ranworthbreeze

Hello galleyali, Sorry to hear your holiday is over, so you have all caught the Broads Bug being as you are coming back next easter. It is great sitting on the front of a boat, be it a narrow boat or a Broads cruser, you can hardly hear the engine and you seem almost to be just drifting along, I have to say a glass of vino does help. Regards Alan

Hello Jill, The link and the history of the company was very interesting. Regards Alan

Hello Maisie, Those are very good pictures and well done with the blog. The yachts are great to look at when you are moored but it can be difficult to work your passage through them. Tan usually hands over the helm when we encounter any where they do not show any signs of what they wish you to do. It is then my problem. How many days do you have left of your holiday? Regards Alan

Hi Paul & Lorna, I love them, a great picture to boot! Regards Alan

Hello JTF, MM, John, I will second that. Regards Alan

My worse experience whilst towing was when we hired tow-a-vans to pick up or move jukeboxes. I had hired a box type trailer (Tow-a -Van) from Sheffield Autohire (no longer trading) the normal ones we hired were all out so they let me have this larger one. For what ever reason I let then hitch it up. So off I went down the MI towards junction 28, within a few miles I could feel that something was not right, so I started slowing down and went onto the hard shoulder the trailer was all over the place and slowing down was not helping. I tried speeding up to try and correct the lurching of the trailer but this did not help. I ended up with the bonnet of the car 6 inches from the barrier and the hitch all the way across all three lanes of the motorway, I did not hit anything and everyone stopped before running into me. I reversed up and parked on the hard shoulder it inspect the damage, all the wires had been pulled out of trailer socket and of course now I found out the problem, the runaway cable was quite long so they wrapped a couple of turns round the where the automatic brake is fitted onto the hitch. What in effect was happening was every time I applied the brakes the auto brake was applied and tightened these loops in the runaway cable, this in turn was also applying the brakes. I sorted it out on the hard shoulder and continued my way, shook up but intact. I see many the results of caravans and cars that that have not been so lucky. So what's your story. Regards Alan

Hello John, I have seen them on the Chet before you get to the large broad on the way up to Loddon. Regards Alan

Hi Mark, You mean tripping, like they did on the last meet at Oulton Broad. Like yourself we just use the posts for battery charging and a late night cuppa and if needs be supplement the heating out of season, but at that time we usually have the mooring to ourselves. Regards Alan

Hello John, Yes we are still learning and still finding new places to go to on the Broads. Plenty of pubs have changed hands over the last couple of years and the standard of the operation on these pubs has certainly got beter. The meals on offer on the Southern Broads is second to none. Regards Alan

I wonder what the effects would be if the coil of cable was put onto a metal post? More than likely as per mjt's post the inductive effects would be canceled. Regards Alan

Hello John, A good picture. We do like a good photograph on this forum. Regards Alan

Hello Brian, It sounds as if you have been through the mill on this job and it would have appeared that you have had to conjure up a third hand to fit it. The only saving grace is that this is something you have done yourself and have not had an engineer costing £40 to £60 per hour on the job; or you have had to sell the boat to pay for it. I am sure that any Bounty Owners will be greatfull for your input on this issue. Regards Alan

Hello John, Welcome to the forum from Tan & myself. Enjoy your new boat next weekend and please post some picture, we like pictures on here and stories of how people get on, on their first voyage. Regards Alan

Hello John, Welcome to the forum from Tan & myself. Sorry I can not help you with the fishing, but we are a friendly forum so one of the other forum members will be along soon. Regards Alan

Hi Neil, When we were there in April, we could not get into Rosie Lee's other than getting to the counter, there is only about 4 tables but they were all full. After ordering our food we waited on the chairs outside, Caroline gave us a shout when it was all ready, all on china plates covered with tinfoil to keep the meals warm and all on a wooden tray. She even asked us if we wanted it carrying back to the boat. We washed all the plates and some time later took them back to the tea room. Good food and cakes. Recommended Regards Alan

Hello Mark, Stick a 3KW fan heater on any 16 amp cable and it will get warm. Regards Alan

Hello Nick, Myself and Fred have a standing joke re Marmite, I can not stand the stuff but my youngest son swears by it. Instead I have taken vitamin B tablets daily, the creepy crawlies have a bite but then tend to leave me alone, prior to starting taking vitamin B I used to get bitten to death with midges, so for me it works. You can of course use all the spays that are on the market. With regards to the boat you are hiring Classic Gem 2 it has an air draft of 7 foot so you will not get under Potter Heigham. You could moor at Potter Heigham and use public transport to get to the coast or you hire a day boat from Herbert Woods or one of the other smaller operators at Potter Heigham. I am told that the area you mention is very good. Regards Alan

