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dom
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Posts posted by dom
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Can't help but find it highly ironic Dr.Packman continually goes on about safety and the yacht station incident, yet even a forum full of regular boaters don't know about a really useful safety feature there.
The lads at the yacht station post pretty much daily to Facebook in summer. Wouldn't take them much to add a note, or drop another template post in now and then mentioning the lockers.
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52 minutes ago, marshman said:
Sadly I think the lockers would last about a week in GY before they were all broken into by the locals.
The same thought crossed my mind, but you could probably reduce the risk with a big bright red sign saying "Life jacket storage only" or similar. I suspect the relatively low value of a stolen lifejacket vs the aggravation of breaking in would probably be deterrent enough.
The bigger issue may be how you'd manage access without keys going missing, or having to resort to overly complicated electronic locks and apps.
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21 minutes ago, marshman said:
Still there as far as I am aware
Oh well, that's something I suppose. As you say, maybe she's well enough preserved that someone will eventually do something with her.
Main reason I was looking was it suddenly occurred to me that the recent Church Fields/St.John's Way housing development might have encroached on the dyke where I last saw her. Church Farm farmhouse has stopped the development before it reached that point though.
I can only assume the dyke was a staithe at some point. It seems to pre-date 1881 and is arrow straight. I presume the neighbouring land belongs to the Hoveton House estate. Pity, as the dyke could potentially be dredged and widened to create a nice mooring within walking distance of Hoveton. Shame the BA haven't got the vision to see the need for moorings downstream of the bridge and to look for solutions like this.
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Just been reading back through this thread, as I used to canoe around Lord Roberts with a friend in my teens - actually further out of Wroxham, rather than in Royall's dyke/near Wildwood as some have suggested. She was remarkably intact and always creeped me out a bit, as it was quite like visiting the Mary Celeste.
Has anyone heard any more about her of late? Seems odd given current interest in heritage if she's allowed to just rot away.
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In the early 80s, I did a trip up to Norwich on a 50m Baltic trader tall ship, which we took as far as the mooring outside the old Nelson Hotel. That was quite a scary experience, but she had relatively low freeboard, so you could at least see what was going on. I can't imagine what it'd be like steering one of those high forepeak coasters up there. The crew must've really been on their game not to wipe out the odd cruiser on the way up.
We actually scraped our way over the sand bar on the way into Southwold, but got as far as Foundry Bridge without any issue, so there was clearly plenty of depth back then. I can imagine it'd be the same now. Sadly, you couldn't try it, as she was also 30m tall, so wouldn't even get past Postwick now.
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5 hours ago, Broads01 said:
Roy's in Hoveton or Wroxham?
Roys of Wroxham is in Hoveton.
We locals all call it Wroxham. It's all a ploy so we can spot the incomers when they smugly proclaim "It's in Hoveton"
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1 hour ago, kpnut said:
Firstly, I pondered whether to embarrass myself by writing about it. I decided I would as if it prompts just one person to wear a lifejacket, then good.
Glad to hear you came out of it unscathed, but definitely the right thing to do admitting what happened to make others rethink their own behaviour. I keep harping on at people to wear lifejackets in winter or when single-handling, as I've seen too many incidents not to speak up. Cold shock in winter is also lethal, so particularly advisable to wear an auto model at this time of year.
The RYA are actually running a campaign to increase awareness at the moment. The bit I found scary was the mention of it causing vertigo, preventing you knowing which way is up or down.
https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/safety/look-after-yourself/cold-water-shock
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Earith causeway is very close to going over. Boaters down at Denver are complaining at the lack of water at the sluice moorings again, so it looks like the EA are dumping water there to try and relieve things upstream.
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7 hours ago, NeilB said:
My parents hired day boats and Burecroft from Len of LL cruisers several times so knew them fairly well.
Never did find out why they closed? we arrived by hireboat, summer of 1987 I think, to find they had disappeared!I was probably around in '87 when you turned up!
My dad's boat was usually moored on Summercraft's outer quay heading directly opposite the front of Burecroft - mainly because she was just small enough to fit between the quay and the island which used to be there.
