the shape of the hull without some assistance so into the steam box for approx 1.5 hrs just to be sure. Once removed they cool very quickly so you must work fast. The aft one was first to be bent into place using props wedged from the roof to get a snug fit, the forward one was slightly more difficult as the chine rail is still in place so the frame had to be cut to length in situ. The forward one was bolted through the hog to get a good fit. Small wedges were then made to fill the void across the garboard plank. The engine bearer was then lifted into place for one last trial fit before being removed and glue and sealant being placed on the relevant surfaces before being refitted and bolted down with stainless coach bolts.

She Who Must Be Obeyed, Aka Hele, my other (better) half. Doug.