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LondonRascal
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Posts posted by LondonRascal
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Have you looked into future employment as thoroughly as your future living arrangements
Nope not a bit, never have. In my life I have always left a job and then gone off in a completely different direction to the last. Not what most people do mind you, but otherwise I have no rocket up my Dirriére to do anything.
I also plan to have some back up income from a further property purchase for investment - be it in Norwich or elsewhere that will then be let out - again no need for a mortgage to fund that but needs some thought so far as what type of property and where is best so far as rental values go. Some people I have spoken to have done well with bedsit type accommodation for students - each paying a weekly amount per room which adds up (depending on size of property) to a nice monthly amount verses a single flat or house. However, with students you also get a bunch more issues.
QuoteWhy not have the best of both, a short term land based rental (some really good rates on holiday properties over the close season) and your vessel for summer living and whenever the mood takes you.
I don't want to go near any form of rental because it is just giving money to someone else, I rather like the idea of leaving work on a Friday and deciding not to head to home but to the boat come summer or winter.
QuoteFuel tank capacity 2270 ltrs you wouldn't want to fill that up on a regular basis
If you go into this sort of size boat and power the fuel costs are high, it is why many are bought as floating cottages with the odd dash out on a fine day and back to harbour. My plan however is to do more than just that, and perhaps a yearly trip to somewhere more than the likes of Southwold or Wells-next-the -Sea on the continent could be on the cards, and I am sure certain owners of Broad Ambition would not mind lending a hand with the ropes (and yes I'll be keeping up with Broad Ambition too for the sensible Broads cruiser) for the experience and quite possibly some other Forum friends too :)
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before life overtakes you
... Or you run out of life.
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One of the things about this Forum I have found over the years is the fact there is a real community spirit, both online and offline at meets and the like. People come and share their boating adventures, or ask for advice and learn new tips for all types of things related to boating. But there are also those posts where people share their more personal life stories which have little to do with boating, but attracts just as much helpful replies or support none the less.
So it is time for me to share something which, as changes in life go, is rather a large step certainly for me – forgive me for writing one of my typical essays on this.
For some time I had envisaged leaving London and moving away – and since I have a real soft spot for Norfolk it seemed pretty obvious that would make an ideal place to head to. As time passed though I questioned what I would actually want to do if I did this, where I would go so far as living and what I would do so far as a job. There would be the complete ‘cut off’ from everything I know here, people, places, the comfort of the job I do and people I work with and yet it feels increasingly like the right thing to do.
Now I am used to the gritty urban nature of greater London, and while I like to ‘get away from it all’ I would surly go loopy if I had it removed completely so while the sleepy villages in Norfolk might be to some peoples taste, I need something a bit more busy with things going on so that brought me to looking at Norwich – it had all this, but the sleepy quiet places all within easy reach too.
So with this in mind it was time to make a plan and get looking at places, ideas and the like - you could call this my ‘sensible approach’ to matters. I was impressed with what one could find on the outskirts of Norwich, proper little houses, a driveway, a conservatory too nice garden and then...Then I began to question would I really have use for a driveway, a garage, a garden and a conservatory? How many bedrooms should I be looking at and do I really see myself having the patter of tiny feet and needing those extra rooms in time for the kids? Honestly, I think you either have kids or you end up not, and at 38 I recon I probably won’t (though they say never say never) so I pondered would I even need shore based accommodation at all?
Uh Oh...This could only mean one thing. Boasts. What if I was to buy a boat and live onboard it?
So at this point that ‘sensible approach’ went flying out the window and because this is me we are talking about there was not going to be a compromise on space and facilities and certainly no chimney would be seen sticking out from the coachhouse roof. No, if I was going to do the whole live on a boat thing it would need to be ‘official’ and with as few compromises as possible. I figured a nice place to moor would be at the Waveney River Centre – it has great onsite facilities, not to mention a pub within walking distance of the boat so an email to James came back with favourable fees and ideas on THE location of mooring. Now what the hell sort of boat could fit the bill?
