RealWindmill

Couldn't agree with you more M. And we should also remember that this ex contributor is the person that alerted many of us to what was afoot with the National Park idea and the whole debate that followed. Many of the arguements he put forward and quotes he provided proved very prophetic and are still very relevant in the light of recent BA shenanigens. There were several detractors at the time who said it was an unimportant irrelevent issue and what did a few words or an NP title matter. I suspect not so many are thinking that way now. Vigilance is still required as recent events conspiring against boaters are unfolding show.

Your turn next Mikeyboy. Apologies for hijacking your thread. Bob

Only too pleased to have been of assistance, Sir. Enjoy.

Does this mean you are now allowed to cross Breydon into Suffolk .

Looks like we have to agree to disagree about the Epropulsion Smoggy. Have not found any of your handling misgivings a problem. With the battery off the leg is lighter than a conventional o/b. Admittedly the remaining weight is all at the prop end. Method : Swing tiller handle out of the way and hold leg horizontally over the transom. This is virtually a one handed operation with the right hand. offer to transom. Secure clamps with left hand. ( if worried about dropping into the water you can always secure a recovery line - not found that needed myself). Tilt leg down to operating position and good to go. You can either now secure battery pack to top of the leg, which is a two handed job as its heavy, or, as in my case, leave battery forward in the dinghy and plug up the extension cable. On smaller dinghys the total weight can make them stern down. Keeping the battery separate redistributes this weight and also avoids the lifting the battery up onto leg. Yes, 2 grand upfront, then ... nothing. No fuel, no maintenance, no mess, no noise, no vibration, smoothness, better low power performance due electric engine torque .. and free energy if using solar charging option. Battery range is good. Wroxham to Coltishall and back or a cruise around Hickling is easily doable if moored up the wrong side of the bridges. BTW i have no affiliation with the company but just appreciate a quality piece of kit that simplifies and improves my boating pleasure.

But not talking Torquedo. My epropulsion Spirit is equiv to at least 3hp. Moving a large boat at leisurley speed is relatively easy. Have you noticed the Wherrys are often propelled by an o/b on a dinghy at the stern. Not sure what my Topliner weighs in at these days with all her additional equipment but she moves easily through water when nudged by the o/b. Don't give up on the epropulsion. The battery, which is the heaviest component, doesn't have to live on the engine leg. By using an extension cable it can be sited up front of the dinghy. This makes the leg much lighter and can help trim the dinghy. Your other observation about tricky removal, well the leg tilts up over the transom as with all traditional o/bs. Nearest n Dearest in Wroxham keep the full range and in this instance are not dearer than most online retailers. Agree with you both about Torquedos, not got the same build quality IMHO. Anyway, just some first hand experience and review which I help could be of some use.

Electric - you know it makes sense. Mine also doubles up as auxiliary engine to the mothership.

You've missed the point. Sandford can only be applied to Full status National Parks. The whole reason the Broads NP debate exists is that Sandford exists. Sandford Principle prevented the Broads becoming a full NP member, just a pretend one for advertising purposes. This was of course discussed ad nauseum on here and elsewhere and I already regret bringing it up again. Thought it was clearly known that without the threat of Sandford the full NP title would have been passed and Navigation Rights subsequently threatened.

Perhaps not. Here is a lift from the pages of Encylopedia Brittannica webpage. National Park. An area set aside by a government for the preservation of the natural environment or because of its historical or scientific interest. The national parks of various countries differ greatly in their effectiveness in protecting their resources. Some provide park systems with large enough budgets to make possible strict enforcement of regulations, others do not. Most parks have a built in paradox : although they often depend on tourism , the preservation of their wildlife depends on it not being molested. This paradox is usually resolved by allowing visitors to travel only within limited areas. This allows them to see the park whilst minimising their contact. So, thank goodness for Sandford . We still need to remain vigilant that JP and the RSPB do not erode that principle. Perhaps losing boat mooring availability from the system is a back door way of achieving that ?

