kpnut

Oh dammit. All this brain work about electrics must have fired my grey matter as I did too well in the quiz tonight and came second. Unfortunately Turnoar who won is unavailable next week so it’ll be me, a newbie quizmaster. Could prove chaotic!!!!

Yes, you’re quite right!!

You seem to have seen more wildfowl in one visit to cockshoot broad than I’ve seen in my many times there.

I have both those in my car Grendel. They are brilliant as long as you remember to charge them. Didn’t think to be able to use the jump starter on board. I’ve used it a few times lately in the car before I decided my battery really had gone into terminal decline. Last night Roald told me there were two jump start crocodiles on board, but no leads so taking up space but not much use. Not that I needed them anyway.

Thanks. That’s what Roald said too, a last resort, not recommended, but useful to know if the worst happened.

Super thanks both of you. Again, makes sense when explained well. Why was my physics teacher at school not able to tell me such a common sense simple thing? And why could I not work that out for myself?????

Thanks Grendel. That all makes sense and was what I asked Roald about last night. Odd as I hadn’t found anything loose and generally my electrics are very sound. The bad junction box is now removed and new connection crimped in. Everything multimeter tested and we’re now sitting feeding the batteries with power, hungry little so and so’s.

Thanks bucket. That does make sense but I’m always a bit wary of mooring where the boat will be blown off the quay wen I’m on my own as I have a nightmare fear of being in land and not being able to hold her and the boat sailing off down the Bure with just Finlay dog on board. I suppose the answer might be to do as you suggest but sort my lines better so I can release the final one once i’m back on board. This morning we were pinned onto the taxi rank at Ranworth. The forecast said 45mph. My two guests pulled her round to face the bins/grass and I was able to reverse up the side and out. They got soaked in the process though.

Thanks. First two, fenders and slack were done. I should have moored nose into the wind I think to keep surface area to the minimum. But being a law abiding citizen I moored as I should, even though no-one else here to witness! Bottles are another matter. Maybe my knitting friend can make some knitted cosies for them, or alternatively I can just replenish the stuff so they can’t budge.

Thursday A rather restless Malthouse Broad this morning. The night was akin to being in a washing machine, the noise and thumping sounding like a washing machine that hasn’t been loaded correctly. The bottles in my, by now rather depleted, ‘drinks cabinet’ were clanking in my ear all night. What is all the advice for minimising bow slap please? I’m attached, in the taxi rank at Ranworth, in 4 places, but I’m obviously not getting it right!

That Lemgo phone box must have been acquired from Hull. We have white phone boxes there, courtesy of our own phone company KCCom.

Just a thought that someone might answer for me. If the junction box ‘deformed’ why has the fuse not broken? It’s only a little half size yellow fuse. The fuse comes after the junction box on the way to the positive terminal on the battery. From the charger, positive and negative wires go to the junction box, then after the box they split with the positive going to the positive terminal on the battery and the negative going into a square box that has a lead coming from the negative battery terminal in there too. Sorry if I sound really hopeless, but electrics puzzle me. That’s why I triple checked with him before every single thing he asked me to do this evening.

I said just the same to my friends. I hadn’t seen a moorhen since buying my boat in 2021.

I was pleased to see plenty of swan couples on Halvergate marshes the other week. So just cos we don’t see them on the rivers doesn’t necessarily mean there are none.

Troubleshooting my trickle charger this evening has me (well, really my son in law at the other end of the phone with me following instructions) diagnosing a malfunction between charger and battery. Junction box is the culprit for some reason unknown at present, seeing as it hasn’t had any work done to it. Looks like it’s deformed itself in some way. Anyway, hopefully a simple fix in the morning with a new one. He said he’s going to show me how it’s possible to top up the leisure battery from the engine battery sometime. Something to do with jump leads. Sounds just like a car in that case, but only using the positive terminals? I do find all this stuff very interesting. I suppose if things didn’t go wrong, I wouldn’t learn!!!!

Thursday morning. The Wroxham bridge height was just about 6’7” at low tide this morning, so with both my guests on deck to keep an eye out, I went for it. Why had I worried? Next stop in the sleet was Horning. We got togged up and walked up past the radar museum, to Alderfen Broad where I can assure anyone worried about the coot population that it’s extremely healthy. On round via Workhouse Common and a visit to the very pretty St Peters church, Neatishead. And back to Horning where the lure of the Staithe and Willow cafe was just too much to resist. So we used up the electric credit on the post to dry all our wet gear while we enjoyed lunch in the cafe. Finlay was very happy to lie in front of the woodburner, full of sausage he’d been gifted by the proprietor. I’ve noticed for the last few months that my battery charge light keeps coming on, sometimes flickering, sometimes solid. Of course, having the solar panel and the shore power trickle charger I’ve not bothered to see to it - one of those “perhaps the alternator will sort itself out someday”! Today, with no sun for the solar panel, and my shore power battery charger not wired up at the moment, was the day the batteries decided to start draining. We’re now being cautious about lights etc, until hopefully getting the engine started on the morrow and getting either alternator or trickle charger wiring sorted at LBBY. If we can’t start, they will come to us at Ranworth. Oh well, all part of the adventure of learning about my boat. Thankfully we’re on the shore power, so not exactly roughing it. We have Ranworth to ourselves and are keeping Pipedream’s slot warm for Simon and Katie.

And none to speak of here at the boat, a slight bit of sleet and just manky rain all day. And now proper heavy rain with the wind blowing the water onto the boat, making a racket.

Done and assuming we’ve done it correctly ( which I do think we have and triple checked) it seems 6’5”, compared with the official 6’9” on the plate at the helm from her hireboat days. I still won’t be going under Wroxham at a board marker height of 6’6” though, 6’7” yes as the pilot told me I’d be ok at that.