After much looking and wondering and looking which went ton for hours a day, every day for weeks I settled on a 1991 Fairline 50. It had the size; it had reasonable power and I could have a great deal of work done internally to being her out of the 1990’s and up to modern standards. The one I found was in exceptional condition, both from the point of engineering and her exterior. But wait a moment, what the hell was that which hit me? Ahh that sensible hat had landed back upon my head.
It might all sound like an exciting and good idea, but would this really be what I wanted? And, if it was could I control myself so far as the refurbishment was concerned. I joined a Forum and posted my ideas to fellow Fairline and genera large sea boat owners – the consensus was I was mad and this seemed like a foolish idea but none the less also they would happily sit back and watch it all unfold and gasp as it did. You see I was building a list of parts which was not only getting ever longer but ever more ambitious (£20,000 on Lithium batteries is just one example) so I took a step back and pondered some more.
A new plan was formulated what about a newer Fairline that would require less work doing and just spend the money on that newer (and larger) boat? Ah ha and so back to the brokerages pages I go, hours and days turned into weeks and I find myself settling on the Fairline Squadron 55. It had much of the things I liked about the older 1991 50 footer, but had ‘grown up’ with a larger outside space, larger sliding doors between the saloon and aft deck and a very much more luxurious fit out internally, it even came with a utility room complete with fold out ironing board and a washer/dryer! I would also not need to retro fit air conditioning as it came with it but there was one thing, it was just about twice the cost of the 1991 model but 11 years younger.
It was the only one for sale in the UK at the time and before long it was snapped up – damn. The next one was a lot older (1997) and in Holland, and to get anything past the year 2000 model meant looking to the likes of Gibraltar or Southern France and they were now way over the cost of the model that had only recently sold here in blighty.
Sulking about this I just accepted that the whole plan was over ambitious and I should stop thinking about having such a large boat as a live-aboard on the Broads (I mean of all places right!) so I did the only thing someone like me would do. Think bigger. Hello Fairline Squadron 58.
With over 1,500 horses ready to be unleashed under the floor, 22tonnes, a 19 foot air draft and fly bridge large enough to play tennis on – yet would do 30 Knots. This boat was in Ipswich, no issues with bringing her back to the UK then, yet while it was nice in some respects (larger windows and a far more mature design overall) it seemed less soulful somehow than the Squadron 55. It has less rich veneered wood on show in the cabins, no oven and smaller utility room and at only 3 foot longer was it really worth it?
There was a real risk that likes so many of these boats out there the head and side linings would bubble up and sag and the original material and colour are now long gone, so whatever went in its place would never match exactly the areas that were not in need of replacement with those that were. She also had vacuum toilets (horrible noisy things, complicated and prone to failure). The other big point shouting at me was what would I do with all that power? At 25 knots you’d be getting 0.6 MPG come down to displacement speeds and they would handle terribly, nudge up to 14 Knots and your pushing the hump all the time and the fuel burn really takes a dive so if you’re not going to go places reasonably fast did I need a large planning ‘sports’ boat at all?
Well, it was a nice idea – but sanity ruled.
Was it the freedom I sought, or did I really want to give up shore based living and risk it all on a boat? I needed to step back and put all this on to the back burner. Then some time later I was having dinner in a restaurant in St. Katherine’s Docks and after the meal we walked around the Marina and there amongst many other, larger boats was a Fairline Squadron 58. It was like a light switch had turned off – she was flash, too flash maybe and I pondered how on earth would this really look if moored on the Broads and the single towering radar mast looked really rather odd amongst the other boats she was moored with. No doubt a fine craft, but more suited to the Med or a sunny summer’s day on Southampton Water than the Waveney River Centre.
So, that is it you may think, good for you Robin have a pat on the back for ‘seeing the light’ and not being foolish spending out on a dream that you might find in 5 years time was a big regret owning a boat that has lost a lot of value and no longer fits my lifestyle. So does that also mean just staying here, in London keeping on the ‘hamster wheel of life’ – not a bit of it.
I still want to come to Norwich, there are plenty of other places and options but I feel I need to just grab it and take it and go with it or I won’t but a house, I am not sure about – at least for now, so have found a nice new build development of flats near the Cathedral just off Upper Kings Street. Suitably ‘in the middle of it all’ which I am used to and yet I can head off up to Stalham and Broad Ambition easily, I can go into the countryside or coast it all there about.
