Mowjo

And just how much of those stick boats are original??? there might be a plank or two but I'll bet most of them have been restored using modern methods and timber from B&Q! just moor one of them next to my plastic pig for a few hundred years and we'll see which one survives, the only reason most of them exist is to keep unemployment down, just think of all those unemployed tradesmen that would be out of work, not much call for ships carpenters at the local job centres, facts are facts and Plastic Pigs will outlive stick boats every time, and lets face it when buying a boat we all look at stick boats and think! that's nice and with a bit of work that could be a beauty, but it will take me years to do and I'll have to sell the house to do it! with a plastic pig, you look at and just think that'll do, so we keep the economy moving and keeping brokers employed, I'm saying nothing but! to get my boat up to Judi and my standards has probably cost me 7k, mentioning no names Griff! a while ago I heard you had spent 60k getting BA up to yours, and from reading your threads you have spent a lot more since, my plastic pig is probably 20% wood, yours has taken a whole forest, that makes me a conservationist as well as a history maker,, Frank,,,,

Hey Strowy! "Bio-degradable" does that mean they go in the Green Bin?? at least my Plastic Pig will live on for ever even if it is in a landfill somewhere! in a thousand years a new version of Tony Robinson will dig up a little bit of GRP and my little brass nameplate that says "Re-Furbished by Mowjo 2014" and I'll be on a Time Team Special while they try and work out who the hell I was, people like Griff create a bit of beauty for a few years, people like us with Plastic Pigs are creating history for future generations, OK i'll get my coat,,,, Mow,,,,,

That's not true Jenny, if that was the case they would be called KIDS, I know my boat is cheaper to maintain than they are,, It's quite interesting looking up why things on boats are know by a certain name, thing like Poop decks have nothing to do with Poop yet Heads do, I wonder if that's where the term S**t head came from?? Jenny we'll only tell them the real reason boats are called she if someone asks, I wondered a while back and the reason was quite interesting, Frank,,,

Oh and the best type of skippers? - is a Skipper that never has to prove how good he/she is! We had one at Wroxham this weekend on the 24hr Mooring, nice boat called Carousel, Nice young Lady sees a space and starts to reverse in, not much wind but just enough to blow her off course twice, other half appears shouting at her you havn't got a bloody clue and takes the helm, six goes later we all wondering if he was mooring next to us or on the other bank, Pigs ears didn't come into it, at one point we thought he was trying to come in sideways, Chris on the boat next to me tries to help him by shouting directions, only to be told I've done this loads of times and don't need you interfering, he would have made it as well if he was ten feet to starboard instead of reversing into another boat, next try he's ten feet Port and hits that boat, by this time there's five experienced boaters telling him what do, the rest of us were just cracking up including his other half who was standing at the rear door crying with laughter, she manages to say to him listen to them they know what they are doing, shout goes out F*****g boat if you think you can do any better get up here and do it, I think us lot shouting she couldn't do any worse did the trick and up she goes, and off he goes, coming in nicely but a bit off course, suddenly ole smart a**e here remembers that the RC 45's have bow and stern thrusters, I pass this info onto Doug who knows how they work, two minutes later she in, in one perfect maneuver, us being all gentlemen gave her a round of applause, we! well I mainly made a meal of things by winding him up every chance I could by telling him how good his wife was at mooring, much to the amusement of the others that were egging me on, Chris started singing With a little help from my Friends which resulted in about six of us serenading him, I don't know who laughed the hardest us or his other half, but I think we have a friend for life with her, unfortunately in any funny situation I'm as much use as a chocolate teapot and I swear on Sunday at Wroxham I melted,,, Frank,,,

Griff! I'm more used to seeing you on the other side that's why I never noticed you here! I told Judi years ago I was getting a Woody and she got all excited, when I explained it was a boat she slapped me, that's why I stick to plastic boats now,, Frank,,,,

As Judi Can't swim she's not allowed out when mooring up and never when we are moving, so I do it all, I have ropes all the way from the bow to the stern so I can just step off with the ropes, when coming into moor up I wing it and if I get it wrong I pretend I meant to do it so Judi and those watching don't laugh and think I'm good at it, it's a shame you can't see me moor up or stern on moor when there's no-one around I do it perfectly every time, why does that happen?? just a hint of someone watching and it all goes wrong,, Frank,,,,

