Vaughan

I'm not sure I ought to enter into this conversation . . . She looks to me like what Norfolk folk would have called a "Slummuckin' grit ol' mawther"!

I thought members might be interested in a bit of MTB history, as I have just realised that the drawing above, posted by Motorboater, gives an excellent view of how the torpedos were launched in the early boats. The torpedos were stored on rails in the engine room (beside the petrol tanks!) and were launched backwards out of the two round ports in the transom. The metal frameworks that can be seen on the aft deck were hinged down backwards and formed launching rails as the torpedos came out. When attacking, the torpedos were unlashed, the rails swung down and when ready, the skipper simply opened the throttles and accelerated the boat! The idea was that the torpedos would dive under the boat and overtake it at about 45 knots but any MTB skipper with any sense would jink the boat out of the way as soon as they hit the water! I once asked my father how close you had to be to an enemy ship when launching them. He said that, to have a chance of hitting it, about two cables. That's 400 yards, going in a straight line under fire! This arrangement was why the motto of coastal forces MTBs, from then on, was "Beware the sting in the tail". It is also why all coastal forces bases around the UK were named after stinging insects, such as HMS Hornet in Gosport, HMS Beehive in Felixtowe, and HMS Midge in Gt Yarmouth. The badge in the top right hand corner of the drawing is the crest of the MTBs and is still worn today by RN patrol boats and by the preserved MTB 102. The boats were designed by Hubert Scott-Paine of the British Powerboat Co in Hythe and were the same design as this RAF rescue launch, preserved at the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth.

This may depend on where you are moored. Some boatyards may not approve of outside engineers doing work on their premises. Perhaps you could start by asking the boatyard or marina, and see what they recommend.

Well said John! Excellent post. I wanted to add another factor : in "the old days" there was polluted water which had killed off the reeds along the bank, so the earth rhond was exposed to wash erosion. Nowadays the water is healthy and there is a strong reed fringe to protect the banks. So speeding "per se" is not doing any damage. What becomes more important to me therefore, is speeding through moorings, and not slowing down enough when passing moored boats.

No problem Simon! I did put a hard hat emoji in my post, as I was prepared for differing opinions. I wanted to discuss it on the forum though, as it helps to make sure we have things in proportion. I well remember all the wash of the 50s, 60s and even 70s and all the devastating bank erosion that went with it. Compared to those days I suggest things are remarkably calm. I have taken several Broads holidays in the past 3 years, each of two weeks duration and I now have my own boat, so my opinion, like yours, is based on what I have seen. I admit though, that I do avoid the high season in August! For me, the most important thing is wash. It is, after all, the main reason for the speed limit! Almost the only reason in fact. When I am giving a trial run and I am asked about speed I always say "Look behind you, and look at your wash. If you are not making any wash then you are almost certainly not speeding".

Which brings me to the other oft - discussed "chestnut" : do speed limits refer to boat speed through the water, or to speed over the ground by GPS - known in maritime parlance as "speed made good"? For me, they have to be calculated by boat speed, shown usually by the engine revs marked on the rev counter. If not, it would be legally impossible to navigate GYYS, Reedham, St Olaves , Acle or Cantley at anything other than dead slack water.

Personally I don't think there is a lot of serious speeding on the Broads these days . . . Not compared to how it used to be. Prosecuting someone for speeding is actually very difficult. It is not enough to say they were making a wash, as a dinghy with an outboard can be making much too much wash at 5MPH, but a classic, 40ft Broads built cruiser will still make no wash at 7MPH. It very much depends on the boat. With speed limits as low as 4MPH it is very hard to prove in court, that a boat was actually exceeding it. Damage caused by excessive wash, is a different matter.

In The Jolly Butchers. One of the most famous pubs in Norwich in her day! There was one thing they used to say though : If you see a Pound note on the floor, don't bend down to pick it up! I remember an open air concert by Mannfred Mann in Earlham Park, in the early 60s. One of the first pop concerts in the country. The warm up act, on an upright piano, was Black Anna!

We hauled her out for a re-fit in Staines, in 1991, when she was kept at Penton Hook Marina. Lovely boat, but very heavy on the crane!

