Viking23

Cheap double glazing maybe...! We have placed some of the silvered bubble wrap behind the roof lining, and behind the hull carpet, and under the foredeck... As found in Wickes and the like. I used high temperature spray adhesive. Certainly the walls feel warmer to the touch. Does it make a difference? well our feet are warmer... With this type of insulation, it is very difficult to give a figure as to the savings, since the windows have a great heat loss, and the large ventilation required.

On ebay there are a few ranging from under £20 to £40. Do a search " Fridge catch" and with luck, one might be right for yours. Good luck, Richard

Great idea... Could be voluntary initially... What's in it for the hire yards, or the hirers? For those crew having met the minimum requirements of the test, could mean that the hire yard, waive their insurance wavers, or give better hire rates, hire yards could budget for fewer repairs. Win Win all around. Except that... as mentioned elsewhere, it is "alleged" that the money raised from collision damage waivers, goes into a pot, used for completing repairs on their own craft and other craft without going through insurance companies. Any profit, or indeed loss, overall is the responsibility of the hire company.

NOTE to Moderators... I tried to edit the above post as there was a typo... tue up... should be tie up, but I had an error.. I even rebooted my ipad... Forbidden You don't have permission to access /forum/index.php on this server. Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. ...Edit... this time I could edit this one... by adding this line...

Spring lines... but it's now Autumn...lol Telling folk about spring lines, when they haven't heard what a mooring warp is... We use them all the time, mostly because of our 23 foot length, and the distance between mooring posts. Bow line to a forward post on the bank, same rope comes back to the nearside stern cleat (Spring line), from this cleat to a post astern. Then a line from off side stern cleat to a post astern, this line keeps the stern close to the bank, and this set up works well for quite a tidal range, and stops the boat going forward and aft as the tide rises and falls. It also stops movement from the under tow of passing boats. We use this method even for short stops, eg when getting ready to transit Potter Heigham, main reason, is because the boat is light, it tends to move away from the bank quickly as you board etc. What the hire industry needs is a guide that they send out once the booking is confirmed, with all these advanced features in, and a description of how to start, stop, turn, stern moor, tie up, and a few maps, with travel times, the odd phone number, pubs, shops, pumpouts etc, details of mooring etc. The hirer and the crew could famiarise them selves with boat handling, and how and where to moor, then during the handover, they can learn how to set the fridge to keep the beer cool, where to charge the phone, and how to use the heating without having to moor with the engine running....! Surely from the hirers perspective, these are the important bits. As far as I can see, those travelling south from Stalham have forgotten where the brakes are, when they have to stop at Ludham bridge to allow other boats to come through the bridge... What ever happened to the Boaters Guide that was sent out with the booking confirmation, I used to like reading that, it was part of the excitement of planning the holiday, it could also have the slack water times for Great Yarmouth, if it was published annually. Mind you, the rest of my family never looked at it.... it seemed to be part of my responsibility...lol Richard

There is a website "Norman Boats Appreciation Society" Link.. http://www.normanboats.co.uk Have a look at "boat range" some of the models are listed, but there is a great range of weights between models, so be sure what you have, and there is no guarantee that the published weights on the site are correct. Weights are without engine, fuel, battery etc, Might not even include the canopy either. If you add things like cooker, portaloo, water tank, ropes, anchors and fenders, boat hooks, personal belongings, etc etc, then you need to add a lot more to the trailer weight. Trailer Gross weight is trailer plus load, for unbraked, if your car is plated to tow unbraked, then the maximum unbraked is 750 kg. but some cars are rated at less. You also have to consider how you are going to launch it, as soon as you unhook the trailer on a slipway.... you have no brakes, so consider the method carefully. Best regards, Richard,

Good call, thanks Iain, I now have a couple of these, or similar, I keep one on the boat and always check it for polarity and earth continuity when hooking up to shore power. The second one is in my electrical toolbox, quicker to test a socket than any multimeter.

I was working on a washing machine once in our utility room, I switched it off at the wall, and I always checked the terminals with an electric neon screw driver as a precaution before touching anything. The neutral was live!! The previous home owner had wired in a spur for the washing machine and crossed over the live and neutral. I then spent the rest of the day removing all the sockets, and tightened and checked all the connections.