Hello Strowager, That looks a good solution for Jim. That pivot makes all the difference. Regards Alan

Hello Paladin, A good question. If the same amount of cable was on a reel then no, but that cable is open to the air. That coil of wire however should be on the boat rather than being on the mooring, I might leave some slack to take into account the rise and fall but a coil like that is waiting for someone to trip over it. If we are some way from the post I loop the cable around each post. Regarding the design of the posts it would be better if the sockets and card readers were on the sides of the posts. Regards Alan

Hello Choco, You always seem to have less rain on your side of the hill than we do in Sheffield, we go over to Manchester a fair bit being as my father in law lives in Sale. According to our link to the BBC Weather Norfolk website it would appear that you may be lucky . Have a look at the link, it can be found under the following path; Visiting The Broads?/ Useful Links, Slipways/BBC Weather Norfolk Not many sleeps to go before your holiday. Regards Alan

Hello Hylander, I also use that tide table as a crosscheck and it is a very good table if the height of the boat is not such an issue. I usually print off the table for the full year and put it into our boats log so our other owners have the benefit of the table for their allocation. Regards Alan

Hello Jim, The bracket that is supporting the rod that moves the outboard looks at to steep an angle to me, I would have thought that it binds a lot in each direction. You may get better results if the assembly is more horizontal to the outboard. I am sure there must be a better way to connect the outboard. Just my thoughts from a purely mechanical standpoint. Regards Alan

Bobdog, We will have to start calling you Tommy after your last post above. Regards Alan

Hello Mandy, Welcome to the forum from Tan & myself. I have had a look at the boat you are hiring from Ferry Marina it looks very good. I can not find my list of boat air drafts on my home PC but as Fred says he thinks sit is 8ft 6inch, I would have thought similar but your boat yard should be able to let you know. Look at our link to the Broads Authority website, it is in Visiting the Broads under slipways, website links. IMHO the Broads Authority tide table is the best tide table because it shows the height of tide at low water which is important to us because we have an air draft of 9ft 8inches with the canopy down and the masthead, You can print off the tide tables to take with you for reference whilst on the boat. With regards to your trip to the Southern Broads, the Bridges nominal heights at high water are: Acle is not a problem at 12 foot, Yarmouth is with the two bridges at 6ft 9inches and 7 foot, St Olaves is 8 foot, Somerleyton is 8ft 6inches (but will open if a single red flag is flying), Beccles Bye Pass is 12 foot, allowing you to get into the marina, you will not get under Beccles old road bridge. Reedham Bridge is 10 foot, all the bridges into Norwich are above 10ft. As Fred says you will not get to Thorpe Green being as the bridges are both 6 foot. The Green at Brammerton is an ideal place to stop with the dogs, I would have thought the park at Oulton Broad would have been also a good stop, if you moor in the Yacht Station at Beccles there is a large area of parkland next the marina. Robin has posted a number of video's on the Norfolk Broads from the many hire craft he hires to do his blogs. If you have more questions please ask, we like to help. Regards Alan

Hello Soupdragon, Welcome to the forum from Tan & myself. If this is your first visit to the Broads my advice is to have a look at the Richardson video on their website. Just copy into your browser. http://www.richardsonsboatingholidays.co.uk/first-timers/#tabs=1 Are you just staying on the Northern Broads for this trip? I would suggest that you stick to the Northern Rivers, there is plenty to see for a week. Take it slow and easy and get used to the boat it is not like driving a car and steers almost on the centre of the boat so if you turn the wheel to the left (port) the front (bow)of the boat goes in that direction but the rear (aft)goes in the opposite direction starboard. If another boat skipper offers advice I would be inclined to take it as long as it sounds correct to you. It is easier for example when stern mooring between two boats if the people on the other boats pull you in, so after they have taken your ropes put your engine out of gear. Some people will just hold the ropes for you to tie off, it is your responsibility to make the boat fast. How to tie up the boat is featured in the Richardson's video. You will setting off usually in the late afternoon and one of the popular moorings will be at Ludham Bridge but you may not find any moorings availably, the next BA moorings are the St Bennett's moorings. At this time of the year mooring spaces fill up very quickly. If you are planning on eating at the New Inn at Horning you are best to phone to reserve a mooring, the same can be done at the Hotel Wroxham which is just before the bridge. Dependant on your boats air draft (this is the height of the highest point of the boat from the water)you may be able to pass under Wroxham in order to do this you will have to queue for the bridge pilot. If you have any questions please ask and a number of the forum members will surely answer them, we are a friendly bunch on here. Regards Aaln