floydraser

Well I agreed with your suggestion that some form of skipper/pilot/mentor would be a positive move, but I think with this post you have taken up residence on another planet completely!

Some already do, or did, refer to my post somewhere about Eric the Skipper. Well not now, he's retired. Doesn't have to be the whole holiday; could be anything from an extended handover. A day or two and get dropped off at a railway station? It only needs a little imagination to make it work.

Quite, but any contribution towards improved safety should be considered, however small, especially if it starts the ball rolling.

They get down to the very front of the screen at the bottom without having to lean over the steering wheel. I can only do the passenger side from the driver's seat in the Corsa, in the Volvo I have to move over; they're not that good!

My apologies Vaughan. The "you" in the last sentence was not directed directly at you. Maybe I should have put: How about any of you who have time on their hands and a devotion to the future well being and success of the Broads as a navigation, volunteer to pass on your experience to first time holiday makers for free. Expenses plus a tip?

Ah, both of which refer to compulsory lincensing for the person in charge of the boat, not a any kind of skipper. And only in the context of discussing logic, not a propasal of action. Round and round we go.....

Driving to Norfolk from Leicestershire has always been the same pain: low sun in the morning and low sun in the afternoon on the way home. One soon learns the value of cleaning the inside of the windscreen. I bought one of these from Lidl a couple of years ago (and never looked back? It's for the windscreen) and they don't 'arf make the job easier. They're coming to Aldi on Thursday. https://www.aldi.co.uk/car-windscreen-5-in-1-cleaning-tool/p/802759409597000

Exactly what I mean about deliberately mis-interpreting to justify hitting the keyboard. What you say would be true if the suggestion was to make it compulsory, which has never been suggested. That's how threads go round and round. I can't believe some of you retired folks living on/near the Broads wouldn't like to top up their retirement funds by spending a few hours/a day/a week (delete as you like) with a happy family, showing them the ropes. Apart from the financial reward Vaughan has already expressed the satisfaction that can be had by doing a good job. Edit: In fact if you love the Broads so much, how about doing for free?

Yes but before you get accused of trying to lay down the law, insulting hire companies and disrespecting people's experience (you're clearly not but you know what I mean?), I think it would be best introduced voluntarily and hopefully it would become a preferred option.

Just for a change something close to the original subject of this thread: Over on the thread about Breydon being closed due to weather coditions they are observing what looks like first timers struggling in the rough conditions on the rivers and in the yards. It occurred to me that no amount of training can prepare the newbie for a gale.

We are living in different times and I mean since March. I was trained in management and I don't envy anyone in business or management now. I used to love it and thrive on it but I wonder how I would have coped with this pandemic? I would like to think well, I would have at least seen it as a challenge to overcome; another badge to be proud of. But in respect of all those with years of experience, nothing will be the same and while that experience will be a serious part of the future, it will not be the rule book. The way forward is to be open to new ideas then make decisions as to how to proceed based on risk factors etc. I was trained based on other's experience but no-one has experience of a pandemic so we are all in the dark. The clever ones and the lucky risk takers will be the prifiteers from all this. Good luck to you all, I'll be on my boat while you sort it all out.

Absolutely not. There are some quiet corners of this forum which are perfect, the restoration section being one of them.

I think this post is entirely unjustified and completely wrong. RealWindmill made a perfectly sensible suggestion. So it was in ignorance of what already happens but it was met by a rather agressive reply from someone venting their frustration. After that is the usual standard forum rubbish of deliberate mis-interpretaions and replies based on them. Same old same old. Very unfair to pick out one poster, especially by a mod.

And there's a network error on the Yare webcam.

It was indeed. In fact, last year was a different World! Masses of people have been enjoying going abroad and staying in hotels for years and years. Something I remember as a kid, was an absolute luxury to be boasted about. I have experience this year of people trying camping for the first time and clearly not enjoying the work involved, taking their frustrations out on campsite owners. Next season it will be interesting to see how things go with all staycations. I'll take a wild guess that the cost of a servant was probably the equivalent of a full sky/broadband/mobile package.

I've been reading this thread with a little interest and while I was out this afternoon it seems a few people have picked up the wrong end of the stick and ran away with it. RealWindmill has a valid point of view; the basis of which is the acceptance of change and a slightly different approach. For starters, nowhere does he suggest chartered skippers should be compulsory but if you have the money, it's a good idea. And it doesn't have to be in the form suggested above: Eric the Skipper as I know him, would organise your yachting trip for you. Tell him what you would like to do, he will tell you what is practical then work out the costs. So if you wanted to sail around the islands off the west of Scotland he would charter the yacht locally to where you wanted to go, and he would be the qualified skipper, you just tell him where you want to go and pull on this bit of string when he tells you to. Similar format may work on the Broads and I suspect once reputations are established, hirers would probably be more than happy to make it work? Today's social media is where the Skipper would make his/her (look at me all PC!) reputation with the customers who may see the positives such as an extra pair of hands and a babysitter. During my search a couple of years ago I looked at a 40 footer which had a small crew cabin accross the stern accessible via a separate hatch. A Broom I think?? And then there's the more obvious owner/hirer set up where you could charter your own boat and yourself. While none of the above may not be attractive, and they're not to me, they are however valid ideas. Expensive yes, but some people have a lot of money don't they? There is a lovely thread telling the story of a bunch of guys' time on the Broads just before or just after WW1 (sorry, can't remember exactly but someone will). Didn't they have a skipper? If not, they certainly weren't short of a bob or two.

Thanks everybody. It seems it's the same price all over then; I thought it may be regional like petrol. I won't bother hauling it back over here then!

Thanks Kev, it's the big one but I'm not sure of the weight. Calor list a 15kg so I'm guessing that's the one.

There was some talk about calor gas being dificult to get hold of during lock down and I wondered about the situation now? I'm really only interested in the Brundall area as I will be needing a large refill soon. Anyone know the latest prices? I'have a spare bottle and over here I have a main calor depot not far away but if it's cheap enough I won't bother bringing it home.

I agree with others that it's a bodge. I would say it's been done that way to allow the fitting of later, more universal type wiper blades as the plastic clip fitting and black wiper give it away. Easiest replacement would be to take the clip and wiper to Halfords to get the exact same. Get some matt black paint while you're there and hide the bodge a bit.

Another vote for oil filled radiators here. My boat had three when I bought it and they were the same make but different sizes, so you could work out the smallest needed for the space. They also have two power settings and a thermostat. As others had said they are the safest but if I want quick warmth I have a cheapo Aldi fan heater which also has a thermostat but I would never leave the boat with a fan heater running, partly safety and partly cost of running.

Big thanks and well done to the techy team. I wouldn't have known where to start looking for the problem but it's usually the points or distributor cap.

Isn't a boat an unnecessary luxury?

Me and Mrs Raser use about 15litres of water a day in our caravan without using the shower. We used the showers on site but post Covid we use one in the van and that involves another 15litres ish per shower. As they say in the Dacia ad, you do the maths. I only know this since I started to use a couple of plastic watering cans to top up the Aquaroll. I reckon we use more on the boat simply because I don't have to top up every day. Another point: we always use a filter jug for drinking water on the boat.

This sounds perfect for Tom Heaps to investigate on Countryfile. About time they broadcast something interesting.