Mowjo

Petite! thats Estate Agent talk for bl***y small, might be Ok if you don't own a Cat, because you couldn't swing it,, I reckon there's more room in that boat of Clives that passing,, Frank,,,

So far I've burnt out three of the bosch ones, two green and one blue, and none of the had a lot of use, Now I have the 310w Lidl one and the 300w Workzone one from Aldi, and I can't fault either of them, they are both well used and abused, I bought them because the were cheap but they well and truely out perform Bosch, as Martin says you can buy three of them for the price of the Bosch,, Frank,,,

Geoff and Wendy! some debates here can always get a bit heated because some of the members here are very passionate about certain subjects, sometimes to a newish member it can seem like it's getting a bit heated, but believe me! in 99% of cases we are still all friends here, we mainly self regulate ourselves and you may notice that the mods here very rarely have to step in, you will see that in many threads a certain three of four people get very passionate about something, (You know who you are), trust me these members do a lot of research into any subject although I often don't agree with them I have total respect for them, sometimes a post will appear that is just hearsay, these guys do the research before commenting and give us the facts/truth, true we might not change anything or make a difference at the end of the day, but if no-one stands up we will never know and after all forums are for debating and thats what we do even if we don't all agree, it only takes one person from somewhere like the BA to check the forums to see the general feeling of people that actually use the Broads, and that one person may be the one to say Whoo! we need to do things a bit differently,, Frank,,,

I could be way off here! but I know one of you will know, could the reason BA have pushed for National Park status have something to do with Lottery funding?? I've only have a brief look but it seems National Parks get all sorts of Grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, I came across this and it just got me thinking,, http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/current-news/2.5m-heritage-lottery-fund-boost-for-peak-district Frank,,,,

Maurice! do people still do that then, my grandkids text and phone each other from different rooms in the same house, and if they are out of credit it's Facebook, Twitter or one of the others, when they come visit us Mobiles are banned at mealtimes, you try and have a conversation and all you hear is pings and pongs and them sitting there texting people, luckily they know thats it's the one thing to make me flip my lid, so don't do it if I'm around,, Frank,,,,

Must be bad there Jon! looks like you slipped and took the Picture on the way down, unless they are those Norfick trees that grow upside down,, Frank,,,,

Iain! I've always believed there is nothing I can't do! only things I havn't tried, so I know I will get there, normally I can look at something and work out a solution in my head and it will work even if it's temporary, but with this one I think of how to do it, get it planed out, then the next time I'm on the boat realise it won't work how I'd be happy with it, Normally I have a plan A and plan B, with this boat I'm getting up to plan M, a simple job like trimming the Windows, bit of D molding job done, but no! because the GRP is all different thickness around the window I now have to make my own moldings, put a bit of carpet on a wall normally easy, not on this boat the cabin side have been so badly molded I now have to batten them then panel them first, I'll keep moaning about it, but know i'll do it right in the end, but one thing is for sure I'd never buy another Birchwood, give me an Elysian, Seamaster, Hampton, Freeman anytime, that lining they use on Birchwoods hide a lot of potential problems,, Frank,,,,

Iain! I must admit I have been pretty lapse so far, for some odd reason this is the hardest boat I've done, I think it's because I normally just gut them and start again, trying to work with whats already there is no fun at all especially when it's badly done, for every little job I want to do, I have to do 10 more to start it, this Birchwood is what I'd call a professional bodge job, it all looks nice but when you start taking things apart you see how badly it's really built, and it's all factory fitted stuff, all the windows are badly riveted in, something I never noticed untiI I removed all the linings, now I know why every window had silicone around them and leaked, so now I'll have to have them out re-bed them and fit them back with bolts, all the original wiring looked like a five year old had done it, again all hidden so you couldn't see it, some of it was even glassed in, so what started as checking a few cables has ended up a complete re-wire, it just goes on, I will hopefully have it done by the start of the season, I have most of the bits for it made, I just have to strip and varnish a few doors and stuff, then it should come together pretty quickly, I just need some better weather so we can stay on the boat and get things done,, Frank,,,,

Just a little update because I keep forgetting to take my camers with me, but I found these from a few weeks ago, there should be more next week, I have decided to re-use the existing cupboards as the wood is all in good condition and just needs stripping and re-varnishing, I need to adapt a few cosmetic bits but they are minor, my biggest problem is matching the colours of all the new woodwork with the old, because all the new wood is marine is a bit redish and comes out quite dark, all the old stuff is lighter, I've tried every stain and combination but everything looks like a bad attempt to match up, my new plan is to leave it as contrasting, bit of light and a bit of dark, I could cover everything in 4mm ply and stain it to match but it would mean far to much work as there are loads of odd shapes and stuff, it would actually be easier to rip it all out and re-build it, I've made a few panels ready to go in so i'll see what it looks like before I make the final decision, I got my new cockpit cushions back this week and Dale has made a beautiful job of them, I supplied the Cream vinyl, he made the cushions and supplied the new 4in foam, Judi mentioned to him she would like contasting piping on them to match the Burgandy canopy, I wasn't sure at first but he did it and it reall looks good, and he didn't charge extra for the piping, the picture just shows two of the six he made, anyway more next week, Frank,,

