Paul

I once had a Celica Turbo "Carlos Sainz", talk about grip, it had bigger kahunas than I did. I hope the new Z4 has gone back to the characteritics of the original, which was half decent. Recent Z series cars have been woeful, overweight, too soft, wallowy. I call it Golf GTi syndrome, start well and head quickly downhill.

Lotus built the VX220, both the LHD varient for Opel and the RHD for Vauxhall at Hethel. It was in reality a Mk2 Elise with revised bodywork and the Rover K series from the Mk1 replaced by an Astra engine. Lotus chose a Toyota engine from the Celica for the Mk2 Elise.

I would be upfront about what you want to do when negotiating a mooring. There is something, somewhere that quantifies what qualifies as residential. Just because you maintain a house and postal address elsewhere does not mean that it is your main residence. If you were spending 75% of the year on your boat then that becomes your main residence I don't think it will be much of a problem but the yard might have stipulations based on it's planning and type of use that means you have to take the boat out of the yard at a minimum set interval. 56 days comes to mind, but I don't know where I got that from.

Noooooo!

It's a fair point. If you see the same, or similar boats advertised by one yard at £1800 and another at £1665, all beacuase of the difference in fuel deposits which one will you book. Of course, the people booking at £1800 might get a hundred plus of that back on return but in this day and age headline pricing is king.

And well done for flying the flag (yeah, I know Jaguar hasn't really been British since Noah ran aground). I'm all for it!

to hell with all this talk of hybrids and VW's, lets stick to Millie. I am rather partial to the f-type in all it's guises. My dream car would probably be a Praga R1R, just because it's so insane, but would love an SVR convertible. The best I've had out of the merc with the roof down is 135, I dread to think what 190 with the top down would be like. It would probably rip my hair out, if I had any left.

With boats generally the amount of space inboard reflects the appearance outside. The offering from woods looks quite attractive, she has nice boat like lines but that comes at the cost of internal space. The offering from faircraft offers more internal space but looks like an aborted double decker bus. You pays your money and takes your choice, but it is good to have that choice.

Can anyone point me towards a difinitve guide / calculator for the actual range at Great Yarmouth? I know Norfolk-Broads.org's tide tables gives the estimated range at Gorleston which whilst not absolutely accurate for the Bure Bridges is a good indicator of the likely level of low water compared to the "mean" value, but what is that? I've always calculated it as six feet, and I think HW in there handbooks suggest it could be as much as two meters, six feet six inches, but what is the average, and what is the lowest. I've never had to bother too much before, about the biggest I've ever taken through so far is 8'6 which clears easily but what about something taller, say just for example, 11'4 with arches folded. The height given for mean high water is 6'9, suggesting a low water clearance well in excess of the 11'4 needed, but are there low water clearances at Yarmouth which are ever below that?

Yes, quite closely when I was looking at my last new car, and all of the awards the system has won, even before Toyotas huge recall last year damaged it's hybrid reputation. In the end I decided that if I went for a hybrid it would have to be the Volvo V60 diesel plug in even though that is not the greatest hybrid around. I would not want to give up the ability to tow, and along with the Mitsubishi PHEV it's one of the few hybrids with any kind of towing capability. In the end there was simply no valid argument for me in a hybrid over a straight diesel, at least for our main car. When the trusty old Honda finally pops it's clogs then it might be time to look again for our runabout. As for volkswagen, I have never owned one and wouldn't touch one with a disinfected bargepole. Several family members have, both Polos and Passats all four cars concerned had problems, surprise surprise, with the gearbox.

I didn't realise it was quite that bad, I personally think Toyota Hybrid is quite good, just being caught up by other manufuacturers and according to most journalist's reviews overtaken by some. Still, it is always good to hear an owners opinion. Your figures do bear that out though. My 3.0 V6 Mercedes will do 155 (electronically limited), gets me to 60mph in around 6 seconds, returns 50mpg on the motorway (though not at 155!) and unlike your Lexus can tow a two tonne caravan, and is still LEV exempt, so I do see your point. You have got me thinking which Lexus you drive. I know the LS and LC 500 can push 150mph plus as can the GS450 but none of those will return 50mpg. My boss has a 2018 GS450h which averages 38 which I think is bang on what most websites suggest for that model. He's quite dissapointed with his, and was expecting better. Still, his previous car was a Tesla, so the only way is up!

