LondonRascal

I could not upload the video to youtube but I did sign out and check and the link should take you to the Google Drive page and play like a Youtube video and not need to download, at least it does on my Laptop

Thanks for the tips and general information I have gathered here, I had an ask bout a few people to do with their cars and it kinda confirms what has been said in various studies that a lot of people really do not know anything about their car. So long as they put in fuel and it starts that is all that matters. You gotta also think back to when you were in your first car - I guess it would be your father or other 'older wise men' who would give you the inside track on cars, ownership, what to do and so on...I am also sure you then promptly took things up a few notches and some will have come unstuck and ended up in a hedge, others will have had a scare but avoided the hedge. I plan on going nowhere near a hedge lol. Sure there can be issues that develop suddenly but a lot of things can be seen before they go wrong. I check the tyre pressures once a week, have a good look at them at the same time and every time I go to get in the car I make sure all four wheels look 'right' and one has not gone down. A once a week check and clean under the engine - shows if you are loosing coolant for example, are there any leaks on hoses and the like - what condition are the belts in and so on. But the thing I am more concerned about is not a breakdown or a flat tyre it is either the car getting nicked - X5's love to go missing, even more so than Land Rover Defenders which you see plastered over Facebook when yet another has vanished. I also worry about someone hitting the car - either in a car park or more often than not is in a residential street in London. Recently I came to find a Clio parked behind me was touching my rear bumper! It was interesting to read: While mine is not quite as quick as the M50d, it is still easy to go very quickly, very easily. In town I 'turn things down' with Eco-Pro mode on, but turn off the auto-start stop. This tends to cause the throttle to be far more 'soft' and is great for 20 MPH streets in and around London or in stop start traffic. Once out on the faster roads I use Comfort mode which turns the wick up to 'normal'. I always use the speed limiter though so I cannot exceed the speed limits and works great, especially in average speed check areas like the North Circular or a road with a bunch of regular road side speed cameras along it. On the Motorway I use cruise control 90% of the time. I find it fascinating how people behave with speed. The other evening I was heading up around the M25 to join the M11 - 6pm on a Monday evening. There were a lot of traffic jams, variable speeds from 40 to 60 MPH but it was not car drovers who were the speeders, it was the foreign HGV drivers - Bulgarian, Romanian and Estonian being the pick of the bunch for undertaking and doing well over the variable limit, presumably because they know they can get away with it being on foreign plates. Once off the M25 and on the M11 it was busy to Stansted but even on this 'not smart' Motorway people were behaving themselves with speed. It seems generally speaking so far as 'silly speeding' goes that just does not seem quite as prevalent as 10 years ago say, when the 3rd land on the Motorway you would regularly have cars fly past. I have found out what I thought I would, I much prefer to be comfy and warm, cruising along at the speed limit with Classic FM on munching up the miles taking it easy than flying along. Same goes for twisting fast roads, to many these are a real joy to throw the car into corners, drop down the gears and really 'drive' the car and smile. I don't see the appeal myself, I guess I have become all boring.

I’ve been posting updates today on the NBN Facebook Group but here is my videos edited into a single one for you HERE As I type, the tide is once more rising with high water in Brundall expected to peak around 2:00am. Hopefully it won’t be too awful when it does.

I was half way through a long winded reply and 'explanation to the Internet' for the fact I am a new driver counts for much to do with experience on the road, I am not new to cars and running them, dealing with things on them and so on. But this time I will keep things short. You see the car when I bought it did not have run-flat tyres on it, indeed the front pair, while new were a budget brand I could find nothing good to say about them. They were okay until it rained and on the uneven country roads around Norfolk were down right scary. The rear tyres were Dunlop, with over 5mm of tread left but I decided to go for four new tyre and get away from Dunlop which tend to not have the same hard wearing properties as other manufactures. To be honest, having read up on PistonHeads and Bimmerfest many were talking of the virtues of non-run flat tyres - the 7 Series had them fitted and were very hard riding, noisy things so on the X5 I thought it might be nice to continue to go with non-run flat tyres but spend more on a better brand and compound. I got in touch with BMW who provided me with a list of approved tyre manufactures and types for the car, with this information I then decided on Michelin as a brand and opted for a 4x4 tyre. I bought the tyres through BlackCircles.com and they were duly delivered to the fitting centre, I did wonder why the chap there said 'it will take more than hour to do as these are RFT's'. I checked the invoice from BlackCircles which showed they were ZP (Zero Pressure) this stands for having just been out to the car and read up on the side wall and sure enough they are Run Flat's. This surely explains more than ever the enormous difference I have felt in handling from the non-run flats the car had when I bought it to these new tyres. I can say the cheaper tyres not being run flat in the dry were quieter and nicer than ever these are, but in the wet the new tyres are far superior. So I have actually 'corrected' an issue and brought the car back into spec - but have I? I now think the car was meant to have non-run flat tyres hence the shallow hole under the boot floor and 'tyre tools'. X5's could be specced from new not to have run flats, I will be checking with BMW with my VIN number to see if mine was. I will also then find out if it was and now I have run flats on it, is that okay for the RIMs it has fitted. A word on Insurance - officially you should tell your insurance company if you go from run flat tyres to non, I am not sure about going the other way since I will need to wait offical word from BMW on this, online talk suggests you can easily go from non-run flats to run flat but not the other way around without telling ur insurer. A word on insurance, I have to say it would need to be a pretty big thing to claim on my policy for since I pay a £5,000 excess. I will pass on that Volvo - would cost me over £100.00 more a year to tax than the X5 and cost me £414.23 more to insure too!

