oldgregg

Yeah, so they update the website from the data on a set interval but the data that's feeding the DB is far less frequent. If you look at the XML, it shows you the installation date of the stations. Some are pretty ancient, and while they've probably been upgraded I suspect the remote locations they're in mean that connectivity is a problem (and a cost).

The trouble with their API is that most of the data is only refreshed once or twice a day. I think this is mainly because a lot of the monitoring stations were installed quite a long time ago and so the kit is pretty unsophisticated and there are probably costs associated with sampling more frequently. You'll note that some stations are updated a few times a day when exceptionally high water levels are expected. Knowing how public sector procurement and service contracts work, I suspect they will be paying a fee per request from the monitoring station. If you extrapolate that data against time, and plot it against tide tables then there is a lot that can be learnt from it. I was running a data model that did just that over the past few years, with the view to sticking in an App (my day job) but I have parked the project because I just don't have the spare time.

Very nice. Gotta love a fast estate.

There’s a week between the sets of pictures in fairness… I’ve just edited the post.

I’ve been meaning to post these for a while but keep forgetting… Sadly, this was the end for Wildest Dream back in September. She was moved to the private staithe at Woodbastwick before being broken up. I was very surprised by how much was left, clearly the fire brigade were in attendance pretty quickly. You can clearly see that the forward superstructure is completely gone, though. One week later:

Surely the only answer here is this: Just rewire it. Yes it'll cost more and take longer, but anything else is pointless. If you want, I'll show you some pics of a boat that probably could have done with a rewire. I've got them from both before and after the mini-digger broke it up following the fire.

Exactly. It's for a very short distance, is going to be done in a sensible and controlled way and is purely for the purpose of briefly increasing the displacement. I've been on a wherry with a lot more than 10 people aboard when they wanted to get her under Potter.

I was there a couple of months ago and it wasn't rammed but seemed fairly busy. I think it must be very hard for a business to be run by a committee, not just because of the difficulty in getting decisions made (as referenced in the article) but because the sort of people willing to sit on committees are not usually the most commercially-aware. A pub has to be run as a business, has to be kept up to date and needs to advertise and continue to keep itself relevant. I think they're right that a £37K loss isn't fatal, but assuming they own the building and aren't beholden to a landlord or pubco then actually it's not very good.

They'll usually have a number within the fleet (ie Major Gem 2), but that won't be reflected in the reg. So in that instance she might show F866-8 on the transom, meaning she's F866 and can have 8 aboard.

I think they're a bit better but still problematic... Hopefully the car behaves. I have recently had a horrendous experience with the RAC and a friend and a family member have both also had ridiculous experiences with them. The joke used to be that you'd call the AA and then someone would turn up six hours later. If that happens with the current RAC setup then you're doing well. It took them a day to assign me a patrol (despite lots of chasing) and I ended up paying to get the car recovered privately. I have seen articles about how badly in debt the AA and RAC both are now, having been through a succession of investment owners who have drastically added borrowing and reduced staff.

Hopefully that's not provided by the AA or RAC.... Both of those companies are imploding at the moment, mainly because they have masses of debt from their PE owners.

Some brands get a good deal (if they have low call-out rates). I used to get breakdown cover free with a service on my Honda.

Well that's why it went to the main dealer really. I had a suspicion it was a common failure point and given that my car is just out of the 7 year warranty and only has 37k on the clock then others have probably had the issue a lot sooner. The speed with which they found the issue (and checked tyres, brake pads etc as dealers do) and quoted me suggests they knew what was likely to be wrong with it.

It had real soul in those days. Moorings were about a tenner a night and it was a no brainer given that showers were included. The pub was a bit old school but it had real atmosphere, live music etc and was more of a 'night out' than just somewhere to buy cooked food. There was also a reasonably well-stocked shop on site to get essentials. If I'm out boating with the boys I'd just go to Oulton Broad instead, far more there for an enjoyable evening and I'd say there or Beccles are better bets generally now really. Mrs OG prefers those two as well. Get a nice spot out on the pontoon at OBYS with shore power and it's still fairly quiet and a lot cheaper than WRC yet there are way more facilities. As others have said, it's all such a shame.

