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Mouldy

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Everything posted by Mouldy

  1. Moonlight Shadow has two Thunderbox loos, flushed with water pumped from the river. To be fair, I think they were fitted extensively to hirecraft, back in the day. They are generally reliable, don’t block easily and fairly cheap to maintain. The downside is sitting on top of a tank full of ‘slurry,’ but if you don’t look too closely and keep them maintained , they’re fine. We do find that they have an appetite for seals though, which we’ve found need changing annually. We used to have a manual Jabsco loo on Norfolk Lady, flushed with river water. It did use more water to flush than a Traveller loo, but depending on where one was on the system, the flushing water could sometimes be a little sour, leaving the loo a little whiffy. Our new macerating toilet is much cleaner, but I think uses even more water to flush than the Jabsco. Additional care has to be taken to avoid blocking it, though, which would be an issue when there’s only one toilet on the boat. Water usage on NL isn’t a problem. We have two large tanks and with normal usage will last us three or four days easily, including showering every day.
  2. Thanks on the tip. I do know that Paul at the yard adds an extra jug of blue when he does a pump out, because the tank is big, but even then it was becoming a bit noxious as it filled. We haven’t tried it with the filter fitted yet, but I’m hoping that it will help.
  3. Yeah, I think you mean you have a Jabsco manual flush loo and you possibly had a Traveller (Thunderbox) loo on Luna. Not sure if you’d be able to fit a Traveller toilet, as the holding tank is directly under the seat. You could convert to a macerating one, similar to the one Paul fitted in NL, but we find that they use more water than a manual flush. If conserving capacity in your black water tank is a priority, just remember Griff’s saying: if it’s yellow, let it mellow, but if it’s brown, flush it down! Fortunately, the waste tank on NL is massive - so much so that we’ve had to have a filter fitted on the tank vent, to try and stop the obnoxious odour that developed after a few days use.
  4. I guess that hiring the venue in the evening would (a) cost more and (b) attract the wrong audience. Isn’t it good to know that the future of The Broads and navigation in particular, is in such safe hands!
  5. You might like to look at this, then: https://www.broads-society.org/post/the-state-of-the-broads-in-the-family-of-national-parks Good to see that The Broads Society are promoting the Notional Park as a National Park.
  6. What type of loo do you currently have, Sam?
  7. Positioning of the anode on NL. The blades to each side of the skeg are no longer there - they were removed when the new prop was fitted. There also used to be a cage of some description fitted around the prop and rudder, probably for when the boat was part of the Emerald Star fleet in Ireland. The size of the old prop can be seen written on the blades. The new one is 18x13.
  8. Just found this on the BBC website. Apparently the A14 at Newmarket is now getting reviews on Tripadvisor: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-68513480
  9. Should have said last Christmas, but Gracie probably would have started to bloody sing it!
  10. Today’s shoppers are even deserting the shopping mall, which became so popular from the late seventies. The one at Milton Keynes was still under construction when I first moved to the area in 1977, but proved an enormous success when it opened two years later, filled with branches of so many high street brands and ample free parking. About twenty five years ago, they added the ‘new bit,’ with a large Debenhams taking a very large unit over several floors and a multi storey car park. Its clearly lost some appeal, especially with the demise of so many high street stores: C&A, Woolworth, BHS, Dickens and Jones, Mothercare, Debenhams, Top Shop, Top Man, Waterstones, The Electric Board, Virgin Records - the list goes on . . . . . . . . . and on. It’s odd to see so many units empty now. The rents are too high for many traders and parking charges imposed since it opened may also have impacted some trade. I read a few weeks ago, that they are now planning to demolish part of the Lakeside Shopping Centre, near the Dartford Crossing. Not so long ago, folk used to queue to exit the M25 to go there, so popular it quickly became. We went to Norwich to do a little pre Christmas shopping and went into Castle Mall. Relatively small by comparison to Milton Keynes and Lakeside, the number of empty units was shocking, but even the beautiful Arcade in Norwich has so few units occupied now, one wonders how long it will remain. Perhaps, the change in shopping habits will see many of these large malls close down and businesses will return to the high street. Is that wishful thinking?
  11. Always ready for food and alcohol, Ray, especially with excellent company. Yep, great idea and good to know that prior issues are now improved! 😁
  12. I’ve just noticed how long it’s been since I last updated this thread. That said, I don’t think we’ve actually spent any time onboard NL since October, when the flooding and high tides started. NL had been in Paul’s shed for a couple of weeks earlier in the year. He’s tidied up a really poor gel coat repair on the starboard side of the hull that’s been bugging me since we bought her, resealed all of the helm windows, fitted a couple of LED lamps to the bathing platform to make boarding a little easier in the dark and fitted a filter to the black water tank vent to try to prevent the noxious odour that was emanating from there as the tank filled. We went up today to restock the cupboards with necessary stuff and to drain and refill the water tanks, in the hope we can soon be on the water again. Whilst there and with the hose to hand, I made the rash decision to give the old girl a scrub down as she was looking a little verdant - a colour perhaps best described as Nyx Green. An hour or so later, I was able to stand back and admire the results. When the weather improves a little more, she needs a good coat of wax and I must clean and proof the canopy. Bit she is at least ready for some adventures this year to start.
