grendel

there are worse places to be stuck the wrong side of a bridge.

Neil, if you dont get any other volunteers I will come with you and give you a hand. I too should be at ranworth friday night (somewhere, either on the moorings, on the island or mudweighted.)

I know a few years back they had got some of the hulls from their yard they were fixing up to use as moulds for new boats, not sure what happened further on that project though.

possibly a polarising filter on the camera lens.

sunday is usually a day of chatting with others and just relaxing (beer/ drinks might be involved)

theres a simple explanation for that, the bolt was too long and bottomed out in the handle, obviously they didnt have a hacksaw either.

another light wired up today, 1 more light to go

well its coming along, the port deck lights are installed, 2 are now wired up, and with just over a week before the meet, I am hoping to get the last two wired, then it will be functional, if not neatly installed (i have hours of work yet with sticky pads and cable ties to make the wiring neat, its a tight squeeze in there when you have hands the size of mine. so the hope is to have the lighting running ready for the meet.

well going by the original 2014 document that would be the case, but lets see what we get for an answer.

all systems will have a failure mode if not properly maintained, so cable steering the cable can snag or break, teleflex steering, the cable can snag or break, hydraulic (with metal lines,) would need regular maintenance fluid levels checking/ changing, the same as any car would, a hydraulic system was only a suggestion as a tried and tested (in cars) option to consider as an example. I think we all can see cost implications, but in industry, where safety is concerned, unless the cost makes it impractical cost alone is never considered an excuse for skipping safety. as an example I will throw in this experience, at work I used to use a stanley knife to cut large sheets of foam board. we had several injuries on the construction side from people using stanley knives, so they were banned, upon enquiring how I was to cut the foamboard, I was told to do some research and find an alternative way, well I did, it was an automated cutting machine costing £7000. they went away, and a week later I was given instructions to use the stanley knife, but I must wear a pair of kevlar anti cut gloves. the silliest part was the idiot in the office that though that ani cut gloves would stop him getting hurt, and proceeded to put them on and stab himself in the hand with the knife, of course the point went right through the knitted weave into his hand, the gloves were just to deflect a glancing slice from the knife blade, not n active attempt to stab oneself, just showing that you cannot ever prevent an idiot hurting themselves .

hardly a cut and dried statement, as even without a splitter you would need a standard hookup cable, lets wait and see what answer the broads authority give us, I have flagged them in my previous post so they should get a notification. then once we have an answer, we will all know.

after an extensive search the guidance for only connecting a single boat is referenced here https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/194505/Charging-points-2014.pdf, which I can only find by a direct search as its currently not linked from their main website, it also references the types of meters that are no longer in use, and dates from 2014 the page linked from the website that contains the current information - https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/facilities/electric-boat-charging-points makes no mention of any restrictions on charge point usage, which does not mean there are no restrictions. @BroadsAuthority can you give us any guidance on this issue of splitter cable usage? Thanks

I grant you that, but we should at least be open to any possible improvements to the current systems, without unnecessarily dismissing them as unworkable (though I grant that many options offered could be over complex or unworkable. say for example someone came up with a system to replace mechanical cable linkages with hydraulic linkages, with hydraulics interlocking might possibly be easier, but would it be more hirer friendly, or less prone to breakdown, I use this as an example because nowadays how many cars use cable systems for their main breaking power, its not a new technology, and could possibly be seen as more reliable than cable systems. I know some boats have hydraulic steering. so what I am trying to say is that we can be open to new ideas, without becoming stuck with tried and tested, when we know that under certain circumstances even tried and tested can fail at the hands of hirers (and private boaters too if it comes to that)

the trap that can be fallen into though is thinking that old and reliable cannot be bettered, or that it has to be complex to work well, a new design could come about, that is both robust and simpler with fewer parts to break and to a better design, a better mousetrap can always be designed, but designing one that is both foolproof and reliable takes some doing. and unless you try you cannot find out. technology can both help and hinder this process, most modern electrical switchgear has electrically operated interlocks to stop you for example putting a live cable to earth, this is a mechanical interlock system, that is operated electronically via remote fly by wire- but, if there is an issue the electrical interface can be unbolted and the switchgear operated manually. mechanical interlocks are by far the best bet, but they can be operated electronically, as long as the manual option is retained. in case of emergency, and I think a similar thought process could be used in interlocking dual helms, with electronic systems to operate and a manual backup in case of electrical system failure.