Thought I would just give peeps an update about things to do with Colin (Co's that is what we've called the car) So after a lot of faffing about with dates finally got the new tyres fitted. I have got away from dreaded run-flat tyres. They are so nosey, and the sidewall's being so tough cause handling issues - bumps feel far worse that they really are because the tyre has virtually no give to it. That said the Michelin Latitude Sport 3's are 'reinforced' and suitable for 4x4 vehicles, so have a harder carcase and can carry more weight generally. So everything was done, then had a call from the centre to say my brakes were devoid of any lubrication on calipers and did I want them inspected fully? It would take an hour and cost £70.00, so I agreed. They have dealt with the lubrication - the nearside rear was binding and not releasing as freely as should and have told me I need rear pads in the next 5,000 miles if I drive hard but could go 8,000 is I am light with my braking. BMW say they should be changed at the next oil service in 1,200 miles. BMW say the rear discs and front need changing - the Independent say the front pads and discs are fine having been changed before, the rear pads and discs do need the attention but again not immediately. Anyway so all done and go and collect the car, drive it back through Norwich and it feels weird - like you can really really tell the tyres are different and the brakes are super responsive and bite better than before. However between 15MPH and 30 MPH there is a really weird feel to the steering. It does not vibrate and there is no pull to the left or right but it is as if the steering is perfectly fine for say 20 seconds and then for half a second the feel that the car has decided to add some correction - the wheel goes a touch firmer is the best way I can describe it. Along the A47 at speed no issue, back down to slow speed on a rough road and it comes back. I go online and read how new tyres are not round, how they need to bed in to the car, and need to wear in so give it 200 miles or so and and weird feelings should calm down. Hmm I think I need to go for a 200 mile drive so call my Mum and say I am on my way and taking her out for lunch..I drive to Wisbech and back and there is a little improvement by not that great so the following day I call the centre and they ask a bunch of things about what I am experiencing but it does not seem to be about alignment being out (done about 2 weeks back) or balancing. I then go out and check the pressures - well damn I was running at 2.4Bar all round none of the tyres had the same pressure in and the rears were up at 2.8Bar. I let the pressures down and had them all equal then headed off to London, cos I am me. Well having got down to London it has all got much better and that odd feel in the steering is barely noticeable so clearly is the tyres. I then also found the DVLA had kindly finally got around to posting my V5 document. In with it was a little slip saying 'don't forget to tax your new car'. Immediate dread! Had I done this? Urmm I go online and find no..No I had not, the car is shown as being SORN - so here I have been driving almsot 3,000 miles since buying it with no tax. I have been to London where there are ANPR's on several roads, I have had Police cars behind me in Norwich, on the Motorway and A11 and nothing had happened thankfully. So I was worried what the tax may be as things have changed since I did the 7 Series - but that clean burning engine with the AdBlue benefit really makes the CO output a lot less - my tax for the year came in at £195.00 - to put that in perspective that is the same as a 2003 Perodua Kelisa 1.0LPetrol (similar to a Micra in size) And someone with a 10 year old petrol Maza MX5 would pay £290.00. So much for big dirty diesels being the real costly cars in terms of tax. The next thing to do is get the number plate for the registration I bought - X5 XXU - can take that one of two ways really, in loving way of blowing kisses or in a 'f#'k you kind of way I have an X5. It was cheap and hides the true age of the car which was the idea along with finding one with as many x's in it as I could. Perhaps the most shocking thing to report is I have been eyeing up a Volvo S40 that is 18 years old, been garaged, has had one owner, done only 58,254 miles and they want £650 for. Hmm a collection may be beginning...

