JennyMorgan

Much mention has been made of storage but consider for a moment what you are actually doing, you are going boating. Now, when it comes to hoarding then I'm as bad as the very worst onboard the forum. Every few years I open and empty every locker, put it all on the bank beside my boat and then wonder why on earth I have kept half of it because quite simply I have never used it nor am I ever likely to. Remember, you are going boating, as I wrote before. It makes sense to tailor what you store to what space you have rather than buying a bigger, thus more expensive boat just to store what you probably don't need! Not for everybody but boating becomes or is a lifestyle and fitting stuff into confined spaces becomes an art form. Everything that goes aboard should ideally have at least two uses thus saving on duplication. Now, hairdryers for example, do you really need one? No, so leave it at home! Another consideration are the 'water rats', those who consider stealing from boats is acceptable. The more that is stored aboard then the more tempting a boat becomes, just a consideration. Although I sometimes go off on a cabin cruiser I mainly camp afloat, now that does introduce a degree of discipline into what I take afloat!

Stumpy, how sensible! The 15k limit, even if folk can easily afford more is no bad suggestion. £200,000.00 might buy a great deal of bling but that might also buy a boat that gets little use for fear of scratching it, I kid you not. I had a good friend, now deceased, who had a Broome called Lerici, it rarely, very rarely left its mooring on Oulton Broad. Charles, it's owner, was one of the nicest, kindest of men, his boat his pride and joy. Whoever bought Lerici would have found her gel in almost new condition, Charles's boating joy was in washing and polishing rather than actively cruising. In practical terms his boat was his second home, and why not, each to their own. Perhaps if he'd started off with an old boat, had a few inconsequential biffs and inevitable bashes, then maybe he would have gained the experience and used his boat for what it was actually designed for.

A very sensible question. especially as we enter the annual buying 'silly season'. Why I say silly is because it really does seem that caution goes out of the window where some folk are concerned in their desperation to become boat owners, and brokers reap rich dividends. Cynical, maybe, but I've been involved one way or another with boats for a very long time. For a kick off a large proportion of all the boats sold for cruising on the Broads are sold to absolute novices, or so I'm told by some exceedingly rich people in the brokerage industry. An unhealthy number of those boats really are unsuited to novices and arguably for the Broads, easy pickings for for the industry some might say. Anyway, that aside, as has sensibly been suggested, decide what sort of boating you wish to be involved with, obvious really. Having done that start your search. Far too many boats on the Broads are effectively 'second homes', engines well underused and their insides redesigned and DIY rebuilt as open plan bungalows, best avoided. When built the hull and interior of a boat are generally designed to compliment each other. Walls, or bulkheads, hold the hull sides apart, often giving rigidity to the hull, tamper with that and problems such as engine misalignment rear their ugly head. Be wary. I've been in sales one way or another for most of my working life and the principle of success is to give the answer that the customer wants to hear. Telling a customer that the gleaming boat that he's ogling is really unsuited to his ability or intended use might well be the honest answer but it might not sell a very expensive boat! Once again, just be wary. Boats are like women, best avoid the high maintenance ones!

Firstly I don't see the need for boats to shoot out of the marina like a cork out of a bottle, a tad of care doesn't go amiss! However, neither do I see the need for boats to crowd the marina entrance whilst waiting for the bridge to open. Surely a more seaman like option would be to turn and go down stream a hundred yards or so before turning back and even repeating the manourve? Us sailing boaters might have an excuse if the tide is foul but even then we can surely leave the exit clear. Rather than holding a position it is generally far easier to maintain steerage whilst under way. However, if folk insist on holding a position then why do they not do it away from the entrance? I hate signs but rather than double yellow lines, impractical at best, perhaps a 'Please don't obstruct the marina entrance' sign wouldn't go amiss. Strange request, not really and probably less so than the strange comment that resulted!

It was back in the 1950's. Other than those dreamy 'come to bed eyes' I really don't remember much about her or how my brother met her, he was doing his national service at the time, a cook in the RAF. Mind you, unlike his younger brother, he was a good looking fellow!

Blinkin' 'eck, she'll sail across a dew-pond!

JA, is she one of HW's Shameful Ladies or whatever? With a decent run-up I don't expect any 'non existent' silt bar would hold you up!!