Well I misjudged my day somewhat. A nice leisurely start after a short stroll at Coltishall and a fill-up with water at Bridge Broad boatyard and we were off to Horning. Or we weren’t, as it was coming to high tide and 6’6” showing on all boards. Oops! So it’s either a cruise at dusk tonight or stay till the morning, which is what we’ve opted for. We’re going to measure the airdraft on SR this afternoon if we can snap out of our dozey after lunch stupor.

Thanks for the heads up Malcolm, I’ll put it in my diary for a trip down to the boat.

I did have much the same thought Neil!

Early March trip 2023. Springer’s Retreat has been at LBBY for some work for a while now, overdue for return but that’s another story. So George facilitated my ‘borrowing’ of her for a while to honour a commitment to some friends who’d booked time off work for a holiday with me. Various modifications to ‘work in progress’ means we have a working toilet and shower, along with a big hole in the main bathroom where a rotten wall is to be replaced. But quite handy to use a temporary storeroom. I picked her up on Friday 3rd, staying overnight in the yard and paying a visit by car to Sam and Graham and Desmond dog on Luna Aurora for a fish and chip supper at Potter, and setting off to Stalham on Saturday afternoon. Perishingly cold by the time I got back as I hadn’t checked the diesel heater before setting off and didn’t want to turn it on while underway in case something went ‘bang’. I’ve had a new fuel tank fitted and had forgotten to ask whether the diesel heater had needed bleeding, and if so, had it been. Anyway, all’s well there. My friends duly arrived on time and our first overnight stop was Dilham. Within a few minutes of setting off we spotted our first kingfishers, other spots on the way up were a couple of herons and a muntjac. We had the moorings to ourselves, with a hireboat arriving on Monday morning just as we were setting off. Sunday afternoon was spent on a good walk round to Tonnage Bridge and up to the disused lock at Honing and back down the lane to Dilham. That path by the canal to the lock can be extremely muddy, but surprisingly it was the best I’ve experienced for a while. Finlay did get blathered up though, so a swim in the turning circle at the moorings was in order, then to be dragged out by his lead as the water level is low! Our excursions warranted a tasting session of the various concoctions onboard, that made the evening pass nicely! Wayford Bridge had plenty of headroom, showing well over 7’ on both journeys. Monday, in on and off drizzle, we motored along to Wroxham, with the board there, halfway between high and low tides, showing over 7’ as well. Mooring on the electric at St Johns we had the visit to Roys and a stop off at the Hotel Wroxham. I wouldn’t have dared go in there (would have thought too posh for the likes of me!) without having previously been introduced by SwanR, so many thanks Jean for that last autumn. A late start on Tuesday as we wanted to buy a dvd from the charity shop to test out my newly installed TV. We can’t actually watch tv on it until I sort out the aerial situation, but with my limited knowledge of how electronic things work, I did think a dvd probably doesn’t need an aerial and I was proved right. We visited Belaugh church, mooring at the parish staithe on the corner and having a nice chat to two fishermen who were cooking sausages and making us feel hungry. And then on to Coltishall lock where we met them again. We only stayed a while to go for a walk, as the idea of being hooked up to electric on coltishall green on a night forecast to be below zero was too enticing. and so if proved to be, a wonderful full Lenten moon last night, followed by frosty decks by 8pm.

I remember those photos of the Ferry house at Surlingham at the time Mouldy. Was the pub you mentioned, the Archers, what is now the Reedham Ferry or was there another pub there too?

I can’t answer that exact question but I had a very interesting encounter yesterday. I was moored at Hoveton St. John’s and spied a young man in an official looking uniform ‘fiddling’ with the electric posts. Thinking he might be a ranger emptying the recycled card slots, I asked him if he had any cards for sale, seeing as the broads info office was closed for a refurb. He wasn’t a ranger (and no, he had no cards) but he worked for a company contracted to the BA to service the posts. He’s the only person who does this and serves the whole of the broads area himself. He was using what looked like an Allen key to twizzle something on the ‘card’ side of each outlet. I asked him if he was twizzling so we got less electric for our £1 and he said ‘quite the opposite, the price has actually gone down and I’m adjusting them all so you have more for your money, your card will last longer’. Stupidly, I should have asked about prices etc but didn’t as was so amazed that 1. The electric posts get adjusted manually, I’d have thought they were linked to some central button to press in an office somewhere and 2. There’s only him to do every post on the broads. We then had a good discussion about the BA wishing to electrify the system and our conclusion was on the extremely dubious side due to many of the issues already discussed on here re infrastructure etc etc. We agreed what was needed was to ‘walk before you run’ or a ‘bottom up’ solution rather than ‘top down’ ie get the basic infrastructure in place first. I asked why the BA weren’t starting now, if they’re so keen on the idea, with more posts at the ‘easy’ places, like where I was standing at Hoveton, the viaduct moorings, Ludham bridge, Coltishall etc. I was thinking anywhere with nearby access to electricity already (not withstanding the issue of substation capacity etc). The BA is ‘soon’ going to putting more posts at Great Yarmouth. They have get permission off the council first. So I suppose that’ll apply in a lot of other places.

I had been looking forward to the rounds last Friday, they sounded interesting, but sorry Mike, I got waylaid by joining the good folks on Luna Aurora celebrating a birthday! And very nice it was too I might add. I love the sound of your quiz this Friday coming Jean, will do my utmost to be there if I get a good signal somewhere and don’t get sidetracked with my friends on board. I’m planning it into my itinerary!!!