Leave aside the Webcam - I like the idea behind this, having the air and water temps. I am sure this could be relivent to Anglers, and boaters alike - a local weather station with a view, what could be better. Any plans for more comprehensive weather data collection? I know a number of weather stations one can buy that report back wirelessly to a computer program that then can share data via FTP to a website. Just an idea. Interesting to see how the water temperature has stayed more constant that air temperature

I think that going into things 'eyes wide open' is not always easy when you have a real passion for what you are seeking to achieve. What I mean by this is it seems you are pretty set on a particular type of boat (AF Lowliner) and are trying to formulate the best way financially to achieve this aim, both in the initial period of purchase and the subsequent longer term ownership. Someone who 'just wants a boat' will be more critical and cautious than someone who has their heart set on a particular model - I know this because I have been there and got the T-Shirt. My take on this is as follows: Firstly these boats are getting on these days - all have been through hire and are rare to come up on the market. Even nice condition ones, such as 'Evening Star' which was sold not too long ago and had extensive refurbishments done a few years ago from new seating, headlining, carpeting, heads, mattresses, external paint etc etc was still and always will be an ex-hire boat with a BMC engine in it albeit in good working order. Now that boat was a particularly good example, but it was on the market for close on £58,000 and while comfortable and decent looking inside, this is not a respected marque like a Sealine, Fairline, Princess, Broom or Haines and yet it commands such a price based purely on the location and waterway it is on and the condition it is in cosmetically. Let's presume another Lowliner came to market hat had not had that level of refurbishment and was more reasonably priced, what the first challenge will be is if you bought it outright is finding individuals willing to 'go in' with you as part of a syndicate, or who would wish to do so initially and spread the purchase price. Even some long standing friends might find this a stretch not just financially but to go into boat ownership together either without any previous boating experience or just hiring for holidays. It is a big ask - a lot of trust and commitment is needed. A managed syndicate removes a lot of the worry - sure the costs are higher per year per person, but it is the fact it is all taken care off - a boatyard will deal with the boat and its engineering/upgrades and everyone will be asked to put some money in the pot to cover this. The boat then will be in tip top order for their allotted weeks. If you wanted to run things on a more DIY basis where people might come to the boat and do work on it, you save money but...I fear you would not get so much interest from the general public to buy into such a syndicate leaving it firmly in the realm of people you know, who know each others strengths and what they can do and what their limits are. I think it would be great to have a new syndicate on the Broads but with shares often available in existing syndicates which do cover a range of boats it clearly is not a market that has under capacity. I also think, and I hope this is not wrong to of me to ponder, that if a yard, let us say Brooms for argument sake, brought a brand new boat fitted out to the highest standards but not as a hire boat, but as a managed syndicate boat with a set purchase price per share and a set yearly running cost with the boat looked after on site by their staff and with the back up of their engineering staff for call outs etc it would not only do well but existing syndicates may suffer if people wanted to pay more for their share cost, but in return have a brand new high-spec boat to enjoy. My feeling personally therefore is consider finding the people willing to be the syndicate members, then meet and as a 'team' go look for the right boat. Get some proper financial plans for the running costs, I have a small 24ft Sheerline, that has cost about £10,000 in a season to have hings put right or improvements added to it, that would never be recouped if it was sold but goes to show how much money can disappear into a boat when you let boatyards do all the work and you want things done to a high standard. Otherwise have a group of like minded people who don't mind rolling up their sleeves, who can bring some varied skills to the table and keep the costs of running the boat down. Even then, the unknown can and will happen - this year on Broad Ambition we have had a start motor needing replacement, a raw water pump, a shower pump impeller to be fitted. Later this year we will add load bearing 'Holly & Teak' laminate in the wheelhouse, a good upgrade but which comes at a cost. Always something to do, fix, improve.

But so few cars now come with them. Try buying a Ford with a spare for example, an Audi or a BMW. Now some you could buy a spare wheel and put in but increasingly the underfloor area has been altered no longer to accommodate a spare wheel but (with most BMW cars) is where the battery is now fitted. So, I don’t doubt what you say but it would be hard to continue to have (or should I say store) a spare wheel on modern vehicles. While ‘tyre emergency repair foam’ might not be for all, it will bung up the hole and inflate the tyre even if it also renders the tyre unrepairable in the process it allows you to still drive - somewhere.