Blimey Griff where did you sneak in from??? Yea! but your a bit anal with everything to do with BA, mine have all been plastic so it doesn't count,, but I did find this and as BA is older than the Ark I'll concede, but I'm still right because yours is a Boat not a Ship! The galley is the kitchen of the ship. The best explanation as to its origin is that it is a corruption of "gallery". Ancient sailors cooked their meals on a brick or stone gallery laid amidships, Here's something I bet you all wondered about! why is a boat called a boat?? " The origin of the word " boat " is probably to be looked for in the corruption of. bat = a stem, a stick, a piece of wood. the term in its inception referred to the material of which the primitive vessel was constructed, and in this respect may well be contrasted with the word " ship," of which the primary idea was the process by which the material was fashioned and adapted for the use of man. " In other words Griff you just own a pile of sticks whereas mine is genuine Plastic Frank,,,,,

Of course it has! 30 years of owning boats, it's still a kitchen, the boat has a back and a pointy end, a left and a right, a boat bottom and boat top, mine has a bog and shower, a front cabin (I do call some thing by there right names) and a back bedroom, and to make it even worse I often park the boat instead of mooring it, and not only that a Galley isn't on a boat it is a boat I looked on Wiki, Hey! that's good it means that for once I've actually been right about something,, A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by rowing. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft and low clearance between sea and railing. Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used in favorable winds, but human strength was always the primary method of propulsion. This allowed galleys freedom to move independently of winds and currents, and with great precision. The galley originated among the seafaring civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea in the early first millennium BC and remained in use in various forms until the early 19th century in warfare, trade and piracy. Frank,,,,,

Iain! I seem to have less time now I have retired, my problem is I've always enjoyed working with my hands, I love it when I get quotes for stuff and then do it myself for a fraction of the cost, like getting a total repaint on Crackers quoted around 4.5k and did it myself for less than £500 that was with three under coats and three top coats and three coats of anti foul, what made it even sweeter was the yard that quoted the price saw it and admitted they couldn't have done a better job, but that's where I'm lucky being retired I have plenty of time to do things like that, on my Daughters boat I've just made her a complete new kitchen, re made all new doors and rebuilt the front bunks, all I left them was the staining and varnishing, I love messing about with wood it's the feeling of taking a few sticks and a bit of ply and turning it into something nice, every boat I've owned I've virtually re built the inside of including complete re wires, I always say there's nothing I can't do! just things I havn't tried yet, I still have no idea about diesel or modern engines, but give me an old petrol engine a packet of fag papers and a half inch spanner and I'll get it going, I'm reading Manuals about my 1.5 BMC's and reckon I can get by, but they still scare me hence it cost me £600 for new bits to be fitted to Crackers only after watching the mechanic fit them did I realise it was a job I could have done and saved a fortune in labour charges, but hey! that's life at least I'll know if I ever need to do it again,,, Frank,,,,,

I'm old school! Judi stands in the rear door giving directions when stern on mooring, the trouble is if she says go left a bit I have to do the reverse, because as she facing out the back door and I'm facing forward her left is my right, it was real fun when we first got the boat but after a lot of swearing and me telling her to get out the B****Y way we got the hang of it, now it's me that sometimes forget to reverse things so it's me that gets called an idiot and sworn at,,, Frank,,,,,

Ok! if you look at the for sales you will see I'm selling Crackers, but don't panic we will be buying something else were just not sure what yet, so your stuck with me, people have said I'm mad selling her because of the work and money we have spent on her, but we just feel it's time for a change, Crackers is the sixth boat I've owned and every one has been done to a high standard, Judi says I'm too much of a perfectionist because if I'm not happy with something I will rip it out and start again, if it sells I'll probably be looking for an Elysian, Seamaster or Freeman 23 as long as I can find a diesel one, so keep your eyes out for me, I don't want to pay a lot for it as long as the engine is good and the outside isn't too bad, I'd probably end up rebuilding the inside anyway, but you all know what it's like! you just seem to get a feel for a boat when buying it, so I could end up with anything, anyway that's just an update in case anyone is thinking I'm giving up my boats and the Broads, I'm not! your stuck with me,,,, Frank,,,,,

