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LondonRascal
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Posts posted by LondonRascal
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So a lot has been said about all sorts of things not connected to the point of the thread: Independence so I will be getting on with more editing tonight of the Blog that I filmed of the delivery trip so we can shortly have that to watch and comment on.
for now I wanted to share this video with you all and encourage everyone to please 'play nice' and think positive because I don't want our Moderators who have so far been really cool and fair to have to become a bit more firm it is after all just about a boat :)
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Oh I can and will ask advice here
Thanks for the heads up on them as a possible supplier.
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This is a Forum about boating, covering the Broads. I did wonder if this should be posted to the Offshore Area of the Forum, but since it is about a boat that was coming to and staying on the Broads felt it was ok to stay where it was.
I am keeping things on course as far as the boat goes and sharing things here about the items I need to address onboard more than worrying about other things :)
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32 minutes ago, scaniaman said:
Robin:
What i wanted to know is what has happened to the washing machine(washergate).did it get through the door?
also the Crane arm for the rib was moved around at dover, did it help the trim
Great thread and a beasty of a boat, what a cracking crew, absolutely loving it
paul
The Washing Machine was never changed and is working just fine once more, the crane arm being moved over would have taken some weight off the port side and transferred it more centrally. The lifting eye on the crane was a good 6" above the RIB cover however upon moving the crane back to its normal position in Yarmouth I see the cover is now torn showing that despite new straps to secure the RIB it had been able to move up in the swell and the lifting hook rip the cover. It had previously got repairs made so it is not in anyway pristine but I wonder how much Williams will charge for a new cover.
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8 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:
ll that space, Classic FM or Radio 3 should help sort that.
I just remembered - need a new stereo!
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Just back home from a weekend onboard Independence - lots to sort out, just begun to edit the Blog for this adventure, I am not sure I am happy about the footage I have captured but it is what it is, new camera, new mic set-up bound to be teething problems.
I am not regretting buying Independence, but sometimes I can share a little too much 'in the moment' and people hang on to everything I have said as if gospel, but actually half an hour later I am back to myself. I will say this, there is not the emotional bond and feeling I thought I might have to the boat, she is lovely but she is a real social boat and you need that element of people onboard and being part of the experience - even if just a cruise down the river - without it it is a very large space and can be a little overwhelming when their are only two of you and having to literally shout out from the back cabin tot he front to be heard.
As to YBW people take it all too seriously I am going to deal with that as well but that really is just the side show and keeps me interested reading peoples latest opinions about stabilisers and risks.
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I can confirm that there was no issue at the moorings, it was a simply typographical error.
You see the moorings were in need of extra money and a notice was sent internally at the Broads Authority that a subsistence payment was required for the moorings upkeep.
Somebody miss-read this in the Administrative Officer Operations department and a notice was issued that the moorings were suffering from subsidence.
This is why the issue was so quickly resolved, you will now notice collection tins at the moorings.
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I've been in touch with Charlie, who in turn will be in touch with the Indy crew and if we can all make it to the Spring Meet we we will be able to accept this 'as a team' - so I will be (or Charlie) updating you. I am sure one or more of us can be there as it be much nicer to have a personal hand over and chat over things in person :)
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Quote
I don't know if Robin will be joining the Brundall Boat Club/Brundall Navy.
...I am not sure if this is my cup of tea if there are any odd dances and funny hand shakes to do
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This is the very point of a Forum - to be open, to discuss, and I can see no reason why this being discussed here need to be 'restricted' to members areas, closed, stopped, hindered call it what you like. All the information that Charlie and myself are sharing is factual not hearsay, not alleged to have happened and so on, but we will of course choose to share (or not) as the case may be what is heard back from Peel Ports as to this case.
I think the fact is Peel Ports as an organization is a large respected operator and that on the face of matters some local failures took place especially with communication and service. If nothing more comes of this than people 'at the coal face' are to appreciate that better communications with what are effectively are their customers (even if one is not paying) can be very helpful then that would be a good thing. As Charlie has said, if I was told something like we will need another 24hr notice, or there was a fault with the bridge - anything - other steps could have been taken, for example to come in at Lowestoft having eased right back when at sea to make things easier on crew and have to have spent less time at sea in those conditions.