Len sold a Broom 30 to my dad, then the yard to Summercraft a year or two later. I have a vague recollection he may have had a heart attack or similar which prompted the yard sale, as it was a small yard without the resources to manage without him. I think Dick who owned Summercraft at that time bought LL for the property as much as the boats. I think we may have run the boats for a season or two, but they were sold off fairly quickly. Sadly, I think Len died around the turn of the milennium. He was a very similar age to my dad, so must have barely reached retirement age, if that. I think I first developed a love of V8 engines from a trip down to Loddon in the back of Len's Triumph Stag to collect the Broom after osmosis repair.
I worked with Steve for a short while, but don't remember much apart from him riding something like an FZ750. He can't have been a great deal older than me so was doing alright for himself managing to buy the bike (and a car?). I think either he or Len might have worked for Powles at some point?
QuoteMum and dad hired the Summercraft lodges for many years up to the mid 2000’s when dad had to stop driving.
The lodges were generally built over winter between hire seasons (and 12" off the ground to avoid flooding issues). My dad and I both did the odd bit of work on construction here and there on a few of them. I also used to clean, move and service dayboats and dinghies for them when needed.
Was it Kris Cruisers at Datchet you worked for? I'm sure my mum used to handle bookings for them when she worked at Blakes. I have a feeling my very first hire boat experience was on a narrowboat either hired from them, or another yard very nearby. I can only have been 6 or 7 at the time, but clearly remember the yard looking out over the line of trees around Windsor park on the other side of the river.
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5 hours ago, Broads01 said:
Dom, forgive me if I've missed this in a previous post but what was your job in those days? Did you work for Faircraft as was?
I worked for Summercraft (and LL Cruisers for a short time after Summercraft bought them). Mostly on turnaround, but also the odd bit of work on boats being fitted out, winterisation, etc. My dad was best mates with one of the yard owners and spent a lot of time helping him rebuilding a boat he'd salvaged (Josephine). My dad later bought a boat which he lived on at the yard and I spent a lot of time on board with him.
I could very easily have ended up working there permanently, but in the end went off and trained in telecomms. Still wonder if that was the right decision!
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Ironically, I Googled 1980s Ranworth staithe images and ended up finding a picture of the Broads Tours staithe on here. It's the small dyke/inlet opposite the public staithe. There was a slatted wooden fence around it and a load of trees/bushes between there and the neighbouring dyke which have since been removed. You can even see the old sign at the end of the dyke which said "Trip boats only" or something to that effect.
There's also what looks like Grecian Girl on the staithe. Comparing her to the size of the dyke, I should think it was just big enough for the old traditional wooden tour boats, which must've come out of service around the early to mid 80s?
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37 minutes ago, Broads01 said:
I had no idea there was a Broads Tours quay at Ranworth. Does anybody have any photos?
It was the small inlet directly opposite the corner with the damaged quay heading on the BA mooring (about here on what3words). I think it was originally used by George Smith way back to the 20s or 30s. If you look on Broadland Memories, there are some old leaflets from that era which mention trips to Ranworth.
We used to leave Wroxham after the last hirer's trial run, so it was often well into the evening by the time we got there. The staithe was always packed, so we'd use the BT mooring. That would have been during the 80s and I don't think it was getting a huge amount of use by then. I presume they let it go not long after that as it'd be too small for newer trip boats.
I'd love to see pictures of it from the 80s in case one or the other of our boats were on there! My dad died young and I only have 1 picture of his boat, so I live in hope that she'll turn up in someone elses images one day.
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I'd imagine Natural England probably have a say somewhere down the line?
BA's original formation was monitored and audited by the Countryside Commission. I believe they've now effectively evolved into Natural England.
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4 hours ago, Vaughan said:
Happy memories of the pub's great days, in the 60s. The boat shaped bar with beer pumps in the steering wheel was built by H.T.Percival of Horning and is now displayed in the museum of the Broads.
It's fantastic to see the photo Vaughan. For some strange reason, I still remember having to fight my way through crowds of people in the bar to make it to the gents, which goes to show how busy it used to be on a Saturday night.