I'm not so sure it's that massive. Whilst it's true that Toyota stole the march on hybrid technology they have been overtaken in recent years, especially by Hyundai and Kia who share Hybrid technology which is well ahead of Toyota now. If anything this is Toyota trying to standardise hybrid technology to their own model.

No, that was me

And remember, the tide ebbs on the Bure for 30 - 45 minutes atfer slack on Breydon.

Good advice, and I would add to that get as much weight as you can (i.e. deckhands and mother in laws) as far back in the boat as possible, as quickly as possible. Sway from side to side, that sometimes helps. Best advice though? Go across Breydon on a rising tide, it's better all round. Saves fuel, less thrashing the engine and if the unthinkable does happen you will normally be off in a few minutes.

In years gone by our itinerary would usually be something like Loddon - Beccles - Oulton - Acle - Wroxham - Horning - Stalham - Stokesby - Loddon. If tides were not ideal we would be up at first light, and above once have crossed Breydon with the sun setting behind us, which is a lovely time to cross. Nowadays we don't want to be so energetic with our cruising days so tend to stay south but will occasionally venture as far as Acle. We love the Bridge Inn and love Breydon (so much so our second child was named after it). Sadly, in recent years we have decided there is not much worth heading further north for.

I did, I rather wished I hadn't. The website I looked at suggested half the worlds tech would suddenly fail come 6/4/19, though we survived the millenium bug so I'll take it with a pinch of salt.

nah, it's not. The south's horrible. Nothing to see, no good pubs, no pretty villages. Moorings are always rammed by 11am every day and we have real life sea monsters in Oulton Broad. Have been known to swallow boats whole. Much better to stay north. Go to Horning and buy some rock and a kiss me quick hat.

That's good to hear, I understand the traditional April 1st Haggis shoot on the balmoral estate took place earlier today, with Prince Charles bagging an especially plump brace.

Fluid change on the 7g-tronic is not a cheap fix sadly .... though it should only need doing once in the cars lifetime, after 5years / 50k. It may be worth making sure it was done. Mercedes ATF fluid is clear cherry red colour, if it has become opaque then it should be changed, along with the transmission fluid filter and sump bolts. It is not an easy diy job. You need to have (or have access to) a Mercedes Benz diagnostic tool and a pressurised fluid pump, as well as the correct MB threaded connector to refill the transmission after refitting the sump. It is also important to make sure when draining that the torque convertor is drained, this doesn't drain when you remove the gearbox sump. There is a drain bolt on some but it is a b1tch to find and get to, some vehicles don't have one and the fluid has to be pumped out.

Got to be the one about GPS, it uses the word "epoch". I have never met anyone clever enough to create an April fool with the word epoch in it.

Ah yes, here. Still, I'm glad it was good enough to warrant a second outing.

mmmmm, I wonder where I have read this before?

I can suggest a number of reasons, though in reference to the trepidation of taking an unpowered craft through Yarmouth I doubt "young Tom" would have been the only one enjoying a near brown trouser moment, then or now. I have never attempted such a thing and often think I would like to one day, until I'm surfing down the lower bure on a 5mph ebb with an engine. I do think that passing through Yarmouth and across Breydon has been bigged up out of all proportion in recent years. Let's face it, it's not rocket science, keep to the right, turn past the yellow post and "straight on 'till morning". Keep between the posts, in exactly the same way you do on many other stretches of the Broads. In fact I think the posts are more confusing on Rockland than they are on Breydon. I think your average holiday maker is more of a wimp nowdays than they were in years gone by. Life has to come with instructions nowdays. Homo Sapien, or a great many of them at least has lost his ability to think for himself. There's 'nowt so uncommon as common sense anymore. And the social media aspect as above, may well have had an effect.

I thought it hit an iceberg? I have to ask what a cinema was doing in the middle of the North Atlantic .....