brandenjg

I originally advertised it as a mirror but was told via email it was infact an optimist, then something else, then something else. So I've gone for simply calling it a dinghy :-D

Hi forumites, I've got a wooden sailing boat for sale with trailer. £350 All info is through the gumtree link. Thanks for looking. Branden http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/sailing-dinghy-boat-on-trailer-ready-to-go/1048960833

If you want a very cheap alternative you could try my method of ballast. 15kg play sand from argos £3. I've got 2 bags either side inside a couple dry bags. Branden

I've been through to the end of navigation and i can say that there are No Public Moorings, that's not to say that theres nowhere to moor. If anyone does plan a trip along, be aware that if you go further than premiere inn there isnt any good turning points and youll hit a dead end just past the cock bridge ( i think thats the name of it). Brandenjg

Mines an unusual story so I'll keep it short and sweet. 1 boat, 1 hat, 1 gust of wind, 1 20 stone friend. Whilst holidaying on the broads about 3 years ago, I decided to venture to the rear (bath tub) of the boat for a cigarette when a gust of wind blew my hat clean in the water. We put the boat in neutral and my mate gavin leant over to grab it. As he's a larger gentleman, once the tipping point was reached, sure enough he went a*se over t*t straight off the back of the boat in february waters. With 5 of us aboard we still couldnt pull him back on so ended up towing him on a rope to land. After climbing through the reeds we eventually got him aboard, bloodied and to this day scarred. Things could of gone alot worse but with a cup of tea and a warm blanket even my m8 was laughing. To this day the hat sits on my bedroom wall :-D

Its amazing what people have on their boats. Turns out a pot I'd been using as an ash tray is actually worth a few bob. My cupboards were full when I bought the boat as the previous owner said he never ate on the boat so didn't use the galley equipment. It wasn't till I got the whole lot home for cleaning that I realised they were all fine china £££. Attached is a photo of the royal doulton section of it.. enjoy

I would say I definitely did. Overall my favourite part of having the boat was working on it. After a few hundred hours use including fishing trips, weekends away and many a night with friends I would say I got my moneys worth. The new project has 5'7 inside height and at 5'7 myself, I can just about stand up straight. Beth (my fiancé) is a short ass at 4ft10 so plenty of walking room. This was the only issue with my last boat as taller people couldn't sit upright in the cabin. It might be worth a mention that I've also got a Mirror Sailing Dinghy (completed) that's sitting in my garden So I have 3 boats and a canoe at the minute

Hello forumites, it's been a while since I last posted. For those that don't remember me, I'm very much a skinflint who prefers to get hands on with everything. I was saving for a larger boat but due to new priorities ( my recent engagement) I decided to go for convenience. Therefore my new boat is a Dawncraft Dandy bought from the mooring next to mine :-D It's currently in what I would call a working outdated condition. The restoration/fixing up has begun with the carpets being ripped off the walls and floor, the gas systems removed and a quick rewire of the electrics. The jobs to do will range from insulating the hull and walls then panelling over top, flooring, replacing gas systems, new windscreen, cushions, curtains to blinds or window tint, whole exterior pressure washed, top polished/buffed, hull antifouled Etc etc etc. As you can tell it should be a fun one so i will update with pictures throughout the stages but please bare with me as after taking more hours on at work i only get a handfull of hours a month to get down the boat. Wish me luck Kind regards Branden

Its been moored near the 24hour moorings at the frostbite sailing club for quite a while now. The owners seem to be slowly converting it into a cabin cruiser. Branden

I always tend to think the worst of boaters who aren't curtious towards moored boats so when something gets stolen and i see a speeding boat, my mind puts the 2 together.

