Vaughan

It's all very well, this "Light-hearted shilly shallying" - for those who can remember "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in" - but the thread has already shot right off the topic, in possibly a record time! The implications of this closure are very serious indeed and we should be most concerned. From now until March 2022 is 6 months. Half a year, of total closure to a Maritime navigation from the sea to the Broads. If you blow up the size of my avatar, it says Great Yarmouth Port and Haven Commissioners, for a vessel registered on the Yare. Not the same thing as the Rivers Bure and Waveney Commissioners. Even the Broads Authority when first introduced, were not responsible for the Yare, since it is a maritime navigation to the port of Norwich. Recently we have seen that the Carrow Bridge in Norwich will almost certainly never open again and the Trowse rail bridge is scheduled to be re-built by a permanently fixed structure. We have no idea whether Haven bridge will actually open again in March 2022 - this is just an estimate which will undoubtedly run well over time and budget and may well never happen, for all we know now. I have been the "harbinger of doom" on this forum for a few years now, by warning us that if we allow this to slip though our fingers, then surely the next thing to close will be Reedham Swing bridge. I would think Network Rail would be delighted to be rid of it! We simply cannot sit back and allow these ancient and vital rights of navigation to "fall into dis-use". I call on the Broads Authority to do their duty to the maintenance of navigation.

There are all sorts of humorous answers but one thing I would say is : never do any serious mechanical work without the workshop manual on the bench beside you. Never rely on your memory. As for right clicking, that may be my problem. I can't do that on an Apple Mac Mini!

Thanks, but I don't know how to that, nor do I know how to make a link here, from an EDP article, although I have sometimes asked if anyone can tell me? I know how to strip down and rebuild a Perkins diesel but I don't know how to drive a computer!

The EDP has just announced that the Haven Bridge will not now open again until March 2022, by reason of delays in the works, the contractor going bust, shortage of material supplies, etc., etc., etc. This is a very serious and un-acceptable blockage of a maritime navigation. Norfolk C.C. don't seem concerned as there will be no interruption to road traffic or pedestrians. So what are the BA doing about it?

You wait till they decide to make their nests for the winter, in the cushions on your boat!

You would be surprised how often this happens, with pumps that have their own pre-set pressure switches. I have also known modern water pumps to inflate the calorifier tank, if a PRV has not been fitted. Which leads me to suspect that a lot of water systems on boats run at a much higher pressure than they actually need to. Edited to add : I was talking about 2psi below cut in pressure, not cut off. If the air pressure is set at, or higher than the pump cut off, the tank would not work.

I have had a thought - is the 30psi that you quote, the cut in or cut off pressure? 30psi seems a bit high, for a boat. If it is cut off, then you need to find what the cut in is, before setting the air pressure. To be honest, it is a bit of a dark art, which we usually do by turning on the shower taps and setting the pump so that it runs constantly with the shower running, but that way, it is a bit "hit and miss"!

I quite agree! Have you ever tried buying fresh asparagus from those little roadside caravans in Norfolk? I only did it once!

Very good description, thank you. In principle, the air pressure in the tank should be 2psi below the cut in pressure (30psi) when the water pressure is zero - taps open and pump turned off. The type of pump in your photo has a pre-set pressure switch that you cannot adjust but other types come with a separate switch, the "Square D" . This has a big screw for setting the cut-in pressure and a little one for adjusting the "range" of the pressures. In a boat this is usually between 20psi cut in and 40 psi cut off but in a house, it is usually 30 - 60. If the pump is turning on too often, this is mostly because there is too much pressure in the air tank, rather than too little. If the system is fitted with a water pressure gauge, this helps a great deal.

This sounds very much like Parker's stores used to be, on the River Green at Thorpe. It was later bought by H. Rout, who converted it into one of the first mini supermarkets in Norfolk, where there were two aisles from which you could select your own items. "Open all hours" reminds me of it! I was very lucky in that my parents had a big garden on the island, most of which was all sorts of vegetables. We had a full time gardener, who did the garden in summer, trial runs on Saturdays, and painted boats in the winter. My mother reared about 200 chickens on the island and sold the eggs, and if we wanted game or other meat, my father went out and shot it! So we had the the delights of home grown produce, when the season came round. Strawberries, raspberries, apples, pears, blackcurrant, marrows, melons and tomatoes from the greenhouse. In particular, asparagus in butter, with little new potatoes. I will never forget the taste of my mother's marrow and ginger jam. Quite unique. If you think about it, all the food at Christmas is traditional, simply because it was all you could get at that time of year. Brussels sprouts, cabbage, preserved dates from the Orient, crystallised fruits and all sorts of preserves. I think there is a lot of pleasure in eating food in its right season.

