Mouldy

Deb’s mum and dad lived in Southern Ireland for a few years, during the eighties. We visited them a couple of times, once in ‘84 and again in ‘85, both times travelling on my motorbike and using the Sealink ferry to Dun Laoghaire. The crossing in ‘84 was particularly memorable as a passenger threw themselves off the ferry mid crossing and we circled the area for several hours, searching for her, before continuing with the journey. The delay impacted us getting to the in-laws home quite severely, not helped by the signage used in the Republic at the time, with some road signs showing distance in miles and others in kilometres! It was an interesting journey nonetheless, completed on unlit roads in the middle of the night.

Not really the time or the thread (sorry Peter), but given Thames Water’s (self inflicted) financial woes, recent issues at Southern Water and United Utilities (the Lake Windermere incident) and ongoing problems at South West Water, it’s about time OFWAT and the Government got involved and reminded these companies what is expected of them. All of them operate a monopoly, which is not inline with the freedom of choice that I though privatisation was supposed to provide!

White Horse, Chedgrave maybe?

Barton Turf, where the water point is, has returned to being controlled by the Parish Council. They no longer allow mooring there other than to access the water point. Paddy’s Lane is a BA mooring. Being so close, they are often confused, but only one offers 24 hour moorings.

Barton Turf is no longer a mooring, since the BA failed to renew the lease. The moorings should only be used to top up with water and not for a prolonged stay.

According to The Maltsters FB page, their kitchen renovations are now finished and they’re serving food as of 15th May.

So, based on your comment, unless the BA can come up with a plan to allow some of the moorings to be given over to dayboats, it seems that the most likely outcome will be for the PC to take over control of the Staithe and allow dayboat moorings during the day and perhaps larger craft overnight. I think that double mooring is already permitted there, so given that the combined beam of two cruisers moored side by side could be around 25ft, they could even permit dayboats to moor stern on, thus increasing the potential space available, together with mooring fees. It may not happen, but based on the BA’s hit rate for lease renewal, I can’t help but be suspicious.

I’ve just found the minutes of the meeting of the Horning Parish Council that was attended by the good doctor, at which the renewal of the lease on the parish Staithe was discussed: https://horning.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/files/2023/06/202306-June-minutes-HNG.docx As can be seen, the current lease expires in March 2025. It also states that some, if not all, of the Staithe moorings should be reserved for dayboats during the day at the suggestion of the PC. I’m sure I recall additional information being available at the time, suggesting that the footfall to local businesses would increase if the moorings were restricted to dayboats during the day, as they would turnaround more frequently. Current form would suggest that further negotiations regarding renewal are yet to start and it will come as no surprise to me, at least, to find that those moorings are also lost. Obviously, I stand to be corrected and indeed surprised in due course.

If it was a single occurrence, perhaps it would be more acceptable, but the BA has come up with the same excuse for Polkeys Mill as they used at Langley Dyke almost a year ago. I do seem to remember that they also used cost as a way round renewing the lease on the Barton Turf moorings as well. The mere fact that the loss of the moorings at Polkeys Mill was not advised by the BA is, in my view, exceptionally poor, as they are able to post regular updates on all other aspects of Broads news. As @NeilB stated, I also suspect that this has been ‘hushed up’ to avoid the inevitable backlash from the toll payers who surely have a right to expect to to be kept up to date with a further loss of free moorings.

I’ve just looked back at the BA’s response to the thread posted last year, regarding the loss of Langley Dyke moorings. The reason for not renewing the lease was much the same as the one detailed in Tom’s response above. I dare say that the same reason would be stated for the loss of Barton Turf as well. It appears that they are unwilling to increase the rent on any moorings and expect landowners to continue to charge nominal amounts, yet increase tolls at rates way above inflation. Do they have any intention of successfully renegotiating a lease on moorings moving forward? Recent history suggests otherwise.

Thank you Tom @BroadsAuthority for the update. However, one does wonder when the Blessed Authority will agree to pay an increased rent for a mooring when the lease expires. Thinking back over the last couple of years, we’ve lost Barton Turf, Langley Dyke and Polkeys Mill moorings. Charges have been imposed at Ranworth (previously free) and I believe the lease on the moorings at Horning Staithe expires soon. Are the Broads Authority ever going to find moorings to replace those that are now lost, or even redouble efforts to keep the ones we have, which do appear to be being lost at an alarming rate?

Norfolk Lady has been measured at 8ft 3ins. We’ve gone under Ludham Bridge with 8ft showing on the markers. Not sure if Keleka has been measured or if that is the height marked from when she was in a fleet, but I can’t see any reason for it to be taller than NL. Passage under Ludham is usually okay through late spring, summer and into early autumn, but may be questionable through late autumn and the winter. If you want to look over her, it would be advisable to give Paul a ring to let him know. Contact him on the sponsors advert here on the Forum for BK Windows.

Thanks! It is a labour of love tbh, but I do like to keep her looking as good as I can. You might find that a bit too big to get into some of the tighter spaces. I use a car type dual action polisher like this on NL: https://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/products/das-6-pro-v2-dual-action-polisher.aspx?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=MerchantCentre&variant=11884&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw9IayBhBJEiwAVuc3fjJQ10xGrYXg49CeRokF3tJIEKnziKg3mKb53ETsgR_WASre6XazKRoCl6YQAvD_BwE Admittedly it’s not cordless, but being a bit smaller allows access to the more difficult to reach areas. 😁

Thank you. She’s in a much better condition now than we we bought her in 2019, most of which has been completed by Paul at Swancraft. The 29 you mentioned at Richo’s yard has dropped dramatically in price having been pitched rather optimistically at either 55 or 60k when it first came to the market. One of the others advertised used to belong to fellow forumite Ray, who traded her in for a rather lovely Bounty Sovereign that is moored next to ours! Depending on what you’re looking for and if you accept that passage under certain bridges isn’t possible, they’re a good little boat.