The "Sam and Herc" was where all the boys crowded round the bar and all the girls danced round in a circle around their handbags, piled up in a heap in the middle of the dance floor! My "crowd" preferred Ranworth Country Club, from where we would all drive back to Norwich in 2nd gear all the way, at about 3AM! More signs of a mis-spent youth!

Not to forget Rockland Broad. I very much agree that the Grebe were very rare when I was a boy. In fact the first time I ever saw their famous mating display was on the Thames, many years later. Nowadays their display is a common sight, if you clamber out of your bunk early in the morning. So why are they surviving the otter threat, but others are not? Does it mean that greatly improved water quality gives them more small fish to feed from?

And the way you drive through bridges, you will hit the back of your head!

Getting back to the subject of otters I think Philip Wayre has rather a lot to answer for, right now. Not someone whose attitude I ever liked, whenever I met him. "Ring of Bright Water" may have been romantically emotional - as was "Bambi" - but the harsh reality is rather different. Edited to add that the otter, like the fox, also has the instinct to kill for the sake of killing; not just for feeding.

Remember in "The Navy Lark"? "Everybody down!"

The village green at Stokesby is a very pleasant place.

Which is why they never suffered from the "wrong kind of leaves" on the line, as there were no trees! The banks of the Yare were kept clear of trees also, to give the wherries a clear wind to sail up to Norwich.

Since in the evening they fly to the ponds where they feed at night and in the dawn they fly back to where they rest up in the day. So a "morning flight" or an "evening flight" is the best time to shoot them. Hence "Morning Flight" is the name of the boat that I grew up on.

Perhaps also worth remembering that duck in their natural element (which is not on the quay at Ranworth Maltsters) are nocturnal.

Otters died out on the Broads as well as all other waterways in England, because of water polluted by phosphates and nitrates. Likewise the lilies, which dis-appeared in the late 60s. Now that we have good water quality again, the lilies are back and so are the otters. They used to hunt otters using otter hounds. Now there's a good thing to suggest to the "save our badgers" brigade!

I think the swans are probably too big for the nice playful, cuddly little otters to eat. Swans are very aggressive in defence of their young and have the habit of carrying the new-born cygnets on their backs, between their wings. Other water birds like ducks, moorhens and coots have no such defence. Young ducklings have always been taken by pike, but not in numbers large enough to endanger the species. I do agree about the Egyptian Geese though! Back in the 50s when they were rare on the Broads, my mother reared a couple of Egyptian Goose eggs under a broody hen, so that we could have some on the river in Thorpe. They hatched normally and all went well, until they grew big enough to eat the hen!

That was Trump's election campaign slogan : "We shall overcomb".

Blakes catalogue of 1971. I think by then they had added a few things to her, such as a shower!

OK, I'll discuss! In my experience the easiest and kindliest Broads hire boat to drive, is the centre cockpit AF42, closely followed by the Solar (Bounty) 37 or 44 - even though it is a front drive bathtub. This is all down to underwater shape. A displacement hull with a long deep keel and a "hard chine" construction, a generous rudder and a large, coarse pitched prop. There is no doubt that where purpose - built river boats are concerned, a long, heavy boat is much easier to handle than a small one. There are good small ones too, probably the best being the Elysian 27 aft cockpit. An old but iconic design. Solo helming however, is a different subject from just boat handling. Solo helming means thinking things out in advance and making preparations. The placing of mooring ropes for quick access; leaving certain cabin doors pinned open, etc. Solo helming needs enough experience so that you can take your time, and "let the boat do the work". There is also no doubt that certain boats suit themselves to solo helming : others do not!

Last year our Apple Mac Mini got fried by lightning and we got a specialist in to set up the new one and install all the software off the old one. As soon as he was finished and while he was still there, it put up a flag saying updates were ready to install. He told us not to bother with that for the time being and having read your post, I am glad I never did! We are perfectly happy with it as it is!

Excuse me, but when reading the thread I think you missed this bit : I have made this point several times so far this year but it still seems to be misunderstood. Back in June, the hire boats had not paid it all because, being seasonal businesses, they pay in stage payments during the hiring season. But they are all still going to pay the full toll for the year! In the old days of the 60s and 70s the tolls were paid by Blakes in March and then charged out to the member boatyards during the season. Those days alas, are long gone!