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eddybear

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Posts posted by eddybear

  1. I must admit that I have done this but then only to get water, Boil a kettle have a coffee and then be on my way but certainly never leave the boat unattended in case other people need to moor

  2. Hi Michelle

     Welcome to the forum, If you decide to go down the boat ownership road so to speak It's probably best not to buy cheap thinking we will give it a try and if we like it will get a better one, speaking from experience it would be better to spend that little bit extra and buy a boat that somebody else has had all the niggling little things fixed on and spent their money not yours and by the way some of those so-called little things can add up to many thousands of pounds, don't want to scare you off but boat ownership can be very expensive if you're not careful.

    I'm sure there will be plenty of advice coming, I'm sure you'll enjoy your holiday next month regards Ted

    • Like 1
  3. Welcome to the forum, as she who must be obeyed wants heat I would recommend warm air heating as long as it is ducted to both cabins, we once hired a boat where the only outlet was in the saloon lovely and warm during the day but at night because there had been no heat in the rear cabin the bedding was decidedly damp and clammy, not that I like to sleep with the heat on better with a good blanket and a hot water as bottle extras,

    As for getting under bridges, I don't believe there is a pilot at Wroxham till the official beginning of the season, Best to ask the boatyard you are hiring from some may allow taking the boat through on your own.

    As for where North or South for a short stay differently north, not many tidal problems, absolutely no restrictions to where you moor, And probably one of the best times to be on the Norfolk Broads, I'm sure you will have a fantastic time best regards, Ted

     

    • Like 1
  4. My tipping point won't be anything to do necessarily with the Norfolk Broads, more finances as my pensions are not that great so when I retire I doubt whether I can keep up with all the expenses of keeping and maintaining a boat, Although we have been boating for over 40 years most of that time hiring, But now in our7th year of boat ownership, In the early days waterways were very crowded and the water very smelly, so there's one improvement quality of the water, yes the ratio of hire boats to private boats has completely reversed, and most private boat owners to some extent know what they're doing, whereas people that are new to hire boats have little instruction before being let loose on the water, not so of course with the seasoned hirers so other than increasing financial burden it is things like boatyards still insisting on hiring to stag and hen parties which normally involves copious amounts of alcohol and bad behaviour and spoiling it for us and others for their own financial gain, the another thing I would say that I miss is all the wild Moorings Which means scrabbling for the reduced 24-hour moorings which are now themselves diminishing.

  5. Personally, I think brass is best not lacquered all modern brass these days is and will tarnish over time eventually you will need to clean it and made more difficult by the fact that it has been lacquered, Personally I find it quite therapeutic to give all the brass work on the boat a clean every so often and that lovely smell of Metal polish.

    • Like 2
  6. 13 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

    We love Hoveton Viaduct moorings, some of the best moorings on the Broads, opposite the entrance to the small broad. Really peaceful, with amazing fishing.

    We too have spent many happy times on these moorings, And yes at the height of the season they are absolutely packed, Unfortunately, we have recently changed boats and our new one would find it very difficult getting under the bridge, I just feel sorry for those that can and then find it too full and end up having to double up which the BA is actively trying to encourage. 

    • Like 1
  7. On 30/10/2018 at 12:47, webntweb said:

    Had a go myself quite a few years ago (1964) - never tried it since.

    We were moored just upstream from the entrance to Black Horse. Three of us managed to get the dinghy's sail up and after a bit of faffing around the wind took us quite sedately up to Swan Corner.

    Easy this, we thought. Then we tried to turn round.

    About 30 minutes later we decided the sail wasn't working properly and rowing back was probably the best option.

    I have a similar story, wife teaching me to Sail disaster much shouting and bad temper, so one day when she had gone to town I decided to take the boat out on my own, Sailed from the hard at Brightlingsea towards Mersey Island no problem then like yourself turned into the wind and try to remember how she said you should tac Sort of got the hang of it but it was an outgoing tide so I was getting nowhere and unlike yourself I didn't have anything to row with, It probably took me over 2 hours to get back to Brightlingsea But by that time I had mastered the rudimentarys  of sailing, that was 45 years ago I have improved honest.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  8. 12 hours ago, psychicsurveyor said:

    Any recommendations for insurance companies that accept a boatyard report instead of a full survey. Thanks

    We have just swapped to Navigator and General through an agent, and they require no survey irrespective of the age of the boat, as long as it has a Broads safety certificate and is in the condition you state on the application.