When was is stolen and where from. Wasn't last night by any chance? I ask because there was a very stupid private boat owner speeding around the norwich area around 9pm. Branden

Alternative use, tie a small magnet on the end and use it to retrieve keys and tools that get dropped in the water ;-)

THREAD HIJACK Rather than posting a new topic i thought i'd post this here. I got a new fishing gadget a couple days ago and it's definately a must have addition so i thought i'd share my experience. It's called a yo yo fishing reel. In essence it's a survivalist tool designed to be set up and left, when a fish gets hooked the reel will reel the fish in automatically. Now to some, that may sound like it takes the fun out of fishing, but how i used it definately made my day out more enjoyable. As you can set it up in advance ( mine with artifical maggots on the hook) as soon as you get to the fishing spot you can have a line in the water while you set up the main rods. By adjusting the tension of the yoyo, rather than reeling the fish all the way in automatically, you can give yourself time to stop setting up equipment and go reel in by hand. The reason i like the yoyo is because it fits in the pocket, is cheap as chips and because i caught a lovely little perch within a minute of arriving. Later in the day with no luck on the float rod i went back to the yoyo and preceded to catch more roach so on the day, a £5 yoyo reel outfished a £90 rod set up.

I have to admit it seems redundant to get an inboard with an outdrive. Yes i should of mentioned in the first post that i'd prefer an unfinished boat as my favourite part of boating is all the finishing jobs. If it floats has all the cushions and engine runs smooth all the rest can be done by me. Well except for gas and some electrical work :-P The seamaster is already on my list along with the elysian, a viking, a princess, buckingham 25 and an atlanta 24 so theres certainly a good selection out there. I find the seamaster name a bit misleading as i can't see the 25 being too safe at sea :-D Can i ask why you prefer inboards over outboards? Thanks in advance Branden :-P

Thanks for the detailed replies. Looks like theres mixed views about the best position. I can see how a forward position would be best for views and space but they all seem to be fairly shapeless/boxy looking boats. Centre control i find can be hard to moor single handed, mainly because you have to tuck either the front ot rear in, walk along the edge of the boat to whichever end it is to be able to hop on land. This is when mooring between boats. My mooring is between 2 bridges so a high helm position is definately out of the question, and means restrictions on head height. There was an elysian on ebay recently buy it now £6000 which looked quite nice so it's now added to my list of boats to look out for in 3 years. One more question is outboard or inboard for a boat in my size range as i've seen both versions of boats on ebay for varying prices. If inboard is better i imagine i will have to save up a little more. Thanks everyone Branden :-D

Hi everyone. I have a 3 year plan to save up for my next boat and i've been looking around at all that's on the market. I've whittled it down to the 23-26ft range and a widebeam. The only thing i can't decide on is whether to get a forward, centre or rear helm boat. My current boat is centre position and all the hire boats i've been on have been forward, so i'm looking for forumite opinions on which of the 3 is best for steering, layout and most importantly how easy they are to moor single handed. Also if anyone has any suggestions of boats. I'll be overnighting alot with friends and family so space is essential P.s my price range is 5-10k ( i only work part time) :-P Thanks in advance Branden

I've just seen the email. Think i'll pop along for the free cake :-P wouldn't mind a look around the spirit of breydon aswell. The place is only down the road from me , so should be no problem getting there.

Ah Neil, that's a pot of worms you've opened there. I very much agree with alot of what you've posted. I've been to a few private fisheries in the area and although they ask for a fishing license, if you don't have one, they don't really care. Most fisheries seem to keep the same dates as the main waterways when it comes to fishing seasons, even though they breed fish year round. As someone who grew up by the coast, i'm used to being able to just cast a rod with no license required, but with the river/estuary/broads a heck of a lot of research goes into the conservation and general study of our fish to ensure the best environment and health, so us fisherman won't ruin the fish stocks. Obviously none of this affects private lakes as they control the fish, water quality etc themselves so licenses shouldn't be required for them. The close season is inline (supposedly) with the breeding season but as far as i personally can tell the weather/ water saltyness(if that's a word) greatly affect whenz the fish mate, so the dates for the closed season would differ each year, making the current closed season pointless.

