[New Broads Tides Website]

sdk,

19 hours ago, sdk said:

Do you know which phone and browser this happens on? Haven't seen that so far.

Well spotted!  It's a Huawei Android 9 (yes I know, but someone gave it to me!)  The crucial bit is that I was using the Edge browser:

If I use Chrome it doesn't happen:

Another point that you have also mentioned, when using a PC I had scrolled and panned the map several times, then when clicking on the table place names the map "focus" was distinctly misplaced.  Not the end of the world, and I thought it might have been me, so I didn't put that in my list.

Looking forward to version 2 in the Autumn or Winter.

[New Broads Tides Website]

Sam,

Thank you for creating a very useful web site!

I have some minor comments/suggestions:

• On an android phone, the tall column of place names (Beccles etc.) has a bigger font than all of the others.
• Again, on a phone:  If you select multiple days then it can be difficult to navigate the matrix of tide times because the headings are no longer visible.
• On the map, it would be easier to see the details (particularly in bright sunlight) if the "flow" and "ebb" colours were more distinct, because they are blue and green on a blue background; for example replace the green with red.

I will repeat that these are just comments, not criticisms!

[Alternator And Charging System]

mikeyboy1966,

Something is not telling you the truth, either the Ammeter or the battery state monitor.  Ammeters are usually quite simple devices whereas battery monitors need careful installation and “setting up” to give correct results.  Although you say that you are now using the digital state monitor as an Ammeter so it should be self-consistent!

You have three 120 Amp hour batteries (total 360 Ah), so if you have discharged to 50% you have used up 180 Ah of their capacity.

You say you were charging at between 15 and 17 Amps.  Charging at 15 Amps for 8 hours (allowing a few Amps to be used elsewhere by the fridge etc.) will put back 120 Ah of charge.  180 + 120 = 300 Ah or 83% of 360Ah.  This assumes that the 15 Amps is being divided between all three batteries equally.

If your meter shows 65% charge (which is 234 Ah) it suggests that only 54 Ah of charge have been added, which is a rate of less than 7 Amps for 8 hours, or a third of that into one battery.

I appreciate that this doesn’t help you solve your problem at all, but it does suggest an oddity in the battery configuration or the monitor.

One worry is that if you discharge lead-acid batteries down to 50% or less it can affect their long-term health (there are lots of references to this on the internet)!  So you do not want to let this continue.

[Two Moorings Lost?]

SwanR,

Interesting!  It says here: https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/234598/BF-Minutes-280716.pdf that the document was presented on 28 July 2016.

[Moorings Near To Railway Stations]

Reedham or Cantley are a shorter distance from Gt. Y.  Both have stations, but not all trains stop! see

https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/sites/default/files/assets/media/document/document/2022-11/GA2212 TT08 V1.pdf

[Moorings Near To Railway Stations]

Brooms should have a space available.  They might be a bit reluctant if it's one of their busy days (Friday, Saturday) but it may be worth a phone call.  Their moorings are very close to the station.

What about Norwich yacht station?  It is only a few minutes from there to the main station.  You could move to somewhere like Comissioners Cut or Bramerton if you don't want to spend the night in Norwich.

[The Commodore, Oulton Broad]

We ate at the Commodore a few weeks ago and we all enjoyed our meals (including one vegetarian), (see: https://forum.norfolkbroadsnetwork.com/topic/25512-a-few-days-on-the-south-side/#comment-392807).  The menu was not the most comprehensive, similar to the one on their web site but there were about two pages of choices rather then just the one that downloads.  We were happy with the range of meals available.

There was a dog inside when we were there.

We enquired about moorings and were told (by the very friendly lady serving the meals) that moorings are free at the moment but they may add electricity and/or water later this year, at which time they will probably start charging a fee.

[A Few Days On The South Side]

YnysMon,

It was only 3 days, Tuesday to Friday!

No, the church was closed, but it was about 7:20 in the morning when I got there.

I didn't notice any electric posts at Whitlingham (see picture attached).

[A Few Days On The South Side]

After the prompting from YnysMon (elsewhere) for more tales and a little bit of chivvying, here are a few photographs with descriptions:

I have often wondered why we call the Yare etc. the “southern broads” given that this term includes the Norwich yacht station (again, an odd term “yacht station”, because the bridges prevent all but motor cruisers from getting there).  That aside; I had been invited to spend a few days with Pauline and Mervyn on their syndicate boat.  I set off quite early so that I could avoid the worst of the rush-hour traffic on the A12, A14 and A120 and there were few delays, so we were able to leave the Brundal moorings at about 9:30 on the 17th, which was not far off low tide slack water

We have had several holidays together on the broads, in various boats, and we usually have a few general ideas for an itinerary but no fixed plans.  On this occasion we anticipated going to Oulton Broad and back, but with no reason to hurry we kept the rev’s low and watched the world go by.  We decided to stop at the public moorings at Cantley, partly to wait for the tide and partly to have a look around that area.

