Mowjo

John! we still have our mooring in Broadsedge, we spoke to David before we sold Crackers and told him with luck it should only be a couple of weeks before we got another boat, hopefully we should be back there next weekend as long as Jon gets the problem sorted with the Engine mounts,, Frank,,,,

Trevor! I don't have a clue about it! all I know is it's a great big black thing, like 18in x 12in with two sockets and looks pretty new, it will be coming off the boat I don't like them and in thirty years I've never had a use for one, it will be carefully removed and sold as soon as I actually get the boat, I'll have a better look when we pick it up from Jon he has the engine mount to do for the owner and once done and paid Jon will be steam cleaning the bilges, it's not that bad but too dirty for me , I'm hoping Jon will get it sorted this week but I may have to bring it back for the steam clean,, Frank,,,,

Iain! I can't be sure, others might know but I don't think Dawncraft were anything like Seamasters, somewhere in the back of my noodle says that they were originally narrow beam and designed for the canals, as far as I can remember when Seamaster went out of production around 1980 some of the ex employees started Viking cruisers and then the moulds were bought by Viking Cruisers and they still used the hull mould until recently, I think the Elysian Bounty used the same 27 hull mould as well, I'll have to look up the History of Seamasters when I get a chance, It's weird my boats come and go and I feel nothing, apart from happy when I make a profit on them, but the two Seamasters I've had I was really sad to see go, at the rate I'm going I should be able to work my way right through the range,, Frank,,,,,

I have a soft spot for them Leo! my first boat was a little Shetland with an outboard, my second what I call a proper boat was a Seamaster Cadet, I lived in London then and it took me four years to rebuild her, the only original bit in her was the Cabin front bunk dividing wall, it had lots of glass and a sliding door, when everyone first saw her and me being pretty new to boats they all said I couldn't do it, that's the worst thing you can say to me, it's in my nature to prove people wrong when they tell me that! Then I had an 18ft Stewart Stevens Weekender then a Freeman 23 after that a Seamaster 813 The Crackers the Hampton 25, now hopefully I'm on Number seven a Seamaster 27

Number 2 Iain! I believe the one in the first pic is the Seamaster 813, I had one before Crackers, spent a year working on it, then sold it because we had the Café, and working seven days a week it never got used, the plan was sell it and hire for a couple of weeks a year, three months after selling her (Whitestar) we had a Brainfart and sold the Café, I was gutted I loved that boat,,, if you look at the photo bucket link at the bottom you can see some of the work I did to her,,, Frank,,,,

Thanks Mark! still not sure what way to go, we only really use hot water to wash up, we use marinas showers when we are out, we managed for years with just the kettle, guess it comes down to if I have any money left after fixing up the new boat,, Gracie I did it again today, over the last few days I've looked at around twenty boats, some I didn't even get on to look at, some I got on and just said Nah! this morning Jon took us to see this Seamaster 27 and I looked across the Marina looked at Judi and said that's my new boat, that was without even setting foot on it, I'm sure some people think I'm mad when I say the boat will just feel right and you'll know it's the one, Steve and Debs, I'm pretty sure the same thing will happen with you with knowing the right boat for you, but one thing I doand I'm on boat number 7 now, I look at a few boats first and try and work out a rough cost of what it'll cost me to get it how I want, so say they are 5k boats and need a new cooker and fridge, that will cost another 1k for decent kit, that will make that 5k boat a 6k boat, so what I do next is look at 6k boats, it doesn't always work but I can honestly say that extra 1k can buy you a whole different class of boat, most cheap boats are cheap for a reason I've found, unless you come across that needle in the haystack one, Frank,,,

