SwanR

Thoroughly enjoyed the Robin and Shiela Show on this one. She's a natural!

Ha ha ... I replied to as much as I could as quickly as I could being determined to get to 50 posts as quickly as possible! ;) I am a fan of the forward steer boats myself although the next one we are hiring is a centre cockpit.

Welcome along! Which kind of boat do you prefer for solo helming? I would agree that many of us have learnt so much from the Captain's Blog.

Welcome Y618 I'm a hirer not an owner and have never been on a wooden boat but I shall follow your project with interest as I'm sure many others will too. Hope you will share your adventure.

I quite like the look of that. Saw a series on tv a while back with some amazing houseboat being built.

Congrats Charlie! Thought that I would look up the meaning of the word "moderator" just to be sure I have it right ... "a person or thing that moderates" Would you like to be a "person" or a "thing" Charlie?

Lovely story behind "Friday Girl" :)

Well it looks like somewhere that is at the end, or past the end, of navigation. How about Geldeston?

We might be down that way on a day boat next weekend. I've never done the stretch beyond Beccles before. High tide is the middle of the day but I'm hoping that a Pilot day boat has a low enough air draft to still get under Beccles Old Bridge. I've looked on a map and can see that the river splits. Do we keep to the left fork to get round to the Locks? Is there much mooring room down there?

Many congratulations on your anniversary ... and here's to many more!

Thanks for sharing all the photos. Interesting to see how the new quayside is looking at Beccles. Have a great day whatever you're all doing.

What it also showed was just how much everyone helps each other out. I don't know quite where else you would see that.

Really enjoyed this video and looking forward to the rest of the blog. Bathtubs are great ... no matter what anyone says. And the view from inside when moored up can be much better than on some other designs.

Just a word of warning if anyone's journey takes them up or down the A12 over the next few days. The Latitude Festival takes place close to Southwold and just off the A12. Apparently there are also lots of signs on the roads around Beccles giving directions for cars and caravans heading to the site. Might be as well to allow plenty of time if your journey takes you that way. Or find an alternative route. But of course if anyone wants to head over there then here's what it's all about. http://www.latitudefestival.com

We headed for Langley Dyke on our first night last time we hired on the southern Broads. It's a good distance for getting the hang of the boat and settling in. How long are you out for? Is there a particular reason to head north? Have to say that I would stay south myself. So many lovely places to visit.

I understand that viewpoint equally well. I admit that when I have seen hire companies deliberately advertising that they welcome stag and hen dos, as a marketing tool, I have on occasion wondered about the wisdom of openly inviting these groups - that may affect my choice of boatyard. The perception is that these groups, more than anyone else, will be out to have a riotous time without consideration of other folk. Not always true by any means and how many of us have heard a boat approaching before we can see it and hoped that they don't take the mooring next to us. I don't suppose that they are always stag and hen dos. But openly inviting them as opposed to accepting any bookings that might come their way are two very different things.

I think that as with many things in life, the bad behaviour of the few tarnishes the image of those who are perfectly well behaved. And where do you draw the line? We saw a group of three boats out last June with a mixed party of young folk aboard. Our guess was that they were students who had just finished exams. There was a fair bit of noise and humour between the boats but they seemed to find places to moor that were away from other boats such as wild moorings on the Bure and the Ant where they tied the boats together and caused no-one any problems. These kind of groups can feel intimidating and if you have young children on board then you don't want to be near any kind of foul language, excessive drinking or bad behaviour. But you might get that from any kind of larger party, not just stag dos and hen dos. So what are you going to do ... ban all single sex parties, ban all parties with no-one over the age of 25, only allow couples or small families with children. I don't see an answer to this other than reporting any behaviour that is bad enough to be putting oneself or other people in danger. I would think that the boatyards take their reputation quite seriously and cannot afford to have damaged boats coming back in at the end of a hire.

Sorry to hear about your dog Tim. "Liking" your post didn't seem appropriate. Have a great time on Pacific Dawn. Would be very interested to hear how you get on and how you like the boat afterwards. Always on the lookout for a new place to hire from if I can find the right boat.

I think I did this completely accidentally at Ludham Bridge a few years ago. Was trying to hold station on a very busy windy Sunday morning to let traffic come through from the other direction. All of a sudden hubby says "You're in" and he's off the boat tying the ropes. We had wanted to stop for some shopping but hadn't thought that we were going to be able to moor. Anyway ... I will look forward to checking out the new moorings when next on the northern rivers.

Really enjoyed this video. Everyone develops their own style and yours is very easy to watch and to listen to. Love the use of the drone as well. Not sure that I would ever be confident that I was going to land it back safely especially on a moving boat!!

Wow! Thanks for sharing this. Hubby and I took our children boating in 1996. I've still got our copy of What To Do On The Broads that we bought that year probably because it was advertised in the Hoseasons booklet. We were on Gracious Girl hired from Summercraft. Great holiday ... we didn't plan anything but we never had any problems mooring up even though it was the middle of summer.

Had quite a thunderstorm over the last few hours here on the Yorkshire coast. Finally passed over so hoping for decent weather for the drive back south tomorrow.

Actually my take on it is do you want to be higher up if it means seeing the roads and the traffic. Sometimes it's nice to just be on the river. :)

Beautiful stretch of coastline. And yes, we're in a caravan!

While you're enjoying the Norfolk sunshine Griff, I'm sitting in sunny Yorkshire. Staying on the coast at Reighton Sands and visiting family in the area. :)