LondonRascal

Charlie did this last year in the summer as he was slim enough to get between the outer moulding of the flybridge and seat moulding to clear out debris. Water does not stand in a puddle up there. but where the water has worked its way under the Teak is the drainage channel on the way to the actual drainage hole. Therefore, the water will always flow past this point regardless. Obviously the caulking here has gone (it also has in other areas elsewhere on the boat) but water has not gotten under the Teak there and this I was 'saving up' for the Spring and warmer (ha) weather to come to deal with. However there can only be one way the water has got from the flybridge to the wheelhouse and that is through any hole in the layup. Since Independence has no vents or other points where water could work in it has to come in from one or more of the screw holes. Now the long winded, proper and expensive way forward would be to lift all the Teak up on the flybridge while, at the same time remove all the deck heads below. I know for a fact they will suffer badly from this and would need to be re-covered in suitable vinyl but it will be hard to find the same stuff - never seen anything quite as closed grain and soft as this before on a boat. I can't also just let it carry on every time it rains for then the ply will just begin to rot over time. My answer therefore will be to attempt to only do one side - the top side, lift the Teak and re-seal. Until we get some proper rain though I won't know if my temporary repair has worked - even if it has not, it does not prove it could not just I did not put the stuff in the right place (I've not sealed every edge) so it may be leaking well forward of the suspect part and wicking back.

All this showing off Masts - ha! I say, get yourselves a proper structure and be done with it

It's okay - I take an outlook of not worrying about these things too much, doing what I can to get things stopped and frankly so long as the boat is floating everything else can't be that bad. I am not sure why hire boats tend to break with me on them and both Trixie and Independence have their fair share of problems yet the oldest boat, the one made out of the 'most costly and hard to maintain material' urm well, works. Want heat, you got it, need water, you got it, wanna move the steering wheel - yep that is smooth, 240v power? Yep that will be working and all we have to worry about is small things like 'what TV aerial' or 'How can we make the flooring look nicer'.

Good news! The heater is back on the boat and working perfectly. I still have some 'loose ends' to deal with so far as some evidence and documentation being amended so that I am covered should the heater ever have issue again I don't have to go chasing after Eberspacher to show I have a valid warranty. Talking of heaters I have talked about the Chinese versions, some have asked if their are CE certified, others have speculated on how safe or robust they are well I found some interesting things out the other day - NYA bought one to heat their workshop area running for a couple of years now without issue, Sea Palling Lifeboat Station has one too and us run 24hrs a day in the winter - no issues, and as we spoke a couple of others pipped up "I have one running in my Garage" - then the many who have had them installed in their boats with some simple modifications to comply with the BSS. Just over £130.00 for the complete kit or, go branded and in my case spend over £2,500.00 for the heater without the ducting etc...Which then goes wrong 11 months after it was professional fitted. Mind made up now that these Chinese units they are frankly disposable if they do fail, and I can see no reason why not to use a water heating version - the critical thing is running clean Diesel with them and I propose having a smaller, separate fuel tank just for the heating and then I can go get red Diesel fuel anywhere I wish at the best price knowing it will only be used for heat and not propulsion saving me money in the long run. In other news... Well let us just say I have some new issues - water coming thru the deckheads and a light switch that self destructed on me...I did this video today so you can see how things went in an emergency fix to try and stop the water leak.

It does draw from the centre tank, which is individually vented - but also is not isolated from the two other tanks when she is moored. It defo is not fuel starvation - and again, even if that was the case there should have been an fault code shown for fuelling.