If your looking for Solar Panels, Controllers and chargers, Inverters I thoroughly recommend this company. Have bought several of these items from them over the years as my power requirements onboard have evolved. Their prices have always been competitive and fair and they are always knowledgeable and helpful. They have in the past replaced a burnt out 3000W inverter from them with a superior upgraded model with no quibbles. On the boat, this week's jobs have included fitting a 160W panel purchased from them to keep charged up two large Li-Ion batteries which are used to power an electric outboard. This doubles as an auxiliary engine for the mothership and as primary propulsion for the dinghy. Whilst the don't have a shop front as such, being mainly a manufacturing and distribution unit, they have always been willing to help face to face if i make a prior appointment. They are located in lovely South Norfolk at Ashwellthorpe. A bonus is an excellent pub in the next village so we make the visit a day out. the pub has memorabilia of the Lotus Car company of Colin Chapman's day. His works place being nearby also. On my last visit the Sales Manager made this comment which I'm sure he won't mind me sharing " Isn't it ironic that many people spend the first half of their life striving to buy a bigger house and more possessions and then later spend time fitting out boats and caravans and motorhomes to spend all their time on " So SunshineSolar.co. Sales Manager Sam and the team. Big Thumbs Up

Punishment as such may have little to do with crime reduction as shown by longer sentences in the US but the threat of punishment does. Americas high numbers of prisoners and crime rates still high are surely due to the size of population involved. In America and Far Eastern examples the response of police forces to minor crimes is generally far more severe than is meted out by our police. Some might even say more brutal and police-state like than our bobbies dish out. There have been many examples of heavy handed policing from these countries over the years, you might even add some European countries to the list. In the case of Hardley Dyke and similar examples in our country the perpetrators can feel fairly secure in the knowledge that even if caught red handed they will be treated gently by the law enforcers, certainly not summinarily beaten up, choked , shot or whatever at the scene. I am not advocating we become a police state. Far from it. We pride ourselves as a nation on our police and policing methods, but perhaps therein lies the root of the whole problem. People will always commit lower level crimes whether for financial reasons or dislike and lack of respect for authorities BUT only if they know they have a good chance of not getting hurt in the process or of being severly punished later. As Wonderwall says "strangely enough there is very little crime in the country".

Quite ironic that the Ranger's boat moors halfway down Hardley Dyke, but i suppose once he's tied up for the night and gone the place becomes very isolated as mentioned above. Hardley Dyke reminds me of my very first broads boat in the late 1970's. It was a wooden kit boat 20ft with o/b that i bought from a farmer near Stowmarket,. He put it in at Hardley mooring which was owned by a farmer friend of his - the annual mooring fee was a bottle of whisky to the Hardley farmer at Christmas . How times change.

Went to the show and enjoyed it very much. you are a very friendly bunch. All the layouts were very good and I was amazed at some of the detail work gone into them. Gave me some good ideas for adding to my loft layout. Was especially impressed with Broad Oak with the detailed lighting and revolving fiddle yard. Broadland looks like it will be an interesting layout when completed. Especially liked the idea of the balsa wood Wherry running on N gauge track sunk into resin, and the automation of the swing bridge. A layout to look out for at your Stalham show in August. Dr Loco (John) was very busy !! but spent quite some time on my dead Flying Scotsman. Also bought some boxed Oxford Diecast vehicles at very good price. Many thanks one and all.

Ok. Thanks Mark. Thats how i missed it. Don't do Social Media sites. Have a good B/H W/End.

I'm with Topster on this one . It's either an Emergency ladder or a Boarding ladder, not both. If they are used as Boarding ladders then alternatives for Emergency use should be made i.e pontoons.

Which one and where is that Mark ?

Sounds like you had the 4 poster bed version Hylander. Despite their quirky looks and the marmite effect they have on people they invariable got good reviews on their comfort levels and practicality and safety, especially for pets or kids. I'm sure many on here may have hired them during their years of hiring. Some of you may recall this - many years ago on the forum a poster by the name of ReadyAbout wrote an excellent series of posts called Chippings from the Log. His anecdotes were about his experiences of Broads and Blue water cruising and sailing and they were always interesting and entertaining yarns. I always thought they should have been made into a book. One of his classics was when he described how he and his wife hired a Topliner. When they went to pick up the boat they were horrified to see a boat that looked like a shed, had a wash basin in the wheelhouse and a walk-through shower room and the fact that he had to shuffle like a gorilla to avoid banging his head in the alleyways. However by the end of the hire period he could not praise the boat enough for the comfort and ease of handling it had given them. As for photos Hylander, i'm based on Southern river and sometimes in the Beccles/Geldeston area. Feel free to knock on the door and say hi and have a look around. Bob

Thanks olegregg for the link to the engine overhaul kit. Very useful. My Marina manager, whose opinion and knowledge I value a lot, says as it's not smoking and doesn't have any water in the oil then i shouldn't worry too much about the good old Perkins lump. My only remaining concern is the oil pressure remaining high. Possible sensor issue ? Anyroad, that overhaul kit looks comprehensive and may well become a future option. Thanks again.

