Cal

Is it not still a legal requirement for dogs in the UK to wear a tag as well as a chip?

The local police have been leafleting around our parts regarding dog thefts. Sad really that people think it is acceptable to steal another persons animal for their own gain Sadly I agree with you about the animal rescue centres as well. It is only a matter of time before they become full to breaking point with unwanted pets.

There are several called that where we live

Such a pretty boat.

I think Purdey is a lovely name.

It took us ages to teach Syd to sit. He just didn't get the difference between Syd and sit. In the end we resorted to pointing a finger at his bum. He got it then.

Several of our friends have dutch steel cruisers and they offer a lot of accomodation for their size. They all have boats from different yards and they all have different layouts. They tend to suffer a bit with condensation in the winter months.

We rescued Sydney a couple of years ago in unorthodox circumstances. He had been locked on a narrowboat with a pair of cats, no food or water, the boat was ankle deep in excrement and stunk. Fortunately an older couple on another narrowboat had spotted that no one was coming to feed these poor animals and were feeding them through a tiny open window and dropping ice cubes through for them to drink. Eventually after a week they phoned the RSPCA who came and left a notice on the boat and said they would retrieve the animals in 3 days time. The weather was due to get hot and the boat was in full sunshine so another couple opened the boat doors, which was not difficult and released the animals. The cats scarpered and were later found wandering around in the village and rescued. The dog was in not such good health and just sat on the grass with his rescuers. This is when we turn up. His rescuers can't look after him as they have their own pets. So a quick phone call to Liam's boss to check he is ok to go to work with him and we inadvertently end up with a dog going home with us. At this point it is clear that the dog is in a poor state so we book him into a vets as quickly as we can. He was 4kg under weight (He is only 8kg now and is still slim so you can imagine how skinny he was), he was riddle with worms, had fleas, he had an infected cat bite on his rump presumably from scrapping with the cats over scraps of food, he stunk of cat pee and he had not been to the groomers for a long while. He is non shedding so has to visit the groomers every 8 weeks or so. He was also not chipped which is now a legal requirement. We contacted CRT to try and get the contact details of the boat owner but this is where the tale took an unexpected twist. The boat was next allegedly stolen and was all over the local and national news and social media that it had been stolen and the dog and cats had been stolen. Oddly though whoever stole the boat did the owner a favour and cleaned it out while they did so, the pictures in the news when the boat had been recovered were nothing like the state the boat was in when the dog was released. We managed to get hold of the owner through Facebook who unbelievably wanted to come and pick the dog up. We told him that he could come and pick him up after he had been to the vets and the vets had witnessed his condition. It was at this point that the owner admitted that he could not look after the dog and agreed that we could keep him if we would look after him. We got him to send messages with this in writing for evidence if needs be at a later date. Up until this stage we had tried not to get too attached to the dog as we knew we might have to give him back as much as it would have pained us to do so. And so began Sydney's long road to a full recovery. The first year we had many visits to the vets to check on his progress but also to start his vaccinations, get him chipped, neutering and general health care. It was not a fast or cheap road to recovery for Syd but it was worth it watching him gain strength but also watching him turn from a very quiet shy dog into the outgoing happy chap that he is today. He has turned into a lovely little boat dog who is full of energy and is so cheeky. He has his forever home now after being passed from pillar to post in his puppy-hood. We are led to believe we are his fourth owners, he had three sets in a little over a year. Intrigue got the better of us and we had him DNA tested to find out what make he is. He is a miniature schnauzer, miniature poodle, bichon frise, pomeranian, chihauhau mix. A proper mongrel! He suffers terribly with separation anxiety which is perhaps understandable and he is terrible with life stock and small furry critters so we have to watch where he is let off the lead. In ordinary times he goes to work with the OH, but with me working from home at the moment he has been here with me and having one day a week at work with Liam. He loves it.

My OH's mum adopted a Romanian rescue dog late last year. It is a practice I very much disagree with. We have enough animals that require loving homes in this country without shipping in more.

Thanks all for your replies but we have decided against going for this boat.

There is a canopy on this one but it looks odd with it. I think we would remove it and have a tonneau cover made and use the inside helm in inclement weather.

Thanks for that information. I guess we would just have to give it a go one day and see if it fit or not! The boat does seem to pack a lot of accommodation in for a short hull which is partly why we are attracted too it. We don't need a huge boat for the two of us and the dog.

It won't be kept on the Broads so stern access is not really an issue as we very rarely moor stern on. Although this particular boat does appear to have had a platform added to the stern and a ladder to the upper helm which looks to help somewhat with stern access if needed. Hadn't noticed how steep the steps were until you have just said that. They do look a little steep. Air draft is one thing we would need to check carefully as ideally we would want to be 8ft max with everything folded down to access parts of the inland system above Nottingham. Realistically it wouldn't be a deal breaker if it wasn't under 8ft as we don't venture up that way very often but it would be a nice to have if possible.

Good afternoon Guys and Girls. Just after picking your very knowledgeable brains if I may please? We are interested in having a look at a boat for sale that is Broom 32 Sea Pilot. We have never even heard of this boat model before so would be grateful for any information you wise folks might hold on them. The boat in question is a mid 80's hull with a Perkins 4.108 engine.

If I was picking the boat up from Wroxham on Friday PM I think my first stop would be Coltishall bridge height permitting.

Or Rockland

Not this one?

Surlingham Ferry. Although it isn't far from your mooring it is a great pub with good food.

We tend to moor in the basin there if we are eating at Pedro's. It is a lot more sheltered from the wind in the basin. A lot of people tend to misjudge the entrance to the basin when the tide is running.

I would give Bridge Boat Yard at Ely a try. Their boats are not the most modern but they are clean and tidy.

We have drained and flushed through our water tank a few times in the last few weeks. It had been sat ashore with an unknown quantity of water in the plastic tank for almost a year. We completely drained it and then added plenty of sterilizing tablets to the tank and refilled it making sure we pulled the water through all of the plumbing and taps. We then let it sit for 24 hours before we redrained it and refilled with fresh water and a few more tablets. This was then left for a week before we drained it down again and refilled with just fresh water. There is still the faint chlorine taint to the water that we run off but we are confident that the water system is now cleaned through and we will start drinking the water again now. We only have a small water tank onboard so it is filled up on a regular basis under normal circumstances and flushed through with plenty of water.

I look forward to your write up as well. It is something we have always fancied having a go at but have never got around too it.

We have both said that we would have probably got fed up with the Viking and sold it within a couple of years. Naughty-Cal has enabled us to do far more and go far further than we ever thought we would by boat. She is far from ideal for some of the cruising we do though. We are planning a trip up the river Soar later in the year which involves a fair amount of canal cruising and she it rubbish at that. Our slowest speed in tick over is 4mph!

May I ask what you will do with boats if they arrive late and there is no room for them or time for them to head to the next moorings before dark?

We managed to almost double our budget when fate led us the way of Naughty-Cal many moons ago. We were on our way to place an order on a brand new Viking 20 for about £20k and called in at a marina for a quick coffee break about half way there. Said marina was having a used boat show and we suddenly ended up putting a deposit on a £38k Naughty-Cal instead Funny how these things happen