You normally pay more after inflation...lol

Our forward berth is triangular, and made up from several cushions, so bottom sheets are a no no. We have tried sleeping bags, but the cost of laundry is so expensive. So we have a double duvet, around 4.5 tog, with cover on the base and a kingsize duvet with cover for the top. They all then roll up and are stored under the forward deck. Wish we did this years ago.

Certain remakes work, for example, the Pierce Brosnan version of the "Thomas Crown affair" was better than the original, in my opinion, but also others that didn't work, like "The Italian Job" There have also been that many Robin Hoods and Sherlock Holmes over the years, I have lost count, for these it wouldn't matter. The remake of James Bond's Casino Royale works better than the David Niven version. What these have in common, is that there are only a few characters that influence the film. With Dad's Army, there are many characters, each with their own individal characters, if they try to use the catch phrases it will probably fail. If you hear the catch phrase you immediately know the character... You stupid boy. Is that wise? You're living in the realms of fantasy Jones. Well I have the boxed set of the original "Dad's Army" it doesn't date. I can watch them time and time again.

22 lb mud weight, is quite light, we use a 28 lb for a Viking 23 and that often drags in light to moderate winds. We often have to use two at this weight, if stronger winds are expected.

I think one of them was a hire craft, but it's ok, he paid his collision damage waiver. lol.. The point is, with the huge mass of these ships, you can predict a collision many minutes away, but there is very little that can be done even if you put both into full reverse.

Ths is Caen Meadow, walk up the dirt path, to the main road, turn right, then 1/4 mile on right is Roy's petrol station. topped up there many a time. Richard.

Some great pictures there, but I had a shock when I saw Graham Cook's picture in the link. A reminder to take care when on the water. I can't believe it's over 2 1/2 years since the tragedy. He is still sadly missed. Although we never used his services on our boat, we always had a word prior to transitting the bridge, and his advice was always first class.

Well it's what the likes of Richardson's, Barns Brinkcraft etc, do every week, when they hire out their top of the range fleet to first timers, they rely on only half an hour of instruction. Some of their boats are worth more than £100k too. Mind you... some do return with untold damage... But a cheap collision damage waiver covers the hirer... most of the time. I bet you can't get that on private insurance. Richard

Hi, if your flexible tank is a Plastimo one, you can expect a life of around 5-7 years before the seam splits. My experience below, is based on this type of tank. I always suggest to people that they fit some pond liner under the tank to collect the water "WHEN" it leaks. Also a water detector is a good idea, as these tanks quietly leak filling the bilge and surrounding area. Using a pressure pump is fine on the outlet of these tanks. Mine is a Shureflow on demand, triple headed diaphragm pump, 10 litre per min, 30 psi, that feeds a Paloma MkV water heater and works fine with a shower too. The secret of these flexible tanks is to ensure that the filler seals well, as the operation relies on no venting, the tank collapses when operating and virtually all the water in the tank can be used. Avoid harsh chemicals like bleach, as this can harden the inner liner, and shorten the life. Diluted white vinegar can be used for cleaning the tank. If it is a plastimo tank, the inner bladders can be easily replaced at around half the price of a complete tank. Hope it helps. best regards, Richard

Central point for fuel...petrol, diesel, access to a supermarket 24/7 There is only one place... in my opinion... Great Yarmouth, Asda, free short stay deep water floating pontoons, fuel, water, food and drinks etc. Stop there in each direction during a weeks holiday, and you won't need to stop at another shop or pub on the broads again. Hmm...not a good idea for supporting local businesses, but when did the large supermarket chains ever consider that? Coffee shop overlooking the pontoons, great for the grockles to watch first timers trying to moor in a confined space with strong currents. A great day out for all. Also have a few moorings for the Broads Authority too. Richard

My father on his sunstar18, modified the rigging wires, as he wanted quick release on the side wires as two were slightly forward of the mast, and he bought two stainless lever type tensioners, so prior to dropping the mast, he released these, levers, and the mast was able to be lowered. The rigging wires had to be shortened by quite a bit to compensate. He also placed clear plastic hose loosely over these clamps and rigging, as the genoa would chafe against it. On raising the mast, he was also concerned that the rigging wires didn't snag or kink, and several attempts had to be restarted part way through, especially when working alone. He also made a broads style crutch and made some brackets for these, in order for the rear of the mast to be supported. And yes, it went under Potter Heigham bridge like this, provided that all the crew were in the cockpit. It sailed quite close to the wind, despite only having bilge keels, and with a draught of only 2' 3" was able to take advantage of the widest broads. The advantage of bilge keels is... if you are healed over and hit bottom, when the boat becomes upright, she is clear again. The very opposite for a fin keel. He also made a boom tent, that meant that the hatch could be left open at night in all weathers. These are very tough little boats. Well made and take the ground well on drying out moorings.

