Vaughan

Potter Heigham station, I believe?

I remember when Oyster Yachts "rose again from the ashes", a lot of their staff were able to take up their old jobs again. Let's hope that will be the same for Richardsons when the future looks better.

Yes, I think I can see that! So the "pub" on the other side would be Staithe House, with Stalham Yacht Station (now Simpsons) in front. So the Queen of Hearts is moored on the original part of Richardsons yard, later known as "Billy's hanger".

Yes, there was. One of Blakes' standards in those days was 6ft headroom. I think that meant only down the middle. Probably not in the toilet compartment!

That is always a good option!

I was hoping someone might have an idea where the photo was taken? My thoughts turn towards one of the yards on Daisy Broad in Hoveton but whether looking up or down the Broad, I don't know. In the distance on the other bank is what appears to be a pleasure wherry outside what may be a pub. The photo does not suggest a great rise and fall of tide so I am thinking it may be on the upper reaches of the north rivers.

Nice photo, thank you. The Queen of Hearts with the second version of the sliding canopy. The first one got smashed up under Wroxham bridge. So I guess that would date the photo as late 50s or early 60s.

That looks to me like one of the old Salter's steamers, from the Thames.

Who was it who said "I've started - so I'll finish"? Reading this back, I have realised that I didn't explain what I had said earlier. Galvanic corrosion is caused by an electric current between two metals and this always goes in the same direction, from the prop shaft or rudder, to other places, such as skin fittings or a steel hull. The anodes on the prop and rudder are allowed to erode, and thus protect the important bits. A DC circuit in the boat should not have any voltage leaks. But if it does, then the electrolytic corrosion (not the same thing) from a leak on negative earth will be going in the same direction as the galvanic corrosion and the anodes will still protect. I do hope that makes sense. I said it was a bit complex! While I am at it I would point out that battery chargers are the usual source of a low voltage leak in a 220V shore power circuit. If they are not installed with good ventilation (which often they are not) they will overheat and a part of the insulation on the transformer windings will break down. If the circuit is not earthed back to the bank as it should be, then a current leak of perhaps 30V or more (AC) will go to ground through the 12V circuit to which the charger is connected. This means when you are working on the engine you will feel a little "tingle" when you touch it. Sometimes even when you touch the steering wheel. Fine if it's only 30 volts but a full voltage might kill you! This sort of leak is what will then find its way into the water outside. The only way you would know if you had a leak like this is to have the circuit tested regularly by an electrician.

Pity the colourist didn't add the final detail and do the Banhams flag, which was a medium red colour. Banhams stopped hiring in the mid 60s when they were bought by Percivals. They appear in Blakes catalogue of 1964, but not 68. By 1969 Percivals had finished hiring as well and were concentrating on boat sales. The Broads hiring business was going through another of its recessions, even then!

So do I! I have a hard and fast rule that I never touch a plumbing job outside the opening hours of the local DIY shop.

A steel hull is a very different matter as the galvanic corrosion is taking place between the hull and the hull fittings. It shouldn't hurt the hull owing to the direction of the electric current but it will eat away at skin fittings. This is why steel hulls must have all their skin fittings bonded. A GRP hull does not need this bonding and there should be no issues unless you are using an old fashioned copper based antifouling. The prop shaft and rudder must still have sacrificial anodes and I like to see these inspected ever year, especially in a marina. Shore power on a boat (on water) is a much bigger potential danger than some seem to realise. A quick check by an electrician with a multi-meter will soon tell you if you have problems.

Perhaps I should mention that this is, effectively, what you are doing when you fit a 220V inverter to a DC circuit to run a microwave. The earthing of such a circuit must be carefully thought out.

So how do you feel now??