And Bravo Zulu to you too, Charlie, for taking that attitude. Very fair and reasonable and it does you credit. For those who don't do "Jackspeak", the buffer is the chief boatswain's mate, and bravo zulu is the accepted naval signal for "well done".

I can't argue with that! But you did ask, "what is the problem with Chris Packham". As the OP, I think I have a right of reply, although this has now got on to global matters, far removed from the Norfolk Broads! I mentioned my father, and PW's father and their involvement in the Broads Study and Plan, along with Ted Ellis (far more famous than Packham) and Dr Martin George, but there were many others, who had the Broads at heart, and who worked in those days, to make it into what we now know and love. For instance : Lady Mayhew, of Somerleyton Hall. Lady Trafford, whose family own Wroxham Broad. Bryan Read, Martin Broom, Desmond Truman, Standley Bushell, Jimmy Hipwell (ex High Sheriff of Norwich), Humphrey Boardman (of How Hill), Ian Mackintosh (of Rountree Mackintosh). These are just a few, from memory. Several of these men and women, whom I knew personally, were River Commissioners and they were all naturalists, who made great efforts to preserve the "eco system" of the Broads. A special mention for Andrew Lees, of Friends of The Earth. A very genuine and passionate young man, who became a good friend of mine. I met him during the dispute about an Anglia TV film called "No Lullaby for Broadland" and a few years later, with a bit of a "leg up" from myself and Standley Bushell, he successfully prevented the new BA from allowing the deep dyke drainage (and thus, destruction) of the Halvergate Marshes. If it were not for him, it would now just be a vast expanse of oil-seed rape. I tell you now, Chris Packham couldn't "hold a candle" to Andrew Lees. And also Keith McDougall, a Norfolk farmer from Catield Hall, who I knew when he was chairman of the Broads Society. He was also chairman of the Norfolk Naturalist's Trust and the How Hill Trust. If you have not read his book "Middle Marsh" I can highly recommend it. I think I can do no better than to quote Keith McDougall, from the last chapter of his book, written in 1991 : It could be dangerous to oversimplify. Human beings are complex creatures, un-naturally exposed to the so-called benefits of instant communications, and programmed by the media to respond, not to instinct, but to a specious set of twentieth century values.

I never tire of watching this film. The production was just as good then, as the Springwatch that we see nowadays. It took them a long time to film that, with the crew living for quite a while, on a couple of Hearts Cruisers hire boats! The Broads was in recession at the time, owing to bad press publicity about pollution killing off wildlife, so Blakes commissioned this to try and re-dress the balance. The point, which I hope comes across, is that despite the crowded waterways of the holiday season, the natural life of the Broads (that we now call biodiversity) was still going on un-disturbed, behind the scenes. In fact I am not so sure that we (and Chris Packham) are managing it better now than we did in those days. Where are all the coots, moorhens, kingfishers and even the genuinely wild mallard duck? Perhaps because we have re-introduced the otter, which was such a pest in the old days that it was hunted by hounds. And now we are introducing the beaver. I think we will very soon find what a big mistake that will be! Special things to note are at 2mins 16, where we can see the wrecks of the old wherries on Surlingham Broad. In those days, you could still walk over their decks. And at 16mins 50, is the only cine film I have ever seen, of a bittern feeding her young on the nest.

Actually, I think you might find that the way the Broads is now managed by the BA and EA is almost exactly the same as that laid down by the Nature Conservancy in the first Broads Study and Plan of the early 60s. It's a pity Peter Waller is no longer with us, as he would soon agree with me. His father and mine were on the committee which drew up that first plan!

Or as Douglas Adams said : "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish". I am not denigrating what you say; I sort of agree with you. Trouble is, the Norfolk Broads are not natural. They are reclaimed land and if we want to enjoy their "natural" biodiversity, then it is up to us to manage it!

My posts are naturally on the "side" of the boatyards, since I have spent most of my life in the business. But I cannot argue with what you have said.

