ranworthbreeze

The first cleaning job I tackled on the boat was cleaning the racked fenders, these were heavily stained and these came up almost like new. The Amazon price looks very good. Regards Alan

There is an interesting article on the Norwich Evening News 24 concerning the re-launching of Lapwing a restored wooden motor cruiser. http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/norfolk_broads_cruiser_restored_to_former_glory_1_2715917 Any of these old wooden cruisers restored is a bonus for the Broads. Regards Alan

Has anyone else used Magic Sponges on their gel coat to remove marks such as shoe scuffs or even marks such as slight hull scuffs? I got some off of Ebay and have also seen them for sale I Roy's DIY. Basically you just soak them in water and squeeze off the excess and just rub the effected area with the sponge. You keep soaking to remove any dirt from the sponge. I used three small sponges whilst cleaning the boat last Monday afternoon and was impressed, the sponges wear out whilst using them. Regards Alan

Hi Neil, Not bored at all, please keep the story going. With regards to a barbeque it is the event more than the food which as you say is usually not that good, brown sauce must be used if not to give the food flavour, it makes you think the food is cooked. Regards Alan

Hello Neil, You may have seen Joan & Joe on Ranworth Breeze on the 18th August which was one of their weeks on our boat. I usually moor in the Yacht Station on the pontoons to avoid the issue of mooring against the Yacht Station concrete dock or the heavy pilling at The Wherry Hotel moorings. Having said that you moor where you can when it is busy. Looking forwards to your next day on the river. Regards Alan

Careful Clive you do not want to get us Northerners excited "The Village Bike" indeed Joking apart, have you thought of what mooring fee's are you going to be asking? Regards Alan

Thank you all for the information, please keep us posted so we can pass on any information to NBF members if there is any other problems. Regards Alan

Stern mooring againt any dock with a lip can be a problem. As Matt says lines too tight can result in boats being hung under and over the the docks. This has been seen many times at the Beccles Yacht Station and can happen at such as the Loddon Staithe etc. Regards Alan

Hello Neil, Great story so far, I am looking forward to see how it develops. Regards Alan

Hi Clive, Is this the Marina that backs onto Boulters? Regards Alan

Hello Clive, I am looking forward to your own photo's of Magnor which looks an very interesting launch. Regards Alan

On Thursday we travelled from Loddon to to Oulton Board. When we arrived at Somerleyton Bridge our canopy and masthead were already down, saw a few chaps in a dingy setting up a sign re the restrictions on the bridge, seeing the bridge height board we had about 3 inches clearence on the bridge, a couple of oncoming boats let us through because of the narrowed passage through the bridge. We moored at the Yacht Station and got setup with a power hookup after paying our way and getting a stamp on the card. Off to Jeckells for some bits to do a few repairs on the camopy frame locking bolts. We then called in the Wherry Hotel Tan had the carvery a two course (including a choice of 6 sweets) for £8.99 I was boring and had the fish and a couple of beers, they were very busy but nothing was two much trouble. A coach party of pensioners were having trouble lifting their plates but all seemed to make their way back to their seats. We met a chap who mored at the side of us from our Marina, he had only been out 3 times in boat this year, Grandchildren and other commitments had limited his cruising this year. I do hope we did not keep him awake, soon after arriving at Oulton Broad our aft bilge pump kept cutting in every 10 minutes all through the night. We left early 7.00am fairly silently out of the Yacht Station, other than the bilge running and hot footed it back to Brundal, needless to say in the rain again (we seem to have had our fair share last week)getting back into our Marina and into the engine bay it was as I thought we had a leak on the fresh water system, a leak from the water pump. After taking the pump out and a trip up to Brian Ward's, two new o seals. It was back into the engine bay, pump refitted and tested still a leak, isolated removed again off back to Brian Ward's and a new pump purchased and a rake of fittings on sale or return (thanks Tanya & Nick). Back to the boat and installed the new pump, tested and no leaks thank goodness. We showered and went for another meal in the Yare, Tan had the Steak in ale & mushroom pie (this is really a food group and eaten and regarded by the regulars in the Yare)a pizza for me but it defeated me, I did manage another beer however. We spent all day Saturday & Sunday training new owners to our boat syndicate however Sunday was to rough to let them even attempt to try mooring the boat. All visitors gone we set off for a short run to Brammerton Green, lunch on the boat and a slow passage back to the Broom's fuel station for fuel and pump outs. This proved to be our cheapest time on the Broads with regards to fuel, we had only used 45 lites. Back into the Marina I started cleaning the boat on the outside and 3 hours later it was looking ***** & span, but of course then it started raining after I finished. Tuesday morning more cleaning then we went looking around boats again so we can report back to owners at our next AGM. Finally off to Judith's Workshop to find they have moved to Acle, we caught up with Judith at their new premises at Unit 17 Damgate Lane Ind Est Acle. All we need to do now is to get a quote, decide on curtain material for new curtains for the start of next season. We had a wet journey back to Sheffield, with delays just after the end of the Norwich byepass. Regards Alan

