Viking23

Thanks for all the suggestions, re fenders, I feel as though I have partly high jacked the thread but I'm sure fendering of one's pride and joy, must affect some private craft's decision about venturing South, hopefully this will help many others. I had heard of fendering boards, and having looked on the internet, it will provide a great and very cheap option for certain applications. I'm now more confident about the thought of mooring up, without having to constantly check and adjust the fenders, which, even during the night, I do check them with a torch. I wake up several times during the night... the benefit of being a man and getting older lol, Again many thanks.

With having a small boat, with outboard, the tidal range and tides of the Southern Broads, have to be considered, together with additional fuel required if going against the tide. But we have all this in hand and every year we spend around 10 days on the Southern Broads, covering every square inch of the navagable waterways. We know where we can get petrol, empty the loo, get water and where to moor, to reduce possible damage or snagging caused by the quayside. Equally well, we know where we can eat well. The tidal range does cause us issues as we have to spend more time sorting out the fenders and spring lines, and sometimes when leaving places like St Olaves to catch the low tide at Yarmouth can leave the boat with quite a drop to the deck, and sometimes the roof has to come into play, but with these tasks, wearing an Automatic Life jacket is a real necessity. Whilst on the subject of fenders, can someone please give me some advice ? At St Olaves, and similar places, there are steel pilings for the quayside, the profile is rather deep, and our sausage type fenders fall into the recesses and make them useless, and what I want is two large round fenders one forward, one astern, that will keep the rubbing strake of the boat off the steel pilings, even if they drop into the recess, where they will probably spend most of their time and I was wondering what diameter I would need to keep the boat off the quayside, and then give enough clearance for the boat to rise without catching on the wooden capping at the top. I was thinking of around 14" diameter. The rubber rubbing strake sticks out around 2" from the vertical part of the hull. Any advise please?

I think the South is so much better than the North, and the two largest hire boat companies should move their entire fleet to the Southern Broads, together with all the day boats, with a ban on going any further North than Great Yarmouth Yacht Station. This would give a great opportunity to develop the upper reaches in Norwich. Now as a sacrifice, I am still prepared to keep my boat on the Northern Broads, in order to reduce the increasing congestion on the Southern Broads. I would hope there are many more like minded people who would make the same sacrifice. lol...

Somehow, I get the impression that if they have the technology to move through the universe and get to earth, then I am fairly sure that any weapons that the USA have, or claim they haven't got... will have very little affect on their technology, when the gloves are off. The two orbs, could be two returning helicopters coming back from the rigs in the North Sea.

We have found Marine Tech to be very helpful, we get all our Honda consumables from there, we have always visited them from the river, and they also supply Calor gas too. I'm not always sure when they are open, as once we called on a Saturday, and they were locked up on the river side, and of course, no easy way to get to the road from the river, at that point, so might be worth a phone call first.

I recently ordered a flag and received several, and a few window stickers. Great forum, great members. Some Jokes a bit iffy... but then again I have posted a few like that too. lol...

I have a itinery of all my items in the boat, from teaspoons to serial numbers for any equipment, added to that I have security marked most items. Once done in a table in "Word" and printed, it is an easy task to add to the print out, maybe once a season and then update the document. I also keep a record of when the engine was serviced, what changes I have done, what parts replaced etc and which windows have been resealed and when. Even which parts of the hull have been waxed etc. The list also contains a list of local phone numbers, so one document suits all. Looking back over the document really shows how time flies, a job you thought you did say a season or so ago, could reveal that it was in fact 5-6 years ago, quite shocking really.

Watch out using bleach in strong solutions for long contact periods with stainless steel tanks. Sodium hypochlorite, the main component of bleach, and sterilising products, attacks stainless steel.

I agree, it probably is safe straight from the tap, we rarely buy bottled water in the UK, some tap water contains more minerals than others, eg hard water, but the problem is how it is stored, and what is fermenting or growing in the boat water tank before you drink it that concerns me.