I use Chinese takeaway containers, several can be stored in the box, they stack well, and provide some moisture protection. You can write on the lid too. I often press these containers into service for other jobs too. I also bought a 4 way cigar socket adaptor from Aldi, it also has two USB power outputs. It has a switch and an LED so items can be left plugged in, with one master switch. Richard

I might be able to help, with some more History, I was present when my father collected his new Sunstar 18 in 1970 / 71 ish. Arthur Howard was now running a company called Sun Yachts in Gillingham. His design of the Sunsatar 18 was a slightly bigger version of the earlier Leisure 17, the main difference is the front round side windows were replaced with larger oval shaped windows. It was this year that AC Howard was developing the Sun Ray 21, I saw the prototype, ready for the boat show and the wooden plug that he was polishing and sanding ready for a production mould to be taken. The Sunray 21 was the first one he designed with standing head room. From the conversation with Arthur Howard, if I can recall, there was a split up and bad feeling around that time. Also, prior to the Sunstar 18, there was a smaller brother called the Sunspot 15. I trust I have recalled the information correctly, it was a long time ago. I recall Arthur Howard buying us lunch in a local pub at that time. Just for the record... my drink was a bottle of pop lol... I was a teenager at the time. The Sunstar 18 was a very stable boat, we often went into the North sea from Great Yarmouth, and we also circumnavigated Anglesey including the swellies. Much later my father with a few friends, sailed to the Isle of Man from Conwy, in the days of no mobile phones, no GPS, he used a radio direction finder to plot his position. The Sunstar was self righting, and the demo documentation showed that no water entered the cabin in a complete knockdown situation. ( laboratory conditions, ie no waves.) The boat was a very safe and stable yacht, and we sailed it hard too, often one bilge keel skimmed across the water. Re Mast lowering, my dad first used a rope around the bow roller, and then lifted the rear of the mast on his shoulder until the rope could be used. As he got older, the rope was replaced with a block and tackle and then finally an "A" frame, in similar design to the one on Reed Bunting from Martham. With best regards, Richard

I just come across is thread, and what struck me was that most isolator switches are preferred by BSS to be located as close to the battery as possible. This thread clearly shows the dangers of hydrogen gas given off from a battery even during normal charging. So under fault conditions, which could cause an increase of hydrogen and oxygen to be given off, then we would normally switch off the isolator... However, the isolator switch might well be in the same localised atmosphere as the batteries, so the explosive gas mixture too, I don't believe that the cheap plastic isolated battery switches are explosion proof, or even sealed against the ingress of the explosive mixture. So there is a risk that the battery isolator could create a spark within the confined area of the switch contacts causing an explosion that ruptures the switch housing and then the exposed flame or spark can ignite the explosive gas in the battery compartment... I have worked and designed industrial systems for use in hazardous areas, and this set up would not be allowed. So is the BSS wrong with this set up, and should battery isolator switches be mounted in an area away from the batteries?

For riverside petrol, you also have the Waveny River Centre. For our Viking 23, with outboard, we tend to buy from car petrol stations that are near to the river, much cheaper and fresher than riverside petrol, we then carry it, but some garages have a policy to limit petrol containers to 2x5 ltr plastic, or 2 x10 litre metal containers. At any single transaction..... Say no more. Also petrol stored for long periods tends to loose it's potency, but there are fuel additives that can be added, and these work really well. If we had an inboard, although a petrol would most likely be quieter with less vibration, we would go with diesel for ease of filling up, and less risk of potential leaks and fire etc. Best regards, Richard

You can sometimes get a look at the live web cam at Barnes Brinkcraft, if you sign up and select Bridge View. See http://www.norfolklive.org/camera/barnes-brinkcraft.html I just took a snap shot, so check time and date of this post and searchsite above.. Plenty of room at the moment.

Engine, some say electric, some say a yanmar diesel, whatever it is, the picture shows it is powered by 14 oars power. I would love to see that going up the Ant on a Saturday afternoon on a bank holiday... We actually saw the boat on the Thames before the pageant at Richmond, when we were visiting friends. Or one that looked very similar. Richard