JennyMorgan

Minimum wage, or more usual Norfolk boatyard rate?

That could be ominous, there are quite a few big old posh buggers up at Brundall that have been up for sale for a year or two. I rather hope that this latest venture stumbles and dissuades others.

Jonzo, how right you are. Seen all too often is the bright spark that thinks that he knows better, likes boats and therfore knows it all, such folk often don't last too long, or at least fail to make it pay. I well remember 'Rank' buying Richardsons, a few years later Richardsons buy their old company back, for a great deal less than they sold it for!

How right you are Jeff. If I were both richer and younger I would follow the Dutch example by building a 'local' boat, such as a Norfolk wherry but in grp or steel rather than oak. Hey presto, no size limit and she could pass under those restrictive bridges. A wherry could offer supreme comfort, be at home on the Broads, make a superb houseboat too.

These super wide beam boats might well fit up the Chet but might there be a problem if there were another wide beam boat coming the other way? I suppose that it's human nature to push boundaries but the problem comes when those who have pushed then demand that the infrastructure be adjusted to accommodate their excesses, at every one else's expense.

I'm not convinced that the currant rash of big hire boats is the way forward, the current mooring infrastructure is under often severe pressure as it is.

Power give way to sail, with Nelson on hand, food for thought!

To that I would add that John's thoughts are echoed by many that do also know what they are talking about. Thank you, John, for the concise summery.

Timbo, thank you for the compliment but rest assured that there is a healthy bank of younger people following on behind. I even have high hopes for the Authority, I have a feeling that anno domini is on our side in that regard.

I suspect that moorings will be the problem for these super large boats. I do know of a number of such craft that have left the Broads not just to save on tolls but mainly because there is no where to go. There is very limited moorings at Beccles for big boats for example. It's not possible to phone ahead and reserve moorings at the Bypass Bridge 24 hour mooring, indeed it's thankfully not possible to reserve moorings at any 24 hour moorings. Surlingham Ferry has a stern mooring policy which might create problems for novices on big boats. I'm not sure that the rickety mooring at Reedham Ferry is really man enough for these big boats. Even on the South Broads there are only limited moorings for really big boats, especially ones needing to plug into the mains. I do question whether there is sufficient infrastructure designed to support such hire boats. Yes, I like the boats but would I hire one? No.

A chocolate one? No chance that one of those would have survived in Grace's household!!

The EDP report is, I think, an amazingly poor piece of journalism. As I understand it the reality of this one is that whilst much of the research is old we are now near to being able to control the outcome. I'm optimistic about this one and hope that the results continue to be positive. Thankfully the Authority is now dredging Hickling but it does seem that they had to be dragged, kicking and screaming into doing so. The saga of Heigham Sound is nothing to be proud of.

Seriously, with regard to boats, we have and great fun they are too!

I tried Google Translate and even that couldn't cope with the above!

. . . . . . . . keep an eye open for a decent, Suffolk pint! http://www.lowestoftjournal.co.uk/news/top_awards_for_southwold_based_brewery_adnams_1_4870224 Their winter ale is really good, pity it's not around in the summer though.

Back to serious: http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politics/transport_secretary_s_diesel_car_warning_as_norwich_battles_air_pollution_1_4869316 I know that owners of big boats won't agree with me but 'some' of them kick out a veritable mass of fumes and for those of us in open boats and caught in that cloud it can be quite unpleasant and obviously unhealthy.

Since this one concerns Hickling and the environment in general, thus all of us able to get under that wonderful bridge, I've posted it here rather than under 'angling'. http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/tech/newly_discovered_virus_could_be_responsible_for_thousands_of_fish_deaths_on_norfolk_broads_1_4871273 I've been aware of this one for some time but because there are commercial interests involved the news could not be released, until now. It seems incredible but having seen substantiating evidence I can assure you that, at least in the laboratory, it works! This could, if further tests are positive, enable the BA to dredge Hickling without further risk of triggering the virus.

That Coaster belonged to a friend of mine, a fellow member of the Drascombe Association. His idea of heaven being to sail down to East Head for the weekend. He once set off for the Isle of Wight, was going past Hayling island and was as sick as a dog, he stayed in the harbour after that. In my time East Head was congested at weekends, more recent photographs, ooh dear, talk about rubbing shoulders. One of the boats that I had access to was a Fairy Falcon, same as the renowned Charles Stock's Shoal Waters, six or seven inches draft with the plate up, nowhere we couldn't or didn't go.

The world gets even smaller, my wife to be had a Triumph Herald albeit a hard-top. Itchenor wasn't a favoured watering hole for us but Emsworth, Langston and Dell Quay were high on our list of regular stop-offs. When I finished at Bosham I brought home a Bosham Scow sailing dinghy on the roof of the Herald, it looked like an enormous snail on wheels. We had her for several years until our second child was born. I largely rebuilt her before selling her back to Bosham where she really belonged, that was back in 1976. I often wonder if she's still about but she was old when I bought her.

Hello Chris, thank you for those pictures. Bosham was a joy for me and my wife to be. My wife and I always regarded Bosham as where we courted. It used to take me three and half to four hours on my BSA Bantam for the journey so we took it in turn as to who made the journey. We loved it dearly and for a number of years we did return but non of our old friends are there now. Mary & Barry in the Anchor Bleu for example, last time that we went there was no one who remembered them or the great friendships they provided. I used to ring the church bells down there, our Tower Captain, a lady who wore sensible shoes & Brylcream, who had been a wall of death rider in her past, has also gone. Our lock-ins at the Anchor Bleu with the Bishop of Chichester sat in our midst were legendary in their day, long forgotten to all but a few of us old 'uns. We spent many a happy hour across at Birdham in company with a young Branson aboard his houseboat. We both have such good memories of Bosham, we loved our time down there dearly. Maybe memories are best, maybe we won't be returning either, especially when one of us inevitably looses the other.

The joy of Google. I suspect that I left my copies under the mattress when I left boarding school in a hurry!

Now everyone is aware of health & efficiency, and what one legged, nude ladies look like!.

The Broads Authority, with all the very best intentions in the world launched an initiative to install charging points around the Broads in a move to encourage electrical propulsion. All very wise, or so it seemed at the time, but all that has happened is that boats, by and large, have remained with or returned to diesel power, with all the environmental problems that were there before. On top of that they now plug in, not to recharge, but in order to power all the comforts of home thus overall carbon emissions have been increased rather than decreased. Oh well, it was a good idea at the time

And that is despite not necessarily being mothers, such is the Norfolk way, confusing to foreigners!

Once again we agree! That plus anything, other than float away wood chippings, is way better than that blessed crushed concrete now being used on some 24hr moorings.