I think buying anything can be compared to buying some Apples. You know you want an Apple and not a Pear. So don’t let a salesman try to sell you a Pear. You also know the variety of Apple you want, so don’t go out to buy a Pink Lady but end up with a Granny Smith. I used that approach when I bought the car. I came to buy it there and then and they could see they could have a quick and easy deal or they might loose it over a few extras and a couple of grand off. I’m pleased they met me halfway and they are pleased I’m sure they did too. As for tyres, thousands of new cars are now sold with no spare - not even a space saver. It’s not often the case a puncture is destructive and sudden - usually slow like a screw or nail in a tyre so with a compressor on board you should be able to get to a tyre repair centre - or home. Since you can now get mobile fitters come to you and since most now buy tyres online for far less to be delivered to a centre (or mobile fitter) it has changed the whole business. Even breakdown companies tend to deal less with what used to go wrong with cars and more with things they need a computer plugging into them or simple things like punctures. You could always do as many seem to (at least in my part London) which is continue to drive with flat tyre regardless of damage to rim or bodywork as chunks of rubber fly off. No longer is that a rare thing to see but more the usual. This morning took the car into Copper BMW which is next to the Norfolk Show Ground. Has been a bit of a trek back but I’m hoping they will be able to resolve the issues. Also they will change some parts that the car needed as part of a recall. I am considering having them look at the brakes since the pads are not BMW. I have considered upgrading to a Ceramic blend but what are on have lots of meat but they don’t have the same ‘bite’ as I was used to on the 7 Series which had originally BMW pads but latterly Ceramic and were very powerful and made very little dust.

It has been a good while, but I thought I would give an update to things since I passed... Firstly, it has been just over a month that I have had my full license, as you know a couple of days after passing it was off to collect 'The Barge' and bring it back to Norfolk. Well, it was a lovely car and I am truly happy to have experienced such a fine car especially as my first, but parking was always an issue, the fact the seats did not even fold down let alone the sheer amount of wasted space in the rear of the car made it just too impractical. I got looking for a replacement. I looked at all sorts of options, even a nice Audi A8 - but I would only find myself once again with a very luxurious car and no practicality. I wanted something with the power of the 7 Series, with as much of the comfort and refinement I had been used to but with the option to carry things - have some better ground clearance, be shorter, and the ability to carry more stuff. I looked at Range Rovers, Discoveries, Audi Q5 and Q7's, but this particular BMW X5 caught my attention. Generally speaking the 'newer' style (F15) from 2013 to 2018 was either too new - late 2017 or early 2018 model which might cost upwards of £40,000 or an older car with a lot of miles on - still costing up to £30,000. Then I found one in Kings Lynn, 2013 model but with under 25,000 miles and two owners - the first being BMW and since owned by a chap form London who hardly drove it. It was the SE trim, but had thousands of pounds of factory options from new which made it a bit rare. We went to see it, and it looked lovely. I was able to have a test drive whereby it was 'here is a trade plate off you go' so no salesman to pressure you. I took it for a spin and had a through look over it. Interior is spotless, exterior too this really had not been driven in its life with very little wear and tear, very few paint chips along the front bumper and things like the Alloy wheels in absolute pristine condition. I was sold, so came back to the dealers and 'did a Robin'. The result was that the 7 series was part exchanged for £5,500.00 - I got £3,000.00 off the list price of the car, and due to a cock up with the new salesman I had signed for a three year warranty - but then was told it was only for one year. Well, I said that is a problem as I was told by this chap that it was three years, and I signed on that basis. We haggled and I got them to agree to two years for a years cost. The cargo cover was missing, I knew this and E-bay had one for £170.00 - the break down cover for three years came in at £159.00 they gave me that for free because the cargo cover was missing. I then got a free MOT and full service carried out and free delivery to Brundall. Oh, and four car mats. I was a happy bunny. Until the next day when the battery was flat. Off to Kwik-Fit, £306.00 later I had a new battery fitted. BMW recommend a new one every third oil change on these cars, and there are two of them - a large main AGM and a smaller one. I had to have the car coded to know it had a new battery else it will self-discharge forcing you to a BMW dealer. Unhappy, I got in touch with the dealers in Kings Lynn, because I was also getting Ad-Blu sensor issues, wrong fluid used warnings and other problems. Under the bonnet I find Ad-Blu has sprayed out over the engine - this because it was topped up during the service. No point for calls, int he car and back to Kings Lynn. Park the car outside and walk in saying they can pay for the new battery, fix the Ad-Blu issue or...They can have the car back and refund me fully. They agreed to fix the issue, even if they would only send the cost of my fuel and battery replacement costs by cheque in the post. Since then, all has been well - well no, not really. I have some issues that come and go with the Day Time Running Lights and the Ambient Interior Lights, this is all to do with coding issues and the car is in BMW tomorrow for them to go over this. I have also had the windows tinted in the rear with a 5% tint. Basically you cannot see into the car. Very professional service from Direct Window Tinting in Norwich (they do boat windows too). I took the car to their centre, they then keep it for a day as they remove the glass from the car to tint it, making it perfect and guaranteed for life to not peel, fade or crack. You really would never know it was not originally fitted as you can see no 'tint line' where they have cut the tint with a razor blade. Cash in hand, great value. to collected from the station by the owner, got talking boats, he has a friend with a Princess 55 and also had been working for Oyster before they went under. Long story short he gets one of the chaps at the centre to run a check on the car with their diagnostic tool - six errors are found, I am given a print out and will take this to BMW to have them know where to look to sort the issues. I then got looking at the tyres - the front are horrid budget tyres, newly fitted but noisy and offer no confidence in the wet. The rears are Dunlop's but not their best, they are legal but the tread is on the way down so I have opted to have them replaced with Michelin Latitude Sport 3's - these are A rated for wet grip, B for fuel and at 70db are 'quieter' than say Continental, Goodyear or Pirelli. They have some very favorable reviews too but are not cheap at over £1,000 for a set of four. The centre who were going to fit them now cannot as their machine cannot cope with the width of my rear tyres, so the next place that can can't fit me in until 3rd January. The car is lovely though, 2.4 tonnes but will get to 60 in 7 seconds. Let us not consider the fuel usage - if I drive in Eco-Pro mode where everything is 'turned down' and life becomes a real bore I can get over 40 MPG. But, in comfort mode it drops to 32 MPG and in Sport will fall to about 25MPG. It has a twin turbo charged 30L Diesel engine with enough torque to tow away Potter Bridge lol. Here is a video of the car inside and out which has taken days to upload because of the slow speed i have here:

