BroadAmbition

Shorts for me April - end of September at work and socially if acceptable every year Griff

I lived in Gibraltar for four years combined. The lavantar was sometimes spectacular when it formed. One side of the rock bathed in hot sunshine, t'other side grey and cool Griff

Winter - Tube heaters switched on, thermostat set to +2c, so any higher temp than that and the 2 x tubes located in the engine bay are switched off. Each one only 80w. No dehumidifiers / cabin heaters / tarpaulins or owt else for that matter. Elec cost - Minimal and not really bothered if I'm honest, what price peace of mind? Griff

I suppose it does! What I actually meant to portray of course was thanks for letting us know Griff

Heyup and 'Si-thee' Welcome Griff

Something that is virtually inconceivable in the current climate. So, basically impossible. Aye, and let's hope it stays that way Griff

E11 - Yep I concede there, the number of windows aft was throwing me I glanced and saw only two but there are indeed three (Pay more attention Griffin) the fore end is identical in shape to 'B.A' too of course. The Bridge however - Just look at the width of the span, never mind the headroom, Wroxham bridge has never been that big in a million years. It's definitely the former Bridge structure at Acle - Put my mortgage on it! May I respectfully suggest you have a re-think and totally convince yersen otherwise! Griff

Outside the Kings Head at Wroxham !!! - You extracting the urine or what Ricardo? It is of course outside the Bridge Inn at Acle, the previous bridge structure to the one we have now, that I and many remember. The craft looks to be 35ft long and is a 'Bourne 35' Hull if I'm not mistaken, a cut down size of the Bourne 40 that 'B.A' spawned of course Griff

It is one of my proudest boasts that I have never hired or had a holiday afloat in a 'Bath Tub' Long may that continue. However I too can see the appeal of them and fully understand why some crews love them. Also they have got many a family afloat to enjoy the Broads, sometimes on a restricted budget, and for that alone they deserve respect Griff

Is that an invite Griff But of course Here's a question back to you seeing as I believe you are ex RN. Correct 1976 - 2000. Is the gin pennant actually 'a thing' or just made up internet rubbish? And I mean a proper international thing not a local made up idea. The actual flag (Pennant) is a 'Stbd' pennant, that is green / white / green sections with the middle section being white. When flown from a ships Stbd yardarm within RN speak it denotes 'Senior officer afloat' so if a group of RN ships were alongside in the same location, the ship with the Stbd pennant flying denotes that ship as having the most senior officer onboard among all the ships gathered. Gin Pennant - It was not a 'Proper' denoted flag available from Naval Stores, that is to say it is not in the actual books of signalling as being a proper 'Bona Fide' flag. However it was officially recognised within the RN. The other armed forces services also recognised and understood it. Take a standard 'Stbd Pennant' the shape of a champagne glass cut out of black material stitched onto the middle white section of the flag, thereby turning it into the recognised 'Gin Pennant' When flown from the mast means 'Open invite to all messdecks onboard including the wardroom. It is raised to half mast 30 mins before 'Open Ship' then hoisted close up during the event, then 30 mins before 'Closing Ship' it it lowered to half mast, then down altogether when the ship is closed. A Gin Pennant is only flown when a ship is alongside, never whilst underway Onboard 'B.A' I have a genuine 'Gin Pennant' that I 'Borrowed' from HMS Glasgow D88 when I left her in November 1979 - which is really to big for 'B.A'. (It was made by a very young, extremely good looking sailor that originates from Gods Country). We have a smaller printed one onboard that is a more suitable size. I have flown it from 'B.A's mast before now on a few occasions, sometimes it is recognised and we get perfect strangers onboard for a drink. Other times no one has taken up the offer. It is rarely flown during our infamous Lads Week as:- 1) Some smart Alec will know what it denotes on each boat and 2) The bar bill would be tremendous! However my Late Dad (Known as The Admiral) once did fly it whilst underway on a Lads week (3 x Broom Admirals) approaching Barton Broad - The consequences were epic and the tale is retold many times - Over a drink of course. Griff

Buy that man a pint - Hunger Games (The first one) Well done, one I owe you, even better if consumed onboard 'B.A' Griff

Great news, a huge step forward, assuming the staff at the Marina don't get all officious wanting something for nothing Griff

They brought about their own demise, as those in the know are aware. I shall say no more. They did too from what I heard. Made me feel somewhat sorry for Alpha Senior Griff