We walked a short way along the road and then back to the path that runs between the river and the sugar beet factory.  Prior to consulting the map, I was not aware that there is a path along there because from the river it looks like the factory car park extends down to the water.  Once past the factory it becomes a bit more rural!

We popped in to The Reedcutter for a brief refreshment where we were able to enjoy the sunshine sitting at one of their tables outside, before moving on.

We didn’t go far.  Just to Hardly Cross, where we stopped at the Northern end of the moorings, some way from a private boat at the Southern end.  This mooring provided another opportunity for a walk along the Wherryman’s way

 

We walked  along the bank of the Chet towards Hardly flood but unfortunately the path becomes very overgrown just past the little staithe used by the Broads Authority

 

We were not sure if we could get to the Northern side of the flood by following the road so we returned to the boat for a drink or two before supper, and an opportunity to watch the marsh harriers. 

Whilst sitting inside, I noticed a hired Broom boat passing and guessed he would moor between us and the other boat.  I then became aware of him reversing at high speed near the other boat, he turned as though stern-mooring and struck the staithe firmly in reverse.  By the time we had stood up to do our meerkat impressions the other boat owner was out, giving instructions and taking the ropes of the new arrival; I suspect he was concerned about the proximity of the hired boat to his own. He quickly got them turned through 90 degrees and tied up, side-on. He spent a little time explaining that reversing a boat is not the same as reversing a car.  We felt a little guilty that we had not helped too, but the other boat owner had got there before we were really aware of the problem.

Another couple of  boats arrived soon after that, slotting in to the gap between us uneventfully.

Pauline cooked an excellent meal, and the combination of a couple of walks, the sunshine, evening drinks and a film on the TV meant that we slept easily.

The next morning was very calm and still.

I walked the other way, along the bank of the Yare to Hardly Dyke.  The signs there don’t lie, it is quite narrow and would be difficult, if not impossible to turn a 42 ft boat at the end, particularly if someone was moored on that staithe.

I continued on up to the church,

and if I had studied the map before setting off I should have carried on and walked the short distance along the lanes to the Chet to complete a circular walk.  It would have been quicker than what I actually did, which was to retrace my steps back to the boat for breakfast.  I hurried back, having said that I would be gone for less than an hour and arrived with only a minute or two to spare within my self-imposed deadline.

We timed our departure to use the last of the ebbing tide, passing through Reedham when the bridge had just opened for a sailing boat going North.

Our timing was almost perfect; we had the last of the tide behind us as we started down the new cut, it then pushed gently as we headed up the Waveney towards Oulton.  Like the previous day, we were in no hurry and with the tide helping us all the way we had just idled along but made very good progress, enjoying the views and the sunshine. 

We stopped at the Oulton Dyke moorings just before Oulton broad, having never been there before.

We made a bit of a mistake at this point.  Looking at the O. S. map there appears to be a path along the river bank that joins up with the roads into Oulton so we set off walking that way,

but at the southern-most point (see red arrow on map below) the path ends.  It is slightly more obvious on this Google map!

and we were obliged to walk back up the track (marked as a grey line above),

over the railway line, to St Michael church (at the top of the map)

and then follow the roads back down over the railway again and on into Oulton, so the last part of that walk was not particularly picturesque because you can only catch an occasional glimpse of the broad between the houses!

We all enjoyed lunch at The Commodore pub, where we sat inside by the fully open window/wall overlooking the broad, before walking back to the boat.  Yet again, we thought that there must be a pathway through which we had missed, so we walked down Boathouse Lane but there really was no way through that one property, and it was necessary to go back to the church and then down to the dyke.

We had been concerned that there may have been an electrical problem with the boat because we noticed that, since disconnecting from the home mooring shore power, the domestic battery had dropped alarmingly.  We had not done many hours cruising the previous day, but with the long trip from Hardly to Oulton (albeit at low RPM) we still did not have 100%, so we switched the refrigerator over to the inverter battery (which we had not used at all).  On returning to the boat after our day in Oulton that battery was also depleted.  At this point Pauline noticed that a previous syndicate owner had turned the refrigerator up to its maximum, so the compressor was running continuously.  Returning it to a middle setting restored normal service and with great relief, we noted that the battery consumption went down to “normal” (i.e. very slow!).

Having walked a number of miles and eaten at the pub we just had a lighter supper …… and a few drinks.  So the evening slipped by quickly and we were up early the next day.

Setting off Northbound with the tide soon after 7:30 we had calm water and that made a slow pace seem appropriate again and we were able to watch the flora and fauna drift by.

At these speeds the boat generates negligible wash. 

We were pleased to watch the battery levels climb rapidly back to 100% (even at low RPM) before we had reached he new cut.