Buy a small fid, they are usually well under a tenner and it will make the job not such a bind. Regards Alan

Hello Amanda, Thank you for the link and the information on Le-Boat, it is hardly surprising they have moved a lot of boats up to their Scotland operation and other parts of the country. Regards Alan

Hi Carol, I was only 3 when this film came out but as with all films it has been televised several times over the years. Regards Alan

Hello Hylander, It was for Tuesday the 11th only. The weather for tomorrow and Wednesday is not looking favourable so there will not be the problem of rail expansion so they can open the bridge if needed unlike a couple of weeks ago when they would not open the bridge because it was very hot weather. Regards Alan

Hi Strowager, I have to agree that spliced ropes do look the best and if you can do splicing or any other rope work you get the appreciation of a job well done. You require a few basic tools that are not expensive and after doing a few rope ends will have paid for the cost of the tools rather than pay up to £4 per end of a rope at some chandlers. Regards Alan

Hello John, Have a look at the Richardson films, there is a link to their first timer instruction and there is several video's that show a range of topics including mooring. We all have good and bad mooring experiences and times when we wish nobody was watching, but the feeling of gliding slowly into a mooring outside a pub and you just step off the boat casually and tie it off, there is not much better Regards Alan

After posting my last message and managing to use the Tingdene Wi-Fi I switched on my laptop the next morning and could not reconnect to the Wi-Fi, then I got the blue screen of death which took over a day to sort out. As John says we went out on Wednesday after stopping in the Marina for the last two days and stopped the night in Loddon, no phone or internet service. I have only just started catching up yesterday and this morning. More latter. Regards Alan

Hello Martin, Thank you for the concise explanation. We encountered hastily put up signs at Somerleyton Bridge on the 11th as it appeared to be divers in the water by the Bridge supports, we went under the bridge with about 3 inches to spare much to the surprise of the guys in the dingy. They were going to close the passage though the bridge after we and two boats coming up river had passed. The warning signs still being put up were just past the 24 hour moorings and entrance to the marina and on the floating pontoon at the other side of the bridge. Why do notices and the majority of bridge height boards always seem to be on the left hand side of the river instead of being on the right? Regards Alan

Hello Naijan, I normal plumbing terms to do what you wish to do I would say you would be better off using boss white and hemp, but how effective on a boat that would be you need to take advice from the boat yard forum members that have already answered your post. Regards Alan

Hi Matt, Before we got rid of our tender and outboard, BMS used to charge around £75 for an annual service. Regards Alan

Tan and I arrived down in Brundall around 12.30pm on Monday and went straight to the boat to unload some of stuff so we could go over to Wroxham to do some shopping and get our Roy's fix. First of all we called in Greys for some very tasty fish & chips and a dollop of mushy peas (Tan says they were in pots). Off into Roy's we needed a few items and to take back the vacuum cleaner bags that did not fit the cleaner (they refunded the costs of these even though I forgot to bring the receipt with us and we bought them in April). Have I mentioned that Roy's in a very good shop! The main event shopping for food was next, this took up the available space in the car. Back to the boat by 3.45pm we were meeting Ian Jennings who we had arranged to meet at 4.00pm to do our Boat Safety Scheme (BSS). Ian is a very pleasant individual and he has his own boat berthed at Bells Marina. It examination went well and we are ok until 2017. After Ian left it started raining around 5.00 to 5.30 and rained all night, we have had a couple of bright periods today but not for long, needless to say another day in the Marina, I decided to do a few jobs including stripping down the forward table to take it into Broom's Fabrication department for them to do some brazing on the alloy pedestal that had cracked. It was still very damp out so with not much to do, we looked around a few boats that were for sale at Broom's you can always live in hope. I know a lot of people knock the Yare, we have never had a bad meal in there, the service is quick and the prices for food must be some of the best on the Broads. After lunch we picked up the repaired pedestal that I have since fitted. Happy to report that I am now using the Wi-Fi at Tingdene Marina rather than my Vodaphone dongle that was very slow this morning. Hoping to be on the river tomorrow and heading to Loddon for the evening. Regards Alan

Hello Paul, I really liked the pictures, especially the one you managed to get of the King Fisher, we can be lucky to see one at a number of locations on the Broads, but getting to a camera in time to get off a shot is something else. Regards Alan

Hello Martin, Thank you for posting the pictures. Regards Alan