Mike will be a happy chappy now the photo is up. Must say I've been interested to see what the new boat would look like. IMO i'm in 2 minds at the moment about it. The front is definately a defining feature of the boat and to me it look like a great place to have a cold drink and fish from, rather than being stuck at the back end of the boat. Will be good to see it out cruising, then i can decide whether it's my full cup of tea. So far, looks very good for the broads style of boat

Hi Waanty . I cleared the branches at the weekend and put them in a pile in the neighbouring woodland. It took a lot longer than expected ( Turns out it's pretty hard to get a good sawing motion when in a canoe/kyak). I know all too well about wood floating in the broads as i almost fell in a few weeks ago when dad hit full throttle and turned sharp to miss a mooring post which was floating along, surprisingly well camouflaged. I imagine the boat would of been fine if we'd hit it head on but the outboard would of been toast. Tried to pull it out of the water but it weighed too much to lift with a single arm and theres no way i was going the both arms body half overboard technique . As you're the most experienced angler on this forum, i have a question regarding pike landing you may be able to help with. If not you anyone who could help. I've got a large landing net I've used on pike before but I'd prefer to land them by hand. I know the proper technique in written form and from watching videos but have yet to attempt it as the general sense from online advice is if your not experienced in doing it, don't. But by that logic you can never learn. Do you have any tips yourself on landing pike by hand? Thanks in advance Branden :

Not sure if it was you john but I did see my first forum flag on a boat. If it was you, I was the one moored on the spit of land that juts out into the water near the pub, waving like a maniac .If I'd of known lee vasey were there in advance I would of stayed on, but had to get everyone back to Norwich before tea time. Hopefully they'll be playing at wells carnival again this year, if so i'll make the trip down for then. Branden :

Very true. I'll head down when there's a sunny day and get it cleared

A photo of the Broads has beaten hundreds of others from across UK national parks to clinch top prize in a competition judged by adventurer Ben Fogle. The picture of a young woman canoeing through Surlingham Broad at sunrise was shot by Tasmanian amateur photogapher Fraser Johnston who was inspired to take up the hobby while exploring the Broads only five years ago. It was the only Broads entry to the Actively Yours contest sponsored by Merrell and wowed television star Ben, who chose the “breathtakingly beautiful” photo from a field of 334 entries from both amateur and professional photographers. "Johnston's photo is evocative and moving," he said. "It's a beautiful winter's scene that makes you want to dive into the image. I find it surprisingly moving and breathtakingly beautiful. Canoeing is accessible to everyone; it requires no expertise. Just like the National Parks, it's for everyone." Judges wanted to see people being active in one of the 15 members of the National Park family, emphasising that Britain’s breathing spaces belong to everybody. The Actively Yours theme is supported by outdoor footwear specialists Merrell, who will be providing Fraser with his choice of outdoor or active footwear from their spring/summer 2013 collection. Fraser moved to Norwich in 2007 after meeting his Norfolk girlfriend in Tasmania while she was on holiday. “At the time I didn't even know that Norfolk existed,” he said. “It's much different to Tasmania where there is barely a flat piece of ground anywhere. However I learned to love the landscape especially after we bought an old hand made canoe. About this time I took up photography and we started exploring the Broads, putting a tent and some warm clothes in our leaky old canoe and setting off from Norwich, headed down river for the weekend. “The photograph is a beautiful memory of a beautiful winter's morning setting off in the canoe after camping the night before. The position the shot is taken from puts the viewer right in the action, taking the stern position in the canoe." "We were really taken with the quality of this year's entries," she said. "There were some lively discussions amongst the judges about who should go through. Each of the photos so wonderfully represented what is special about the UK's National Parks - that they are free and open to all of us. We're certainly grateful to Ben for taking on the challenge of picking a final winner -- it can't have been easy."

If I'm correct the fishing season starts in 2 weeks from Saturday. 15th june. I've got all my gear ready in advance and spent a few quid updating the tackle box for some predator fishing this season. I usually just fish with a basic set-up (hook and ledger or an old nut) but this year I'll be on the wire traces and lures. I took the canoe up to my favourite fishing spot to see how it's changed and was annoyed to find a tree has fallen into the river which means I wont be able to get my boat there. My question is, as it's not part of the main navigation, does anyone think the ba would mind if I sawed the tree branches off to re-open the route to my favourite spot. It's not a large tree so would probably take an hour or so to clear. Hopefully we'll have a good season this year : Branden

I've got 3 thickness samples coming in the post 0.25, 0.5 and 0.7. Had to pay 99p to cover the postage cost which is alot cheaper than buying the wrong thickness and having to then buy another. Thanks for the advice Alan