Plus! if you buy it here it will most likely be listed on Craigs database, so you can roughly see how many owners it's had and previous names,, Leo! I actually thought that myself, the Stern just looked odd, everything I've seen has been outboard of those leg things, as for the BSS, yes it will be valid but Steve will need to watch out for the toilet, if it isn't Porta Potty coming from the Thames or Cambridge it will more likely have a Sea toilet because they are Tidal,and not a holding tank, not a big deal but if your not aware of it and get caught using it he could end up in deep Doo Doo, Mark! a question! are you saying it's just a matter of fitting a Calorifier and a few pipes and pump, the new/old boat I'm in the process of buying has no hot water, it has one of those gas water heaters that's seen better days, I wanted to have hot water until I was told I needed a heat exchanger on the engine, when I worked out I would be looking at around £1500 with the price of a heat exchanger, I thought the kettle looked a better option

Steve! this may be a daft question! but if you want to keep it on the Broads why not buy one here??? this time of year plenty of nice boats come up for sale! you may even find a different make of boat you like,,, Frank,,,,

Ah Ha! I told you! you can't get rid of me that easily, I'm in the process of buying another boat, it's a Seamaster 27, I just love them! Jon has to do a bit of work on the engine before we complete as on tickover there's a nasty noise, Jon reckons it's a loose engine mount of it may be one or two need replacing, but the guy selling will be paying for it before we complete the sale, so if the engine doesn't purr like a rough old diesel, no sale, it needs a lot of love to bring it back but it's mostly cosmetic stuff like re-varnishing, and a few bits of woodwork replacing, but in my eyes nothing major, and the best bit is it's all original Gel coat and in good condition which tells me it's never been on the hire fleet, I'm already worried as it has a cooker on it that looks like it's never been used, Judi wants a new one, the fridge is something else, looks like something died in there, Judi wants a new one, The cooker is good so will be going up for sale, the fridge will get skipped, it also has the biggest invertor I've ever seen it must be 18in by 12in, I reckon the whole marina runs off it, it's pretty new but I don't like them so that will go up for sale, so far Judi has spent, I should say plans to spend £1600, and that's without anything I need, honestly new curtains, new carpets, new helm seats, and I bet she moans when I spend £60 on varnish, anyway all be well we should complete later in the weeks once Jon sorts her out, the boat that is not the wife, Judi is busy making a list of jobs for me, and it's an I want list not we should list, luckily I got more for my boat than I though and this one was quite a good price, so at least I have a boat kitty for this one,,, Frank,,,

Griff Qualifies on the grounds he helps maintain and enhance the environment and heritage of the area. his boat is made from sticks and if left they would clog up the rivers, Frank,,,,

Mine was around 1983, my brother was the manager at Wayford Marina at the time, he had invited us up from London for a weekend out on his boat, when we arrived at Wayford I asked Mike the owner where he was! he said he's round the back of the shed bailing a boat out, around the back we go and there was my brother and a young lad called Ady with buckets bailing out a big open work boat, but not a drop of water in sight, as usual I cracked up and said what the hell are you doing?? only to be told the gas bottle had leaked and the boat was full of gas and they were bailing it out, this made things worse for me and things like mental, nutters and loonys went through my mind, these are my kind of people I thought, I had no idea that the gas was heavier than air and sat in the bottom of boats, most of the people I met that day (I'm being polite here) were a bit eccentric to say the least, definitely my kind of people, well off we went down the Ant, I fell in love with it totally especially Hunset Mill, we got back Sunday lunchtime and by Sunday teatime I had bought my own boat, a little Shetland called Tyke, over the next couple of weeks I did a bit of work on it when the sister ship to my brothers boat came in, I had to have it, I sold the Shetland back to Mike for £500 more that I paid him for it, but came away with a Seamaster MkII Cadet my favourite out of all the boats I've owned, but 6k lighter in my pocket, I really can't imagine life without a boat or the Broads,, Frank,,,,,

Cor! all these new fangled phones, mines a ten year old steam driven Vodaphone thingy on pay as you go that I rarely turn on, in all that time I've only used £15 credit, well not I! the wife uses it if hers runs out, I think I've only sent about 8 texts because I never take my reading glasses so can't see to send them, so why do I have one I hear you ask, well I use it as an alarm clock to remind me it's time to take my pills, I knew I'd find a use for it eventually, I'm phonaphobic I hate them, if the home phone rings I call Judi or ignore it, on the rare occasion I have answered it, I just say "WHAT" Frank,,,