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Frankly anywhere would have been nicer than spending the evening having to tend to fenders and lines while alongside the Quay in Yarmouth and added to this the simple fact there was so much not known - would they honour their word to lift the bridge in the morning?
As it happened, no they missed that time too. Again more unknowns, more silence and no information forthcoming in fact I was ignored and was being passed on information from either Charlie who had made contact with operations or even others following things who had called up themselves. Hours ticked away and then, suddenly the first I know anything is actually going to happen is overhearing on the VHF the conversation between Pilot boat and Haven Bridge and then being radioed asking if we had heard this and to follow the Pilot boat through.
Nobody had asked me for any money, I was the one offering it - going by their website to open outside of normal operational hours and incur this fee. I was up for paying the chaps overtime to get it done.
IF the bridge had lifted at 16:15 and we had got through, we would not have fuelled at Goodchilds because I had called them and been told they would only be about to fuel with such a quantity until 16:00 - so it would have been over Breydon, up the Yare and onwards. Now if we had not made it to Brundall, I would have been far happier being on the boat at (for example) Reedham Quay overnight - less stress and heck even a Pub right there and knowing the final leg was all but done. As things go depth was not a problem the lowest depth was indeed in the Marina at 1.4M below us. That is not to say on an especially low tide I may not be able to get the boat out (or back in) but I would imagine that I would be facing that sort of issue at most Marina's since it is not Ilkley any would have a minimum depth to maintain.
My gripe is the fact I had allowed so many days in advance to book a bridge lift, then have kept bridge operations updated on the day and asked them to confirm to me the latest time they would lift - get there in time for this, but then be let down, talk to them offer to pay them money - be told the crew were now off shift but then be assured a lift would happen 07:30 the next day. Time came and time passed and then all communication was ignored by the bridge operations team.
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I was in communication with the bridge control updating them on progress of Independence and her ETA - and asking what the latest time they could open the bridge would be (16:15).
I then called again at about 15:30 to explain Independence would be there on time, and they said nothing still about any fault or issue. We know then the bridge did not lift, and I again called and refereed to their website and the importance of getting the boat through, and my willingness to pay the fee to do so outside of normal operations - I was then told the bridge lift crew had signed off for their shift and that was that. I was assured that 07:30 the following morning the lift could go ahead.
I did say how unusual it seemed that the fault would be fixed overnight with no bridge crews on duty - I was met with a silence.
Come the next day I was trying to confirm things, but my calls were left unanswered and having left a voice mail to explain things - and be willing to pay what it took to get the boat through, I still had no call back or response. At sometime between 09:30 and 10:00 radio traffic was heard between a Pilot boat and Haven Bridge - no mention was made to them of a fault or that something was being done and a lift was 'hopeful' it was all matter of fact and then I was called up on VHF to be told to follow the Pilot boat through (as it turned out they followed us) through.
Another issue later was with Reedham Bridge - I had read in the past boaters posting questions about VHF calls going unanswered - it was the case with us - silence yet the bridge sign said 'Open on Request'. With no answer from the bridge and it in the closed position, we came to moor at the waiting pontoon - no sooner had I shut down engines then, with no warning, the bridge began to open and we had to make a dash to get untied and underway again. How long do you know the bridge may remain open for in such an example.
So my overall experience with bridges has not been that good but none the less it was certainly nice to have been the one to take her through these and see them all open for us.
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Goodness I did not expect that to happen, very many thanks and most humble. I have not signed up for the next NBN meet because I have not known whether I am coming or going lol but yes I accept, and will post more about if I could attend and present such there?
I must dash now as at lunch and need to collect my spare of glasses!
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Well I am going to say nothing until I have had a visit and see what is what, needs doing and only then can I know what will be required. I will share that on the Forum I am just hoping there is not going to be too many items to attend to.
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All safe and sound - finally - at my new home berth. Just had a moment to stop sorting the boat out and dealing with various things to get a chance to update all.
