SteveO

I am watching this post with interest because my Seamaster 813 will need a re-test next April. I am hoping for not too many nasty shocks, but I don't know what has changed since the original test and you never know what the individual examiner's interpretation and favourite areas are going to be. I am also wondering about putting in for the test early so that, if any work is needed, I can get this done over the winter and get straignt onto the water next Spring. Regards Steve

Thanks Mowjo, So if I fit a switch, I will need to invest in an 85AH starting battery and relegate my 2x 110 AH batteries for domestic use. This, at least, will give me a bit more peace of mind when Mrs O leaves the fridge on for too long. Regards Steve

Both batteries are 110 ah. One of them claims to be dual purpose. Regards Steve

The last 2 boats I have owned ( A Freeman 23 and a Seamaster 813) both came with 2 batteries, wired in parallel , and which both presumably charge at the same rate, as there appears to be nothing to prevent this. In both cases the system seemed to work very well. However, I have always had niggling worries about the possibility that over-use of the batteries in the evening could leave me unable to start the engine the following morning. Books on the subject recommend the use of a battery switch so that the batteries can be isolated and/or charged selectively. Has anyone got any experience of fitting and using these gizmos and are they worth the extra complexity, given that I have never had a problem with my simple, unswitched systems? Regards Steve

I agree that poles on rivers are a pain, both from the user's point of view and as a boater. we used to have a boat on the R. Medway, which, in its upper reaches, is about as wide as the Ant. Most of the banks were owned by fishing clubs, who's members used long poles most of the time and who didn't welcome boaters at all. If I had my way, I would ban poles from navigable rivers or at least impose a length limit. : : : :

Was I imagining things when I drove through Wroxham last Sunday and saw that the Shell garage there had dropped his diesel price from £1.33 ish to £1.31 ish? Given that the oil price has dropped somewhat recently, someone was being honest and passing the benefit on to his customers. However, he was the only garage we saw at this price all the way back to Kent. Am I alone in thinking we are being taken for a bit of a ride here!

As a motor boat owner, I am happy to give way to sail. However, we have just come back from a week on the Broads, when there were at least two occasions when I would have needed to be telepathic to know what the sailing boat skipper was going to do next!!!! I say this as someone who also sails and who understands the constraints imposed by wind power. I am never sure whether this stems from arrogance, incompetence or sheer bloody-minded-ness on the part of the sailer. Regards Steve

You are nor wrong Trevor. I have inadvertently "caught" Google desktop about 3 times to date whilst downloading other stuff, and have had to go through a time-consuming removal process each time. Now I always take the "custom install" option so that I can check exactly what is in the download. Steve

Thanks Antares_9, this gives me something to think about. I will probably want to go up to c 30 gallons capacity, if I have the space. Regards Steve

My Seamaster 813 has a waste holding tank under the forward port berth, which is next to the toilet compartment . Because of space limitations, this tank has a capacity of around only 10 gallons and has to be pumped out every 3 or 4 days of light use. I have been thinking of putting a larger tank in but the only place this could go would be in the space under the cockpit floor. My dilemma is that, being so much further from the heads, would the extra capacity that I would gain be compromised by having to use more water to flush the 10 or so extra feet of waste pipe that would be needed to connect the tank to the toilet? Also, would there be any additional downsides to making this change? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Regards Steve

This is fantastic stuff. There is so much here that I recognise from our early experiences on the Broads. Please keep it coming! Regards Steve

Thanks Antares_9, this looks like an idea well worth investigating. Would one of the Ebo/Webo water heaters that you see from time to time on Ebay be suitable for this? Regards Steve

Hi Lordofsealand, In the sense that the system was on the boat when I bought it, it is worth having. A blast of warm air on the nether regions is good for morale and comfort when navigating on a cold day. the heater does warm the cabin whilst we are under way, but it cools down quickly when the engine stops. I suspect that it would cost a few hundred pounds to have someone install one of these heaters and for my money, if I was starting from scratch, I would save my pennies for a while longer and put in either a Propex or an Eberspacher-type system. My preference leans towards a diesel-fired system, on grounds of better intrinsic safety. Interestingly, someone on ebay is knocking out what appear to be new Eberspacher 12 volt diesel hot-air heating kits at a "buy it now" price of £325, plus £20 p & P. I admit that I am tempted. Regards Steve