We're on the lookout now Dave! had a look at a few today, two we phoned to see and were told they were beauty's, think they should have gone to Spec Savers one looked like they used a broom to paint it, the other two were 10 and 11k but probably needed another 3k spending on them just to make them half decent, off to St Olaves tomorrow to look at a couple, still have my mooring so I'm in no real hurry, this time of year people will start selling so it's just a matter of waiting for the right one to pop up,, Frank,,,,,

OK! I forgot something! I'm now boat less but looking for another one, If anyone hears of a Nice Elysian 27, Seamaster 27 or Freeman 26, let me know, had a look at a couple in Horning and Potter but wasn't impressed, if I can get something private it would be better as most brokers take a big chunk of the owners sale price so I feel I can get more boat for my bucks, I must add here, I was more than happy with Jons Commission,

Just want to say a big thanks to Jon at Wayford, he sold my boat Crackers in just two days at near the asking price, I had my doubt's when he said it would go quickly, but I take it all back, he's a great bloke to deal with and tells it how it is with no Bull, and I like dealing with people like that, so once again thanks Jon not forgetting Mike, you've both been a pleasure to deal with and I'd recommend you to anyone,, Frank & Judi,,,,

Hi Steve! that would be David you spoke to, if your around have a look at Broadsedge, I'm pretty sure you and Deb would love it, but I'm biased, David would try and fit you in on a temp basis, but now it's getting to the time of year where people sell up or move on, so a permanent could come up quickly, and once your in you'll get priority, Frank,,,,,

Griff! he's after a Plastic Pig not a Woody, a wise man once said to me! why do you want all those gadgets on a boat? keep it basic there's less to go wrong and you'll never use or need half of them anyway! Yup! Jason gave me some good advice, I think that B.O.A.T thing only applies if you buy all your stuff from the Swindlers, everything I buy comes from tinternet, I learnt that a long time ago when I went in a well known Swindlers to buy a SS Fairlead, they wanted £15 each, I bought two exactly the same from tinternet under £5 each Freepost, anyway your just trying to scare people off buying boats so you have the Broads all to yourself, you already take up half of them with that Stick boat of yours,, Frank,,,

Steve! a lot depends on what you want from a mooring, Jons is nice but what I call a working yard, if your coming down and going out it's fine but not the sort of yard you might want to just spend the weekend sitting in, but he is one of the cheaper ones, we moor at Broadsedge and will often spend a whole week in the yard because it has lots of grass and there's always other about, next door you have Broadsgate all very basic but cheapish, Richardsons as well, about the same price as ours, but personally too crowded for me, my advice is decide where you want to be on the Broads, North or South and visit as many Marinas as you can, you will get the feel for the one you want to moor in and what you want from it, Personally I would never moor anywhere else other than Broadsedge but that could be because we have been there a long time and know lots of the others there, but if as you say your just looking for a basic mooring Jon at Wayford is a good bet and the run from there up to the main river is one of the best parts of the Broads, if you stay away from places like Horning you should even get a bit of change from your £180, I'm a Freeman fan so I'm always looking at them and there are some nice ones for sale at the moment for not a lot of money, but try and hang on for a diesel one unless you like having to carry Jerry cans around, I think the only petrol around now is from Garages, the cost of running a boat depends on many things, personally I don't think it's that expensive and we are on a tight budget, we worked out our Hampton 25 cost us under 2k a year to run, that's for river tax, insurance, moorings, diesel, a yearly service, that's with 114 days out on her this year but we live fairly local, your biggest expense will be your traveling to and from the boat and it's often the reason a lot of people end up selling their boats or not using them much, apart from the cost of running one you have to factor in the cost of the traveling, as nice as it is owning your own boat if your only going to use it for the odd weekend you would probably be better off hiring, the 2k a year just to own it would get you a couple of weeks of hire, plus you have to factor in the cost of buying one and all the traveling to it, the best bit about owning your own is you have it 52 weeks of the year, but again you have to get the use out of it to justify the cost of owning one,,, Frank,,,,,