I have only got 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981

Well I can't wholly agree with that when I have seen many many of these that have been taken apart - completely. I also did much the same with an old D2 on Trixie (but being an old unit I concede may not be 'sealed') to clean out some carbon build up, and then also to change the glow plug and wire a new controller in. Doing this saved me a couple of grand as was going to replace what I thought was a failing unit with a new 2Kw Webasto unit from JPC. It also showed up that the fresh air intake (that is where fresh air is drawn in over the hot heat exchanger and ducted to the cabin space) came from a duct run that drew air in from outside the boat. Nothing bad there, other than the vent in question was directly above the engine exhaust outlet (albeit 3 feet up) but I have since removed the duct work and it now draws air in from the opposite side of the boat - still not perfect - but at least not able to suck in fumes from the engine if you happen to have the heater running when the engine was running too. I have an additional CO alarm to fit in this space as an added security measure to back up the one already fitted inside the cabin space. it is unpractical to have a 'cold air return' duct from the cabin space to where the heater is located though, so the air it warms has to either be drawn in from outside the boat or from within the engine compartment. Taking one of these units apart means you may need to use a 'Torx' driver for some of the screws, but it certainly does not need to go back to the manufacture. Of course, should you so do so you would 'void your warranty' - but for me, if the heater was over 3 years old I'd not worry about that and that is why I did not with the one on Trixie. I will see what happens once the heater is back on Indy - if it cuts out then we know the issue is not the heater but either the controller, voltage, fuel, combustion air intake or exhaust or a combination. My combustion air is drawn in through an intake silencer and this air is taken from within the engine room space - just as the main engines and generator also take their combustion air from this space. The exhaust then goes down a long pipe, through an exhaust silencer to a skin fitting on the starboard side of the boat. Air that is warmed comes in to the unit from the saloon through a separate 'cold air return' duct, the air then passes over the hot heat exchanger and then is sent on its way to other outlets in the boat nice and warm. This way the heater after a while heats 'warmed air' in a sort of big recycled loop. I have a sensor to monitor the inside temperature and the intake temperature. As the intake temp rises it checks with the 'ambient temperature' sensor inside the boat and if that is within range and also going up, the heater will begin to reduce its heat output to maintain the set temperature. This usually works well unless there is a north westerly blowing, for then the cold air blows through the keyhole on the door - close to the temperature sensor for ambient air, suddenly this reports a drop in temperature but the intake temperature sensor has not seen the same drop so the heater gets a bit confused at this point and will perform a standard shut down cycle but remain in the 'on' position with the countdown timer to shut down still running. It took be a while to figure this out, but some masking tape over the key hole stopped the issue happening. Prior to my BSS, NYA had a look at heater generally (they fixed the fuel leak from the centre tank Esper had caused in fitting the stand pipe) and then found the bracket that the heater was attached to loose on the bulkhead, the exhaust pipe had some movement too and it was found not secured to the underside of the heater correctly - meaning some exhaust gases could potentially have escaped. The ducting was also loose and it was the first time ever in my life duct tape has been used to keep ducting together. Panks won't touch it on the boat, NYA would be happy to though, but say if they did carry out work it would..Void the warranty. What a lovely position to be in as a customer.