I have one of the heaters which is connected to the engine cooling system, a bit like a car heater. It has outlets into the cockpit by the helm position and in the main cabin. This is great for when you are motoring along on a cold day and it is also useful in wet weather because it keeps the windscreen and the side panel windows of my hood free from condensation. It is obviously not much use when the engine isn't running though and so we have a "Coldwatcher" 500W convector, which we use on our moorings to keep the cabin warm in the evenings. This works extremely well and has allowed us to extend our cruising season. However, if I was having heating installed from scratch, I would probably go for an Eberspacher-type warm air heating system. Steve

Thanks again Antares_9. I will check my anodes next time I have my boat out of the water. Regards Steve

"One of the best tips I received was for removing the grime down by the waterline, use Harpic toilet cleaner. " Thanks, I will certainly try this one. Do you use the liquid-type Harpic or the scouring powder? Regards Steve

Thanks for the advice, so does any metal that goes through the hull, i.e. prop shaft, rudder, raw water intake etc. need to be bonded to the anode electrically, or is it sufficient that they are all sitting in the same electrolyte solution as the anode e.g. the river? Regards Steve

Thanks, Antares 9, for your comprehensive answer. For a boat that only ever operates in the broadland rivers, with an occasional foray across Breydon Water, would you recommend aluminium or magnesium anodes? Regards Steve

I don't disagree with you about the flappy blanket things. I clearly remember going on a long sail-assisted drift with the tide in a pal's Dockerell 22, down the coast of East Kent. The boat only had 2 short bilge keels and tacked like a pig. The only way we could get back was to drop the salis, hoist the "iron tops'l" and motor back to port. This was a salutary experience that I wouldn't want to repeat. Steve

I don't think that my Seamaster 813 would do very well offshore. It will do about 8 knots when pushed and if the tidal flows are anything like they are where I live, a day's cruise could turn into a long drift, under power, in the wrong direction! Steve

I don't know anything about anodes in the context of boating on the Broads. Do all boats have them? Where are they likely to be mounted? How often should they be renewed? What are the consequences of not having them? Any information would be appreciated please. Steve

We have been visiting the broads for 30 years now and have just finished our first full season as boat owners based on the Northern broads. Things have changed in some ways, but there are still places, both on and off the beaten track, which are just as they were when we first fell in love with them. Water quality has undoubtedly improved over this period, as has the fishing. We have been amazed by the amount of wildlife on the broads now, including otters that we saw at Irstead recently, grass snakes swimming across Salhouse broad and an abundance of kingfishers. One place we mourn for is the Black Horse pub that used to be between Hoveton and Horning, which did inexpensive traditional food like rabbit pie and liver "n" onions, and which was demolished in favour of executive residences a few years ago. We went to Potter Higham a couple of weeks ago and sadly I have to say that the place looked a bit of a mess - businesses in prefabricated buildings, the cafe by the approach to Herbert Woods' tower burnt out and derelict land where there used to be a hotel. This place should be a honeypot of the broads, but you wouldn't have thought so to look at it. The boating industry seems to be in good shape judging by the number of boats on the rivers - not just in high season and not just at weekends either. There seems to have been a bit of a shift from hire boats to privately owned ones over this period as well as an explosion of holiday cottages, some which have reclaimed interesting old buildings which were previously part of the boating infrastructure. The Broads Authority has obviously been very busy with piling and improving the moorings, but I have to say that the fly-ash type material that they use on their pathways is murder in the wet. It sticks to shoes and gets everywhere on the boat. I agree with the point made in an earlier post about electrical points - there are far too few of these to make electrical power viable. All in all, I think there are many good reasons to be optimistic, notwithstanding accidents of weather and /or the well-intentioned but sometimes misguided actions of officialdom. Steve

I always thought that "Suffolk 'n' What" would be a good name for a boat. I saw Llamedos recently - my wife thought it was named after somehere in Wales. Steve