So you might sigh now, thinking I was about to embark on a crazy new lifestyle on a boat and you could well imagine the videos as I got to grips with such but don’t fret, I am only being fifty percent sensible.
You see, I’ve found a 2001 Trader 535 Sunliner. With its traditional, warm solid Teak joinery inside it feels like a really cosy classic ‘little ship’. Sure, not to everyone’s taste and the exterior lines are a little ‘odd’ but with an RCD Class A rating, old school semi displacement hull and 660HP of Caterpillar power she is a rugged ‘go anywhere’ cruiser. Something you can enjoy the journey on and the destination. Keep her ticking over at 9 Knots and she will return 1.7 MPG which while not a great deal different to the Squadron 58 at the same speed but will be a far more soft and sure footed ride – and right up to 18 knots she will match the Squadron’s fuel economy – only pushing past 18Knots will it all fall apart and mean you needing your own oil well to feed her thirst. She also happens to be a lot less money than the Squadron, so less bling and speed and more charm and patience.
This is a boat you can spend a longer amount of time on without moving and be in real comfort – marble, teak and rich leather damn it, someone get me a cigar and brandy! So that is the plan, the clock is ticking and so long as nobody makes a move before me then in the next few weeks it will all start moving forward. I hope. This is life v2.0.
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The problem with it being left like that is the rain and general moisture will get into the laminate where it never should under the gel coat and then you've got a world of problems to deal with. I am surprised they have not just whacked on some white paint right after getting the boat back to the yard to seal the wound so to speak until they can make a proper repair, which seems thankfully is just some new gel coat.
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I like a nice Fairline Sqaudron or Trader 575 for the lovely interiors - I'd make sure it had blue fenders naturally and could take B.A as 'a tender;
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The guy in the video is Mads and a very decent chap from Denmark - who went from an unknown DIY boat owner to now being very well respected by professional boat builders - he has even designed produced and worked with great effect a custom 'hot vac' osmosis system to dry his Warrior 38 hull as there was no company in Denmark who offered this service.
Those stringers in his small sailboat were all his handy work covered in the first parts of the series made from small solid Oak pieces salvaged from the flooring for his home. Then individual cut, shaped, laminated and epoxied to the hull. The insulation you saw him do has since been covered with Mahogany strips attached to those stringers.
The only problem is he has been grabbed by the fairer sex, who lives in Los Angles and has watched his videos so he has jetted off to see her - I can only imagine the boat will suddenly take second fiddle to his love interest, as women always tend to lol
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Alan is right, if we carry on down this road we are in a lot of trouble...
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What I would consider doing then is using some closed cell foam - the sort of thing you would use for camping 'rolled ground sheet' as these is cheap, and effective.
Using this will mean you can insulate the hull sides - thus stop any condensation forming. Use 3M '74' spray adhesive as this will form a permanent bond that will see the foam fail before the adhesive. It however essential that the location you use this are prepared - so lots of sanding will be needed and then Acetone to be sure of a clean surface.
Cut the foam, and cover the areas that you need to - then you can get your Vinyl which not having an open cell foam backing will be cheaper, and not run the risk of the foam backing disintegrating over time. Use 3M 74 again this time to adhere the vinyl to your already attached close cell foam.
You can watch a video serious of hose to use this method here:
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Oh no another food hygiene diversion in a thread here - the fact is there is a minimum standard that has to be met, they are above that graded 1. But as the scale slides up to 5 so the overall management, understanding and seriously of food hygiene get better.
Some say there should be a simple system as was years past - pass (trade) fail (close until matters are put right) but that never would encourage a business to more than ever meet the bare minimum standard.
An Environmental Health Officer calculates the score of the business from 25 (very poor) to 0 (perfect) using the Food Law Code of Practice. Scores are then added up from the points scored in each of the three categories (hygiene, structural, and management compliance).
Hygiene looks at how food is prepared, cooked, cooled, reheated, and stored. Structure assesses the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, facilities, and management of pests. Management considers how businesses manage and record food safety such as cleaning records and how well staff are trained in food safety and how well they follow the rules.