The total fuel used has been 2.909 litres which cost £2,835.87.
It was an epic trip to bring her to the Norfolk Broads and had the best crew and bunch of mates who worked hard but can equally come away with the experience and adventure few could have had.
Then to the many who followed here, keen viewers on AIS and those who helped when I needed it to those who popped along and have take film and photos of her trip. Thank you all!
So the low down: Having myself and others call Peel Ports about getting the boat though you can imagine they had been getting tired of Independence being in Yarmouth and one might think just wanted rid of me as much I did of Town Quay.
At around 10:15 we got a call to proceed and with a Pilot boat got through Haven Bridge with a flood tide behind me I had to then hold station while Breydon Bridge first had the traffic stopped then lifted. Got the all clear and we were off Pilot boat to my Starboard side it was just us on Breydon so on the ‘straight’ we opened her up to 3,000RPM and the Pilot boat went for it too but we left it in our wake as she climbed and climbed to over 24MPH - we throttles back to a sensible 10MPH and carried on our way.
Approaching Reedham I had no answer of VHF which was odd as the LED sign said “Request to Open” so we moored and the waiting pontoon and hen the bridge began to open! (bridges and me not happy fellows) then the Reedham Chain Ferry - blimey would we have depth to get over chains - we did and so we set course to Brooms.
Arrived and fuelled up and then the Broads Authority arrived on scene. They had been contacted about my boat and not having Tolls - so duly paid up all was well and the it began to snow! I recon I almost emptied Brooms of fuel and duly made my way to my berth - only to find they had no record of me being a berth holder. Holding station in river while dealing with Marina and all was finally sorted allocated and snug at her berth.
Did I get lots of great video..? No. Sorry I was too busy helming and taking in the moment but I did get this snippets.
I will write more but please give me a day or two to catch up with sleep! Thank you all for being there even if just reading about it here ?
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So tomorrow I have some friendly NBN members popping over to be my crew to Brundall. I will fuel up at Brooms I suspect because I don’t want to leave tanks half full and then will work out the total used and share here on the fuel sweep stake thread and see who was closer.
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I’ve been posting the Forums Facebook Groupas it’s easier from my phone. However here is the post from this morning and an update video for you all here too?
“Yesterday during the height of the rough seas I experienced something I have never had before: An anxiety attack.
I went from being rational and fine and on the helm to no use whatsoever and found myself unable to focus. I ended up alone in my cabin feeling pretty helpless. It was not so much a fear, more something that I had no control over and the feeling, sound and motion in such seas I’d never been in before that kept on and on and worse my reaction to this was to almost shut down.
As time went on I began to feel better and was able once off the coast of Folkestone to regain some normality and assist as we came into Dover.
It’s a hard thing to admit and now deal with when you experience such and have little control over it. The thing was it breads itself. So then you fear another episode which causes you to turn into a spiral of worry and guilt - as if you are letting the side down (and then you get pressure on your shoulders not to) - not from other people but your own self.
The fact the seas were to be as bad as yesterday to begin and as we had another experienced crew member joining the boat at Dover, I took the decision after talking to all involved to either leave the boat and wait for calmer weather which I would do or should the crew feel able and happy to go on I would be happy to trust them in the care of the boat but I would not be joining them on this leg.
It was decided that they would continue by sea and I would get a train from Dover to London and then London to Great Yarmouth. I feel very emotional writing this because I have never known a man as confident and kind and who has the ability to lead a team and reassure everyone as Charlie Griffin praise too to Howard Griffin who has been planning our routes and adjusting courses to keep the boat and crew in the best position for the state of sea. Everyone else has been through their own ups and downs too being new to such conditions as I was and I think all being equal it was a good call to come in at Dover last night and not push on.
The latest news from the ship is the lose of Auto Helm which gives people something to do than just stand and look out of the windows hour after hour. There is about a 12ft swell on their Starboard bow.
I’m happy to be on the train and not the boat. I also hope in being open about this to the Group people will appreciate this hard decision that I took even if may seem rather an odd one. I guess times like this you find your strengths and sometimes weaknessss too.”