My earliest memories of Ranworth are of mooring on the Broads Tours quay (opposite the public moorings and now private moorings) followed by long sunny evenings watching the world go by outside in summer, or crammed in the bar in winter. I'm sure it was a deliberate ploy going there, as we'd meet people on turnaround and trial runs during the day, then run into them again at the Maltsters and get free drinks as a result.
It's notable though that even we switched to getting a meal in the Granary instead within a few years of it reopening after the fire, which shows it's always been a battle between the two.
Someone on Facebook seems to be going to great lengths to clarify that the current closure has been brought on by the landlady being ill, so hopefully the issue resolves in the longer run and it reopens in due course.
QuoteSeated at right is Geoff Pleasants, who was landlord for many years and at left is my father.
I used to work for a business in Cambridge but, coincidentally, the owner also owned Cobwebs in Wroxham. Geoff Pleasants really reminds me of his son. I'll have to ask him next time I see him if there's any connection.
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I still remember vividly working late on a Rouse Sport Sierra Sapphire Cosworth 4x4 304R when a few of my mates came in to see me. We had two sites at work and drove cars between them, so I took my mates for a very rapid tour of Norwich inner ring road. I regularly drove Porsche 911s, big Mercedes, Audi Quattros, etc, but the Rouse Sport was in another league - so fast it actually left me shaking with adrenalin. Funniest part was a bloke in a Cortina assuming it must be a basic model with an RGA bodykit or similar to have me in my teens was driving it. I think I hit quite a few lateral G leaving him for dead round Halfords roundabout!
Ironically, I wasn't the only one to enjoy a joyride in it. It got stolen so many times (including use in at least one armed raid) the owner took to leaving it unlocked to reduce the damage it suffered each time. I managed to return it undamaged (but did once manage to write off an old Maxi by driving a customer's Golf GTI into the side of it). I'd imagine if it's still around the 304R is now a fairly valuable car.
My first proper car was a Ford - a little 1.3s Fiesta (basically a Supersport without the stickers), which I spent a fortune on. I ported and polished the head, had it over-bored, changed the carb, exhaust, etc and fitted tarmac rally spec suspension. It was a great little car and towards the end it did a good job sticking with 1.8 Golf GTIs, especially on winding coast roads. Unfortunately, it got shortened by a few inches when some idiot pulled out in front of me near Horstead Mill.
A couple of friends had Capris, including a 3.0s 4 speed which did about 8 to the gallon and a cammed 2.0S with twin 45 Dellortos which was great for drifting. I never really caught the Ford bug though and switched to German and Swedish stuff instead after the Fiesta got written off.
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4 minutes ago, oldgregg said:
The Fk8 Type R is actually getting sensible money now and in Sportline trim it doesn't look quite so ridiculous.
I think the ridiculous looks are half the appeal. That's probably a side effect of growing up in the era when every teenage boy aspired to own a Countach.
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16 minutes ago, Bikertov said:
and that was back in 2008, assuming work would progress in the meantime at the given rate
Playing devil's advocate, that was based in part on 06-07 performance. I think it was probably 07 when BA took on May Gurney's dredging operations, so following years may have seen an improvement.
Obviously, equally possible it got worse!
One thing I noticed is that page 5 refers to depths at Mean Low Water springs. Recent documents seem to just refer to MLW. Obviously the two mean different things. If someone had copied over an old specification and omitted that one word somewhere down the line, it could mean thousands, if not millions of tonnes less material being removed across the system.
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The Ordnance Survey guide to the Broads and Fens : River Ouse, River Nene, Middle level navigations (1986)
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47 minutes ago, oldgregg said:
On the other end of the scale, I've seen those with a more sedate driving style posting up pics of 80+ mpg out of the 1.6 diesel.
My last car was a 2.2 iDTEC Accord. It did 50+ mpg all the time and I could manage 70+ mpg on long run. The Civic averages 61mpg pretty consistently, so I expected to be up around 80mpg on a run, but actually found the exact opposite. On the run up the A11 to Norfolk, I struggle to match the usual mileage. Initially, I thought it was just me. I used to drive the Norwich-Cambridge route twice weekly, so know it like the back of my hand and don't tend to hang around, but even driving sensibly, I can't get much more out of it.