To fellow member, Hi Mark (ExSurveyor) Whitey is always looking very smart each time i pass her. As one of the two remaining Topliner Corniche Class boats left on the Broads system here is an update on Silverwing this season. It is likely the tired old MC42 may need replacing this year. I did briefly consider going down the electric re-engining route but the weight/size/cost of the batteries made me rethink that. With a new engine I will take the opportunity to rename her to Windmill. The Nautical and Merchant Navy types of you will know it is considered bad luck to rename a vessel. Silverwing has kept her hire fleet name since i've owned her but will now become Windmill. My theory is hoping all the bad luck will go with the old engine ! Some recent internal changes include a wood burner, full size gas cooker , and fridge and freezer arrangement in the Lazerette store (formerly aft cabin). I now have enough solar panel capacity to stay off-grid indefinately without needing to run engines, this includes running a domestic freezer and maintaining charge to a large electric outboard motor battery. Finally, I extend a welcome to our exclusive club to new owners of the Topliner Royalle Class, which have recently been retired from their hire fleet. These sturdy and very comfortable boats were latterly known as Brinks Topliners - i believe there were three. These have the distinctive Topliner style superstructure as designed and built by Jim Topliss and his team at Oulton Broad in the style of American Lake boats. His team said the original idea was to use the outside walkway to give access to each cabin as in the manner of a Mississippi riverboat communal veranda with the cabin doors opening onto it. The inclement UK weather however meant a rethink and so doors connecting the cabins internally were designed in as well, hence the reduction in usable width internally in the mid-cabin of the Corniche class and the need for the walk-through shower of the Royalle class. Royalles also distinquished by provision of the large poster bed cabin and patio aft following the experiment of carrying a caravan. Be interested to hear any improvements new owners may be considering. P.S. don't remove any internal bulkheads or supports - the roofs are heavy ! Bob

Yes FairTm, it was the Hemsby IRC but there were two incidents involving it. One on the night of the 16th and one last night 21st, possibly the same victim involved due to the similar circumstances. Last night she was recovered before the boat attended, however on the 16th the boat recovery was as described. If it was the same person entering the water then hopefully she will be able to get all the help and support from the services needed and gets through troubled times.

Interesting to see again the coasters that used to run up the Yare. i had forgotten how large they were in comparison to the navigation and the pleasure craft. Good photos. One thing i recall is the amount of water these ships displaced and how much the resulting rise and fall at places like Berney Reach and Reedham Quay would put great strain on mooring ropes and cleats. In the 1970's and earlier companies like Stevenson Clarke Shipping ran a fleet of colliers out of Newcastle with cargoes for the East Coast and near European inland coal fired power stations such as Lots Road , Battersea on the Thames, on the Seine and German rivers and the like. we called these 'flatties' or more correctly flat irons. As Stumpy mentions they had hydraulically operated wheelhouses which would jack down to deck level to get under the river bridges, but with the consequence of restricted forward vision. So when we steamed up the Thames lookouts would be needed on the fo'csle head plus Bow radar made an extra lookout, all compliant with ColRegs needs. This visibility issue as ChrisB said, was considered the major factor in in the Marchioness disaster inquiry. That whole report makes for an enlightening read ( on the MAIB website). (Hassen to add - no Stevie Clarkes vsl was involved there ). Was any incident ever reported between the coasters on the Yare and the pleasure craft ? or did the smaller boats just keep the hell out of the way. The modern equivalent is probably the similar effect that the larger sea going boats have on smaller craft like small cabin cruisers , dayboats when in the confines of the New Cut or the Waveney. The phenomenon of hydrodynamic interaction occurs here where a positive pressure ahead of the larger craft can cause a small vessel to sheer into and across the bow when being overtaken. The effect being more pronounced at higher speed or close passing. This exact effect was also noted as one probably contributing factor in the Marchioness / BowBelle disaster mentioned earlier.

Congratulations this week to the Cox and Crew of the Inshore Rescue Boat who skillfully assessed and performed an in water rescue of a person at Wroxham, evening of Nov 17th. ......... the casualty was spotted clinging to an overhanging tree with only her head and arm visible. The rescue boat was manoeuvered bow onto the tree where two members of the crew took control of the casualty and carefully moved her while in the water to the starboard side, while the boat was reversing away from the tree. The casualty ,who was cold shivering and showing mild signs of hypothermia was taken aboard ............

Did you have a conversation ? Must have been tempting to assist in their training.

Yes , good clue. Perhaps the bridge was stuck and they couldn't get any further.

I am requoting myself here purely for emphasis purposes. I feel some are misinterpreting my intentions. Am not offering any advice to anyone. My purpose is to show how training will save a life which otherwise would have been lost. I paint an unlikely scenario I realise , but is it though ? If the victim is not trapped underneath and has a chance of emerging, then of course cut the engine.