Lowestoft is the gateway to the Southern Broads, so Yarmouth must be the gateway to the Northern Broads,

Bill! I've met Clive so I'm pleading the 5th

You should have stopped in for a Cuppa Bill, we don't bite, Frank,,,,

Finny! so far all of my last six boats have been sold through brokers, the longest took a week, the shortest was four hours, I tend to do a lot of research and looking at boats before I come up with a price I'm happy with taking into account their commission, apart from my old Freeman 23 most times, I'm told you'll be pushing it to get that, the Freeman they priced at 2k more than I thought I'd get, but everyone sold and made me a nice profit, I usually use the same broker and we know them quite well now, so when I look at their boats they are honest with me, and have even phoned me out of the blue to tell me they have a nice one in that would suit me, a couple of times this year they have asked if I wanted to sell mine and buy something, I think they like mine because they tend to sell quickly, the only reason I havn't used them this time is their commission is quite high and when you think all they do is take a few pictures, put it on their site and a few I could put it on for free they don't really do much to earn it, I don't begrudge anyone making a few bob, but for what they do for it seems a bit greedy, this time I've gone with a different one at 2% lower so we'll see how good they are, luckily I'm in no rush to sell her so if it takes too long I'll just keep her for another couple of years, it's just now she's all done I'll have nothing to do, and as I love messing about, changing things and getting it the way I want I'm going to get bored and drive Judi mad,,, Frank,,,,

You could also try ASAP they do quite a few spares for BMC's Frank,,,,

Mmmm! Kia Soul ll I have one and love it, Full service £160, two front tyres (The Kia kills them) £90, Audi A6 Jude's brother has one, front light bulb £160 I kid you not, £120 for bulb £40 fitting, I some special Xenon or something like that,four new tyres, £900, had my Kia three years and not one problem, Jude's Brother Audi A6 same three years and it's been in the dealers at least three time for repairs and it always cost him at least £400, think I'll stick with my Kia, not to go off topic, boat engines! yep I have one on my boat 1.5 BMC 37 years old and it still purrs like a kitten, because it's been serviced ever year and looked after, when I'm out looking at boats the first thing I look at is the engine it's a good indicator of how well the boat has been looked after, I'm honestly amazed at the state of some engines, boat immaculate on the outside and inside but the Engines look like they havn't been touched since the boat was built, when I lift the engine hatch even Judi says Fur Coat and no Knickers if it's a rough one,, Frank,,,,,

Just a little update! as some of you know Crackers is up for sale and some of you saw the price I was asking, the price came about because a very well know Brokers valued it at 22k plus, and I thought it was usual broker bull to get me to sell the boat via them, so my plan was to sell it privately at a bit less, and if it didn't sell I'd put it with the broker, we were out and about looking at boats trying to see what's out there and what we like, we now have it down to three makes, Elysian 27, Seamaster 27 or 813, or Freeman 26, so far we have both fallen in love with the Freeman 26's but it's going to be finding the right one, Sunday we saw a 26 for sale so popped in to look it over, nice boat but needs a bit of work but we can't do anything until ours sells, got talking to the yard owner about selling ours, he already knew the price we were selling it for but said he would like to see it as everyone thinks their boats are worth more than they really are, Monday he turns up with his valuer and they both tell me the boat is under priced and gave me the same valuation as the other broker, and he shouldn't have any trouble selling it for that, he didn't know I'd been given the 22k plus price by the other broker, normally I would have stuck with my original price, but the difference in my value to theirs isn't just a few hundred it's a few thousand, someone on here said don't under sell your boat, I did! and if it gets anywhere near the new asking price it will give me a bit more to buy a new one, and as we all know even a extra 1k can buy you a whole different boat,,, Frank,,,,,,,,