Mouldy

I’m fairly certain that was on the market when we bought Norfolk Lady in 2019. Given how much two privately owned Pearl 38’s have been advertised for recently, I’d agree that it’s overpriced, possibly by a tad and a bit.

Will I need to look out for you on a YouTube video filmed tomorrow?

Another couple of busy days! Yesterday saw me back to Horning to see a couple more upholstery firms to get quotes for new curtains and other upholstery items (headboards etc.) for Moonlight Shadow. I also met with new shareholders in the syndicate, who recently bought their share, to show them over the boat and go through a familiarisation. We also took the opportunity to have a short run up the river to see how our newly fitted propeller had impacted the boat’s performance. Today, after a trip to the shops with the wife, I had a go at fencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . no, not that waving a sharp thing around trying to kill your opponent, but erecting a fence. The two sections of our rather odd garden had been separated by a fence made from round posts knocked into the ground, supporting chicken wire, however it had been trampled down by visiting deer. Having tamed at least part of the garden, we want to try to keep them out and our dog in, so the wife instructed me to sort something out. It’s a work in progress at the moment, but coming along. Digging the holes about 60cms deep for the posts, is giving me some kind of workout!

We own a Broom 29 Sedan, the airdraft is 8ft 3ins, so it does impact passage under some additional bridges at certain states of the tide, like Ludham, St Olaves and Somerleyton (which all too frequently can’t swing due to the weather, maintenance issues or some other lame excuse). It’s less restrictive than a 30DS which I believe is a few inches taller.

One option could be a Sancerre style cruiser. They used to be popular on The Broads, having been built by Bondon (latterly Russell Marine) of South Walsham. http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Style_Details&style=Sncr There are a few still on the Broadland rivers, but there are two currently available on the Great Ouse, one at Jones Boatyard: https://www.jonesboatyard.co.uk/boat-sales/sancerre-33-boat-for-sale-7430.html and one advertised on Apolloduck: https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/sancerre-33-for-sale/738182 They have a relatively low airdraft for a sedan style craft, so can safely negotiate most of the bridges on The Broads, with the exception of Wroxham, Potter and Wayford.

I had a good day yesterday, or I thought I did. A sunny day, a ride on my bike, a constructive afternoon getting a bit more of a fence put up in our garden and then someone mentions bloody Christmas in August! Some people just can’t leave it alone, can they? A good day, spoiled!

Gives me an idea for a ride out on my bike, too. Had a little ride to Horning today. Was surprisingly quiet when I arrived . . . . . . but unsurprisingly there were no spaces on the staithe! Had a latte and a bacon and sausage bap from the takeaway on the corner of the green and watched the boats go by for a while before riding home. Hoveton/Wroxham was heaving though , with traffic tailing back to Roy’s garage heading for the town centre. It had clouded over considerably whilst I was there, but past the Thickthorn interchange, the sky was blue and not a cloud to be seen!

That’ll track me to hit enter, before I’ve finished! 😬 I returned home and finished moving the rest of the logs and now have a heap in my garage! Saturday, like for a good many of us I guess, was something of a washout. It didn’t stop raining from the time I got up until I went to bed. I did venture into Watton in the afternoon, to buy a small chopper. I wasn’t going to buy kindling when I had plenty of logs to chop up! Sunday dawned, bright and sunny, but I’d seen the forecast and knew it wouldn’t last. The wife had a bright idea - I’d cut some shrubs down in our as yet, undeveloped ‘back’ back garden. She suggested that with the ground soft, now would be a good time to dig the roots up! Well, we grunted, strained, broke a saw, I broke into a sweat and eventually managed to get all four out. Some of the thicker roots will have to stay, as they pass under the fence and I’m not sure that the neighbour would welcome us digging up his garden. I also chopped a bit more off the overgrown laurel hedge at the back of our property. I had a hack at it last year and it’s started to thicken up at the bottom now, so I thought I’d help it along a bit! It’s about twelve feet tall, so definitely overdue for a trim! Fortunately, it started raining, so our endeavours were bought to an early end before I got carried away with the loppers. Our garden waste bin, that was emptied last Wednesday, is now full, so another visit to the tip beckons to get rid of the waste. I thought that retirement might allow me a little time to relax. 🤨