Pauline provided breakfast whilst we were under way, and we soon had lots of hot water for showers, so I was left alone at the helm along the new cut again where the Spirit of Breydon hurried past (I accept that we were going quite slowly).  One moment it was a long way behind:

But in no time it was quickly disappearing ahead: 

We managed to catch the tides almost perfectly again, so it was slack through Reedham and then gently pushing us up the Yare

It remained overcast that morning and the breeze made it feel cooler.   

Whilst I was distracted, trying to get enough signal to answer a telephone call that I thought might be urgent (it wasn’t),

Pauline used my camera to take pictures of cows and geese:

We continued (still with the tide) all the way passed the closed Commissioner’s cut where repair works were under way,

to Whitlingham.  As we arrived, the sun decided to come out again and we did the obligatory circular walk around the lake

Stopping for a very good locally made ice cream and cold drink at the café, where the local ducks insisted on sharing whatever was available.

Returning to the boat, we sat on top for a couple of hours watching the rowers and the swans sliding past.

Pauline created another enjoyable meal “using up” as many of our provisions as possible, and our last evening went by very quickly.

[Pauline dislikes this picture because the sunshine and camera flash have given her a red nose.  It’s really nothing to do with the gin (also in the picture)]

Setting off before 9 the next morning we were treated to a very calm river.

And the geese again

After a meander through Surlingham and Rockland broads

the three-and-a-bit days ended with the return to home moorings after water refill, diesel, pump-out, unloading and cleaning.  The weather chose to rain throughout these procedures but stopped just when we were almost finished.  As always, the drive home was rather frustrating, partly due to the holiday having finished and partly because of slow traffic.

I must thank Pauline and Mervyn for their hospitality, the continuous flow of cups of tea or coffee, cakes and snacks in addition to the alcoholic beverages and cooked meals, but even more for their very enjoyable company.

[Propellers]

Propeller blades have a "twist" in their pitch, from the hub to the tip to accommodate the differing speeds at which the root and tip travel through the water; also, the leading edge of each blade is aligned with the "disc" of the propeller to some extent, so that it cuts into the water and the blades then curve (slightly spoon shaped) so that the trailing edge is pushing the water backwards.

Both of these features mean that if you try to reverse the pitch, then the efficiency and effectiveness of the propeller would be reduced significantly.  Yes it will work, but will require a lot more power to achieve the same effect and I would guess that the "walking" effect would be far worse.

There are military propeller-driven aircraft that use reverse-pitch to stop when attempting short landings.  The noise made by the blades flailing air in all directions in reverse pitch is much higher than (for instance) a high-power take-off.

[Lads Week 2021]

We passed you, just South of Brundall.  Have a good trip!

[Hire Boat Fresh Water Tanks.]

Even if the tank size was standard, the use by individuals differs.  Does the boat use river or fresh water for toilet flush?  Does the boat have a water level gauge?   If you all have lots of showers and use gallons washing up the plates then frequent re-fills will be necessary.  If there are only four of you on a boat designed for (up to) ten, then the water should not be a problem, allowing you to fill less frequently; so I would think that you could go for several days without a refill, but if you moor up near a water supply then it makes sense to top up the tanks.

I suggest that you try to re-fill after one day, then you can see how much you have used (how long it takes to fill) and you will be able to estimate how often you really need to fill the tanks.

Have a chat with the boatyard staff.  They will be able to tell you how big the tank is and suggest how often you should fill it.

[Any New Hiring Boats 2021]

Haines suggest that the air draft is 8' 3".  I'm guessing that includes the mast!  See:

https://www.hainesmarine.co.uk/the-range/32-sedan/#specification

[Development At Brooms]

RS2021,

There are several "tabs" there "Details, Comments .... etc." and further information is available under several of them, but particularly "Documents". from which "View associated documents" takes you to a long list of pdfs here: https://planning.broads-authority.gov.uk/PublicAccessDocs/planningdocs.aspx?appType=Development Control&appNumber=BA/2021/0209/FUL

[Development At Brooms]

This appears to be just up stream of the pump out quay.  See the following link.

https://planning.broads-authority.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=externalDocuments&keyVal=QU5TUYTBIN800

[Adding 4g Lte & Gps/glonass To A Laptop]

Paul,

There are the Microsoft Surface-Pro-X which does have LTE and GPS or the Surface Pro 7+ (might not have GPS but you can get GPS bluetooth devices).  I don't know much about them though and have not used either.

[Carried Away By A Moonlight Shadow...]

Helen, 

If you right-click on the top bar in explorer (where it says "Name", "Date", "Type" etc.) then you can choose to add "Date taken".  This date/time should not change if you copy or move the files.

This assumes that your camera writes the "Date taken" in the first place, but I know that the cameras you have mentioned do so!  By clicking on this column heading you may then sort ascending or descending as required.

