WasJono

We tend to avoid the pub at Brammerton since they ruined it and we got dreadful service but the common is great moorings. Surlingham ferry sounds good. We have had a couple of lunch time stops in the past. I will record the programme at home just to be safe and try to extend my life expectancy a couple of years! J

If it is the only answer then that will be it. I know my place and I haven't been in the Coldham Hall for many years. J

Val has just offered to help!!

Oh yes! A pub would be handy as well!!! J

Hello wise people I have an emergency!!!! Last night Val worked out that the final of The Voice is on Sat 6th of April, 10 weeks from tonight. That is the day we pick up Silver Serenade from Brundall so I need to find a mooring within an hour or so that guarantee's Digital reception of ITV. Is there any such thing or do I just top myself now? J

Thanks for the comments folks. You are generally right about TripAdvisor and I have used them for good and bad feedback. The quandary I have is they were very nice people and was I just unlucky and that is why I have not named them on this forum. However the more I think about it maybe some form of feedback on both the boatyard and Hoseasons is required on somewhere like TripAdvisor as long as it is fair and balanced I class myself as fair it is just the balanced bit I have trouble with!!!!!!!! J

Yes Jeff and they have my deposits for 2 boats in 2019 unfortunately. One in April and one in September. That will teach me to book early. J

Hadn't thought of ABTA! We will discuss if it is worth the trouble. After writing to Hoseasons about the state of the boat I had to email the CEO to get any response at all. It was several days later that customer services emailed me and told me to contact the boatyard. I replied telling them I had already done that and advised them on the conversation and offer but have had no response since. That was 31 October.

Thanks for all the responses on the boatyards. We will definitely give one a try next year. Regarding the Hoseasons issue, in the few years we have been visiting the broads they have always been very good but they just ignore you now. Shame!

Hello again Following our disaster of a boat on the canals I have to ask if Hoseasons have made all there customer service staff redundant? In the past they have always been excellent when we had a rare problem with the hire boats, or should I say a problem worth digging them up about, but in this instance they have just not been there. I will certainly avoid booking through them in future and go direct. I would like to settle with a yard and spend our twice yearly holidays with them. Trouble is I like different boats and our funds are not a bottomless pit so I will need to budget more after next year, our 50th wedding anniversary. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a New Year you wish for. Regards John & Val

Thanks for the comments. I have to add that the boatyard staff were very nice and I have not been dealt with better on any of our very many boating holidays. Even when stating that the boat had too many faults to continue they were still very polite. No doubt Hoseasons will be contacting me in the coming days so we will see what happens there. The reason we picked the original boat was it was almost new when we booked also Val will not do locks at any cost so the location close to the Ashby was perfect. The locks in France were wide and remote controlled or manned and the locks we went through in the Southern Shannon area were wide and manned so these didn't seem to upset her too much. If all locks were like the Hawkesbury Junction lock it would be no problem but at 1 foot drop it must be almost unique. I suppose the other problem I didn't mention was the overall state of the North Oxford Canal we cruised. What a terrible state it is in generally and as Breydon says above there isn't much chance it will get better. I now know how all the cabin paintwork on the starboard side was so scratched. The overgrown bushes and trees really narrow the the canal so cannot be avoided. David of Cruising The Cut fame agrees it is the section of the system he most dislikes. Going back to the rudder problem in my defence there was absolutely no problem turning to port. It turned like a boat with a rudder smoothly and under control. Starboard turns were pot luck. Cheers John

Thank you Oldgregg. Regards Oldjohn

Our first canal holiday after a lovely week in Winterton-on-Sea. We had a great week at Winterton with little or no rain and the dogs didn't find any adders on the beach which I must admit to worrying about somewhat. Had a couple of really good meals in the Fishermans Retreat. Had a sandwich for lunch one day and got enough salad to feed all the rabbits in Winterton-on-sea me thinks! This was followed by our first ever canal holiday which was booked for a week but lasted 2 full days or 3 nights. See attached but it does go on a bit. Comments on the rudder/tiller problem would be welcome. The first canal trip after a lovely week in Winterton on sea.docx

Didn't even know it existed never mind it has a Picnic boat. Now we are home and sick about that.

I get most of this even being from Cheshire but was it a Norfolk or Suffolk, let’s not be sexist, person who designed a picnic boat you can hire from Potter Heigham that won’t go under the bridge???? Another day out to Hickling scuppered!!!! Apart from that enjoying Norfolk as normal.

Didn't think you were and although I think about this, do we really want everybody being able to get North of the bridge? We haven't managed it for a long, long time so we are hiring a picnic boat in September to take a day up there. Talking of which is the lunch time menu at the Pleasure Boat up to much? Very limited when we were last there a couple of years ago.

I thought Potter Heigham had 3 arches. The drop lock would only affect the middle arch when in use.

No need Vetchugger as we sailed past last September and saw the state of it!

My daughter is staying at Wroxham at the moment while rowing on the Yare and went to Great Yarmouth for a day out on Saturday. She wasn't impressed and felt sorry for the place not having seen it for 20 years.

A drop lock would resolve things. They built one at Dalmuir when they refurbished the Forth and Clyde Canal. There was only a few feet of clearance there but the drop lock worked really well. Trouble is it costs!!!!

Found some Lowliner photo's in our old albums. Also realised the inside helm was on the "wrong" side from one photo below (2.3).

I will try and find our old photo albums to see what is in there.

That is great to see and seems like good news. We always loved Potter Heigham Bridge in our early days of Broads holidays and loved Latham's. In recent years however we have actually avoided it as it was sad watching it fall into disrepair with Latham's seeming to be going down hill. If I remember correctly I said "Not returning to that dump again" We will call in in 5 weeks time and sample the fare but definitely not anything from the burger van in the car park if it is still there.

I found this just for information. http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/two-dogs-suffer-adder-bites-winterton-dunes-1-5625388

Hi Aboattime I don't think we have seen it recently in fact struggle to remember seeing it in the last 15 or so years. Which yard do you have? John