I should know this, as the fish finder onboard 'B.A' tells us the depth wherever we are, it's very accurate too. Of course now at some stage I will have to transit the New Cut at low and high water to find out! Griff

Are you asking or answering? Griff

What had you eaten ? Four day old leftover Chinese takeaway that had no business being in our fridge Griff

Which will probably preclude all but the Waveney & Yare rivers? The afore mentioned bridges on the Bure sees to that without even considering the draft. But looking on the bright side, Independence does have the capability of using Breydon, GYA, downstream of Haven Bridge, New cut, Waveney up to the first bridge at Beccles, the mighty Yare to the rail bridge at Norwich, Oulton Broad, Mutford Lock, Lake Lothing. The whole of the North sea and beyond of course - Just how much does she want/need? The Jewel in the crown here is that the Rascal still has use of 'B.A' for the whole of the Broads rivers, including above PHB Best of both worlds springs to mind Griff

We enjoy having the goggle box set up and running, both for the actual broadcasted programmes but more for watching DVD films and since Robin has advised us and upgraded 'B.A' to a smart LED TV with a blue ray player, things are really cooking now. Apparently another upgrade coming next year will be better speakers replacing the current wheelhouse ones, then somehow using 'Robin Magic' the tv and or Blue Ray player will utilise these instead of the tv's speakers. Apparently it is a 32" onboard 'B.A' it is as big as we could fit in the space provided and a flat screen and can be viewed from any angle perfectly. Yes we like it! Griff Edit - A pint from me to you (Or a fruit based drink for the ladies) if you can identify the film showing. Only to the first correct answer though!

Come on people, let’s give Robin ideas, what illness do you need for a week off ? Well I would not recommend for him with what I had to go through last week. I couldn't take an hour off, let alone a few days (Perks of being self employed and not letting customers down) You see I had what is commonly known as a case of 'The Runs' which was bad enough in itself, to exaggerate the condition though, this transpired into a 'Jurassic Anus' otherwise known as a 'Megasorearse' Griff

Acle bridge would have to go too. Independence has an airdraft of 20ft plus the aerials / domes above that! Then there is the 'Small' matter of a 4ft10" draft and that's not fully loaded / stored either Griff

A Golden Retriever family pet / Gundog. However a breeding Stallion would be a close second Griff

Coming on a treat. Looking great Griff

Looking forward to your return, hope you get everything sorted out ok Griff

I have had this thought of free heat and a matrix system for 'B.A' on the back burner for an age now. This thread has brought it to the fore once again. What stopped me before was that it was a low priority upgrade and the issue of a second header tank trying to avoid airlocks and the like. However what has really got me thinking is the link that dnks34 posted up (Thanks - your fault - yet more open wallet surgery) the AlizeD matrix would be ideal for 'B.A' and heating the wheelhouse when underway. I can easily mount the matrix system underfloor in the engine room, keeping the matrix below the height of the current plumbing for the calorifier thereby avoiding any air locks in the cooling system. Wiring it up is no problem as it is 12v for the fan, then a simple matter of fitting two lengths of pipe ducting (Insulated of course) to a couple of Mikuni outlets and Robert is your Dads Brother. I had better put it on our upgrade list then. Capt Kev - With all this talk of heating a boat, I assume your salty boat is the same as B.A on the Broads at Christmas. Once the heating goes off, heat retention is non existent and it ends up being "Bloody Cold". Not so at all Capt Kev. Our Biodegradables are far better at retaining heat and having less condensation that the tupperware cousins. Besides, 'B.A's hull in all cabins is insulated as are all the deckheads throughout apart from the canopy over the wheelhouse. More importantly because of 'B.A's huge battery bank, during extremely cold weather we can and do leave the mikuni heating on overnight (Shock horror). Due to my efforts at getting the diesel feed pump to operate silently and the silencer on the exhaust, the system is very quiet. Only trouble is that you sometimes get tooooooooo hot overnight whilst slumbering! Griff

It will smooth off the edge of a wall tile after its been cut. It may well do with a ceramic wall tile, doubt it would do the same on a floor grade porcelain tile though. I use good quality (Expensive) dry/wet diamond blades on porcelain and they don't last for ever either! It will square off a length of copper tube that you have not managed to cut off square with the hacksaw. Hacksaw on copper tube? Never! I use proper pipe cutters, keeps the ends square with an ever so slight bevel - Perfect Griff