Never mind my day, my weekend! I’d ordered 2cu metres of seasoned hardwood logs to be delivered and told it’d be late morning when they arrived. The supplier is clearly in a different time zone, as he rocked up at 09:40. I hastily move the cars off the drive so he could reverse on and tip then nearer my sideway to barrow round to our newly acquired log store. I shouldn’t complain, but I’m sure that there was more than I’d ordered. It was almost inevitable that we should have a short, sharp shower just as he finished tipping them! Grrrr!😡 Quickly, the wheelbarrow was put into service and within an hour or so, most had been transferred to the store and stacked. Id also arranged to be at Horning to meet a couple of upholsterers to quote for new curtains on Moonlight Shadow. Feeling slightly worse for shifting a load of logs, I set off, arriving ten minutes before my first appointment. They measured up, we had a chat and I waited, but the second firm failed to arrive. No matter, I have another to see next week, as well as show a new owner around the boat to familiarise him with relevant bits! I also grabbed a quick photo of our newly installed cooker, which is a huge improvement over the old one, even allowing free access to the cutlery drawer! To be continued.

Two advertised on Apolloduck: https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boats/hampton

Follow your progress on the Aweigh app or using Google maps. We hire a Sheerline 950 from Royalls in 1996 called Royal Sceptre. It had its own built in limiter as the position of the throttle wouldn’t allow full movement of the lever, restricting maximum revs to about 1600.

Out of interest, what’s the airdraft of a Princess 33? Passing under Ludham Bridge may be an issue if the rivers are high.

Not sure how feasible mudweighting would be when the racing is in progress.

Powerboat racing in Oulton Broad on most Thursday evenings is worth a look if you’re interested in that sort of thing, but you’ll need to book a pontoon mooring at the Yacht Station we’ll in advance if you do. Beccles is a lovely town. Good shopping, plenty of pubs, restaurants and takeaways. Good butchers in town too. If you venture along the Yare, Rockland Broad is lovely, moorings at the staithe and an excellent pub nearby. Surlingham Broad ((Bargate) is also worth going to. No moorings or facilities, but mudweight for a peaceful stopover. The Ferry Inn at Surlingham is excellent (imho). Bookable moorings, electric, water, a large beer garden, good food and drink. Bramerton has a stretch of excellent moorings. Depending on your airdraft, you could go under the very low bridges to Thorpe, otherwise continue into Norwich. Plenty to see and do, but very noisy for overnight moorings. Definitely worth the trip south and Breydon really isn’t to be feared. Keep within the marked channel and cross at the correct time.

It was in an answer to a question on a FB group. I’ll see if I can find it again and forward to you. If you’re a member of the Love the Norfolk Broads group, look for a very recent post by Robin Shepherd. Clive Richardson responded with relevant information.

Scrumping, Kate! A pastime of a different age. Just go for it! 😉

Read on FB that Horning Pleasurecraft are adding a Diamond 35 to their hirefleet soon and one of their new build centre cockpit craft later this season. The Diamond is a Broom build, that’s been in private hands until recently.

If ever there was an example of the need for correct grammar, there’s a perfect example! One misplaced ruddy comma!

We moor our boat at a marina off Hobrough’s Dyke and have noticed the weed growth there, too. I’m no expert on the water lilies, but I believe that the yellow ones are more tolerant of water condition than the white ones, so I’m not sure that their presence is an indication of water quality.

Two things belong on chips - salt and vinegar! Nothing else.

You’ll never make me put gravy on my chips!

It’s that good that the residents can’t wait to escape to Norfolk! Strange that!

Uh-oh! That sounds like fighting talk!

Just seen a new shop on Google maps, just a few yards from the moorings:

I don’t recall the weed/plant growth across Rockland Broad being so dense before. It’s encroaching into the marked channel in places, or was when we were there a couple of weeks ago.