It has been mentioned! https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09l5kf0/great-british-railway-journeys-series-9-1-cromer-to-cambridge PS Pretty Girl!

No, it's not a guess.

I have jilled about near to the entrance to the marina, never thought about you good folk wishing to come out. Really no reason whatsoever why I should stay near to the entrance, plenty of room further away from the bridge. I try and not be thoughtless but obviously I have been, sorry.

Are you sure? I have absolutely no wish to argue so it must be entirely coincidental that the Authority has resisted dredging Hickling for so long whilst in recent years there have been increasing calls from conservationists to dredge Hickling in order to increase flow. So boaters aren't paying for the dredging at Hickling? Can you please point me towards any reports that will confirm that? So he's not spending more and has not stated that tolls need to go up in order to pay for increased expenditure? So the admitted 50% contribution to 'overheads' is not true either? As I say, I'm have no wish to argue, not least with written comments, reports and minutes emanating from Thorpe Road.

The Broads Society is, regretfully, not what it was in Roy Kemp's days. Indeed today it appears to be somewhat moribund.

Why has the BA dredged up at Hickling? Two reasons, one being that it has finally been accepted by the Authority that it's good for conservation, and us boaters are paying for it. Secondly the more he spends the the more he can demand, and only half of which goes to navigation related costs.

Apparently some sailing boats are trapped up there, either by silt or tree growth, not been up there for many a long year.

I suspect that we all did! Re James Stewart, Harvey is the one for me, especially the colour version, at twelve frames per second.

Rest assured, Vaughan, several of us have long been fighting to maintain access. No question, and its on public record, that various Authority officers have stated that the Thurne above 'that bridge' should be closed to navigation. The name 'Madgewick' springs to mind.

Shirley Eaton, both pretty and a lovely person, nearly caused me to go blind. Shirley went out with my brother several times, indeed she seemed very keen on him. Comes home after several dates and says he'd dumped her. Both my father & I were absolutely gob-smacked, the silly pratt! Peggy looks a lot taller than I remember her. Yes, it's also in black & white on my computer, perhaps Jayfire & I are both using Talk-Talk.

Perhaps it was in black & white?

Vaughan, that is entirely right but then there might be an issue of, for example, Surlingham (as opposed to Bargate) Broad. How many people actually know where that staithe is and how to get there? I can in my Drascombe but anything much bigger will have a problem. Its remoteness is a naturally limiting access and that is the very attraction of the place, something that the locals would be keen to maintain I'm sure. There is always a risk that 'maintenance' destroys the very attraction that people would wish to maintain. We have to trust the wisdom of the Authority to a large degree on this one but I can't help but wonder if we might have a few unwelcome consequences.

All I know is that I wouldn't want to try it!

Michael looked fairly knackered when he and one other hoisted the sail so I don't see any great risk of him sailing single handed. I've forgotten his name now but one of the skippers on White Moth used to regularly sail her singlehandedly.

Just a thought, I always understood that the NWT information centre on Ranworth Inner was historically a public staithe. There is also a parish staithe on the Trinity Broads, will people insist on access to those two sites then? Perhaps a can of worms that might better have been left alone, but then again we might gain a few 24hr moorings, or we might not!

This is Broadland & there has been a concerted push to maintain the research into public staithes. I have to say that I don't think that we can pick and choose, we either have public staithes or we don't. My understanding is that it would take an Act of Parliament to dismantle staithes quite simply because they are public rights of way and protected in the same way. Perhaps there will be loosers, maybe Ranworth Staithe will be one of them. On the other hand we might gain, such as at Hoveton. On balance we have a tradition, a heritage of public staithes, the Authority is duty bound to protect these interests as well as to provide and maintain access. What I wouldn't want to see happen is that riparian rights create what will effectively be private moorings which exclude visitors. At Oulton Broad residential rights moorings are limited to rowing boats which in turn provide access to boats moored on swinging moorings/buoys, that seems reasonable to me. However I do know of parish moorings where moorings are limited to local boats but that I believe to be a parish thing rather than a staithe. This could all die a natural death, but then again it might not!

For those too young! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Mount

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09l5kf0/great-british-railway-journeys-series-9-1-cromer-to-cambridge Good memories, we had that wherry for my number four daughter's wedding, lovely way of travelling! Way back in time Olive's owner's daughter worked at Penthouse, spent a lot of time aboard back then!!