Islander

Welcome Tom. Would be great if the cameras were put online too. It would be great to watch the fun at the yacht stations. Colin

A kicking strap would help and something to stop you boom (gooseneck) riding up the mast. Colin

Hi Grendel .Have a good look at a Mirror dinghy. I'm sure you can get some good ideas from what must be the most successful diy boat ever. I would try without a boom to start with. Loose foot sails hurt less but don't point up to wind as well. For the masthead, a simple washing line pulley and jubilee clip will get a sail up and cleats can be short dowels on the edge of the new seat. This way it's little expense and lots of fun making it work. There's nothing like messing about in boats. You won't win the three rivers but you will have a lot of fun. Colin

40, now life begins, so we are told. Have a great birthday. Regards, Colin and Ruth.

Great news Steve. Hope you get the mooring you want. Not all moorings have showers unfortunately but if all else fails get a cheap gym membership or find a local swimming pool. The rag and stick bit, I'm told, is like getting back on a bike, you will wobble a bit but not fall off. Colin

Hopefully Breydon will be fixed today. Colin

Breydon not working either! Colin

Lets hope the judge is a model railway enthusiast. I know this won't happen but I'd like to see all their tech,I.e. PlayStation,Xbox, mobile, bedroom tv and laptops sold at auction, with them watching so they see how little they will fetch, and then, after commission of cause, made to hand over the money to the club at one of the meets. These kids lack values and ambition. Everything they have comes ready to use strait from the box once plugged in. No effort required. I was lucky enough to have a father teach me how to tap a thread, cut a tenon and solder a joint when about ten. Later to watch him scratch build a 5" gauge Britania class live steam loco. Sadly, I doubt, the parents of these lower life forms will be able to pass on anything of value and the social worker will say it's because they come from a deprived background. Deprived, my ar5e. Bring back borstal Colin

No purge here yet. Just as well. There I was working on the foredeck and somehow managed to knock reg plate off the pulpit rail. It all happened in slow motion. Unable to catch it. It hit the water and slowly sank. Oh bother I said, I'll have to make another. At this point the weather turned so gave up working outside. So off I toddle to BA offices to get another. Now I decided to get 2 so as to have a spare. Nice young lady asked if I wanted them sent by post but I said I'd wait. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 20 mins to make 2stickers. Let's hope they don't have a rush of owners wanting to comply with contravention notices. Colin p.s. Discovered the cable ties (3) had degraded. The ones on the opposite bow are fine but I think I'll replace them anyway.

What with the Rushcutters closed fo refurb until Friday week it's getting a bit dry on the green. Hopefully we will see The Buck become a free house. Colin

Suggestions on a postcard as to where this rocket should be placed Colin

We bought the boat we live on some 18+ years ago. At that time she was called Jackie D after the owners wife. We wanted to change her name to The Green Lady but found there was one already, so we named ours The Green Lady Too. That way the other owners could still use no,s 2 3 or even 4. Back to the main thread. 2 years back, unnoticed by me, we had lost our stab bow reg that was fixed to our pulpit. Andy Cullum pointed out that I was in breach of regs and to replace it, which I did. No paperwork necessary. So why the need to make it so officious with this current purge. A simple note ' under the windscreen wiper' would have sufficed and maybe using the word should than must would have been a better option and caused the hairs on the back of Griff's neck and several others, to rise. Colin p.s. One of my boats doesn't comply with the guidelines.......I'm not saying which.

How about one of these. Its a hover craft that flies. Great for over mud or water. Can hold 4 people. If they are going to waste my money then this would be fun to watch. Colin

Why not place new marks on a nice hardwood plaque and use 22mm push fit pipe clips to mount on the pulpit. That way they can be easily removed for shows, photo opportunities etc. Everyone should be happy with that. I do wonder why one of the ten most well known boats on the broads needs further marks added so the BA can recognise it. Out of interest just where were the toll discs displayed on Broad Ambition before the BA went 'paperless'. Colin

Maybe the BA should get their own house in order before they pick on the little people. Are SOB's reg marks the correct size? Hard to tell in the picture. If it was just the wrong ink then why didn't they make the printers correct it? The system worked fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Colin Back to the rubbing down. Hope it stays dry.

Bylaw 19 and 22 require me to display my receipts! Mine is an A4 sheet with 4 boats on it. Just where do they want me to display it. Colin

On the other hand. We've lived on ours for the last 19 years and have not become bored yet. Still lots to see and do. It all comes down to what rocks your boat really. Colin

Hi Steve, if you are keeping your place in Waltham, continue to have post delivered there and remain on the electoral roll then I don't see you will have a problem with the boatyards. Just explain you will be spending a lot of time on your boat as semi retired. Colin

Hi Robin, so how much did you spend in Halfords this afternoon. I saw you folding the roof back on the silk just as I was passing the entrance. I would have stopped if I could but someone too close behind to brake and swerve in . I hope you enjoy your Merc as much as I have done. We have only had estates as I quite often need the roof bars for sheets of ply etc. Maybe we get to meet another day. I don't know if the SLK is similar to the C class but the cabin air filter only requires 2 Spring clips to remove the cover and the filter just lifts out, at this point the fan is easily visible. Careful spray of WD40 to the top bearing of the motor may just quieten the motor for a while. The other option is have the top down and turn the bl00dy thing off . Colin

At least, Paul, that would be inside budget and being nearly all recycled materials, much greener than the proposed structure. Colin

That's why you should never moan about over packaging . As you can imagine, getting these people to deliver to the island is a nightmare. You get one of them trained then they change jobs or they move them to a different round. We now have everything sent click and collect if possible and we will even pay a little more for an item from suppliers that use this service. It's much easier to pop into sainsburys to collect at our convenience than wait in all day. I hope your packages were OK after their double trip. Colin

Have just looked at webcam. Bow line looks to have come away. Holding on the spring only. Colin

Mark. Not as extreme as you think. There could be four of us wishing to share 50 ft (25ft either side of the ladder). The mooring will need a few more posts or just rings so that all boats can be moored for n aft. Not rocket science. Thanks for the offer to moor but the idea is not to have to motor to the other end of the green or lug shopping that far. It will be interesting when Pub and Paddle start hiring again as they always have to be told to leave the ladders clear. Blue, I've always like blue. The point of the tatty looking dinghies is that no one wants to nick them. A Catch 22 as far as the council is concerned. Nice dinghies are stolen. Colin

Hi Mark. I wasn't sure as to the present situation but it doesn't surprise me that things move so slowly. I have not as yet approached them over renting a space next to the ladder near us otherwise it will mean taking our dinghy down to your end of the green and then walk back to the church end to get our car. This may not sound like too much of an inconvenience to some but with Ruth having arthritis and my back not going to get any better that is a long trip in wet and freezing weather. Should they come up with a sensible contract and statement of their obligations to the leaseholder I may sign on the dotted line. That's if my dinghy is pretty enough, if not I think I'll paint it blue with pink spots. Red with black spots seem OK . As you know, there are likely to be security issues with boats left overnight, especially at the weekends and a webcam with recording is of no use to the west end of the green, in fact I see the webcam as nothing more than a PR exercise. Colin p.s. When will you bring your fleet back this year.

I don't think we will see the webcam until the conversion of the Ladies into an 'Information Centre' has been completed. They haven't even started on it yet. By the way, the Gents will become a unisex so the Ladies won't have to wait till they get home . Don't hold your breath on this, we talking local council here. Colin