Meantime

It used to be a lot more overgrown, but they have certainly done a lot of tree felling and clearing in that stretch. There is some tempting looking wild mooring spots on the other bank, but be aware that a lot of it is leased to a fishing club who don't take too kindly to anyone mooring there.

I think you will find it's the mooring I have highlighted on the following two images.

I don't know for sure, but I would think the mooring is counted as a whole. So whilst the end of Sutton 1 closest to the road might be more than 500 metres away from the end of Sutton 2 furthest away from the road, I don't think that matters. The distance between the two closest parts of Sutton 1 and Sutton 2 is less than 500 metres meaning you can not hop from one to the other on a daily basis.

Is it possible, yes, is it realistic, no due to cost. Solar panels are actually made up of a number of cells arranged in series to give the required output. A cell normally gives in the range of 0.46v to 0.6v, so typically 32 cells are arranged in series to give upwards of 15v. The size of the individual cell dictates the maximum amount of current the cell can produce. A typical 3 inch square cell will produce 1.7 amps. A 4 inch square panel will produce 3 amps. So for instance you could use 32 x 3 inch square cells to produce approx 15v at 1.7 amps. Which would be about approx 12 inches by 24 inches. If you used 64 cells you could end up with a panel twice the size at either 12 inches by 48 inches, or 24 inches by 24 inches and depending on how it was constructed it would either give 15v at 3.4 amps or 30v at 1.7 amps. Basically anything is possible when designing bespoke panels, but at a bespoke cost!! There is enough choice of off the shelf panels that you should be able to find something that will be close enough to the size you want to fill.

Percy's island is not a BA 24hr mooring. The last part of section 3 states: any other place within 500 metres (550 yards) thereof which is also subject to a notice displayed under the Byelaw. Since a notice is not displayed at Percy's island under the byelaw, it doesn't count. It would count where there are BA notices displayed such as Sutton 1 and Sutton 2. The various stretches, I think there are now 3 at The Berney Arms, and possibly Hoveton Viaduct and Horseshoe, if that's the correct name for them. Oh and also maybe the BA moorings at Wroxham island that separates the broad from the main river.

This is byelaw 61 of the Broads Authority Navigation Byelaws 1995. A section or the whole of byelaw 61 is often quoted on the BA 24 hour mooring boards located at the mooring. Incidentally as I have alluded to on more than one occasion recently, the 24hr mooring period does not exist per se within the BA byelaws. The byelaw refers you to the notice given at the mooring, so in theory the BA could introduce 2hr moorings, or even 48hr moorings. I could see for instance the moorings at Hoveton nearest the pub being useful as 24hr moorings are they are currently, but the viaduct moorings further along which are less used could be 48hr moorings. In the case of Sutton, why not make those by the green 4hr during the day to encourage people to move along and let other people make use of the water / electric, with the other mooring being 24hr? Use of Moorings for Specific Periods 61 (1) This Byelaw applies where, by a notice displayed at or near any place, the Authority has prohibited mooring for more than a limited period or has restricted the number of times a vessel may use that place for mooring in a limited period. (2) The master of a vessel shall not cause or permit the vessel to be moored in a place in contravention of any prohibition or restriction contained in a notice referred to in paragraph (1). (3) A ‘place’ in this Byelaw includes, in relation to any restriction on the number of times a vessel may be moored in a place in a limited period, any other place within 500 metres (550 yards) thereof which is also subject to a notice displayed under the Byelaw. Edited to add: Ignorance of the navigation byelaws is no defense in exactly the same way that ignorance of the rules of the road is no defense in a court of law. I would suggest that a private boat owner has slightly less excuse than the average hirer when it comes to the rules of the river!

Sorry Robin, but the two are directly proportional and both give a good guide of potential charging output. P (watts) = V (Volts) x I (Amps) The panel has a maximum rated output of 50w 18v 2.77A which if you multiply 18x2.77 gives you 49.86 or near enough 50w. The point being that as the sky clouds over and the current output drops, then so does the wattage in direct proportion. So if the current halved to say 1.385A then 18x1.385=24.93 or near enough 25w The important thing with solar panels is the quality of the charge controller. In reality as the sky clouds over both the voltage output and the current drop at the same time. In order to recharge a battery, the charge voltage has to be higher than the battery voltage otherwise it won't charge. So lets assume the cloudy sky has reduced the voltage output to 9v at 1A or 9x1=9w, this will not recharge e battery, however a good charge controller will introduce a resistance which has the effect of raising the voltage, but lowering the current thus you might end up with 18v at 0.5A or 18x0.5=9w going into the battery. In many ways watts is the more useful guide since most people will understand that all appliances are normally rated in watts, not amps. If the TV onboard your boat is 150w then a 50w solar panel is going to require more than 3 hours of perfect sunlight to power the TV for one hour. The wattage of a TV or other appliance is going to be easier to find than the current it draws, even though one can very easily be worked out from the other.

You might find the following useful!

Unless something has changed, this still seems the best course of action, life is too short to stress out over old grievances!

There is no way your fridge will cut out at 50% depth of discharge. Regularly exceeding this will do lasting damage to your batteries. From the Isotherm Cruise manual; To prevent the batteries from becoming completely discharged, a battery voltage sensor switches off the compressor automatically at the following levels. 10.4V cuts out and 11.7 cuts back in again.