I wish the naturalist Ted Ellis - a great friend of my father - were still here to join this discussion, as well as Dr Martin George, who was largely responsible for the first Broads Study and Plan, back in the 60s. They were men who knew, and readily accepted, that the Broads are not natural. They have been made by Man, over the years, and they must be maintained by Man. I refer members to "The Wind in the Reeds", a film by Ted Ellis and Philip Wayre, commissioned by Blakes in the late 50s, which I hope is still available on Youtube. It tells you all you need to know about the balance, on the Broads, between the need to be commercial, without forgetting the need for nature conservation. It is also a fabulous half hour of viewing for those who love the history of the Broads.

Perhaps reading this thread through, would explain quite a lot . . . . It's not only him though. He represents a "tendency" which can cause great disruption to normal life because issues take on a lot more importance than they are really worth. The classic example in Norfolk is the Acle straight, where literally "vital" improvements to road safety have already been held up for more than 5 years by a colony of snails, about the size of a grain of wheat, that have had to be "re-housed" in a different part of the marsh. The last I heard, a year ago, they couldn't find them any more. Dead or alive! And yet lives are still lost in accidents, while the work is still not allowed to start. He is now playing the same game with rare bats, to disrupt the completion of the NDR. But what are all those expensive bat bridges supposed to be for?

It's difficult for us to sit here in judgement on our keyboards. There's no excuse for the gas and bottles last a long time, now that we no longer have gas fridges or gas heating, so possibly not checked for several weeks beforehand. The toilet? Could have just been a pipe that came off and the pressure switch kept the pump running, with no-one noticing over the noise of the engine. Bilge pumps do wear out sometimes, with no prior warning. The gearbox, mounting feet and broken steering are, to me, clearly accident damage, probably from the same accident and, if my guess is right, by going aground when going astern. Probably happened 2 or 3 weeks ago. All the same, I would have thought the excessive vibration would have been obvious to a mechanic when driving the boat. We know that Griff will give them a fair hearing when he gets back, so it will be interesting to see how they handle his complaint.

Look out, he's coming back again! The EDP says he will be giving a talk on Nov 3rd at the North Norfolk D.C.'s "Greenbuild Festival" which will explore the importance of green and ecological developments. Sarah Butikofer, leader of the council (now there's a good old Norfolk name to juggle with) says : "As we know more about the damage being done to our natural environment through climate change, we need to remember too, the impact this has on our bio-diversity. Norfolk is hope (sic) to many rare species and we need to keep doing all we can to protect them." I would suggest that, rather than a whole lot more conference words, the best way to protect our countryside would be to stop granting planning permission for "Greenbuilding" all over it! "At another talk, Rikke Nagell - Kleven will explore the concept of "algae innovation" in North Norfolk". I can hardly wait for that!

I went to naval college at Pangbourne at 13 yrs and would have gone from there to the Navy but I failed the eyesight test on colour vision. Later, at age 23, I found that you could still go to sea if you joined the Army in the Royal Corps of Transport! This is "A" troop, 18 Amphibian Squadron RCT, about to depart Southampton on a 3 month NATO exercise in the Med, on RFA Sir Lancelot. That's me, on the left. We were all drivers and mechanics of DUKWs, the famous amphibian army trucks. We were the last troop of DUKWs in the British Army and were finally disbanded in the military port at Marchwood, by Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Notice the spit and polished "wellies" with white sea socks turned down, which were only ever worn on parade by the crews of DUKWs. When I spoke to the Admiral later, he remembered my father, who had served under him in the Arakan campaign in Burma, in 1945. I too, could have extended my commission and stayed in the Army but I was tempted by a "good" job offer managing a boatyard in Norfolk. Should I have left? I often wonder, but I suppose you can't look back and say "what if?" To anyone with a son or daughter who wants to serve in the Forces, I would say - do it! It teaches you so many things, mostly about yourself, that will always "set you up" for whatever else you do in life.

That was the same in our last house. We had a 4 ring gas hob on a butane 15kg bottle and we changed it twice every year.

It's not rocket science! A 13kg propane gas bottle means there are 13kg of liquid gas in it when charged. An experienced mechanic only has to lift it a bit, to know whether it is full or empty. Most boats have 2 bottles in the locker, with an automatic changeover valve which changes over when one bottle gets empty and shows a red warning when this has happened. A boat can go on hire for a week with one bottle half full, but there must be a full one to "back it up". Sorry, but to come out and change 4 bottles, on 2 boats, means the mechanic did not check the boats properly before they went out on hire.

Now that is good customer service indeed, but don't they call it MDMA nowadays? Could both of you please speak English?

That is very true but all the same! Gas bottles should have been checked full, at this time of year.