An update...? Yeah, I know been ages. So, 'Indy' has been a bit chilly of late, this is down to the fact her Eberspacher D5 warm air heater decided to pack up about two weeks ago. It randomly began to shut itself down suddenly (no cool down cycle) one moment it would be running, the next it would not. Upon re-start it would run perfectly fine again until it again would just 'turn off'. I began to ,measure the time it took and every time was no less than 20 minutes but no more than 25 minutes before this would happen. I got online and downloaded a service manual for it along with some very helpful tips from a Canal Boat Forum with how to check and clear fault codes. My unit had two 'historical' fault codes. One for a miss match between the inlet and exhaust temp and another to do with the fuel. Having cleared these the heater continued to shut down, but displayed no new fault codes. I made some calls and found Panks were the local agents for Eberspacher. They could not help explain why the heater might be doing what it was, but were certain it would be throwing up a fault code and their gear would show it and they would be able to get to the bottom of the issue. The next issue was would they do any repair under the warranty? They asked me to send over copies of the documents I had after Espar in Plymouth (also main Eberspacher agents) supply and fit the heater. A couple of hours later I had a call back from Panks with some bad news. They could not help me under warranty because the certificate of installation had not been completed, some of the documents i had in my possession I as the customer should not have because Esper should have sent them to Eberspacher for warranty registration and so it would have to be a 'paid for job'. I was very unhappy - not initially with Panks, but with Esper. I was the customer who had gone to a main agent to buy the heater and have them install it and at a cost of close on £5,000.00 you;d have expected them to have done a good job and the supplied heater to not pack up within a year of fitment. Panks then agreed they would at least have a look and take up the issue of the warranty further with Eberspacher - they however could not collect the heater form the boat. I did not want to go removing it and then Eberspacher (or anyone else) accuse me at a later date of having done something that exacerbated an existing problem or caused one. I therefore got in touch with NYA who soon came to remove the heater - this also meant it went on the van to Panks later that day. Days past...But that is the Norfolk way, but after a week of no new I got in touch with Panks who told me they were having issues with Eberspacher and the warranty still. Also Eberspacher claimed that if the heater had done over 1,200Hrs in the first year and had not been serviced within that period by a main agent the warranty was void. I then got hold of a contact at Eberspacher UK and copied them into an email I also sent to Panks. You see what everyone had forgotten was the unit was under 12 months old, I had not been told verbally by Esper and had nothing in writing that stipulated I had to have the heater serviced by a main agent in the first year of within 1,200Hrs of use to keep the 3 year warranty. Furthermore, since the until as under 12 months old since fitting, it still had the original manufacturers 12 month warranty and frankly if something costing as much as this failed within a year when it might be reasonably expected to last longer than a year in use - I would have a strong case under my consumer rights. Less than 24hrs later I was called to say they were going to honour the warranty (funny that) but there was some bad news...The heater was working fine. It had no fault codes and they could not get it to fail as it had been when on the boat. The issue was they would not take the unit apart in case they they caused an issue! In short, no fault code = no investigation. They did however tell me the heater had operated for just under 800Hrs. Of course this leaves the question, what if it fails once it is fitted on the boat? Since all the system, wiring and so on was all put in by Esper if it is any of this or the Controller at fault Panks won't come to the boat and work on it for nothing (travel is not included as 'labour and parts within the warranty) so then will Esper drive up from Plymouth to look at it? Let's not think that far down the road for now... They also said that in order to retain my warranty they would have to service the unit - I asked how they could do this at the same time as not opening up the unit? Urm, well actually servicing the unit only requires the replacement of the glow plug and mesh screen - this does not require the unit to be opened up to do. They quoted me an hours labour plus VAT for this along with the cost of the Glow-plug and mesh. I have politely declined saying I have more than a month before the 12 months is up, or 500 more hours use before these work needs to be carried out. I will get the glow plug myself along with the mesh and replace this - Eberspacher say they would be happy with 'reasonable evidence' this has been done such as an invoice showing original parts have been bought and a photo showing they are fitted. Seriously, I have never heard anyone, anywhere have this sort of issue (and I am not on a downer over this) but if it going to happen, then it will be me who it happens to lol. In the meantime I wish I had waited until the boat had been brought up to Norfolk and then had JPC supply and fit a Webasto knowing they are local and happy to come visit the boat and in my dealings with them seem very helpful and decent people. My original idea of using a Diesel fired hot water heater has now come back to my mind - this would effectively heat up the closed-circuit water system that the air conditioning system uses, and which is fed through the Air Handlers. I have got from Germany the original service documents for the system, and from this coded the system to operate the air handlers in fan only mode. By having a small section of pl;plumbing which has isolator valves (by passing the heat exchanger in the compressor driven chillers) I can divert the water flow through a Diesel water heater this is then pumped around the boat through and thus into and out of the matrix boxes in the air handlers - I have 6 air handlers onboard. This would create a true 'central heating' system with no additional pipe work or units required, and because the system can have from new a Diesel fired water heater it is not some 'Heath Robinson' idea. But before any of this can NYA have a new list of works to come for the Spring. Some of this will be to work on the existing chiller system which throws a pressure fault code if all handlers are used at once. Other issues will be the removal of the hydraulic take off pump from the starboard engine to investigate the hydraulic oil leak this has had since purchase (it leaks about 150ml of oil every 3 months) but is getting everywhere and I am tired of mopping it up. It is suspected a new gasket is all that will be required and not a pump-rebuild. Supply 4 new 230Ah Batteries and 2 new 110ah Batteries (I like the 5 year guarantee they get and the ones supplied fro Trixie are great) find out why I am leaking coolant from around a new valve fitted earlier last year that leads off to the hot water tank, once and for all solve the water pressure and flow issues, replace some hoses on the port engine and for the water intakes to the air conditioning chillers for preventative maintenance and finally re-spray paint both engines which means I can then get on with re-painting the bilges in white and thus make the engine room look a lot nicer and fresher than it is currently. Then it will be some re-painting of non-slip on the decks, dealing with the Teak decks on the bow, all new seat coverings and a new sun-deck canopy. Not much then eh?