Alan! the TV is not for me, it's for the OH and her soaps, like you I take a stack of DVD's, I'm also a people watcher and it's funny just watching people, sometimes it's better than live comedy, the actual Horning mooring I've only managed to get on once this year and that was early season, I usually get on the 24hr Ferry Inn mooring, that can get hilarious watching across to the Pub, there must be something going on there that blocks signals it's weird, the only other place I ever get a problem is the Railway mooring at Wroxham and that's only if I get too near the power lines,,,, Frank,,,,,

Roy! we never had any newspapers left, every Sunday afternoon it was my job to tear it up into squares and thread it on string, saving a couple of pages that I had to tear into strips to make spills to light the range and gas lights, and black lead the range with Zebo, only then would Dad give me my Tanner pocket money,, I can't imagine my Daughter or Grandkids ever doing that, ask them to change a toilet roll and you would think you'd asked them donate a Kidney,, Frank,,,,

I take two of everything just in case! plus a box of stuff I think I won't need just in case I need it, I have one cup that's the only one I'll use, Tea and Coffee in other cups just don't taste the same, and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that collects Micro Fibre cloths, but mine have to be the large ones, that I buy in packs of six or ten, drives Judi mad because she says why don't you just take them home and wash them, plus I always keep two little hiking compasses on board, to line up the TV aerial after I found that if I point it between 230 and 240 Degrees I can get a picture anywhere on the Broads apart from Horning, never worked out why but I can't get TV, Mobile or Internet there,, Frank,,,

Mmm! cold beds! Housebrick in the oven for an hour, wrap in an old towel, put in bed and Presto! nice toasty bed, Aw! come on all you old farts remember your Mum doing this before the invention of Rubber water bottles, I remember because one winters day I dropped the dam thing on my toe breaking it,,,,, Frank,,,,,

Eee by Gum! when I were a lad we were so poor we got Grandad to suck a Polo Mint and we all sat around him to keep warm! never done Christmas on the Broads but done plenty of winter stays, first on my list is heat saver socks, I find if my feet are warm the rest of me is as well, I use a sleeping bag but it's only 400gsm, keeps me warm but if you feel the cold get a winter one, also there are a lot more electric points now so I'd take a heater, I carry a little skirting heater, it's only 500 watts but if left on all night it's enough to take the chill out of the air, and I also take a fan heater for the evenings, my latest addition is one of those Karcher window Vacs, brilliant for getting the condensation off the windows in the morning or any time come to that, Jude and me have separate bunks on the boat, me in the front and her in the back bunk, I can't deal with all that climbing over each other in the night, she feels the cold more than me so she also takes an extra lightweight Duvet to put over her if it get sub zero, Frank,,,

Mick you should have gone to Spec savers, OooH sorry I meant Lathams, the do two of the big instant BBQ's for £5.00, nice vid though,, Frank,,,,

I've always used the cheapest bog roll I can find, we ran out once and bought some good stuff, never again! instant blockage and then a few more, as we were in Wroxham I went into Roys and bought their cheap stuff and still use cheap stuff and never had a blockage since, if you actually read the Jabsco instructions it does tell you to use basic cheap bog roll,,, Frank,,,,

Peter! Gracie is Blonde! now one of us will have to explain your comment to her,, I'm Off!

As someone that often cruises at night or at the crack of dawn I have been known and seen in just my undercrackers, but nude cruise Oh no! things have been known to get caught in the prop, we did pass a boat last year on the way to Coltishal that had two very well endowed older ladies bathing topless on the roof, odd thing was no-one even noticed until I mentioned I'd never seen a boat with pink fenders, I think my grandkids are scared for life now,,, Frank,,,,

If anyone does speak to him, tell him Mow said he's sorry but he's away to London this weekend, and I'll catch him later,

Your Right Gracie! but I do think Alan would look better in a Blue Dress not the Black one,,,

Strow! nice new vinyl wrap and a day moored at Ludham bridge, lots of patches methinks, Frank,,,,

The Aussies and Kiwi's have been have been doing it for years, And I believe Clive Richo's themed boat is Vinyl wrapped, Personally I don't think I'd do it on the Broads at least with paint or Gel coat you can repair it, not so sure about the Vinyl,, Frank,,,,

Alan, I read an artical about so called mutant Rats that are imune to all the common Rat poisons, and Norfolk was well up the list for then, i,ll see if I can find it again but i,m sure it was something like 70% of the rats here are mutant ones, with all this new rubbish and the way they breed, it,s not going to be funny, a mature female can produce 2000 baby,s a year,,,