You can see above that I made an edit to file 2517, which is saved as "IMG_2517 (2)" but the "Date taken" is unchanged.

[Four Days In September 2020, In Pictures.]

No, the bump was a week or more earlier, and although Sweet Kingfisher was moving quickly enough to flash past without me noticing the name (actually, I was a bit slow) it was not moving as fast as the birds.

[Four Days In September 2020, In Pictures.]

I left home early on Monday morning (7th), aiming to arrive at Brundall at 7:00.  It was light at around 5:00 and the bright blue sky was encouraging, but as I got close to Norwich it became overcast and quite foggy.  My friends, Pauline and Mervyn, were already drinking tea and thinking about breakfast when I arrived at their shared-ownership boat, so that started my relaxing “unwind” into this trip.  With breakfast completed and after a walk to the Co-op the fog had had time to lift again when we set off.

The grey sky persisted, and it began to drizzle almost immediately. This became the theme for the following days too; engine on caused grey sky, engine off meant sunshine, but we had ways to cope with the rain.

Further down the river Yare I spotted a forum name but not until they were well past!

And, even though we were not hurrying, it seemed like we were soon on the Chet.

We stopped at Pyes Mill and walked around Lodden and the local area.

Tuesday started brightly.

But clouded over again as we re negotiated the Chet and turned right for Beccles.   With hot water and showers completed the grey overcast continued as we turned up the River Waveney.

As soon as we moored at Beccles the sun began to shine, and we enjoyed a walk around the town, collecting supplies as we did so.  The sunshine brightened the evening too. … I think it was the sunshine!

It continued to be clear and bright on Wednesday morning in Beccles.

With clouds rolling in again as we set off.

The barges on the Yare were struggling with the wind and tide, making little progress and occupying a lot of the river.

Rockland was our destination.

Where, the next morning was bright again, and Mervyn was able to enjoy some fishing before a later start.

Some of the locals were fishing too:

We meandered past Brundall via Bargate broad and slowly on to Whitlingham where a U-turn began a return to the home mooring.
During that final journey I saw a kingfisher at rest.  We had spotted several over the few days but they move quickly!

Once moored in Brundall, cars were packed and the boat cleaned.  Several times during this visit we had remarked at the clarity of the water at various locations.  The boatyard was no exception and whilst tidying up we noticed some large fish next to the boat.  I would guess that they were between 18 inches and 2 feet long.  Someone in the boatyard suggested that they were Mullet

The journey home was slowed by school traffic in Brundall and several tractors on the A140, but I was not in a hurry to get home.

Many thanks to Pauline and Mervyn for their hospitality and the copious supplies of food and drink throughout the four days.

 

 

[Forum Upgrade - Issue Log]

Thank you for getting the forum back to near normality.  There is still a problem clicking the "Like" or "Thanks" buttons it says: "Sorry there was a problem reacting to this content".

[1st Overnight For Newbies]

Geezercdg,

It depends what you mean by "newbies"!  Is that new to the broads or new to boats?

I agree with the Surlingham Ferry recommendation.  You could cruise past, towards Norwich, and return there.  If you go towards Reedham then remember that the tide can run quite fast there and the rise and fall is significant (allow sufficient slack when mooring)!  Loddon is another possibility which would give you a choice of pubs and fast food outlets.

[The Big Firkle 2020]

Two alternatives:

• Leave the screws loose (read into that whatever you like!).
• Use a 5 ton press to "persuade" it.

I hope the "... bag of the rarest substance on earth!" is not also provided by Dylan.

[Working From Home]

47 minutes ago, grendel said:

I am already running a 32" monitor via hdmi from the laptop. its just CAD uses the full screen and if I had a sketch up alongside CAD would be too small to be useful.

Assuming that the graphics card can cope with it then "project" (or Win+P) allows the TV to be an extended display; so that both documents (applications) can have "their own screen".  I use this when displaying powerpoint presentations, where the TV shows the presentation, and the PC has the presenter's notes and "next" etc.. 

[Working From Home]

11 hours ago, grendel said:

only a single screen, I normally have 3 at work, now I am down to a single one, with CAD drawings this means flicking between my sketch I am working from, memorising the measurements, then flicking back to CAD to draw the bit I just memorised.

Being a "tech" I'm sure you have thought of this, but most televisions have wireless networking now.  I have a relatively small (these days!) HD resolution screen TV.  In Windows 10, all that you need to do is settings/system/display/connect to a wireless display (shortcut Win+K), then choose the TV from the list. and set it up as an extended display in the usual way.  You might be able to find a TV that you could use as a monitor at the supermarket whilst on the food run.

[Upgrade - New Pc & Windows 10]

DavidH,

I should have mentioned:  The "Link inboxes" feature does allow all messages to be merged into one stream, but I want to maintain distinct e-mail environments so that I respond to each appropriately.