Marina! if you do a Google search for ghost of theNorfolk Broads there is loads of stuff, Frank,,,

Gracie! you better just stay in the Marina then, if you Google ghost of any broads place there is a report of ghost there,, Frank,,,

Just for fun I looked for any hauntings or ghost of Barton Broad and found the one below, they say Lady Edythe is nice and it's good luck if you see her, but reading this I wonder if I remind her of her Father and thats why Barton dosn't like me? well you never know! there are lots of unexplained things that happen, Barton's Lady of the Lake In the days of the Crusades a beautiful baby girl was born to the wife of a knight who was away in the Holy lands. On return the Knight refused to accept the baby as his own despite her being born only 5 months after he left. Consequently the baby was fostered out to be bought up by a nurse. As she grew older she became a really beatiful woman, and had many admirers. The Knight returned some years later and met her, he did not realise she was in fact his daughter nor she her father. He fell in love with her, his wife having left for another country in his absence. He offered to marry her and endow all his fortune on her. But her heart was already given to a noble soldier and she refused. He flew into a rage and said no other will have you. Just then her noble lover turned up and defended her, she ran into his arms and just at that moment her father fired his crossbow intending it for her lover. The arrow penetrated her breast and killed her. Her lover told him who he had killed and the Knight sank to his knees in remorse. The Knight went back to the Holly land and never returned, giving all his wealth to the young nobleman. Every year on the 4th August the face of the young girl Edythe appears, floating on the lake. Do not be afraid if you see this fair maiden whose spirit haunts the water, for it is said to be a blessing to anyone who sees her face.

Gracie! don't let it put you off staying there! I honestly can't put my finger on why I get the feeling, I don't get it anywhere else on the Broads, even with boat boat that used to cut out on Barton at the same spot everytime it never put me off, I used to look at Judi and say wait for it, then I'd say something stupid like knock it off George we know your there, during the day and evenings I'm fine on Barton but once it gets dark I'm off, it's hard to explain the feeling, I'm fine on the Island side of the Broad but over by the Yacht station side near the Neatishead turn is a no go area for overnights with me,, Frank,,

Good luck with the sale and the future Sarah! I'd love to but something like that but as I'm addicted to Ice Cream I'd eat more than I sold! Frank,,,

Robin! you have some good points there, if you look at most so called hauntings they are usually linked to a traumatic incident in the past, occasionally you get one that is linked to someone that loved a place, so I think that when something bad has happened people in the past and now will say don't go in there it's haunted, but I can't explain the feeling people who know nothing about a place get, as I said I can't stay overnight on Barton, absolutley no reason for it apart from it creeps me out and I get the feeling I'm being watched by something that dosn't like me, yet I stay anywhere else on the Broads with no problem, my daughter who knew nothing about haunted places on the Broads, wouldn't go anywhere near St Benets and can't stay on Hoveton little Broad, we often take friends out with us and some have remarked how they don't feel right at certain places, only last year we took a couple of the wifes friends out, we stopped off to show them the Eel catchers cottage at How Hill, one got as far as the door and said there's no way I'm going in there, there's something bad in there, though I have never heard of it being haunted or bad stuff happening there, I know the power of suggestion can have an effect and that if you say somewhere is haunted the chances are that someone will feel it as well, but that never explains how people that know nothing about a place can get that feeling and see things without a word being said, I believe in the unexplained not Ghost and spirits as such, but I do wonder that if something bad happens somewhere, does the fabric on the building or place kind of hold the memory like a recording that only certain people can pick up on, I've had too many things happen for me to say it's all rubbish and every time something has happened I go into logical mode and try to work out an answer, but there are things I just can't explain and the go in my X-File,, Frank,,,

Iain! do they still have those?? I havn't seen a proper Offy in years, Frank,,,

I think there's a clue there somewhere if you look at what goes missing! Frank,,,

Mmmm! make of this what you will! it's worth reading the whole thing, but from page 8 on the reading gets interesting, with comments about the Sanford principle and ones like the comment below, I know it says a debating point, but most of us know what the RSPB are after,, http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/A%20greener%20future%20for%20the%20Broads_tcm9-171522.pdf Debating point: do we waste money on dredging Broadland rivers? Hundreds of thousands of pounds are spent on dredging Broadland waterways, to enable vessels drawing a metre or more to move safely. Many of these are diesel-powered – outdated, fossil-fuel burning, 20th century technology. Traditional Broadland wherries were working vessels able to carry tons of materials along undredged, shallow, reed-fringed rivers. Should we learn from the past for a more sustainable future? Why not combine the flat-bottomed wherry design with an electric engine?

