Mouldy

I have seen reports that Summercraft will no longer be hiring boats next year and the yard will become a private marina, although they will continue to hire their riverside bungalows. A check of the Hoseasons website seems to prove this to be correct. I have also looked at the Summercraft website, which also shows no availability for 2020. I do know that they sold off a couple of their boats earlier this year, perhaps an indication of things to come. If this is true, I for one will be sorry to see the demise of yet another small, family yard and miss the bright, distinctive livery of their craft on the rivers. We spent many happy holidays with them and always found the boats to be meticulously maintained and the service friendly. To Sue and her team, thanks for some truly happy memories. As a private marina, it will offer some lucky boat owners a pretty base to moor their craft, off the main river and away from the rest of the Wroxham/Hoveton yards, but still close enough to allow easy access to the facilities of the town.

We’ve never owned a motor home or touring van for that matter, so my knowledge is limited, but there is a caravan site between Ludham Bridge and the Dog Inn.

I can live with Easter. Although commercialised, it’s nothing like as bad as Christmas. And don’t start me on Black Friday. How many weeks does a Black Friday sale need to last?? Another American idea that we Brits seem to have jumped on and another con! Let’s get Brexit out of the way and we can celebrate Thanksgiving and 4th July with our American partners!!😉😁

Oh, no you won’t!!!! 😉😉 What with Christmas (oh no, I’ve written it!)😖😖, Brexit and the bl00dy election, I personally can’t wait for next year. Roll on 29th March, when the clocks ‘spring’ forward and the dreariness of winter ends.

Oh, yes I can!😉

Sorry to hear that you weren't too impressed with your November holiday, but pleased that you got home safely. Although our experience on Moonlight Shadow last November was essentially a short break, we enjoyed it. There was still a foliage on the trees, giving some autumn colour, the rivers were quiet and moorings plentiful. To be fair, though, the weather has been very mixed all year. Aside from a couple of weeks in July and the week following August Bank Holiday, I can't remember any extended periods of good weather at all. Even September, which is usually quite a good month, was a little more changeable than usual. When will you be up in April? We are due to be on Moonlight Shadow for the week commencing Saturday 4th, with our son and his family again.

Ah, The Ferry House. My favourite pub on the Southern rivers. A warm welcome and a Iovely warm pub, especially with the fire that will be lit tonight. Enjoy it Simon . . . . . . . . . I'm only slightly jealous, but hoping to find an excuse to sample their hospitality next week!

Glad you managed to wade through all of the comments and advice offered by fellow members and arrive at your decision. We also opted for Seago self inflating life jackets when we bought into the Moonlight Shadow syndicate last year and they are now stored on Norfolk Lady, ready for use when onboard. As for Brian Wards, I have to agree that they are extremely helpful and carry a good stock. I just wish that I didn’t have to go past their door on the way to our boat. There is a certain draw that seems to pull you in to find something else to buy every time we arrive in Brundall.

Very pleased to hear it Jay and thanks. Not before time tbh. I didn’t want to dive in and start emptying bits and pieces, without establishing whether they were of sentimental value to other syndicate members.

Hi Sue. We discussed the fact that many of the cupboards on MS are full of ‘toot’ at the AGM this year. Although there are theoretically only two double beds, we have accumulated seven double duvets and sufficient pillows for every bed. There is a fishing box under the settee in the saloon (not even Colin, Cav or Geoff know who it used to belong to) and an old tv. Cupboards and drawers are all full too, to the extent that one sometimes struggles to find space for your own belongings. It has been agreed that we will meet on board at some point soon to go through everything and clear out some of the duplicated equipment - do we really need four frying pans? With that in mind, do we really need to store six life jackets, when for the majority of the time, there would only be two people on board? Maintaining them would also add to the annual costs, which have increased substantially since you sold you shares. We have agreed to invest in repairing the sliding canopy over the winter, which obviously has been ignored for too long by previous members, as it has jammed regularly over the summer, incurring additional costs. As a syndicate, I think the last thing we need at the moment, is the expense of buying and maintaining life jackets. My opinion obviously, but as a current syndicate member with a 12% share, I think I’m entitled to express it.

Just one at the BA mooring. Shouldn’t be occupied at this time of year, though.

Have a great week, Simon. Unfortunately, our paths won’t cross during the week, as happened in September. We’ll be up late Friday evening to start our first full week (and a bit) on Norfolk Lady and as you can imagine, are looking forward to it immensely. Enjoy the peace and the ability to moor wherever you like without difficulty. We found our first ‘out of season’ cruising experiences very relaxing last winter.

