SteveO

Well that's put me right off Dundee cake = and Yule logs for that matter Regards Steve

To say nothing of the Canterbury cobra. Regards Steve

Thanks Chris, I look forward to finding out how you get on. Regards Steve

I have always fished with double maggot and have never used pellet. I would like to give it a try, to give me a backup bait for the days when I don't have maggots with me. However, I am confused by the overwhelming choice of different types, sizes and flavours. Can anyone recommend some for me to try? I am intrigued by the concept of artificial maggot. I might give that a go as well. Regards Steve

I suppose you could always turn it over and keep hens in it. Regards Steve

I cant wait for the start of the season. We are up for the week of the 22nd and I expect to drown a few maggots then. Like Donnygeoff, I am no specimen hunter, preferring the pleasure of catching large numbers of average sized fish with the odd big-un thrown in. I use only barbless hooks because they makes the fish and your earlobes etc much easier to unhook and I don't use a keep net. I don't mind if the odd one gets away and would rather that than damage a fish. posting.php?mode=smilies&f=28# Looking forward in eager anticipation Steve

With my boat engine running, my ammeter needle used flick full scale to indicate a 45 Amp charge rate for a while and would then settle down to indicate a 30 Amp and then eventually a 15 Amp charge rate. During my last couple of outings, the ammeter needle has only indicated charging at 45 Amps i.e. charge rate does not reduce as the batteries are satisfied. Both batteries are fairly new, one having been replaced last year and the other this year. Is this likely to be a battery problem or an issue with the alternator or its charge controller? Can anyone recommend an "expert" in the Horning area who could sort this out for me? Regards Steve

Sounds like a great adventure Jupes. We have never ventured out into the big water. I have sailed in the sea quite a few time and my old Tamar would probably be OK out there if we chose our time on a calm-ish day, but we don't have the right gear. Interested to hear about the snotty yottys. We have some on our moorings who give the impression that anyone who owns a boat with an engine must, by definition, be a lower form of life. They won't speak to us and if we say hello they just sort of look the other way. I know that you can't stereotype all sailing folks this way, but I have met quite a few like this in my time. My advice is don't let it spoil your day. Regards Steve

Indeed! Samuel Morton Peto came from humble origins but started a successful construction company in London, that was responsible for, amongst other things, building Nelson's column. He went on to make the bulk of his money from the railway boom, bought the Lowestoft harbour Company when it went bust and was subsequently largely responsible for transforming Lowestoft from a small fishing village to a prosperous town. Peto was himself made bankrupt in the 1860s when his highly leveraged (where have we heard that before?) railway construction company came off the rails, around which time he sold Somerleyton to the Crossleys. In his bankruptcy hearing it emerged that he had played fast and loose with millions of pounds worth of shareholder money and selling fictitious shares whenever he wanted more of it. History remembers him kindly in the UK, but not so in other parts of the world, notably the USA and Canada. Apologies if slightly off topic, but I found this interesting. Regards Steve

Fantastic pictures Simon. Seeing Somerleyton Hall again reminds me of when I visited the place for the first time a few years ago and had an uncanny feeling of having somehow been there before. On doing some digging, it transpired that the hall was bought in the 19th Century by a Frank Crossley, who had made his pile (pun intended) from carpeting the British Empire. At around the same time as he bought the hall, Frank, by now Sir Francis, went on to endow an orphanage in Halifax, Yorkshire and this building later became the school that I attended. The school building reflects a number of the hall's architectural features, albeit realised in Yorkshire millstone grit, not brick and it was this that gave me the feeling of deja vu. Small world, isn't it. Regards Steve

Good to see that you are on the mend Simon. Hope you get back to the UK soon. Regards Steve

Fascinating tale Jupes. I would love to spend Christmas afloat, but don't think that Mrs O would go for it. You should make a Christmas card from the pic of JM with her nav lights on. I love it. Regards Steve

Looks good to me but i'm no expert, just a snapper. Regards Steve

My 10M arctic cable arrived yesterday. It's just the job, but I am trying to understand what is arctic about it. The cover just looks like highly plasticised PVC. I can't wait to try it out though :grin Regards Steve

Thanks Pete, I just bought one. Just what the doctor ordered! Regards Steve

Does anyone know where I could get a shorter extension lead, of say 10 metres or even less? My shorepower connection is very close to the boat and my current 25m cable is a bit of a pain. I know I could always make one up or cut a longer one down, but does anyone sell one ready-made? Regards Steve

This happened to me in my ignorance when we first started boating. We had hired from Loddon and spent most of the week up North. On the way back we were told to moor at Gt Yarmouth for a couple of hours because they were blasting some old piles on Breydon. Off we went to do a bit of shopping and get some fish & chips from the town and when we came back we found the boat not quite hanging off the mooring ropes, but they were certainly very difficult to undo. We eventually got off, but that taught me a very valuable lesson. Regards Steve

The tabs are a good idea Jimbo. Mowjo makes a good point about the pipework. If there is any slime in there, the chlorine in the tablets won't kill the bugs that cause the smell. Good luck! Regards Steve

Jimbo, what is your water tank made from? The bit about the eggy smell worries me and I have to say that, if I had this, I would be thinking about cleaning and disinfecting the water system. The smell is most probably hydrogen sulphide produced by bacteria. I don't think it is harmful, but the human nose is quite sensitive to it and can detect it down to 1-2 ppm. If the tank is stainless steel, then you should be OK with Milton, which is a mixture of sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and sodium chloride (salt), but don't leave it in too long, or a proprietary tank cleaning agent. Either way I would be inclined to drain down and re-fill with fresh water afterwards because chlorine tastes horrible. If the tank is galvanised, it is possible that the galvanising has broken down and you would do well to find out what is inside it, via an inspection hatch if it has one. There may well be a layer of rusty sediment and/or slime on the bottom of the tank, which can give rise to the rotten egg smell. If this is the case, you might want to remove this (often easier said than done). The reason is that sediments and slimes will protect the bugs in the tank from the cleaning solution. Also, if you are planning to use a carbon filter in the water system, you should check with the supplier whether this can be left in place whilst flushing the outlets with sterilising solution. Regards Steve

We have never bothered to sterilise our water tank and have not come to any harm. I think that, providing the tank is clean and made of inert material, the residual chlorine in the mains water you use to fill the tank should be sufficient. If you need more than that, there are proprietary sterilising tablets you can buy from chandlers or you could try boosting the chlorine with something like Milton sterilising fluid added to the tank before you fill up with water, then dump the contents and refill and you should be OK. Regards Steve

Here are a couple of photos of the offending article. Each arm of the hinge is about 7 inches long. You can see from the second photo that I have drilled a hole at the end of the crack in an attempt to stop it from spreading further. Hope that this didn't weaken it even more!

Does anyone know where I could get a new hinge for a folding helm seat of late 1980s vintage ? The hinge is made of aluminium in 2 sections, each of which is about 7 inches long, and allows the seat back to be folded down onto the base. One of the sections has a crack in it, where the metal is bent to fit under the seat base, which will eventually cause a break. Failing a replacement, how difficult would it be to find someone who could weld or braze the crack for me? Regards Steve

I suspect that, a lot of the time, the German pilots ditched their bombs anywhere they could. The quicker they could get rid of them, the sooner they could go home. If something looked anything like a worthy target from the air, they would probably go for it. Regards Steve

I thought I saw a few flakes when I first signed on. Let it snw, let it snow, let it snow........

I recognise that sky - it's definitely Wroxham Broad!!!!