Well, I have just spent a happy couple of hours looking up things I knew I knew from 40 years ago but had forgotten why I knew them! Meantime I think John's post sums it up in one sentence! There still remains the OP's original question about how this would affect cathodic protection and I would offer some "bullet points" without going into too much detail :- 1/. There is a big difference between galvanic corrosion and electrolytic corrosion. 2/. Galvanic corrosion is the action of two different metals - or impurities in the same metal - which causes an electric current in salt or brackish water. 3/. Sacrificial anodes are there to prevent fittings such as the prop and rudder from being eroded, so they are bonded to these areas or fitted straight on to them. 4/. Galvanic corrosion is a separate matter from the electric circuits in the boat, whether DC or AC. 5/. Electrolytic corrosion is caused by a current leakage to ground in the boat's wiring (AC or DC) and if there is no earth leakage there will be no corrosion. 6/. Shore power on 220V must be earthed back to the shore by the third wire in the cable. 7/. Shore power points must be provided with this earth but the polarity of the supply is not an issue if the boat is fitted with a bi-pole cut-out. 8/. 220V circuits in a boat must never be earthed or connected, either to the DC earth return circuit, nor to the galvanic bonding circuit of the prop shaft, engine or rudder. This particularly applies to boats with 220V generators. 9/. A fault in someone else's shore power in a marina will not cause specific damage to your own boat but it is a big danger to the occupants of the boat with an earth leakage! Stray currents in the water will erode your anodes, but that is what they are there for. I have not found any mention of any difference between positive or negative earth, concerning cathodic protection against galvanic corrosion. What matters is that the boat's circuits AC or DC should not have any voltage leak to ground.

Do you know the date? By the way, I notice the water under the bridge looks rather high . . . .

I think anyone brandishing an AK around Windsor Great Park would be shot on sight! Mind you, against the Army's present - day SA80, they might well win the skirmish! Give me the old SLR any day. Or even better, the Lee - Enfield .303.

I agree with TheQ. Having much better water quality on the Broads is going to mean a lot more weed, as it grows in the sunshine which gets through the clear water. In the 50's there were weed cutters all over the Broads and the weed in the upper reaches was cut at least 3 times every season. This is obviously something which will now need to be done (and paid for) more often. A good tip on Wroxham Broad is to stay within the area bounded by the racing buoys (unless there is racing in progress!)and don't go too far outside them, especially at the Wroxham end.

We had a holiday on the Thames a couple of years ago and I must say there was a great deal more "residential boating" out on the riverbanks around Reading and towards Oxford, than I have ever seen before. The big Tescos just outside Reading charge for customers' moorings on the riverbank at the bottom of their car park, as they were having too much trouble with "squatters".

Yes, and that would be the "Fairmile shed" behind it.

Positive earth is an American thing and boats wired like that are normally wired "insulated return" - that is that the engine is not used as an earth and all fittings have their own return. You can tell if this is the case, as all the senders on the engine for temp or oil pressure will have two wires coming out of them. There is also no need or regulation to have hull fittings bonded unless you have a steel hull. But there is in the States! I shall have a good read of one of my books on this and get back again, as it is a complex subject that I have never more than half understood! I do know though, that one of the main reasons for having negative earth wiring is because of electrolytic action on hull fittings.

I think that looks like the Bell at St Olaves with the road leading over the old bridge. The straw stack on the staithe looks similar to this photo, taken in the same place in 1953.

Perhaps I am better at making railways than working out how to post photos on the forum! So while you are all swanning about on the newly opened Broads, I am still stuck here in France. Actually it's not that bad - at least going for a beer in the local bar is still a perfectly normal activity! I thought you would like a quick update on progress so far - The profile of the scenery is now a lot less steep than it was but I think the slope from front to back adds a lot of realism, rather than everything on one flat board as I have often seen on railway layouts. The road surface is tile cement, to give it some texture and then coloured in thin poster paint. It is still too light at the moment and I will darken it down a bit, but 1950s type asphalt on a model is not black : it is light grey. There will be another layer of thin Polyfilla which will cover over the cobblestones on the level crossing, leaving just a few showing through, where vehicles have worn the asphalt away The crossing keeper's cottage will now be on the other side of the road. This will leave room for typical Norfolk flint and pantile outbuildings in the pub yard and a lot more room for the crossing keeper's garden! The pub is just a cardboard mock up, made to scale, to see how it fits into the scenery. The slope in the ground is the same as on the real building, which is the King's Head at Hethersett. That pub is built in whitewashed brick with pantile rooves but I am thinking it would look rather nice in Norfolk knapped flint, typical of the area. You have to use a lot of imagination at this stage as there are no grass banks, hedges, fences, gates, bridle-paths or trees. Nor are there any puddles or vehicle tracks in the side roads. All that is to come!

Excuse me - pressed wrong button!

Oldgregg has the courage to say it and I agree with him. A survey will not show up deficiencies in the mould quality or laying up process. A collision, however, soon will!