Years ago the Broads Authority asked for help on ideas for dredging options, I think there was some EU grant they were after and a Dutch method was tried which I think involved doing work, dredging up silt and allowing the outgoing tide to take it away while still suspended in the water. My idea was rather large and new. I have no idea if it would really be workable, but the idea is to have a large boat and barge which work their way around the rivers - day in and out. It would work by a way to cut into the river bed and this be 'scooped' up - or by suction but a large amount of silt would come onboard the vessel for the first stage of the operation. This would involved the heavy, water logged mud to be placed in a centrifugal separator. This would help separate the heavier parts from he mud, like stones and heavier clay compounds. Finder silt and a lot of the water would then be 'spun out'. The two streams would then be pumped to the next stage. Here very high temperature boilers - think steam locomotive - would have the solution pumped through a series of tubes, this would boil off the water content to a large degree, condensers cooled by the river water would then return the steam created back to water - this pure water would be returned back to the river. Meanwhile the hot sludge devoid of a lot of its water content would be eject and then the final stage would be these being pressed by a hydraulic method to form bricks - similar in size to breeze blocks. This would have the consistency of ground coffee after it has been used in an Espresso machine. Because it is a uniform manageable size, and because it has a great deal of the water content removed these bricks are lighter to move, more can be kept on the barge that can then be loaded with far more 'area' or spoil than otherwise could be, the bricks can then be deposited easier in various locations - but I suspect not be able to have much use for agricultural as the boiling process will likely have left the mud bricks sterile. Such a system would cost a lot in energy to keep the boilers going, and that would produce a fair amount of Carbon which people would surly say was a bad thing. However I think such a system could be built - refined and might be a 'goer'. It could then work along an entire river during a season, all the users of the river would see it, know what it did, and understand the money they had paid into such through Tolls was being used - not just here and there sometimes but constantly, with tangible results.

I will show you the old book, I think in our Wet Shed Locker which shows Potter Bridge and explains the braces. If not it is in a book from the 70's I have in London. Well I think I will be making due enquiry to see the results of this data as would make interesting reading for me.