I think mostly independent is the way to go, but there are times when the main dealer is the only option. My car has a small coolant leak at the moment, round the city and going to work it will lose a bit and needs topping up every day. Go further afield (ie use main roads) and you'd better be carrying coolant with you. About three weeks ago it was booked into an independent for them to investigate, they had the car all day and said they couldn't find anything wrong with it. I ran the car over the weekend and sure enough I could get it to lose coolant from somewhere around the back of the engine (hard to say where without an inspection pit or lift). So I bit the bullet and booked it into the main dealer, which meant waiting a couple of weeks for an appointment. I dropped the car off on the day and went to work in the courtesy car (a mid-range electric car thankfully rather than the usual three cylinder rollerskate). They probably only had the car an hour and a half when I got a video and quotation through showing exactly where the leak was coming from. A hose on the back of the turbo had started to split and that's where it was coming from. Although it's going to be about £400 to replace (and the part might need to come from Korea, because I have a fairly rare model) it's a lot better than "sorry we don't know what's wrong, you'd better try the main dealer because that engine is quite complicated" when the problem is just a coolant leak.

It is a bit of a problem. I'm 6'2 so have hit my head on boat doorframes far too many times over the years. The other issue is that beds used to be a bit on the short side. I certainly won't be hiring a Safari 25 anytime soon..

That'll be the Diamond 43, Lightning specifically... I do think the Lowliner is a good all-round option though and has better headroom in the cabins. The Diamond is a clever design but not the ideal boat for those of us over 6ft.

Well this is it. I was down at Coltishall a couple of months back in a Bounty bathtub, perfect for that stretch or indeed the run at Geldeston. But on (most of) the southern rivers and on the stretches to / from Breydon I think a dual steer is ideal.

Indeed she is. Airdraft is TBC until she has been fitted out and put in the water - Weight of (smaller) engines etc will affect that so it's hard to say for sure at this stage. But certainly they're hoping for no more than 8'6".

I don't think she's a stock boat and I don't think Haines are short of orders... This is the first of a new variant, I think they're expecting her to generate quite a bit of interest given her low airdraft.

Easily. Potentially a bit more, though NYA are an agent for Haines of course. Lovely boat, it is very much at the upper end but I'm tempted to give it a hire at some point. I have teased the fleet manager many times about the name of the boat but I guess they decided to just go with the (Orinoco) Flow.

I think this might be cheaper..... https://www.richardsonsboatingholidays.co.uk/all-boats/siesta/

At this stage the team is working on the information architecture and the overall solution design. One thing that was immediately apparent was that the current database isn't sustainable for a number of reasons, so the whole thing is being re-platformed. What this means ultimately is that there is quite a lot of work just to get to where the existing solution is at, however we then no longer have to worry about hosting companies refusing to host it any more and can also get it into a position where it is much easier to update. You will see the database migrate in phases, and the first phase will not have all of the functionality that the current site does - However the core will be there. We will then be able to update it and add back the other functionality (along with some new) over time. All of the data is safe, we have it backed up and have backups of the backups. Once the new database is live, we'll be able to layer on the additional data. The existing solution is quite complex and very bespoke so it's a fairly big project to migrate. All of the work is being done by volunteers in their spare time.

You'll find that this forum software is used a lot by larger organisations, but is less common in a 'hobbyist' environment as it's not free. Invision Community is a SAAS offering so we don't have to maintain our own infrastructure any more (virtual or otherwise) and as others have said the product is managed. There are pros and cons of course, but it's a pretty solid product in general and has probably embraced the social media age better than most.

Those originally had a BMC1.5 in them, so it's going to be better than those (and they were never slow with the BMC in).