What is good with this system is handing the decision over to the customer, clearly shown on the front of the business what they hygiene rating is and, much like a star rating for a hotel, shows a clear difference between a 1 and 5 graded businesses so it really does boil down to the overall way the business is run and so in my books, should be taken into account.
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That is what I am talking about..
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Outboards, especially the smaller horsepower ones, don't cost a great deal and by their very nature are all self contained.
Most now come with five years warranties, so If I had a boat which needed one as its main source of power I'd regard them as disposable. Put aside about £350.00 a year and after 5 years simply remove and renew and save a great deal of messing about as they get on in life.
Issue is if the boat is tiny and overall worth say £3,000 spending over £1,700 every five years might seem a bit much but then I see many smaller Shetlands for sale with outboards that look as if they may have been attached to the Ark so a shiny new one surly would make such boats more attractive to sell on in due time.
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Now come on Tim, I was going to counter your argument with some good positive hard facts to show you how serious this new team is. But I failed.
Let us just say their Incident Response vehicle might have some trouble fitting in tools for responding to urm incidents, that is..unless there was an incident needing a train set around a windmill the BRW sure got this one covered!
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Good intentions perhaps, but this will need ongoing funding and I would also wonder how much help this may be and the channels through which organisations already liaise would be used to communicate with the BRW.
I presume therefore, anyone can set up shop as such so long as they have the tools.
As to my opinion, if you have people who are keen to help, have got a boat donated use a of suitable vehicle, perhaps approaching the R.N.L.I would have been a better all round solution. It might be a case of selling a boat, raising further funds and pooling this together to fund a second RIB for the station not to mention them gaining 4 willing volunteers.
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3 minutes ago, Timbo said:
Pratting about lifting and deploying fenders is just making life difficult for no reason at all.
I agree, this is why I just have a 'Bow Lady' to do all the hard work
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Well, with respect Carole what you have posted is an example where of course fenders should be deployed and one would be silly not to have them set in readiness. In my post, I was referring to fenders not being deployed when cursing along - on the rivers of the Broads, not a Canal.
In the example you gave, you are coming into an area where you may be needing to moor or stop and as a result loose steerage way as you entered a Lock Pen. It was windy too, so a great deal of things could have happened even if the other boater was not to have been foolish in their choosing this moment to pass you. Without their actions, there was a good chance the wind would have pushed you into the concrete and caused some damage to the hull of your boat so fenders were a must.
To my mind however, this was not what I would term a collision, but more 'a coming together of two boats'. The wind pushing one onto another and thus the inner boat also into the concrete. A collision to me, is where a boat will at some speed make contact directly into another boat while under power - usually when mooring. It will do so with such force that fenders are ripped clean through from their eye and actual damage is caused to the hull of both boats. Having seen this sort of thing happen, there always seems some surprise that the fenders did not stop damage being caused and an under estimation of what forces are involved.
You can't always use fenders mind you - on some canals such as the Llangollen, a narrow boat using fenders as it enters a Lock will struggle, since the locks are so narrow and just a tiny bit wider than the narrow boat itself and using a fender here will just jam the narrow boat in the Lock and of course when one leaves harbour at sea they should always be stowed.
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Hi Phil, welcome to the Forum.
Now, there is nothing wrong with blue fenders - in fact, I think they compliment boats rather well and don;t show the muck up as much as white ones do for example.
Now, you see I am one of 4 people who own Broad Ambition - maybe you know of this boat, but she lives in the Wet Shed at Stalham. In order to protect her bow from nudges in the shed, we have five blue fenders hanging off of it. Upon taking her out all owners go through a various 'drill' or preparing her for departure and part of that is removing all five fenders from the bow and stowing them.
A well known boat of the Broads and with many videos seen by many thousands on You Tube you could say she is easily spotted - and with three ex RN owners who like things very much 'ship shape' it would of course be a most cardinal of sins to depart the shed and proceed in public with said fenders on her bow dangling.
I did just this.
A single blue fender displayed from Stalham to Wroxham an Wroxham to Salhouse - to a very public meet of this Forum no doubt. And so there was no getting away with it, and from that day forward I became the founding and only member of the 'Blue Fender Club' and no doubt will never live down this event.