Ah, so that’s who you are!! Steve mentioned my forum name to you, but I didn’t catch yours, but now I know! Enjoy your ‘maiden voyage.’ We may well bump into you over your first weekend as we should be up on Norfolk Lady to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Agreed. We had a look around the one Summercraft used to run one year, to see what it was like when we were hiring. Visibility from the forward steering position was dire, headroom in the saloon (assuming it is a the sharp end) was insufficient, even for my vertically challenged 5’8” and access to the upper helm extremely difficult. Personally, I didn’t like it, even to hire for a week. NYA currently are advertising two Aquafibre 42 centre cockpits, which offer spacious accommodation an Alpha 42 Centre Cockpit and also have an Aquafibre 37 sedan. Richardson’s were marketing a couple of Aquafibre 38 Lowliners, which may still be available and Norfolk Boat Sales have several suitable craft advertised including an Aquafibre 37 Sedan and an Alpha 42 Centre Cockpit. Finally, Waterside Marine are advertising two Alpha 42’s, a Lowliner and a Centre Cockpit. Ultimately, the choice is down to your taste and budget. Perhaps the best thing would be to visit and see what suits best. They are all ex hire craft, although several have been privately owned for a while and will have seen some alterations since being in a fleet. Good luck with your search.

8’6” airdraft? Maybe Richos will be paying to lift the bridge at Ludham. The Ant between Wayford and Ludham bridges isn’t much of a cruising range if the river levels are high. Doesn’t seem an ideal design to cruise from their Stalham base to me, but what do I know?

Trust me, if I wasn’t enjoying my food so much, I would have been forced to leave. 😉😁

Nooooooooo! Aside from being in Skegness, which is top of my list of places I dont ever want to visit again (been twice, second time was a serious error of judgement), Christmas decs in early November are just wrong! Not the earliest Christmas (there, said it again!) party we've heard about. We were in The Ferry House in September when a local boat club were having their Christmas dinner. Nearly made me choke on my food when they broke into a few verses of 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas'

Why thank you for you kind comment and without wishing to blow one’s own trumpet, I did and I have!😉 We bought a fleecey mattress topper from that well known purveyor of stuff to keep you warm in winter, Aldi. That seems to help, too! And that is my intention, but the dog usually jumps into the space I vacated and snuggles down next to the wife, leaving no room for me!

Oooops! Head hung in shame!😒 Sorry Jay.😉

Due to the purchase of Norfolk Lady, we need to sell our full share in Moonlight Shadow. It is currently on the BCBM website for £1900, but we would be willing to sell it to a fellow forum member for £1700, as long as we process the paperwork. Im sure that many of you will be familiar with the boat and may have seen her on the rivers, but here are a few photos anyway:

Unless Jason has thinned out the number of duvets on MS, there should be plenty to have an extra one on the bed, should you need it. It’s a bit of a shock to the system when you have to get up and the boat is cold, though. It is now it’s finally working properly, having finally been repaired by Webasto engineers. Our first trips out on MS were in November (for what was effectively a long weekend) and February. Because of the issues with the heating at the time, we’d taken a small ceramic fan heater and looked for moorings where we had shore power. We certainly needed it, as we woke to frost on the Sunday morning and were iced in at Oulton Broad later in the week. That said, seeing the Broads in a different season was certainly worthwhile. There is something about the winter light that is very special.

Hi Neil. We did approach them with a view to moving Moonlight Shadow there, but they were unable to help. It's a pity, as their standards are high, but they are not really geared up to turn round syndicate boats at the weekend.

How did you guess, or did you see it on their Faceache page?

So it’s the end of another weekend on Norfolk Lady, or second since she’s was out of the water for antifoul, polish, wax and lots of other work. She is certainly looking a lot better for it, although my wallet is looking a little sad at the moment. I’ve also managed to get some ballast at the bow, so she no longer looks like a ski boat. Much more civilised. It’s fair to say that the weather has been mixed. It started raining as we pulled up at our home marina on Friday night, there was a beautiful sunrise on Saturday, folowwed by a glorious Norfolk morning, however it wasn’t long before the rain started again, coupled with some gusty winds. We had lunch before casting off and heading for Langley Dyke, which was to be our mooring for the night. We found our spot at the end, sheltered from the wind and settled down for the evening. The wife knitted and I did a couple of crosswords as darkness fell. Later, I made our dinner and we watched tv for a while before turning in at about 22:00. It had rained off and on all evening, but had eased as I turned out the lights. For once, I slept in, not waking until about 06:45, so clambered out of bed and pulled back the curtains to reveal another lovely sunrise. Not the deep red of the previous day, but a lovely, warm, golden glow, lighting the Dyke aft of the boat. I pulled on some clothes and grabbed my camera to get a few shots. The wind had dropped and there were patches of blue sky developing as the sun rose. We set off about 09:00, heading for Rockland Staithe. It wasn’t long before we were there, so moored near the electric post and plugged into the mains. The water was piping hot from our cruise so we took our turns to shower, before having brunch of bacon, tomatoes, scrambled eggs and mushrooms. The sun was out and we sat at the stern for a while, enjoying the day, before casting off for our final, short cruise back to Brundall. Some other craft arrived while we were there, one being Ranworth Breeze, although I didn’t see who was at the helm. Norfolk Lady has been tidied, ready for our next trip, which will be longer. I can’t wait!

Someone start calendar picture thread, then and set a time limit for entries, so we can vote and get the job done. Should manage it before Brexit is resolved 😉😉😁.