Fenders, to me are there for one reason and one reason only - to protect the hull of the boat when alongside. Therefore when you are not alongside a mooring there is no need to use them. If a boat is going to collide with you when underway you will be very lucky if one of your fenders (or theirs) happens to be in just the right place to protect the boat at the point of collision. Even if they were in just the right place, if both craft were on a slow river and had a closing speed of close on 8 MPH not much a fender will do to help cushion anything. Others will no doubt have their own opinion on this, but in all the time I have been cruising the rivers I have never been hit by a boat while both they and I were underway. This leaves the times you are moored. Lets take for an example of St. Benet's Abbey. Now this is a good area because despite being a straight stretch of moorings, on a wide river, boats will often keep too far over to their Starboard side having passed the ruins and 'posted shallows' thus sometimes be no more than a metre away from you when they pass. Again, if you were hit by a passing boat here (and they were doing the speed limit) what would a fender be reasonably expected to protect when your hull is 'side swiped' at 5 MPH? The most common causes of damage seem to be when a boat comes into a mooring (either to their own hull or someone else who is already moored) and because there are so many scruffs and gouges out of boats hulls, fenders don't always 'come to the rescue' even there. So if you are going to get a bang, hit a mooring too hard or accidentally hit another boat unless these happen to be a light nudge, the fender's are not going to be of too much help - or Sod's Law will appear and the fender will end up being in the wrong place. Some boats are simply too small to put the fenders anywhere but over the side - they either have side decks so narrow the fenders roll right off, or they have no reasonable area for several fenders to be stowed - Trixie is one such boat. At 24' long and 9' 6" wide she has precious little space as it is let alone for her fenders so they stay over the side at all times. Independence on the other hand only has fenders down when she is alongside (or on the short hop around to the fuel pump) - otherwise they are stowed but then she has the space. Broad Ambition has lovely wide side decks, so her fenders not only can be taken up but also allow for you to walk around the boat when they are up. Despite this being something easy to do, and despite our own etiquette of so doing it does not stop some Skippers leaving a blue one down.

I've got one thing to say about that 'Autumn'

I don't think size is always an issue - Broad Ambition is 40ft and with care you can handle that Solo, just as I did with Brinks Serenade or Brinks Rhapsody (44ft). Large, heavy boats are so much easier to moor and handle than light small boats but that is just my experience. Where it does get challenging and can slip from 'this is going to be tricky' to 'this is potentially very dangerous' is when the river current and/or weather conditions can conspire to be agaisnt you. A good example was last summer when I was on the really rather small (24ft) Sheerline that is Trixie. I had to moor on the waiting pontoon that is situation close to Breydon Road Bridge - but I had to do this as the tide rushed in. In order to get off the boat I had to leave it running at 1,200RPM ahead to stay stationary alongside the floating pontoon while I got off and secured the Bow. Either I did that or not get under Vauxhall Bridge (to lower the canopy and screens) and thus would have had to head back to Bernery Arms to moor and would still be in a situation there with an incoming current and big height difference between bank and boat unlike the floating pontoon on Breydon. Being alone makes you think, plan and consider what could go wrong. I think far more about what I will be doing, where I am going to step, how I hold on and the like. The moment you take a simple thing like stepping off a boat or back onboard for granted is the time you slip, put a foot wrong and at best hurt your leg, at worse end up in the river and then you have nobody there to know you are and come to your aid - you really are in it alone. It may be also that you have a very stiff cross wind blowing 'away from the bank' - well how do you moor when alone? The moment you get off the boat that wind will want to take the boat rapidly away from the bank, and the larger the boat the heavier and you literally have a few seconds to secure the boat before it is too much to hold. With one or more crew the person on the helm can always be n control of the boat and if the worse happens leave his or her crew on the bank and go around for another attempt. This situation will not be especially new to Russell being a solo hirer - but if I was in the market for a boat I would be thinking the longer outlook. Am I really going to always boat alone? As an owner it opens up a new area of possibilities to invite friends - after all unlike a hire boat that costs a significant amount every time you go, with the syndicate route she is all 'paid up' so a week with some palls can work out great as a cheap holiday for everyone and just perhaps ask for a bit towards the pump out/fuel. I have also found that spending more time on the water and without that nagging 'oh well that is the end of that holiday' knowing you will have a set amount of time to come (4 weeks minimum) means you just adapt and change your routines -= why cruise so far and so long? Spend a couple of days between two locations that are not too far apart, take more time in the morning, stay for longer in a pub at lunch, walk a bit further when on shore - it all adds up and I had a light bulb moment of "so this is what relaxing really is about" because I was not on a timetable, not worrying about where I was going to go, that would be interesting to film etc. I spent two days on Barton Broad and loved it without a care in the world. So honestly I would not be thinking about all the in's and out's - I would be thinking about the positives - my boat, my time, my space. An asset to enjoy and use and care about and be part of rather than just a boat that you have paid a hefty sum of money for and have use of for a week.