Now, moving on from the above, I fear I sound a little rude in saying this, but you see a great number of people are none too sure what the purpose of fenders are - they seem to assume they are there as some kind of super collision absorption system when in fact they simply to avoid a boats hull making contact with a hard, rough quay for example. So there very need is only when one comes alongside something - a quay, another boat, a muddy bank.
To therefore have them 'deployed' when underway is not needed. I like the fact that bringing them on deck causes the boat to look nicer, sleeker you might say and good old fashion practice of cheesing down ropes removes risk of them slipping into the water and being caught around the prop, or catching someone out tangling a foot in them as walking around deck.
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I forgot to mention this Charlie, so am here - as not sure if the materials come with the manual and guide but here is the fitting guide:
And here is a video, despite reading and watching it still baffles me..
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No blue fenders were hurt during this operation.
Thank god for that
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For instance is that information on that sign in the skippers manual ?
I wasn't sure so I headed over to Herbert Woods website and downloaded their copy - 60 pages so lots and lots to take it, but while it covers things like safety and ventilation, hot water and showers it does not say you should not run an engine between the '8pm and 8am'.
However, since this is not a bylaw need it say it in the manual - which itself is very much based upon the long tired and tested Hoseasons manual of old? Mind you, I am sure took a lot of time to prepare and cost to print so could well be a number of additions since it was produced that with hindsight could have been included but were not.
As I mentioned on our NBN Facebook Group, this 8pm to 8am period of non-engine running is pretty new and found shown on selected mooring signs (Irstead is an example) and if memory serves I think Dilham Staithe has one too. Also, many many foam key rings were produced and handed out to boatyards - Richardson's for sure had them and I found a one floating not so long ago (minus any keys which I have taken a photo of below).
So what you have here is more of a 'campaign' by the Broads Authority, working in conjunction with boatyards though the free provision of these key rings to promote two things: Wearing of life jackets and to cut down on engine running and complaints as to this. Fuhrer more, signage at some locations (perhaps where close by properties may be and a higher instance of complaints as to boats running their engines have been made to the Broads Authority) is another part of the effort not so much to create a new bylaw but just raise awareness not to run engines too early or too late.
In so doing it leaves the average boater to join up the dots as to why this might be anti social thing to do. I think that is fair enough.
Now me personally, always was 'brought up' not to run an engine too late or early but to be fair, no thought was given about the risk from the fumes - until more recent tragic events where running engines have caused deaths (even if such in question was a private boat and partially down to its design and canopy set up).
People have reported being moored up and a boat next to them starts their their engine and some time later their CO alarm has been triggered by the gases spreading along and into their boat. That brought it home to me personally it is not just about noise. But leave aside key rings and signs, risks and noise - should someone ask another to be considerate by turning off their engine, or even turning down a television, it baffles me as to why people do not react with sincerity and apologise and act. If I was ever moored up and someone knocked on the boat and said what Charlie did, I would not only turn the engine off I would feel ashamed and have to go and say sorry - quite why people get in a huff about it is beyond me.
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Some time back when I was on a hire boat, I was moored at How Hill but knew I needed to get Shiela to Ludham Bridge to catch a bus the following morning. We duly checked the timetable for the bus and made a good plan for what time to depart come the morning, we woke to find thick fog enveloping the river.
I elected to wait as long as we could hoping that time might cause more of the fog to lift and burn off, I recon it did a little but not a great deal. Thing was it was now critical we left to get to Ludham Bridge and the bus stop.
Our plan was simple - one bright LED torch taped down atop of the cockpit and Shiela sat at the bow as a look out. We slowly proceeded down the river - every 15 seconds I would sound one long blast on the horn. My reasoning being that this could cause two things to happen. Firstly that an approaching boat would hear this and know there was another boat there and perhaps cause additional caution in their progress (we both hug our respective banks type thing) and possibly a second point being they too may sound their horn. Shiela would also shout out to me if she thought she heard an approaching boats engine or bow wave at which point I'd go into neutral and we would both listen.
Well, suffice to say we made it and only passed one other boat - a privately owned one but with no navigation lights on, no sound signals and going to my mind a bit too fast. Upon mooring at Ludham Bridge the fog had begun to lessen and she caught her bus - though it too was somewhat delayed.