Anything is possible, it comes down to motivation, need and money. The dredging that is done on the Broads in the main is reactive - concentrated on a specific area for a need. For example, a particular bend becomes especially silted and as a result of this is scheduled to have dredging undertaken. With the best will in the world, without real time sonar, the operator of the dredger is using skill and judgment to know where he put the bucket, how many times he has put in and to what depth. This results in a lot of silt being removed but not a very uniform river bottom. Some areas are bound to be missed, others will have been deeper 'scooped out' than others. The issue when it comes to water depth is there is no real need to have it any deeper than it is - without commercial operations going on (and even when they did, you'd have to go back to the days of the Wherry's for commercial operations on the northern rivers) what would spending out on incredibly expensive 'proper' dredging equipment and going along the rivers and Broads across north and south actually do? I am not against this, I mean I would love for the entire system to be dredged to a mean depth of 10 feet - this would mean that many areas would not need touching for a good number of years after such an exercise, but it would take years, and cost millions to achieve. While it might make the rivers flow greater, and thus lower water levels generally for easier access under the likes of Wroxham and Potter Heigham bridges, it also might not to this. We have no data to know if the bridge at Potter has it self sunk and if it has by how much. In the 1970's there were steel braces and wooden dams over the two smaller archers - this was to try and stop the bridge 'spreading' outwards. I have no idea if this worked and that is why the bracing was removed, or if it did not and was just done to try and stop it. I believe there is a lot of things that contribute - if you remove piling from river banks then wave action both naturally and by passing boats simply has to take some silt away with it - where as piling would act as a physical barrier. I wonder how much silt and slow bank erosion is going on since so much piling has been removed? I am convinced there would be no studies undertaken prior to such work and since, because studies also cost money and take time. In short, we can speculate all we like, moan until the cows come home but without big investment it just is not going to change and even i it did change it would affect so few comparatively to make it worth while, I'd imagine that things will get worse before it gets better too and that is just the main rivers, private marina's also need dredging and that cost will fall on the berth holders who may well not feel it is worth it so long as they can use their boat 'most of the time'. I know that to take Independence out I need to be at mid tide, and preferably on a rising tide. I know she will touch bottom at Reedham Quay and so cannot arrive there or leave there at low water, neither can I go down the New Cut at low water - but it is a bit touch and go with bridge height at high water for Hadiscoe so again it has to be planned - same goes for Oulton Broad. I don't however get frustrated at this and expect the Broads Authority to dredge areas just to help me out, but what I do worry about are areas like Catfield Dyke or up to Coltishall even where at low water there is very little under the boat. I wonder what things will be done about the dwindly depth on Sutton Broad as well. These areas to my mind need looking at more than the lower Bure.

For the heads, I have just replaced the old fitting on Trixie with one of these: Very compact - 15.3 x 2.5 x 8.8 cm, but incredibly bright (350 Lumen) with a nice warm white not cold white output. All LED and has the fixings and cable ends pre-wired. 12 volt. £9.50 on Amazon, but I was sent a 2nd unit in error - so have one going free which you are welcome to try out. I am going to be working on Broad Ambition on 22nd and 23rd December if you are about you can collect. Otherwise I will try and remember to take it back to Indy in Brundall.

I was pleased to see in the Marina where Independence is where the mud was exposed - it was just that, very gloopy and soft mud. No rocks, bricks, tyres or anything else that might make you worry. Since the water has come back, I am pleased to say she is once more doing what boats should be doing - floating. No water ingress and all is good so far as I can tell. All water cocks are shut when the boast is not running so no mud has found it's way in to the strainers - the only mud that could therefore get in would be between intake grate and ball valve which is hardly any space so very little material could in turn find its ways into the strainer/heat exchanger.

I think I have nailed the 'mould' issue with Trixie. You can go a number of ways, some cost more than others - what I have done is to buy a small dehumidifier that operates on a Peltier principle. It does not consume much wattage, has no moving parts (other than a computer fan) and is ideal for a small space. The issue I have found is the element that gets cold (to condense the moisture in the air) freezing up - so it is now on a timer to run on and off with enough time off to cause any icing to defrost. It has a permanent drain to the galley sink. All windows are closed and vents blocked so as little damp outside air as possible can get in. Mould becomes an issue at relative humidity over 60% - you can keep humidity down or try and kill mould spores - far easier to keep the humidity down. Small 'crystal' moisture traps remove such tiny amounts of moisture from the air that they are only really effective for very small spaces - cupboards, drawers etc where they really do work very well. I have them in every cupboard and wardrobe on Independence and clothing and items stored are damp free - replace the units once a month in this sort of weather, but in slightly warmer weather they may last up to three months. I also use tube heaters - leaving one of these on in the forward cabin has kept damp at bay, no smells or issues - but does consume 80w of electricity 24hrs a day, I also have another in the engine bay on a thermostat simply to help provide frost protection to the engine area. I've been checking on the boat every week, and the results have been very pleasing and because there is no growth, and any 'damp smells' the cost of electricity used (mainly for the tube heater) I think has been worth it. Now on a larger boat you would need a larger dehumidifier, or more than one, and more than one tube heater too but the overall result could be achieved. Naturally the cost of electricity would increase though.