This thread has already gone off at a tangent so I don't want to take up more space on what is meant to be a topic concerning Broad Ambition, but suffice to say it is going to be put right. I am not going to be drawn into more but the people in question are being very helpful and apologetic and that can make all the difference when things are acknowledged and a plan of action to put them right is agreed on which has been. It is a shame I am not having as much luck with the heater from Independence where I am now between no less than three companies none of whom wish to take all responsibility as to who did not do their job properly. Effectively I have a heater with a 36 month warranty that might not be valid because the person who installed it did not complete the certificate of install correctly which is not my fault. Two days of issues and I get over that, only to now hit a new wall on Friday being if it is found the heater has been run for more than 1,200hrs and it has not been serviced by an approved installer or agent in that period then the warranty is void. Thing is, nowhere in any paperwork I hold (nor have been verbally told) at the time I bought it is there any mention of such a clause. Patience with this is fast running out especially now we are into some pretty cold weather and it has been away from he boat for over a week.

Almost all the things that have been done on boats I could have done or could have done with helpful friends such as we already have in the past on Independence and do on Broad Ambition. Sometimes though it is nice to let someone else do it all, hoping that being professional and charging for such, the finish will be as good as one can get, the work done to a very high standard and everything 'ready to go'. Sadly this is not always the case. A good example is asking to re-wire three batteries to run only domestic 12v systems and introduce a fourth battery to be used to start the engine. Having paid for this to have been completed I had the install inspected by a second marine engineer who has reported back that the install appears sound in so far as the wiring, but that the new cranking battery is not isolated from the domestic batteries so if you drain them down, you will also drain the new cranking battery. So, currently I am not only making my wallet lighter, but at the same time not having things completed correctly.

Given the choice (if I had one) of a boat that had to be painted or could be wrapped, I'd go for the wrap. It is thicker and will withstand more than a few coats of very thin (in relative terms) paint. However, many boats are wrapped from new to preserve the original gel under them. Cars are wrapped - and many trains are too. Sure it will scratch, so will paint and so will Gelcoat. Where I had my car windows tinted the owner used to have a contract with Oyster Yachts and would wrap some of their new builds in a 'self healing' ultra clear wrap - and for one customer even a lot of the interior finish was covered with this to protect from scratches - apply heat from a hot air gun r and the surface flows and removes any scratches, this now can be bought in colours and is being used more extensively - though more costly than usual vinyl wrap it is pretty clever stuff. Here is an example:

What you need to do with Chinese stuff is get a copy the certificate - not just a sticker. Many will promote this and be happy to supply to prove they have been certified - those who do not have or are not willing to back up they are - avoid!

I am with you on the Chinese ones simply because with China you either get good or you get bad. There are clones of clones so it is finding the original factory who has the certificates and supply and that can be tricky. Therefore, if was me I would spend a couple of hundred pounds more, get a Russian made Planar, sold by the UK distributor and backed up with their guarantee They also supply the correct fuel hose, intake silencer and exhaust 'skin fitting' which the Chinese models do not come with as standard. At the end of the day, at under £200.00 you can just buy a few and replace when they pack up long before you reach the cost of a 'branded' one. I have had issues with mine, with limited use within a year and the install was shocking - loose brackets, exhaust pipe not sealed tight, ducting loose and hanging off so I'd not be going mainstream again with one.