Now in so doing that I may have broken a navigational rule - sure as hell probably was in breach of the hire Contract but in such a situation you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If we did nothing she has a lot to explain to her employer, not to mention a cheap ticket on a train turning into a very expensive turn up and go fare. So we knew the risks but did what we could to mitigate them which I guess is the best anyone can do. It might well be the case that 'two wrongs don't make a right' but on the other hand, it is true than three lefts make a right.
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Until now, I have not commented on this topic
but now I am 
Boatyards that hire boats know things like this will happen - it has happened in this case to Broom, it has happened at this very location to Faircraft Loynes and surely will again with other yards in the future and has with others in the past. Brooms had a boat ram into one of the channel marker on Breydon a a fair lick in the past when they first began hiring again.
In short, this has and will always happen and to a fair degree the business who hire boats know this will - they cannot make the business model work without the risk that someone will cause several thousands of pounds of damage to one of the boats at least once in a season.
Now, some will say this is exactly what the Damage Waivers cover - costs outside of what the insurance covers, and in a way it would work very well. Each hire gets a non-refundable amount and is kept in an account just to dip into when things like this happen, but it would also be very easy in a hard season to use this account to prop up other areas of the business and hope while that happens no costly accidents occur.
I am not saying Broom will just shrug their shoulders and not give a hoot, but to a large degree GRP boats are endlessly 'fixable' and being a yard who manufacture these boats and have all the skills needed and materials on site, any such damage this may have caused would be pretty easy to put right - even if it was time consuming. What really will cause issues is where the hire boat part of the business and remedial works needed for these boats get in the way of the main business of making new boats, and taking on private engineering work that pays and is the bread and butter.
Where matters become far harder is when a smaller yard without the facilities on site to go into gear and fix such damage or large cash reserves or indeed the staff suffer. Imagine if this was to be the Broads Boating Co. at Acle and their very tall boat 'Walsham' (formerly Prisma Horizon) hit Vauxhall Bridge when a mooring the Yacht Station might go very badly - they would be in a big pickle then to sort matters out and put right the damage
It is easy for people with hindsight to make judgment on what may have happened. How could they do this? we might ask - there really are countless times hirers have caused countless boats big damage when mooring or at bridges over the years and one has to remember that it is a skill managing a boat and one that is learnt in time.
There are lots of people on this Forum who will get in a car and not think twice about the 'science of driving'. Now I know how to drive sure, but put me in a car and it is not fluid because I lack experience, yet put me at a helm and it comes naturally because I have done it over and over and in different boats at different locations with different conditions.
In short, give hirers who are on their holidays a break when they do something and are suddenly hit with unexpected results - e.g. go to stop but the current keeps them moving, turn to the left and the boat carries on going sideways etc nothing else they will have controlled reacts like this it is completely new and frankly going to be scary for all those concerned.
Nobody seems to have been hurt, a boat can be fixed, the bridge was fine too it therefore is just one of those things, there be more such in time and we can all pick up this baton with the same commentary when it happens again.
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Well, just seen this in the Broadland Mercury - took a scan and attached a PDF of the article..
BroadlandMercuryArticle.30.08.17.arch1(21).pdf
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As ever Martin, you make for fascinating, factual reading and leave me enlightened. There has however always been something in me that wanted to have a pipe - wing back armchair the whole nine yards but then recently I found you can buy 'Electronic Pipes' nothing is sacred these days, there is always somebody thinking of a way to make it techy.
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but now I am 
Big Changes Ahead
in The Broadscot Lounge
Posted
I did look but there steel and not large enough (or should I say per square foot to price to my mind is not as good value) I would personally avoid these also because like narrow boats being steel they sort of naturally just degrade and it is after all only the surface protection of epoxy and paint that keep the rust at bay.
Aquastar are okay too but generally small and the larger ones are costly - there is a sixty footer down in Southampton but close to half a million and just not the same joinery and luxury aboard as the Traders.
This is much like looking at a boat to hire - someone might love a centre cockpit and another will say no you should avoid them and go for a single level forward steer.