And here is the video update:
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Just an update that we loose AIS when we a) run out of data and I have to top up or b) outside the coverage area e.g not close to land or a mobile mast.
All going well apart from Shilea who was unwell earlier but has perked up. I have some footage both video and recorded live stream over on the NBN Facebook Group but will post more here tonight
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Had call from Charlie to update you. I am. Currently shopping for a boarding ladder and then off to get Vicuals so am posting from my mobile.
AIS is set up and working so you will be able (when switched on) to track us during our passage so long as we have data connection. Proper AIS works over the VHF spectrum but until I put in new equipment this will have to do.
Will post an update when free and at laptop. All going well down here though.
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I was lucky all round with the purchase. The RIB was shown in the photos and blurb but when it came to the Contract it was not included. I talked to the Broker about this, who then spoke to the seller to 'see what he could do'.
These retail new at just under £20,000 - I just looked now and same model year as mine is up for sale for £13,950 - https://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/1546755/
I like the fact the RIB is said to " Rocket from standstill to 20 knots in four seconds flat and won't stop until the far side of 40 knots."
I was therefore very pleased when it an email came back to say the owner was 'leaving everything but his Dyson' - I guess the Hoover meant everything to him! Hhe really did leave everything including 4 brand new 'Crew Fit' Life Jackets which retail for over £70.00 each. I found the rug for sale on John Lewis at £480.00 and then two never used King Size goose down duvets! All the glassware, crockery, utensils were left even a brand new bagged set of Towels.
The biggest thing I have learnt about the process is not the 'known costs' it is the other issues, such as travel costs to and from the boat (this is £132.00 a pop for me) and things like new bedding - being large boat that is double, two single, king so these items all need to be got but you don't realise the costs these add until you tot all the figures up.
If you take the electric bills, travel costs, essential items bought, the heater install and fuel used to date along with the boatyard charges for parts and labour then the amount I have spent since buying Independence is approaching £14,000 and she has only left the marina once!
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This is really got serious :) I think I should open a 'go fund me' page haha.
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1 hour ago, grendel said:
did you test to see how many it can hold? it looked sort of crowded with just Griff in it
It is a three man RIB you can get two in at the bow, so they say.
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Blimey, Griff hope this soft emotional stuff you have come to the Forum with tonight is a passing trend - you're end up like me all soft and mushy - well no, I mean not really, you'd need to eat more burgers an large breakfasts to get that bad
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Day Four:
All good things have to come to an end, and here is the final part of this series which covers Independence's preparation for her passage to Great Yarmouth (well Brundall but that is inland rivers so I will stick with the salty stuff for now) and first up is the we finally get to launch the Williams RIB.
Before we launched it though there was more work to be done onboard and in the water - Dan suited up and prepared to dive under the boat to make a through inspection of her rudders, propellers, hull, antifouling and Anodes but also to get an accurate measurement of her draft. A couple of issues were found once he had surfaced and the footage had been reviweed (and sorry such footage is on my laptop not saved with me here so I can't share that) but the following was found:
- Anti foul in very good state - very little growth
- Anodes in very poor state and require changing
- Port propeller has two 'chips' taken out of one of the blades
- Draft is 5ft 2"
Damn that is a lot of boat in the water - fine for Breydon and the Yare but will the Marina have enough depth? Well we will just have to see as everything is paid up and planned now. I will however need to get the boat lifted to have the propeller seen to and Anodes. I suspect Good Child's will be a good bet, they seem to allow work to be undertaken on the boat by your own hands and you pay for lift out and in, and hard standing etc - doing that will keep the costs down if they are able to lift a boat her hieght and weight of course.
Charlie had been over to the Marina Reception and got permission for us to moor at another berth in a different part of the Marina to launch the RIB. Launching is perhaps not the correct term, you see it takes a lot of time, care and effort to get said RIB into the water. We duly set sail for this berth, but I had to do this evolution from the inside helm - this caused me a great deal of issue and trepidation, so much so I had to get 'verbal' about this situation I found myself in an muttered "bloody hell" - with communication from all sides though it went very well.