Depends who you get them from, some are, some are not - I know the most expensive Planar heaters are.

By the way, talking of heaters.. Over on Independence My Eberspacher Airtronic D5 packed up a couple of days back now. It is now with Panks in Norwich being sorted (I hope). I is just over a year since it was installed so it does not make me filled with joy to have an issue with it (it shut down after 15 to 20 minutes of use every time with no cool down cycle but also with no fault codes). This unit minus the installation cost and any ducting etc, was £2,730.00. (The installed cost was £4,861.97) I have watched with interest as 'cheap Chinese' heaters have begun to come into use more and more and now are no longer the preserve of Ebay but can now be got delivered free with Amazon Prime and backed up with the easy Amazon returns for... £209.99 This comes with all the other bits, fuel pump, silencer, exhaust, ducting and one outlet etc. The only thing you need to do to make them BBS compliant is not use the nylon fuel pipe they come with (and tank) but replace with appropriate BS rated rubber fuel hose. But if you are okay to wait and want one sent from China, can be yours for £140.39. Both these are 5Kw versions unlike the video, so a potential saving £2.589.61 to what I paid. Now I am sure the next thing to consider is 'do you trust them' well so far I would say yeah, because so many are now using these in campers, boats and caravans and speaking well of them online and nobody's gone up in flames. I prefer the look and back up with a warranty of the Planar Heaters (made in Russia) but which have a UK distributor but I found this video having a good old man in a shed show us how they work: This is the cheapest style (in the red case) but provides 5Kw of heat. I rather like the idea of using one as a supplemental heat to mean one part of the boat has one and the rest another to cause a more event heat. You can also get a self contained unit for 'outdoor' heating needs so long as you can remove the exhaust gasses for just under £200.00

The problem is 150w @12v ain't a lot of heat. It was worth a punt but I think a longer term solution comes from the idea of having a matrix fed by the hot water coolant from the engine, that can then be ducted to the wheelhouse but also easily have duck and readily available vent kit on Ebay for cars to flush mount and yet direct warm, dry air up to the screen. Another option is to run easier, smaller 'hot water hoses' to units that have a small matrix and fan combo thus easier than the rather larger single matrix with 4 or 5 holes to which you attach ducting. This of course is really easy to think of and discuss but now try finding the space to fit all this in... A hire boat I had once used a towel rail with lots of small holes drilled through it being sealed at one end and mounted below the windscreen to waft air up from the warm air heating. Suffice t say it did not work but good DIY attempt by the yard.

Thing is these days the driving test is way too focused in my opinion on the navigation of Sat Nav - whole lessons are taken up with following the instructions, and while that is okay - it is also important to keep an eye for what road markings and signs are telling you. I am pleased in my test the Examiner opted for following the signs - twice - because that really makes you plan ahead, where you are going, what lane to be in and when to move over or turn etc than just waiting to be told 'in 500 feet turn left'. A great example is on the M25 as you are heading towards the M11 as you enter a tunnel road markings begin to show what lane you will need for the M11 (S) or (N). I knew I wanted to head north, but the Sat Nav was telling me to stay in the two lands second from the left. In short follow the road for the M11 southbound. Out from the tunnel and the Sat Nav tells me to 'keep right' and then 'keep left' follow M11 South. If you did this you would have a very short period to then move over after it instructs 'now keep left and follow M11 North'. Because I was ignoring this and following the road markings and signs I was already in the correct lane hundreds of yards back. Another great distraction are those who fiddle with their phones (or sat navs) while driving along. Even though they are in a holder, pinching and zooming looking where the route heads next, you think how far you have traveled at 70MPH in one second - it is 104 feet! One second of looking at a screen, swiping, tapping and you've just traveled over one hundred feet without being aware of what has just happened in that distance. We all make mistakes, but it is best to just carry on until you can safety turn around or correct things. I do however find I suffer from a jinx whereby you are going along a road and nothing has come up behind you for ages - you make an error and need to turn around so pull over only to see a car approaching behind, followed by another...and another...And before you know it minutes have past while you wait for an opportunity to turn around. I can guarantee this will happen even on a country road, or an otherwise quiet car park lol