make sure its CO2 or dry powder for electrical

the real issue here is that once plugged in, how many people really understand that they have roughly the equivalent of a single 13A socket at home, add a splitter and at best you have 8A per boat. if both parties understand the limitations of using a splitter and can keep the consumption down (eg I will plug in just to keep the batteries topped up from the drain of the fridge, avoiding the need to run the engine, so 8A is plenty, but say for instance the temperature drops and i want to run the 500W heaters, then I would want to be on a post on my own. the assumption that is made is that once you are on shore supply you can just plug in devices as you would normally at home, this is where the danger of overloading the charge point comes in, it wouldnt take much, someone on one boat using an electric kettle, someone else running a hair dryer each about 2.5kW (possibly- but between 2 and 3 kW each- according to google) and you are now using 500W more than a power post can supply, yes its that easy to go past the 16A limit and trip out the post. add a microwave into the mix, and there another possible 1kW so white splitters can be used, they must be used responsibly and the loads in use calculated. should they be used casually- no, not if those using them dont understand the fact that its a limited supply. then there is the splitter cable, in theory it should be regularly tested, the terminals should be checked and tight, and its general condition checked. come on, hands up everyone who has a splitter, have you had it tested every year? I thought not.- shore leads and splitters should be tested, or at very least inspected regularly, has the insulation been fixed with some electrical tape? is that really safe if the cable gets dipped in the water?.

I have been tidying in the garden, the aim is to empty out and free up the little 4' x 6' greenhouse out there to fit a bench which the mill I am currently rebuilding can go in. having run out of bench space, its going to take a massive clearout to clear the garden, and maybe even clear the shed for more workspace, though that is now at the stage where it needs a lot of work to regain its water tightness, one wall has rotted out just where the roof attaches, but first there is an awful lot of stuff to be transferred to the tip.

its been a while since I stayed at the campsite next to the broad, but that had at least one glamping pod when I last used it. https://www.salhousebroad.org.uk/camping.html link for anyone else planning on camping. I camped at the meet one year when I was unable to book a boat.

there is a car park at the end of the track to salhouse moorings, with a nice walk to the moorings (unless you are camping and use the wheelbarrow at the campsit, where you walk to the campsite pick up a wheelbarrow (if there isnt one at the carpark, wheelbarrow your tent and provisions to the campsite, then return the barrow to the car park (its a minimum of 3 trips either way)

the big issue with outside professionals, is that by their nature, if they come from outside the broads area they lack the knowledge to be classified as professionally qualified for the area, that said, a set of outside eyes looking at the issues might be an advantage, where someone who has worked the area for decades, might miss what they see as normal and mundane, the solution then is a team comprising a selection of members with the broads knowledge, combined with a few from similar professions outside of the broads, who might spot the things seen as normal, and question them, but local knowledge needs its share of representation, as an outsider might make a suggestion that seems perfectly reasonable at first glance, but that local knowledge might say has been tried before and found unworkable, or may have other safety implications on the broads. the facts are that the broads are totally different in their scope and needs to other inland waterways (which are not tidal) and totally different from offshore (where they dont have low bridges as often.) so where do you find that outside professional, that both knows all of the issues relating to the broads, and can provide that fresh pair of eyes.

wussername, I can see this is a workable system, apart from one area- how would boat owners of several years (maybe decades) come about by their accreditation, it falls under the grandfather rights you mention, but could be ongoing many years after the change was made

I can categorically state that I would not be here if I had remained attached to my motorbike when I was involved in an accident, I had seen all the safety videos, and they impressed upon me that if you went over the front of the bike, you were likely to impact head first, i had always had an action in mind that if I seemed to be going over the front I would push off and gain height. I can categorically say that in a motorbike accident you dont have time to think more than oh.... but the action of pushing off must have been there as I managed to clear the van i hit, and then rolled down the white line between two rows of traffic. if i had been attached to the bike.......

I thought there was a sign already above the yacht station stating no turning downstream of this point, - go under the bridges and turn past the yellow post (or similar)

its probably elaborate, but most of our skippers are ex navy, and though most of us know each other to some degree, we are a group of lads from all ends of the country, so its better that we make clear instructions and acknowledgements, that way people know what they are expected to do and the helm knows when its been done. its just the way we keep things shipshape. thanks for the information re pilot boats, thats pretty much what I watched happen on the video, the swells were probably 8 foot (and that on the lee side of the cargo vessel) and the timing of the pilots boarding of the pilot cutter was at the top of a wave. with the deckhand on hand to assist the pilot.

we are not supposed to be, eg we could have a discussion on inadequate handovers, but quoting specifics from the report would be frowned upon. similarly we can discuss the advisability of turning by the yacht station, but should not be quoting the report. so we ask as we have before that we keep this discussion more generalised and refrain from quoting from the report. Thanks