Here is the video I posted on Facebook earlier this morning: 07439BE0-A101-4879-B3B9-C0C128A62AB7.MOV

I've only just logged on tonight and read the post with great sadness. I remember meeting you and having a chat in Loddon in the summer and Tan was with you on the boat. You both were lovely and it was a pleasure to meet you. I feel for you during this very hard time.

The unit in question is a Pinoneer FH-X730BS: I had looked at other options such as full touch screen affairs but this is in a wheelhouse open to hot sun and cold depending on time of year so easy to use old fashion knobs and buttons were better. it is very good and is a double din size, has support to sync with a phone over Blutooth and have access to contacts though not installed we could have added a microphone to make hands free calls through the stereo. it sounds great - has more power and options for sound than the usual ‘bass and trebble’ older stereos have. The best part is how you can stream music to the unit via your phone or tablet. I use Spotify but Charlie has Amazon Music (or will do when he finds his password). You can then have millions of tracks ready to go but the unit will display the details - not just stream the audio. So name of artist and track and be able to use the unit to control the streaming device and select next track etc. it also plays old fashion things called CD’s can deal with anologue FM alongside Digital DAB stations. It can also take a USB thumb drive with music files or have audio connected via an AUX Jack. This has just about every option to play audio from anything

The Tolls issue comes up each season because invariable it goes up. Sometimes just a little, other times rather a lot. Either way people will complain about this because it means more of their hard earned being spent for what they may consider very little in return. Sure you get to permission to use the waterways but what about if you do not go out very much, or you never need to use an Electric Point, or when you do go out you only travel a short way and more often than not moor away from a Broads Authority mooring....The list goes on. I personally see the Toll as the smallest consideration in owning a boat - it could be a little more fair in the way it is managed, such as partial refunds if you sold your boat, or transferring a Toll from one boat to another and only paying more if the new boat was larger but equally if downsizing being able to have a refund for the unused amount. This all of course won't happen because in order to manage it needs investment in either more I.T and software to do much of the management for the Broads Authority or in the alternative more people to do the calculating themselves. It all means administrative cost increases so that will never be a goer. My take on things is the Toll is pretty fair. For being able to go where I wish, when I wish and moor at a bunch of places along the way and pay no extra. There are plenty more issues such as the several thousand pounds a year one spends for 13ft of quay and two posts to keep the boat, or the money one can spend in maintaining and improving their boat either themselves or through professional boatyards. But it is always the Toll's that get the most moans and the Broads Authority who get the most complaints about miss management and how they should do this or that and if they did it would be a lot better - intriguingly too, it is one of the few organisations one can be negative about on here and berate without issue. So far as the 'Charging Posts' go this singularly by biggest pet hate. What a good idea it was when the first posts were planned and installed and the Broads Authority championed such along with local boat builders who could use a growing planned network to support electric boating. Herbert Woods produced Quiet Light - an all electric 32 foot four berth boat that was since converted to diesel and since also sold from their fleet. Colin Facey also had a small two berth aft cockpit electric boat for hire but other than the odd electric launch this, so far as electric boating to the masses (hire fleets) was all that happened. So why did it stall? Where did it all go wrong? Simple: Why on earth was it deemed a good idea to put in standard Marina Electric Pedestals with two 16A and one 32A sockets on them? Anyone could and soon did begin plugging in 'caravan hook up' leads to these posts and before too long professional shore power installs were being put in on both private and hire boats. if you had an electric boat, with limited range and outdated Lead Acid batteries that could neither maintain a high amperage discharge nor accept a hire amperage re-charge the idea was dead in the water and what did the Broads Authority do? Nothing. They could have converted the 32Amp socket into a proprietary charging socket and since the leads to plug into these cost several hundred pounds it would do a great deal to put off the average boater who just wanted to run the fan heater or boil a kettle buying one. There could be incentives to electric boat owners - even hire boats that might run on batteries - free electric to re-charge and run the amenities on board but there never was any joined up thinking - even now in London, Boroughs are having to spend great sums and take big planning steps to introduce many many more charging points in streets with their own bay's so that drivers of these vehicles can plug in. Since the posts on the Broads are not used for electric boat re-charging I wish the Broads Authority would stop pretending they are and ditch 'Charging Points' and just call them what they are 'Electric Posts'. Or maybe I am missing something and referring to them as a Charging Point gives them some kind of financial help, tax cut, or just helps in other areas. Electric Boating could take off if there was provisions at moorings for such, and in boatyards but I cannot see it being so. It would need so many different people coming together with a single plan and a bunch of cash to get things off the ground, so until that happens lets not kid ourselves these electric points are just going to be used for those who want to plug to run a heater or make a coffee without burning some gas. One thing that could do so much more is have contactless payment taken at them - tap your card, deduct a £1.00 and away you go - the tech exists off the shelf - or another idea pre-paid cards with a face value of £5.00.