    • Thanks 1
  9. Just typed in the search Google contacts and and up they come all my contacts which I didn't physically save to Google only to the phone must have done it automatically somehow isn't technology wonderful.

    And yes an extra page on the calendar with useful numbers for various Broads related services and room to scribble other numbers we collect along the way would be very useful, bit like the old phone books that we would scribble numbers on and then when the new book came we didn't use it because all our numbers are on the cover of the old one.

  10. 21 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

    Filter coffee is usually not quite as strong as cafetiere coffee, which in turn is rarely quite as strong as espresso coffee. (given the same ground coffee in each). I think my leanings go towards strength. The other problem I find with filter coffee, is that by the time the process is done, and the coffee is ready to drink, filter coffee is never quite hot enough. As with everything else on this thread,  this is just to my taste.

    It is true with filter coffee it takes too long and gets cold too quickly, I use a stainless steel coffee pot which I warm along with the mug that the coffee is going into,grind the beans add to the warmed pot give a good stir let it brew for five minutes and then pour it through a fine mesh tea strainer, and there, in my opinion, you have a good hot mug of coffee that you can sip slowly and will stay at a perfect temperature for a good 10/15 minutes.

  11. Camping, I miss it but don't think I would return to it now I have the comfort of the boat, we started off with the good old Ridge tent followed by two or three frame tents with a zip on extensions, trailer tent, and even 2 VW campers also with a zip on extensions, it used to take so long to set everything up, for instance with the frame tent there was folding wardrobe, folding kitchen unit and cooker, folding stand for washbasin, folding seats, folding table, ground Sheets sleeping bags Just so many things to pack and unpack every time you moved camp, and always praying when you packed up that it wasn't raining or very damp in the morning because that would mean having to open the tent up when you got home to dry it out properly otherwise it would go mouldy, so no differently not camping any more.

  12. 8 hours ago, Paladin said:

    I made myself a fender board for these situations. Cheap to make and easier to store than large fenders.

    Yes, Fender boards Our excellent at Stopping your fenders from vanishing into the gaps in the piling, on the stern of our boat we have two large ball fenders for stern mooring when side moored we just swap them round to the side problem solved.

    • Like 1
  13. 1 hour ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

    Yes, we have a 27ft Aft Cockpit (Sweet Freedom) and a 31ft Alpha Aft cockpit (Lady of Freedom) both of which are good  solo. 

    We will offer solos additional and longer ropes for mooring also. 

    That's an excellent idea with the mooring ropes, as a lot of hire boats have ropes which are far too short, owning our own boat and often Single handing I lead the bow rope back to the Stern so I can step off with both ropes so yes a good length required.

  14. By the looks of it these are not forgeries in the true sense, these have just been copied and printed and not even on a decent laser printer hence colour rubbing off, as for the paper that is used in the new notes it's probably easier to obtain something similar to the feel of the new notes which quite honestly are pretty rubbish

    • Like 1
  15. On every boat I've owned I've been plagued with spiders and the mess they make, last week I put on one of these electric sonic devices that are meant to deter mice spiders and all sorts of creepy crawlies, went to the boat yesterday Saturday, 29 September and couldn't believe the transformation not one single spider, spoke to the chap moored next to me and was telling him how wonderful this device was and he said yes there are all of my Boat now, had to laugh, As for conkers they seem to work for a lot of people being in the carpet cleaning business I'm always having to remove them from the corner of rooms before cleaning and get told off if I don't put them back.

    • Like 1
  16. When my father died we were hounded by Reader's Digest, even before his death we had written to them and told them to stop sending him their so-called free gifts which she didn't want, and then insisting he had to pay postage to send them back if he didn't want them which he differently didn't.

    Just after his death we got a telephone call from Reader's Digest saying that none of their correspondence had been answered and they were taking legal action, we explained That he had died, to which they replied yes we are very sorry but how are we going to get our money, my brother then told them where they could stick their Reader's Digest along with the Enormous Cyclopedia collection they sent which he also didn't order and didn't want, never heard from them again thank God

    • Like 2
  17. One thing for sure Robin, You're doing a lot better than me when I first went on the road, growing up on a farm i was used to racing about in old bangers driving around the headlands of the orchards flat out most of the time not a thought for the danger, had excellent control of the car, when I first ventured onto the road with L plates and father beside me I got a bit of a shock in trying to keep the car between the curb and the white line down the middle-of-the-road as I was used to racing round fields.

    I did actually pass my test when I was 17 but it took me four attempts, After the third, I took 12 proper lessons, I feel sure You will do well and hopefully pass first time (No pressure then) Regards Ted

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