We have a plastimo flexible tank, they last maybe 7 years before they leak, so if you routinely change them say every 6 years and then look at the inner liner, then you would do as we do... Only use the water for showering, cleaning teeth, washing up etc. We, like others, have 3 x 5 litre camping quality, water carriers that we refill direct from the tap but only after the main tank is full, so the tap water should be clean. I also noticed at West Sommerton, the water tap had a notice... boil before use etc... When I spoke to a local moorer, he said he'd been drinking it all his life... Never had any problems, and neither have we... touch wood. Cross contamination is a high risk, especially when fresh water taps are near to pump out points... there is no guarantee that the fresh water tap has not been used for flushing. People are also careless when they return the fresh water hose, it often goes in the river, or dragged along the dirty deck or path, through gosh knows what, dogs also use the water tap post to relieve themselves... The hoses themselves should be suitable for potable water, not all are, and most garden hoses are not. So be aware of this, and take reasonable precautions, and use common sense. Be aware that on hire boats, you will never know how they filled your tank on arrival. Unless you fully drain the tank each season, there will always be a percentage of last seasons water in there... but as the season goes on, then this proportion gets less and less.

I was just looking at the Barnes Brinkcraft camera, the speed of update is much improved... however... Looking at their moorings, there are several boats stern moored with people on board, can I assume they have arrived back early at the yard ready for an early start tomorrow? Personally, if this was the case, I wouldn't want to moor close to other boats, in a mooring surrounded by parked cars, and with no scenery. What we did when we hired, we moored an hours cruise away, in a nice quiet spot, like Salhouse, or Coltishall, or a wild mooring, or even mud weighted, or at a pub, and got up to time our arrival at the yard to suit. This gave all the crew enough time to pack, have breakfast, have a shower and all be ready to step off the boat, whilst still enjoying the boat on the return journey. I would not want to spend my last evening in a car park. Just a thought...

Yes very strict in Saudi, my son has moved there to work, but will live in Bahrain, and commute daily. Years ago when we made homemade wine, it could never become vintage, as one lot was bottled, another was set up, mind you, we were using 3x 1 gallon (4.5 litre) demijohns lol. When wine became more available, with the French booze cruises, it was no longer cost effective to make our own.

If the bailifs want to catch as many anglers as possible, just cruise along most rivers on the eve of the start of the fishing season. ie on the evening of 15th June. They only have to wait a few hours for the season to start... but they have to dangle their maggot. A bit like opening Christmas presents on Christmas eve. They have probably set up for the night, fair enough... but just can't wait...

On that section you also have the river punts base. Never seen one on the river though. When getting close to the mill at the end of the basin, turn early, a few hundred metres before the end, as it is very weedy, and shallow in places. Having said that, you can clearly see the debris and the weed so keep a look out. You pass very close to a pub balcony, under a bridge, where the punters are within arms reach of your boat, so have something funny to say, but be aware... you also have to come back past them lol... Best to arm yourself with a drink before you pass them, and share a toast, always good banter with them each time we have passed. It also makes their day to have a riverside seat with boats on the river too. We also form part of the broadland scenery. A nice section of river, with some interesting buildings, and bridges but go slow 2mph is a nice speed on that section and watch out for anglers, in season of course. Nowhere really suitable for mooring though, so really a trip up, turn around and a slow cruise back again. To boldly go, where no Hire craft has gone before. That's what makes this special.

Some tried nude cruising on the canals once, the only problem was where to put your lock handle... Now... those cogs in the paddle winding gear could cause an accident ohhh errr missus. Sometimes you also push the gates open using your rear end, now the gates and beams are usually wooden, and may contain splinters... I wouldn't want to sit on seats, sat on by nudists, naturists or what ever they want to call them selves.

Another option could be has the boat trim changed over this time, if the water tanks are full, then the trim could change, and puddles of water on the deck might accumulate in different places, one of which could be around a deck cleat, we had this on our boat, the cleat was leaking into our outboard petrol locker, but only when the stern was low, ie bow water tank empty. But from what has been suggested, fresh water is more likely from your water system. You could try placing waterproof sheets or a bin liner under filters and pumps and joints of course to see what is leaking. Or kitchen roll works too, even if it dries out, you can clearly see if it has had water on it. Regular inspection is the key. You could fit a water sensor in that bilge area, then you know when water is starting to get in, saves regular inspections. The biggest problem with this thread is... we all want to know where the water is coming from, so when you do find out, you must update this thread...lol We don't like being kept in suspense lol.

Google " Transom mounting clamp" Select " images" search images until you like the look of one. select it, then visit their web site. Plenty to choose from. Looks like the price is around the £30 - £40 area You might pick up an old one from a refurb job. You can also search " Boat steering clamp" this pulls a few on ebay too. Half the time with the internet, is finding what words to choose for the best search. Good luck.