Robin! that one is quite common and usually turns out to be a Swan or Goose pecking the algi off the boat, I've had a couple of strange ones, once years ago we were moored at the river end of Thurn Dyke, several times during the night I got woken by someone walking along a gravel path, I just thought fishermen or late back from the pub but it went on right through the night, it was only in the morning while sitting in the rear cockpit have a cuppa I had a good moan to Judi about it, she said she had heard nothing, then pointed out there was no gravel path there only grass, Now for my haunted boat! yup! I kid you not I'm convinced it was haunted, but in a nice way, strange things always happened on Blue mist, we would go shopping and come back to cupboard doors open that had locking catches on, things would be in a different place to where we left them, it got to the stage where I'd say to Judi George is about again, but the strangest thing of all was we were based at Wayford at the time and everytime we crossed Barton my boat would cut out at exactly the same spot every time by the Island, If I went around the other side of it it would be fine, we would go out for a week or two and it would never cut out, but on the return trip it would cut out again, as soon as I restarted it, it would be fine, once I waited for it to cut out which it did I restarted it, went around the island agian and it cut out in exactly the same spot, I got in the habit of going around the other side of the Island and it never cut out once, but one day on a race day I had to go on the inside! Yup! you guessed it cut out, we never worked out why it did it at that spot, the boat Came from the Thames straight to me on Broads, perhaps George took a shine to us and our boat and moved in, I never belived in Ghost or Spirits until I got a boat on the Broads, there are just too many strange things that have happened now for me to say they don't exist, the main Broad at Barton spooks me out that much I won't stay there overnight, I always get the feeling I'm being watched and whatever it is dosn't like me, I can't explain as the only thing that scares me is Judi, but there is something about Barton,, Griff! you mention St Benets my Daughter has had several incidences there that can't be explained, somewhere she has a photo taken late at night with what looks like someone standing in that window/door thing half way up, I'll see if she still has it,,, Frank,,,,

Peter! your only trying to make the rest of them Jealous, you know we have our own micro climate here in Oulton/Lowestoft, I actually saw a snowflake last week, apart from a few windy days I think the weather has been fine here so far, I don't think it's even been that cold here this year and I've actually been been working on my boat all through this winter and had a few nice days out, Nice and sunny here today, I've even been out shopping without a coat, off to do a bit more work on the boat tomorrow as it's going sunny again, but I won't rub it in, just saying,, Frank,,,,

Iain! I've never been a fan of Bosch stuff, never had anything of theirs that lasted very long, when doing site work I used a lot of Dewalt but they got rubbish when the got bought out, so I went over to Festool very good if not the best but far too expensive and always getting stolen, I ended up buying Lidls Parkside tools because being cheap I thought if they got stolen it wouldn't cost a fortune to replace, I could buy 10 of their drills for the price of the Festool, my biggest suprise was that they out lasted all the Dewalt, Makitta and Panasonic tools I'd used in the past, I'm so impressed with them Lidls Parkside are about the only powertools I use now, I even bought the Multi tool a couple of months ago so I have two now, shame it wasn't out when I needed one, the only downside is getting spares, can't find battery's for them, and palm sanding sheets are near imposible to find unless in a mixed set, I just adapt others, I actually have a 12v drill I bought from them around 15 years ago along with two spare battery's and it's still going strong, for any DIYer they are ideal, just remember if it's a sander to stock up when they come in, they are good tools and better still cheap,,, Frank,,,

One of the best ways of getting old vinyl up I've found is using a multi tool with the scraper blade,if you take your time you can get up most of the adhesive as well, I've owned a few now and by far the best for me is the one below I'm using now, A couple of people in the marina saw me removing Altro vinyl in my last boat and asked if they could borrow it, big mistake as when I got it back I used it twice and the motor burnt out, it was a rather expensive Bosch one, the second one I lent to my son in law who's a carpet and Vinyl fitter and he burnt that out in a week, I then thought as they don't last long go cheap and bought the Draper one I think I only paid £39.00 for it, I've now had it over a year, taken Vinyls up, Tiles up, tiles off walls, used it on the boat loads of times, I'm well impressed, you may think it's a lot of money to take a bit of glue up, but I've lost count of the other uses like flush cutting pipes and fittings, cutting holes for sockets without having to remove half the boat, cutting access panel, detail sanding, it's endless and has paid for itself many times over,, Frank,,,,

Polly! not only are they great for cleaning windows, they are great on tiles, worktops, mirrors, shower screens, I use mine on my car windows and on the boat, I have the Karcher one but looking at the aldi one it does the same job,, Frank,,,

Griff! I read that PTG post and it cracked me up, it's a situation you could actually imagine someone doing, and it's nice that someone has injected a bit of humour, Clive! at least your a nice Plonker, I just thought I'd take the opportunity to have a bash at you while your on a roll, I didn't want to miss out,,

Criticism! no I never do that! I don't need to everyone already knows I'm better than them and know everything, I'll tell you straight it's hard work being perfect like me,, Frank,,,,