JennyMorgan

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/coastguard_called_to_rescue_canoeist_who_fell_into_river_at_burgh_st_peter_near_beccles_1_3760164 I see our Dr Packman was involved!

What's there, boat-wise: http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/the_impressive_list_of_vessels_at_great_yarmouth_s_maritime_festival_1_3759866

Mark & Strowager, please.

There is an American boat, the Macgregor, that makes use of ballast tanks so it's not unheard of. In the Macgregor's case the use of water ballast relates more to reducing the weight for trailering more than it is going under Potter Bridge. If we take the Caribbean as a Broads boat with unused voids then experience in owning several does reveal problems. As it is it is surprising just how quickly their bilges flood to above floorboard level, especially aft. If we then glass over those voids in order to create floodable ballast tanks then bilge volume is reduced, or floors need to be higher which means reduced headroom or higher roofs. Everything comes at a cost. Flooding and later vacating bilge tanks might carry unwelcome critters from one area of the Broads to another. Increasing displacement to create floodable ballast tanks might increase wash. A number of boats already have fuel and water-tanks under the floorboards. Replacing those tanks with ballast tanks mean putting fuel and water tanks elsewhere. Costs would probably increase, for how often the facility to lower a boat two inches might be used, would that be worth the effort? It's an idea worth discussing but I do wonder at the overall costs involved.

I'm a glutton for old Broads pictures & I rather like the above so thought a touch of sepia 'aging' wouldn't be out of place.

Thanks, Mrs Album, for the nudge in the right direction. Have taken the liberty of jiggering with a scan to see if I could pull more info out of the book's picture.

I know the 'lodger's' bottom well!

Just been playing with this one:

Misspent youth!

Carol, if you have the original photographic plate then the emulsion should face forwards when you copy it.

I took the original of this the other evening, inevitably of my boat 'Jenny Morgan.' Downloading it to 'photobucket' I also played with the effects button. I'm quite pleased with it!

For a Broads fanatic you might reasonably expect me to have a Broads built boat, but I don't! In reality I have a Salter built Thames Skiff, a Shetland Yawl, a Dell Quay Dory and three assorted canoes and kayaks, all 'foreigners'. However my main love is my 1978 built Drascombe Longboat. Being Oulton Broad based I really wanted a boat that is as happy on salt as on freshwater, so I bought my Longboat, sea friendly, easy to maintain and with a big cockpit for my growing family. http://www.honnormarine.co.uk/Longboat/Longboat.htm

'BTW - One only 'Moors' to a buoy etc,' One, being a boat and thus a 'she', only moors to a boy etc., ummmmmmm, so now we know!

His four daughters do though!

John, you flew for your kicks, that makes you far braver than me! A good boat, like a good woman, with a well formed tumblehome, pleasing sheer, shapely transom and buff on the foredeck will always pull the fellows! By the way Griff, a boat under sail often shows her bottom! Okay, so sailing boats are tarty but us fellows love 'em, a flash of their garboards gets the blood flowing.

Such a beautiful fish!

So long as it's not printed on perforated paper, thanks for asking.

And why is a boat referred to as a she? Because as a 'she' she is is a constant drain on a man's resources and often pushes him to the limit.

Does it really matter where it was taken? It caught the moment for me, it's OUR Broads in a pleasing light, I thought I'd share it with you. Okay, for the pedants amongst us it's Oulton Dyke/Fishers Row this evening.

Coincidently I went past the old Aldeby swing bridge today, not convinced that that could be the one. Relatively low piers and the river is not hugely wide at that point. I'm more inclined to go with the Haddiscoe railway bridge theory myself. Lots of sheds on the old NRA site.

Griff, I note under your avatar that you are located in Gods Country, aren't we all?! Sound advice though. There are occasions when it's perfectly possible to go alongside WITH the tide, I did it at the New Bridge 24hr moorings at Beccles today. Quite simply I was steering from an aft cockpit so nudged in alongside, dropping the stern line over a convenient post and bringing the boat to a halt that way whilst the tide held her against the shore. That way I was made fast before I left the boat's controls. Had I gone in bow first I would have had the braking effect of the tide but then I would have had to leave the cockpit and go forward to make fast. There are times when the wrong way is the better way but I don't advocate running before you have first learn't to walk!

In fairness and in all honesty I read Manko's comment as being tongue in cheek. In this instance I can appreciate Manko's cynicism just as I can Paladine's thorough research and subsequent comment. Both approaches are relevant in this debate. The BA is walking away from this and if the local council don't wake up and smell the coffee then quite possibly the 'new age mariners' will move in, unregulated, unwashed and largely unwelcome. Sensibly organised then the moorings could provide an income to Thorpe and create an attractive asset.

The mind boggles at the thought!

Neil, I have an 11 foot dory with a 9.9 four stroke, Most of the time I pootle along at little over half throttle but there are times, in a blow on open water for example, when I'm glad of the extra power to lift the bow and cut down on the spray. In practical terms, with a suitable tent or cover I reckon a dory would make a darn good camping boat. Camping dinghies don't have to be sail powered! With the 9.9 I have battery charging which I suspect could be useful for camping, heated socks for example! Re creature comforts a dory is stable, you will need a camping deck so as to keep your bedding dry. As to a privy. a porta potty or bucket and chuck it. As for personal hygiene, baby wipes in the winter, broads water in the summer. An angler's umbrella, one with sides, provides a quick shelter or modesty screen, otherwise it's an excuse to visit every pub that you pass, just to inspect the facilities you'll understand! As to cooking, pubs is good, but it's surprising what you can rustle up on a camping stove with a little imagination, and a visit to Lidl's canned meal dept. Marsh mushrooms, bacon & eggs, good cuppa, on an early morning, even when it's raining, takes some beating.

Last minute deals, direct with the yards? Surely booking up months in advance is hardly an enticement for a yard to offer much in the way of a discount.