LadyPatricia

Thanks David, she's is 'usable' at the moment but will be having lots of TLC through the winter when she comes out of the water. Alan, are the fish finders easy to install? Always handy to know if you've just moored up over a large shoal of bream and as you say its good to know whats under you as it were. I'm not a real one for gadgets but this being our first boat purchase I want to make sure we have everything we NEED, not everything we want, to start with at least Steve

Morning Frank, We've decided, as you and others have pointed out, that we will not be purchasing one of these. We are picking our boat up on Thursday and making the short trip to her new mooring at Somerleyton. Our first jobs on the list will be to put LED lights in and fit an inverter, something I'm quite happy to do myself. Shore power is not a real issue as we don't plan on having a TV inboard. We have a 12v cool box that will be our fridge for now and only want 240v through inverter to run a DAB radio. Can't wait to get the keys on Thursday ....... Exciting times Steve & Deb

Sounds like you had a lovely weekend. Here's hoping the work goes well and you can get out again very soon

Thanks Strowager, I've seen them on a few you tube videos, I think Robin (London Rascal) had one on a blog he did. Just wanted to find out if they were an essential piece of equipment as we will be doing a lot more cruising next year. Steve & Deb

Do we need one of these radios? Are they useful on the broads? Who does or does not use them? Any info welcome please Steve & Deb

I got this one, not sure it's up to scratch but I like the sun reflecting off the water

Ha Ha Ha Deb does not want me to put the name on here until we have everything done. She wants it to be the final bit we do before we have the boat put back in the water next year. Who am I to argue

Thanks again Strowager for the info and pics. We have decided to go the way of the chemical loo as after looking at the link you put up it appears that our marina actually has a disposal point for chemical toilets. Some great information from all, thank you all so much Steve & Deb

Ha ha no we will not calling her Kali, we may get some grief from Frank. We will however be re naming over the winter. We have checked Craig's website and can't find another boat of the same name. Steve & Deb

Thank again for the replies. Yes the boat is the one in the avatar, she's a Norman 24(although I've been told to get the tape measure out for the sake of river tolls) . She has a volvo penta inboard on a sail drive. Having just realised you can have more than 1 cassette for the same toilet, thanks to Strowager, I think we will stick with that for now. She will be coming out this winter to be antifouled and painted and we will also get the rubber diaphragm on the sail drive replace. She'll be as good as new for the start of next year We have been looking at the thetford 365 toilet as it looks a little more sturdy than the 165. Has anyone ever used one of these? Steve & Deb

Thanks for the quick reply Dave I've only seen how they are emptied on YouTube videos and they are all on campsites that have facilities to empty in to. They say you can empty down a toilet but to do it in stages, not all at once. Does anyone have a rough idea on the price of fitting a holding tank and 'proper' toilet? Steve & Deb

Afternoon all. Can anyone suggest a decent chemical toilet for use on a boat please. We pick up our boat next Thursday and that will be the first thing we want to change. Needs to be sturdy as I'm definately not built like a rake Any help would be much appreciated. Also apart from emptying in public toilets is there facilities to empty at yards that do pump outs? Steve & Deb

That I'm afraid is like Santa, just a mythical being

I thinks we may just drip a little red over the bow and sit back, enjoy the rest of the bottle and raise a glass to the future

Thank you for the input Maurice and Leo. We have a name in mind and it echoes every sentiment we have for the broads. I had the great pleasure of mooring next to a gentleman (well actually we were there first) at Ranworth whilst on holiday last week. A really nice guy by the name of Trevor if memory serves me right. He originally setup and ran the norman appreciation web site but apparently the software it was built on is no longer supported by modern day hosting services, or something along those lines. He did arrive in a rather lovely looking Hampton Safari which I believe is a new boat for him. Great guy with lots of knowledge. I will be looking at some of the ideas on the site and will check out the forum if it is still going. Steve and Deb

Jon -Thank you to that 'numptie' up the ant after our conversation when we popped in last week you helped put our minds at rest over the couple of doubts we may have had. Speedtriple - her name is Lady Patricia, we were going to rename but various people have said it is bad luck. Are you saying that doesn't count if she is out of the water? Any opinions of others on that subject would be helpful. Good luck with your first week on your share, we hope you have a lovely time. Ian - we have paid for 3 holidays a year for the last couple of years and after some fine calculations, apart from the initial outlay, it won't cost us any more per annum if we do most of the servicing and upkeep ourselves. She is having a couple of jobs done on her at the brokerage/yard before we collect her and move her to her new home Steve and Deb

Well that's it, just the formalities of money changing hands and Lady Patricia will be our very first boat. Had a trial on her on Friday while we were on holiday and we have decided she will be perfect for us. We took here down the Waveney and then back up and through St Olaves bridge then back to the marina. Really responsive and no trouble going against the tide which was really pushing through the bridge. Looking forward to many happy days, weeks and years on her Steve & Deb

Janice and Mike I didn't realise Alan had added that to his website already (he did ask permission to use it). I wrote it to try and put down on paper the 'pull' the broads have on us. As soon as we return from a holiday there is the urge to return ASAP. Those feelings are what have pushed us towards our first boat purchase so we will be able to visit whenever we want. We hope you find your next boat soon so you are able to get back to doing what we all love Steve & Deb

It's all the new craze. Now the power boats have finished racing at Oulton Broad they are going to start bumper boat racing

Hi Steve. We have a few choices all around the same price, one thing is for sure we will be staying South

Thank you all for the lovely comments. Yes John / Mary it is Lady Patricia. Do you know the boat well? Steve & Deb

It's a Norman 24. Inboard volvo diesel through an outdrive. Just what we were looking for

Morning all We have eventually managed to find a boat we both like. Went up to see it last week and when we stepped aboard we looked at each other and smiled. We made an offer yesterday that was accepted subject to survey and trial run. We've sorted a mooring and had an insurance quote so almost there. Very exciting times Steve & Deb

Going to look at it tomorrow. Until we have seen her 'in the flesh' so to speak our lips are sealed. Already got a surveyer lined up who can do next week should she feel right when we step aboard Steve

Ok, we MAY have found the boat we are looking for. What type of survey should we get before purchase? The boat is currently out of the water. Can anyone recommend a company or individual who can carry out said survey please. Any help is much appreciated Steve