Once moored at the new berth, time was taken in preparation for the RIB launching, which is posh talk for figuring out what was what with it, getting some lines to keep the RIB in check as it descended etc. Once that was all done it was time to hook the lifting straps up to the crane and away she went. I was 'driving the crane' we had Pete and Brain down below to guide it with long lines and Charlie to check clearances and deal with things as the Jib of the crane moved around. It is a tight run thing between the top of the radar arch and crane Jib when one lifts the RIB out of the cradle and all this going on 15 odd feet up in the air with nothing to hold on to. Health & Safety would have a field day with the boat!
Once the RIB was clear of the upper Sundeck I began to move her out and over the port side into 'clear air' and as that happened so our list to port grew and grew - no creaking, straining or anything else to concern us however and before long the RIB was lowered and in the water (it floated too which was a bonus). Now far from a lovely blue skied, sunny hot day where you can enjoy this to its full it was cold, raining and a nice breeze had developed. I had not paid enough line out either so Charlie had to have a bit of a 'leap of faith' into the RIB and annoyingly with camera roiling he made it perfectly. Not even a trip and a slip.
Time to start the engine - on the third attempt it fired into life - well, some of the cylinders did anyway, but after a bit of load and revs they all came to life and it was running perfectly smoothly. Of course this was serious work and it required Charlie to have a play serious trial of the RIB to ensure it was all working. Let us just say the thing is like a rocket ship - zero to up on the plan in about 30 foot. I reckon I can get from Brundall to Norwich in all of 10 minutes lol.
Fun time over with it was time to get the RIB back up - which went a lot easier and faster - the rain now had got ever heavier and it was taking its toll on everyone - everything was wet, everything you touched was wet, you were wet - but we still needed to get fuel so it was time for the short hop to the fuel pontoon. I had figured out the change over from upper helm to lower and back so this short move was done from the upper helm - and all was behaving itself doing what I wanted when I wanted it to unlike our sea trials. We came alongside and after a short time a young woman was there to fuel her up - how much would it take? Well the lads all had their best guesses - I knew it would not be anything like I am used to when on the Broads.
During the fuelling process Charlie was down below checking the tanks I was up top seeing the litres flow (and cost rise) the thing is it just kept on going and then, all of a sudden the pump clicked off - phew! Under £300.00 I thought, but then Charlie announced with a cheery manner that no, the port side tank was filling up slowly but we would need to put more in on the port side. I put a brave face on and the fuel hose was duly moved over and the fuelling commenced once more. I could not bare to watch the counter on the fuel pump - so rather than simply look away I decided it was time to loose my glasses, and so I duly did by means of hitting my head on the side canopy and somehow dragging the glasses off as I backed away and into the water they went. The lady looked up and cheerfully told me "they were gone" - I acted all cool as if it was just a £1.00 pair of reading glasses that I had lost, but no it was my only pair and now anything much more than 6 feet in front of me was a blur.
Total litres used amount to 359 - and with the 60/40 split that worked out to £360.00 give or take a few pence. We then left the fuel pontoon, turned the boat and headed back to her home berth. I was getting more confident - all was going really well, and then Charlie joined me up on the fly bridge "leave the thrusters alone" and so it was we headed back to the berth and the crew were working like a well oiled machine - calls were coming up from below, Charlie would really this to me and say things like "Port ahead, starboard astern" and then "right all stop now port ahead" she came round and we backed into the berth all was going swimmingly. I then seem to have caught the super smooth throttle control that has barely any detent with my coat sleeve and I really do mean I must have brushed it, because the next thing I hear "woah woah stop" as the boat headed back into the pontoon. Thinking this was a repeat of yesterday where the command unit was doing its thing I just shouted "I have no control" and shut down the engines. It was only after we determined it was my error but it just re--firmed how much I dislike the controls that one can shift between ahead and astern with the lightest touch. There is simply no resistance.