Unfortunately voltage is no more than a guide, amps are your real test of capacity. Lead acid batteries should not be discharged beyond 50% of their capacity and where possible not left discharged for too long. So if you have 2 x 110ah batteries, then in reality you have a usable 110ah. A typical lead acid battery cell will give 2.1V and there are 6 cells in a battery meaning a fully charged battery will read 12.6V. However this is a measurement taken when the battery is under no load, as you are witnessing the fridge kicking in is making the voltage drop. The other thing is when a battery is fresh off charge it will often have a surface or float voltage above 12.6V, hence you saying you had 13.2V when you first arrived. Surface voltage quickly disappears to reveal the true voltage after a small load has been applied for a short period. To add to the complications some batteries give slightly more or slightly less than the figures quoted above for the average lead acid battery. So you need to find out what your true fully charged starting voltage is. When your batteries are fully charged and for argument sake reading 13.2V, turn on a small load for 5 minutes or so and then turn it off. See where the battery voltage settles and this is as good as your fully charged voltage. I would expect this to be around 12.6V - 12.7V. If you consider 12V to be full discharged then somewhere halfway between the two is your 50% discharge point.

Should have asked Gracie, she'd have told you

Most of it written by E L James I would imagine!

I don't mind dogs, used to have one myself, which is why I was happy to engage it and push it away, hoping the owner would take the hint, which he didn't until I got forceful with the owner. Whilst I don't mind dogs, I don't see why I should have to put up with someone else's dog scratching my car bumper!

It's not about control, its about a lack of respect for other people and their property. The other week I parked at Dunwich Heath National Trust car park. The car next to me the couple were busy putting on their walking boots and letting their dog run around. The moment I opened my boot to start putting on my walking boots their dog is jumping up at my bumper trying to get into my boot. I pushed it away and told it to get down, the next minute it was back jumping up again. I pushed it down again and said louder for it to get down. The guy next door then said the one phrase that really makes my blood boil, "Don't worry he's harmless, he's only being friendly" My reply was I don't care, its claws are scratching my bumper, get it under control, or I will, followed by a few words I won't repeat on the forum. The owner soon retrieved his dog, with his tail between he's legs, the owner that is, not the dog.

The principles of the 2006/9 Moorings Strategies were that there should be; Distribution of moorings – maximum 30 minutes cruising time between sites (“90 minutes for Country Park” moorings). Distribution of mooring types - Wild 21%, Rural 36%, Urban 4% Country Park 37%, Flagship 2%. Maintain free use of Broads Authority unmanned moorings. The Mooring Strategy Update 2017 which can be found here contains the following; The 2006 strategy was reviewed in 2009 and in 2013 the Authority adopted an Integrated Access Strategy (IAS) for the Broads which sought to make improvements to the connectivity and use of access facilities on both land and water. The overarching objective of the mooring strategy: “to maintain as a minimum the present number of moorings available for visitor use” and the other principles of the mooring strategy were carried forward into the IAS. Appendix 1 sets out these principles.

It's no longer listed on the BA website.

I have a picture on my phone of a BA ranger moored on the demasting section at Ludham but the forum T+Cs and naming and shaming policy prohibits me from posting it!

I believe it is roughly where I have highlighted in Red.

That sign has been there for some time and is often ignored in my experience. It is there because it is a convex part of the bank along that mooring. If a long boat moors there they can not settle against the bank properly and end up sticking out at one or both ends into the already tight navigation channel. It is there as a safety feature, not to reserve space for day boats etc.

My guess is it would largely depend on what the parish agrees with the BA in any new lease, IF they renew the lease. If not then the parish is free to make their own arrangements including possibly charging!

I should have explained hogging the moorings more clearly! I have seen conversations on Facebook from local business owners that see the staithe as an asset that is not being used to its maximum for the benefit of the local businesses. They would rather see a higher turnover of craft at the mooring and therefore more customers, in exactly the same way as has happened at Ranworth. The charge and the having to leave by 10am or incur a daytime charge has helped increase the turnover of craft and customers at Ranworth. Or at least that is the perception. What happens next at Horning may not be BA policy, but the local parish wanting to emulate what they perceive to be the success of the BA policy at Ranworth. I fully agree if you are in a tolled vessel on a 24hr mooring you have a right to stay for 24hrs.

Correct and that could be the stumbling block to the renewal of the lease. However look carefully through the BA byelaws and you will find no mention of 24hr being the time limit. The BA could make it a 2 or 4hr mooring during the day time.

So here's the facts; Nothing has changed at the moment and the moorings are not being reserved for day boats only. The BA have a lease on the staithe until 2025. The parish council are looking at ways in which the staithe could be more useful to local businesses by either making a section short term, a section reserved for day boats only, anything that will increase turn over of boats at the moorings rather than a few hogging the mooring for 24hrs. This is expected to be a large factor in the lease renegotiations. Assuming that the BA manage to renew. The BA have boasted about the success of charging at Ranworth increasing the turnover of boats with many staying for shorter periods of time, thus increasing footfall for local businesses. Are we really surprised that other parishes want a piece of that pie. The BA have started a trend they may live to regret.

Kingfisher or Linea Azzurro