I still miss proper VTEC. The thing which first prompted me to buy a Honda was collecting a Prelude from a customer. On the short drive back, the handling was just millimetre perfect, but what really sold me on it was the noise and sensation from the VTEC. As soon as I got back, I went looking for one and ended up with a 4th gen 2.2 VTEC JDM import Prelude. I've driven some pretty exotic stuff over the years, but still think the 4th gen is one of my favourite cars to drive.
I came close to buying a DC5 Integra on a few occasions. I think if I won the lottery, I'd have to have a DC5, an S2K and another 4th gen.
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1 hour ago, Cheesey69 said:
What we need is data rather than memory.
someone, somewhere must have recorded highs and depth and if not why not?Depths I'd imagine to be very difficult to prove without access to GIS systems that EA and similar use.
Bridge heights probably get mentioned in old guides if you could locate them. Specific to Wroxham, I don't know whether Broad Tours might have old records from when they stored trip boats upstream?
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Sorry to hear that Ian. I suffer with diverticular issues too, but just got told the issue and it stopped there, so I had to figure things out for myself. Hopefully the food diary is indicative of your getting more help and proper follow-up.
Mine was made worse by lactose intolerance, so I've switched to lactose free everything - but the main issue for me was very high fibre foods, particuarly things like sweetcorn. I'm the 3rd generation to suffer in my family. My grandmother had similar issues and rigourously avoided tomato seeds and cucumber skin, which she thought was an issue for her.
Fingers crossed you get some answers so you can help figure out your own trigger foods soon.
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7 minutes ago, oldgregg said:
That would be a 9th gen then I guess? I had the 1.8 VTEC for almost 9 years and they're a very reliable (and economical) car. But the chassis really was quite underwhelming and though I think they made suspension tweaks with the facelift, mine was an earlier 62 plate car and had none of that.
Yes, 9th gen facelift model. The Sport model comes with some pretty wide low profile tyres, so the handling keeps up with the power. I'd rather have had the VTEC (or even the type R), but was doing 50 miles a day at the time so had to opt for economy. Typically, I bought it just before covid expecting to keep it 3 years or so, but then lockdown kicked in and I ended up working from home. I've now had it 4 years and probably only done 15k or so miles.
Throughout ownership of 5 Hondas, aside of routine servicing, I've had to change 1 ABS sensor and an idle air valve, which I think is pretty amazing reliability over what must be getting on for 20 years. I did also break a cambelt, but that was due to being stupid and accepting that because they were a well off middle-aged man, the seller was being genuine when they claimed it had been changed. After strip down, it was glaringly obvious it was the original belt and had done 90k miles, but fortunately I got away with just a belt change and no major damage.
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19 minutes ago, oldgregg said:
They're a bit of a collectors car and I suspect will go up in value.
As time goes on, I'm kicking myself a bit for not hanging onto the Prelude. It was almost certainly one of the last manual 2.2 VTi Motegis on the road when I got rid of it. I suspect you could count the survivors on one hand now. The fact it has the H22 engine (which Clarkson always used to call the best engine ever, with no material failure in millions produced) and 4 wheel steer made it a bit unusual, and quite possibly something which'll attract decent values as a classic.
19 minutes ago, oldgregg said:It is very sad though that Honda do not offer a lot in Europe any more.
I had 3 Preludes then an Accord. I really struggled to find something I wanted to own last time around. The 8th gen. EU Accords were all getting too high mileage by then and nothing came along to replace them. The HRV was too girly, the CRV was too big, so I ended up buying a diesel Civic Sport. I had to buy nationally to get one in the right colour and it's an OK car - surprisingly quick for a 1.6 diesel, zero tax, 60mpg - but it's a bit rattly and very definitely in a different class to the models I'd had previously.
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5 hours ago, kpnut said:
The original posting from the BA on 22nd November did indeed say two weeks, one week for each hose.
Someone has just posted on Facebook to say the water's back on now. No mention whether both hoses have been fixed. Hopefully so.
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Springer’s Retreat On The Rivers
in Holiday Tales & Blogs
Posted
I suspect at this time of year, having a glaringly obvious presence on the moorings to keep an eye on the place is probably something they'd welcome.