Back alongside the crew finished their jobs, and we called it an early night (and thankful we were after the hours over the previous days we had put in). We headed back to the usual 'Weatherspoon' for our dinner but Pete had wanted to try something else for a tipple after - the Cider House - umpteen stupidly strong ciders were on offer, but thankfully a Cornish Ale was too for Charlie and I while Brian stuck to his Fosters. There was live music too - which usually would be a good thing but they had set the P.A up as if they were playing to an Arena and the volume was simply too loud, that said as the evening wore on the volume seemed to settle (or we got deaf) and despite a bad tooth ache that attacked Charlie, we all had a great evening. Pete especially.
You see Pete is adventurous when it comes to drinks, forget any mass produced rubbish it has to be fine, strong Ale or Cider and goodness knows what percentage his pints were but by the end of the evening he was unable to communicate with us - well he could, it was just we were not able to understand the new language coming from his lips. Somehow we managed to get back to the Marina, down a flight of uneven, wet stone stairs, onto the pontoon, to the boat and onboard and all without he or anyone else ending up in the drink. Dan was staying onboard tonight - another adventurous one is he, deeply independence and enjoys nothing more than to pay a few hundred pounds and be dropped off in woodland with nothing more than a back pack for 4 or 5 days and be self sufficient - kill your own food, make your own shelter type stuff.
Suffice to say the film of choice that evening was about the US Coast Guard and rescuing ships in storms - proper good it was too, Charlie stayed awake for all of it, Pete on the other hand was now broken. Once it was done and everyone returned to their cabins, it took Charlie a good ten minutes to get Pete up and in his berth - it did not last long, he got up and I found him lost in the galley having taken a wrong turn and ending up there instead of the heads.
Day Five:
And so it was here, the last morning - time for the last few odd jobs to be done, and the Yorkshire crew prepared to depart for their long drive home. I also was visited by a chap from Esper who are the local agents and installers for Eberspacher. They were really pulling out all the stops to fit the visit in and if I wanted to go ahead get the heating system installed prior to our departure on the 2nd February. Well I have to say he was very good, but also they are clearly used to people who are not so, how to say "rugged" as the likes of those who have been brought up on hire boats. I wanted a heater - it did not have to be the best, biggest and most fancy but he was shocked "you don't want inline air duct silencers?" he asked, and whenever he came up with an issue about where a duct run may go or an outlet could be placed my attitude was 'well here will be fine' - I could tell Charlie was itching to either help out, direct, or otherwise generally sort the whole situation out. He did so disappearing into the engine room and when the issues popped up with how to run a duct from the engine room under the galley sink to go aft, the chap was unsure how they could drill a hole without casing too much of an issue to the plywood veneer under the sink - I did not mind, Charlie was typically to the point "Well I could do that with my multi-tool if I had it with me" - you got to love him.
Yes, if I had more time, we could get the parts save money on their procurement and then cut holes and pull ducting through ourselves and save costs. But that takes time, time we don't have and my view was 'doing something now is better than nothing' so went ahead - but then being me I could not help myself after the event tweak the install a bit more, so now it is a programmable LCD 7 day timer, a larger D5 heater and fully lagged ducting. They wanted a £2,000 deposit mind because they had no details of me and knew come 2nd Feb we are off - they did not want to pull put the stops, install the system only for me and the bot t sail away never to be seen of again without being paid. They have to date one thing left to do - drill through he side of the hull to mount the skin fitting for the exhaust - so they are on track to have it all in place come out departure.
With that sorted, it was time for everyone to say their goodbyes and head on home - Charlie, Pete and Brian duly left around midday, I stayed on to clear up, hoover, dust, strip beds and the likes so at least the next time I am down just before the rest of the lads arrive, there is less to do and the boat is clean and 'ready to go' as possible.
It seems strange to think all this time has come to an end in Plymouth - it had become a sort of 'second home' getting to know the area, the places to go and shops to visit and so on is coming to an end, and soon it will be the last journey down to the Marina and a whole new adventure to begin. How exciting!
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The Haven Bridge
in Broads Chat
Posted
What a place this is eh? Photos, evidence explanations and local knowledge to slice through the 'technical gibberish' that had been sent out by Peel Ports to explain a defect that if had indeed existed would not have caused the bridge to catastrophically fail and fall into the river.
Great stuff and fascinating photos too.