The Highway Code states: And goes on to say: So technically you'd be within the law to flash a car to allow it to 'know you are there' and also that to use the horn to 'warn others of your presence'. That said, I think it would be pretty poor to go about the roads coming up behind someone and flashing them and using your horn because you will likely just cause the car in front to make a move whereby they feel intimidated and under pressure and that might not be what you expect causing more of a risk.

Quite by chance this video popped up in my feed on Facebook today - I had to share it here. It is from 1963 and features an in car camera from London to Bath - in a Jaaag. Note the style of the driver, how sure footed he is, yet some of the judgments he makes are not the best and the great example is the first few minutes in when he flashes and then gets on the horn at someone who dares be in the Jaaag lane on the Motorway ... I parked in the car park in Tesco today in Stalham - did great, then did the same in Richardson's - got back to Brundall and complete cock-up but I am okay with that, each time I feel a bit more happy and sure than the previous. Funny thing is you spend more in fuel and shopping - when you only have two hands and a train ticket you limit what you can get.

Okay so here is a question for you experienced lot..How do you reverse bay park? I was taught the '90 degree' method. I got good at this, you arrive in the middle of the 'road' pass by two and a half (ish) cars and reverse back turning as you do into the bay. This was fine in a small car, but in 'The Barge' this is not at all easy in most car parks - there is not enough room as you back in and turn to get the rear heading towards the bay the front swing out means I would whack a car on the opposite side of the bays because of the cars length. I have seen people do what I believe is called the '45 degree' where they drive past just so their rear end is roughly where the bay they want to back in is, but drive forward at an angle to it, then reverse in. This I have no real idea about as was never taught this. The thing is it is becoming the least enjoyable part of driving - getting to where you need to be and then getting in a flap about parking. I had two no name fan heaters pack up within days of each other so today headed to Argos in Norwich - when I arrived people were queuing just to get into the car park let alone find a space - net result I headed off elsewhere and never did get a replacement heater.

Thanks everyone for their kind words. I thought I had inadvertently selected some otherwise hidden setting on my Sat Nav today, it would not stop reminding me of things - speed limit changes, bends and even seemed to have some preference to what radio station was tuned into on the stereo. I then realised it was the passenger. What exactly happens to women when they get in a car? Shiela has never uttered a word when on a boat, a train or a bus but the moment I get a car and she is a passenger then I am merely there it seems to listen and obey her instructions as if I am the one pressing peddles and moving the steering but she wants to be in control. Anyway, we had a trip out to Sheringham today - and thankfully I was not the one who had their car written off by crashing into a Steam Train at a level crossing. Lovely place though, with a large real Iron Mongers full of useful things and very knowledgeable staff. Had lunch and then headed back to Brundall. Later we headed out for some more practice at night along to Yarmouth and back taking in the 'Acle Straight'. This was okay going, but on our return twice people took such risks overtaking others (oncoming) which was a bit too close for comfort. Yeah, I know it happens all the time but being 'fresh out of school' the real learning has begun.

Well, that went better than I had thought it may - despite some busy periods and a few hold ups on the A47 things went really well. I have added a few customisation's to the car already, including putting bulbs in for the Indicators (costly option on new BMW's hence why so few have working ones). So the first drive is over and I have discovered there is an issue - car parking. The 'barge' is simple enormous being a long wheel base so bays are too short, it is also so much wider than the little Audi A1 I was learning in.