oldgregg

The first fibreglass holiday cruisers started to appear in the mid-sixties. Frank Wilds (Carribean etc) was something of a pioneer.

People on the Broads are generally pretty helpful, particularly if they can see an elderly couple who look like they would appreciate the offer of help mooring up - Certainly most of us on here would probably offer a hand.

It is amazing the things that find their way into the rivers!

The newer boats are fitted with them - Richardson's have a very simple 'traffic light' system on the dash to give novices an indication of what the state is, paired up with a proper battery monitor on the distribution board. BUT what will they do when the batteries get low because of the TV, fridge etc having been on for hours?

I assume the boat is one of these? http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki/index.php5?title=Style_Details&style=CC37

I think a lot of people are very surprised when they actually step aboard them - The older boats have often had extensive interior work done so they're no different to a much younger boat from other yards. They didn't get to the size and popularity that they have for no reason. I've waited for the cleaners to finish at Ricko's a few times before collecting a boat - It's not five minutes with a duster, I can tell you. The real problem is some other yards that give people a perception of what older boats are like, so they don't hire them.

Some of the newer boats are not as bad, but the older ones such as the Connoisseurs are in a pretty poor state. Compare any of them to Dominica at Richardson's and you'll see what I mean. Also consider that many of them still have the original tired and underpowered engines in them, many of which are losing various fluids and for example the one Robin hired a while back where he was told that the heating could only be run for a certain period of time. Take a look at the boats Ricko's are selling off - Many of them have newish Nannis in and plenty of interior and electrical work and those are the clearance boats. It's a totally different mindset and it winds me up that people cannot see the difference.

In my opinion, like the rest of the Herbert Woods fleet they are pretty scruffy. If you want to hire one which has been better-maintained, then there are some at Richardson's. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I'd say the AF42's are very good value - Plenty of internal work done and like a lot of the boats there they have been re-engined.

I love the sign saying "Smoke Free Pub".... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Welcome! Which syndicate are you going to be joining? Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

You've got the Handy Info section in the menu at the top, that might be the place for it? Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Lots to do on the South! As Ian has already mentioned, moor up at Oulton Broad and take the short train ride (it's less than a fiver return). Beccles is a lovely place to visit, lots of nice pubs and cafes and it's on a pretty stretch of the river. Waveney River Centre is a good overnight stop and the shower block is always popular with us. The pub and other facilities on site make it a good stopover after a long trek from the North.

The loyalty scheme is pretty good really. If you look at what the prices are and the discount you get on the sixth booking then they're very hard to beat on price. There are also a number of gems in the classic fleet which are dirt cheap and much better than far more expensive offerings from other yards. I'm tempted to try other yards but you can't beat the price, and the boats are generally a better standard than the other big yards (apart perhaps from NBD, but then you do pay heavily for it.). Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I had that, but once I cleared my cache it was all good. I note that the forum has recently switched to using https (which is much more secure), so that may be confusing some browsers? A cache clear fixes it though.

Okay. As you may remember, the 64-bit version of WinXP is based on Windows 2003 Server, and not the regular WinXP. 64-bit Windows was pretty rare then so this means a lot of software doesn't run on it. You'll need to use the regular 32-bit version of WinXP for stuff like that to work. You may want to just install WinXP on a separate partition, although a VM ought to work. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

So the VM can see the contents of the disc, but SafeDisc won't authenticate the disc? Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Hmmm Yeah that makes sense. I think I would probably go with spinning up a WinXP partition or VM as Paul is doing. It will probably be quicker. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I think it is being used specifically for this purpose, and then moved away from once the problem is solved? Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I think it is being used specifically for this purpose, and then moved away from once the problem is solved? Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Looking at the problem another way, what is the software and what activation method does it use? Disc-based sounds like a packer, probably either SafeDisc or SecuROM. Might there be an activation crack available which gets round the problem? Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Seems to work for me, on Android.... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

And that's where the UK needs to shift away from coal-fired etc. If every new build house had to have a few KW of Solar on the roof, and new factory and office buildings had to have them on the roof then we'd have much less reliance on power stations. The installed cost is low as a percentage on housing so why are we not doing it?

The power stations which power the oil refineries? Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

The thing people forget about electric vehicles is that it cuts out the network of fuel tankers, and the pollution and danger that goes with them. And is the energy used to generate the electricity much different to that used in refining oil? The other benefit is air quality in cities, and if the UK would introduce mandatory solar installations on new buildings (particularly commercial ones) there would be a lot less dependence on fossil fuels. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app