A Frayed Knot is looking good, Danny. Did you polish it or get it done by the marina?

We went back to the boat on Friday evening. We’d arranged to meet some friends for a meal on Saturday evening at Wayford Bridge, so we thought it best just to stay put in the yard and do some cleaning and polishing, getting the old girl ready for the summer. It’s fair to say that the journey to Brundall didn't go too smoothly, taking an hour and a half instead of 40 minutes. Accidents on the A11 and A47 had caused delays on the 47, so we diverted onto the A1067 to pick up the NDR to go the other way round Norwich. That was okay, but as soon as we got back onto the A47 at the Postwick Interchange, there had been another ruddy accident, with the emergency services in attendance. Now knowing the area, I took the Little Plumstead exit and went through the back roads to Blofield, only to find the road to Brundall closed for roadworks! Arriving at the yard, we soon transferred our stuff onboard. I’d planned to get fish and chips for tea from the Blofield chippy, but because of the road closure and resulting diversion, went to the one in Brundall instead. I have to say that it was much improved from my last visit and we enjoyed our dinner back on board the boat. Saturday was grey and misty when I woke, but by about 10:30 had developed into a glorious day. I set about compounding the boat and by lunchtime had done most of the superstructure apart from the white roof. The heat has caused me to be quite thirsty, so The White Horse beckoned for a libation. We also sampled their ciabattas for lunch - we both had fish goujons in ours which were served with fries and a small side salad. It was very good and reminded us that being so local to the yard, it offered lunch options other than the Golden Arches when we leave to go home. Back at the boat, it was time for waxing where I’d compounded. It was hard going in the hot sun, but I soldiered on and got it all done, before getting ready to go out for dinner. We met our friends as arranged and had a very enjoyable meal. It was the first time we’d eaten there. As we can’t get under the bridge in Norfolk Lady and with the moorings so close to the busy road, it has never appealed, but the food and service were both good and we may be tempted back in the future. We drove back to Brundall, arriving just before 22:00. We were hoping for a repeat of the Northern Lights, that we’d missed on Friday night, but no such luck! I was up quite early on Sunday, keen to get the roof (white bits) compounded and polished before we went home. I waited until about 09:00 before getting busy with my polishing machine and was eventually finished by about 12:30, with wax applied. All I have left to do now is the toe rail. Hopefully I can get that done next weekend, but the forecast doesn’t look that hopeful at the moment. We’ll see. With the boat tidied and the car packed, we set off for home. It was a much easier journey than the one there on Friday. Despite not getting out on the river, it had been a good weekend, with a lot done. Roll on next weekend!

This may be incorrect info, but could explain why the airdraft of a boat may not be the absolute measurement for passing under Wroxham Bridge. My thinking is that the airdraft is the overall height, which would apply for passage under a squared off bridge, such as Ludham or Wayford. Wroxham, being an arch is higher at the centre, so passage is more dependent of the shape of the superstructure and the fall off to the sides. Im sure someone will tell me that I’m wrong, but it does seem logical to me. I was giving this theory some thought, as one of the owners on Moonlight Shadow went through Wroxham Bridge on Saturday (Pilot at the helm) with the height gauge showing 6ft 7ins. The airdraft of MS is 6ft 10ins and that seems accurate, especially when one passes under Wayford Bridge with 7ft on the marker and there seems little more than a fag paper between the nav light on the canopy and the bridge.

There is another Elysian advertised on Apolloduck at Tingdene, Oulton Broad: https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/elysian-27-for-sale/761042 And this Seamaster at Buckden Marina looks quite tidy: https://seamaster.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/seamaster-27-for-sale/762527 It can often be cheaper to buy from another waterway and get the boat transported, to avoid the ‘Broads’ pricing.

Wasn’t the weekend - the Brundall Navy were all safely tucked up in their home berths!

It took us an hour and forty minutes to make the journey from home to Brundall instead of 45 minutes. I checked Google maps to find an accident on the A47 was causing significant delays on both the A47 and the A11, so we went through Dereham and Weston Longueville to pick up the NDR, past the airport. We joined the A47 at the Postwick Interchange for the short distance to the roundabout near Brundall and promptly ran into more traffic apparently caused by yet another accident. We turned off at the Little Plumstead turn and went through the lanes to Blofield, however the road between Blofield and Brundall is closed for roadworks, so had to turn right back to the A47 roundabout and turn left onto Cucumber Lane. Nightmare.

Wouldn’t bit be good if the @BroadsAuthority would confirm what has happened and why, to save speculation and rumours?

We think the upgrade to the Voyager is worthwhile too. The Flavel was alright and still worked, but getting the oven to a temperature to be able to cook anything required time and patience.

They might not be the most potent state of tune, but our new (to us) Octavia Mk4 vRS Tdi dsg 4x4 Estate is no slouch. Tests quote it as 0.1 second slower to 100kph than the 245bhp petrol version. It’s noticeably quicker than my 2016 Mk3 vRS Tdi dsg. Engine power has risen from 181bhp to 197. My wife drove it from our bungalow to Towcester on Wednesday for her occasional day in the office and it showed fuel consumption on the computer of over 57mpg. I will check it properly when I top it up again, but it’s waaay more economical than the Kia it replaced.

https://www.nya.co.uk/boats-for-sale/lytton-discovery-850-4/

We bought one of these: https://www.norfolkmarine.co.uk/voyager-4500-2-burner-oven-grill-cooker We wanted one with ignition, but post Covid, they just weren’t available, so settled for one without. I think they’re the closest in size you’ll find.