I have one - I have not got a working indoor unit but it worked wirelessly to it which then connected via USB to my computer using Cumulus. It may well work with your unit, and better than going into the bin. If you are interested send me a PM - I have it in London but has temp, wind speed and direction, rainfall and humidity - this is the unit it originally came from Maplin:

This is true, but I find it amusing as a new driver when people who have far more experience seem to get things so awfully wrong. Much of this I think is habit. While everyone at some point will travel to new areas and have to deal with new things like road layouts and new situations, a great number of peoples 'everyday driving' is around areas they are used to and drive often on. Because of this they are not paying as much attention as if it was a first time on a new road, or in a new city. If you live on the Outskirts of Norwich and often travel on the NDR then it will just become second nature, but someone new who has popped up from Thetford to visit Norwich may not - hesitate, dither and then make the wrong move and hey presto you could have an incident. Also the lane markings are now beginning to wear and some of these are pretty vital, like the chevrons on some of the Roundabouts that direct you out of the inside lane and outward. I have to say though driver in Norfolk generally speaking are better than Cambridgeshire. In Norfolk I have noticed people seem more sedate in their driving, more patient and on most roads seem to stick to the speed limits. Head into Cambridgeshire and perhaps it is the long straight flat Fenland roads but people seem in much more of a hurry, less patient and far more keen to do well over the speed limit regardless of the road type or weather. Oh and one final point, has anyone else noticed generally on the road network how poorly Cats Eyes are being looked after? Motorways, A Roads - even B Roads. You ill have metal holders long devoid of the actual reflective insert - or more modern designs which you will have several metres of missing units. On a wet dark night with no street lighting these simple things are to my mind one of the real unsung heroes of road safety and yet if they break or go missing they are left. Even roads that used to have them having been re-surfaced are no longer there at all. Big shame.

Asking questions like this is like asking what is the best Varnish - we all have an opinion. I asked a similar question when I brought Independence up and she had never had a BSS. In the end I I opted for Tim Waters, he was the first to get back to me, and popped down to the boat while I was there and talked me through what he wanted to do and see. I was then able to to explain things, help him with access to areas he needed to inspect and after so doing he gave me a very clear, common sense list of things to have sorted - such as the fuel lines, and the type, and size of fire extinguisher to upgrade for the boasts size. Once this was done he then came back very soon after and issued the certificate. I was then able to send the same off to the Broads Authority and get the Toll dealt with. I therefore can recommend Tim, and when it comes to getting Trixie's BSS done I'll use him for this boat too.

The problem with the NDR is the way the roundabouts vary along the road. Now, take the A11/A47 it has a kin of rhythm about it the signage, warnings, and even the signs on the roundabout. Come to the NDR and some of the roundabouts are lit, and have good advanced warning - others are not lit, but will have a 40MPH speed limit on approach, which acts I guess as a warning, but then another will not have that speed limit. The thing is when it is dark some of the signs are not quite angled correctly - they reflect the headlights of cars, but not as much as others which are at the correct angle to oncoming traffic. Having used it rather a lot and at night I can appreciate how going from a smooth, quiet road surface on a fast road to a dark roundabout where the signs at the exits may have been hit, where the actual roundabout markings have now begun to wear and you have headlights from cars around you and approaching as they come around the roundabout all add up. I can't put my finger on it but there is just something about some of the roundabouts that eel 'weird' or 'different'. Putting some solar powered lights on the signs would make a big difference.

I have just come back from a random drive and ended up in the deepest darkest Norfolk Countryside near Cantley . I had 4 Deer, 1 Rat and a Fox all seemed not to want tomorrow to come - but thankfully no harm was done. Although to be honest if the Rat had not made it I would not be bothered. I did however find the most amazing view of of the Sugar Factory from behind, lit up with steam spewing from it over the fields, really rather a cool sight. Southwood Road if you want to look it up on Google Maps. Alas, it was raining so would not have made a very good photo but perhaps another night.