Most of you have missed an important point here.... Most are relying on crew on board to deploy recovery devices. Assuming that ALL the crew are proficient in their use, then that's fine, but if for some reason you are alone, however briefly maybe you are setting off early for Breydon, wife in bed, or you are moored up, wife gone shopping, now you are on your own in the water, with no one on deck to deploy any devices that you thought would save a life you now find yourself alone, cold and to be fair, panicking. So think again, how would "YOU" get out of the water "NOW" this minute... No forward planning, you arrived at the boat, from home, wife in car because it's too cold and wet you slip, now... what are you going to do? We tried to haul a guy out of Hickling a few seasons ago, he had been thrown from a sailing dinghy, the dinghy had left him behind. I thought we could get him to climb up the outboard, transom and then onto the stern step, he couldn't he was young fit and couldn't do it, it was summer, the water was around 65 degrees F. So we hailed a small passing open boat, and three young guys on board, the guy himself and I between us struggled to get him into a low free board dinghy. Following that event, I have since fitted a folding stainless steel ladder, that can be deployed from the water, and goes into the water around two feet... now this is really important to have a submerged step. So have a rethink about MOB on your boat, I'm surprised that hire craft don't have this facility. I guess it might encourage people to have a dip...

Highland malt whiskies for me. Lighter in colour, like Dalwhinnie. As with most malts, best served neat, a little water can bring out the taste, but never... never add a mixer to a good malt... aghhh... should be against the law lol. If you want to have a mixer, then any cheap whisky or whiskey will do. Now, if you don't like whisky, or Drambuie, then try this... Any standard whisky mixed 50/50 with drambuie, and a couple of ice cubes... Excellent, my wife hates both individually, but loves the mix. This drink is better known as a Rusty Nail. Warning.... can contain a high volume of alcohol, as both are neat. Drink sensibly of course, and don't drive whilst under the influence... and that includes boats too.

Aldi or Lidl often sell them as a pair, we use our PMR's when I take the boat round to the mooring, and the wife takes the car. Useful too, if one of you goes shopping, but all hell breaks loose when a call comes in, when you are in the middle of Roys lol. Not as "discrete" as a mobile phone... enough said. They will also work car to car, if you are travelling in convoy, I've used them in the house when doing DIY jobs, like running cables through walls and ceiling.

Here are the 8 PMR channels, you will not be able to set up this radio with sub channels as the PMR radios add a sub tone to the transmission, which is used by the PMR receiver to decode it. If someone transmits with a PMR on channel 6.3 and another on channel 6.5 then this radio will pick them both up on channel 6

Here is a list of frequencies for marine channels. I hope it helps.

I bought one of these, it is a pain to set them manually, but dooable, but I bought the programming lead with software, linked to my PC and downloaded it to the radio, much easier, and easy to change to lower power for the PMR channels too. I programmed all sorts of channels, to do with marine use, to listen in only of course, as you shouldn't transmit on most marine channels without the appropriate licence. PMR ok, but this radio can transmit at higher power than is allowed for that application. Having saved the programme, it is easy to download with the lead, if you accidentally corrupt a channel out on the boat, which is easy to do if you are messing with it. In the wrong hands, this radio could cause all sorts of interference issues on other channels, and you could be held to account, so choose your channels and power carefully. If you only want it for PMR, then just buy a cheap PMR radio, that will give you the sub channels too, but these only filter what comes in on your radio, and the conversation can be heard on other radios on the main channel, even without the subchannel idents. There are still only 8 channels in total. Note... radio transmissions can be listened in to, it is not illegal, but what can be, is using the information for personal gain Richard

This must be a "wind up"... especially when you have finished the call lol. Thanks so far for the replies on O2, very much appreciated. Also for which is the best operator for the Broads. We don't want to be spending too much per month on a phone contract, the Tesco at £7.50 per month looks good, but if we can't use it when and where we want, then it's not that good value.

Mobile phone coverage again... We are about to change our phones to Tesco mobile, which uses O2 as it's provider, i just wondered, if things have improved with O2 since this thread started. I know there is still the black hole in the Horning Triangle, but what about other open areas, like Barton Broad, as we have managed to get a good signal with Orange/EE with our current one. Once a text message came in when we were in Horning... but I didn't notice exactly where in Horning... lol... Maybe it was where six people were standing on a bench seat with phones to their ears... only joking lol...