  13. If you’re talking about the A14 Newmarket Bypass, it’s not so long ago since that stretch of the road had roadworks that took quite a long time to complete. Signage there suggests that they’re emergency works, but it does seem odd that these repairs are necessary already.
  14. There are another two individuals that have been subject to the same abuse, about whom I suspect no have no knowledge at all. Once again, this incident that was recorded is not an isolated one.
  15. The owners on board Moonlight Shadow have identified the anglers as the same ones on the video. Their approach and language were the same. They might be pleasant old boys to you, but the approach and threatening behaviour towards a couple in their sixties, is unnecessary.
  16. Your earlier post (to me) intimates that the situation was potentially to do with the owner of the Freeman - ‘there is more to this sorry saga than we are being shown.’ I agree that you didn’t mention the owners aboard Moonlight Shadow, but their experience closely matches the situation in the video and they have also stated that the anglers in the video were the same ones that dissuaded them from mooring, due to similarly intimidatory tactics. I wonder how many more passing boaters have been spoken to in this manner. There can be no doubt that these guys have their own agenda, with regard to the moorings and are not interested in sharing the space with anyone else.
  17. So, what about the couple on board Moonlight Shadow, who tried to moor at the same Staithe and suffered the same thuggish reaction? Are we saying that they should be categorised as the individual on the Freeman? Frankly, I think not. I know the people personally and have no doubt as to their integrity. The behaviour of these ‘anglers’ is unacceptable.
  18. I’m guessing, as a non angler, that they may have been pike fishing. Most anglers (I believe) don’t fish for pike again until the autumn, following the end of the current season next week. As for any suggestion that the video was selective in its content, showing only the actual confrontation, I would suggest that the careful placement of the fishing gear in the centre of the Staithe was purely to prevent any boats fro mooring. Fishing from either end of the available space would have left adequate room for someone to moor. Their intent, in my opinion, is obvious. Furthermore, I wonder whether they would have shown such aggression to a party of four or five ex squaddies who wished to moor there. Their behaviour was more in line with what we mistakenly assume to be that of football supporters, not folk engaged in angling. There can be no excuse to threaten to throw a solo boater in the water, or for the torrent of profanity heard in this video. If I’m lucky enough to find a space there through the summer and after the beginning of the fishing season, I will ensure that I have either my phone, or a video camera to hand, should a similar situation arise.
  19. Fellow owners on Moonlight Shadow were given the same treatment at the same place by the same anglers last week. They decided not to moor, but to move off to avoid further confrontation. I can assure you, as a member of the Syndicate Management Team, that Moonlight Shadow is tolled, therefore has every right to be on the river. As Tempest mentioned earlier in the thread, there have been other incidents at other moorings over the years involving anglers and members of the baiting community. Yes, these anglers are clearly an exception, however threatening to push the boat owner in the river, interspersed with fouls and abusive language is not the way to handle this situation.
  20. I’ve just been notified that this is a recent posting on YouTube. Fellow members of the Moonlight Shadow Syndicate told me last week about some aggressive anglers at Irstead Parish moorings and it would appear that they have now assumed rights to use the Staithe for themselves. There is a fair amount of foul and abusive language here, so those of a certain disposition shouldn’t watch: https://youtu.be/Wx7MQZsWSwg?si=oiuAE6529gxuk1xU
  21. I’ve been taught that - when I took my HGV Licence in 1978 and again when I took a motorcycle training course in 1982. Assume that every other driver on the road is trying to kill you and drive/ride accordingly. If you read Roadcraft or Motorcycle Roadcraft, it’s called defensive driving.
  22. Mouldy

    Flooding

    Call me cynical - I know I am, so no offence will be taken, but this appears to be a body representing six water management boards and in association with a seventh, who are collating data, presumably to take to The Broads Authority, EA, IDB and Anglian Water. How much evidence is required to prove that there is an issue with water levels on the Northern Broads. The amount of red tape that needs to be unraveled before anything gets done is frankly ludicrous and at what cost? I must just be getting old and intolerant! No, not getting, I am old and intolerant!
  23. You’ve not met my wife, then! She needn’t bother! It doesn’t matter what I do and how I do it, I already know it’ll usually be wrong! Hmmm. Yep, that sounds familiar. ‘Turn around when possible!’ Sat nag or sat nav amounts to much the same thing! Doh!
  24. Has the point been missed here? If the river levels remain high, there will be more depth in the rivers, so no grounding and an excuse not to dredge. Could be they’re not blaming each other, but working together!
  25. Gracie’s car would never wine - she’d have drunk it first!
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