TeamElla

That lovely gauge in the pilot's office needs a webcam on it Wouldn't that be something!

You could always check this simplified reference chart (see attachment) I have been meaning to test it's accuracy since producing it months ago (using another forum members source data) Note that you need to get the latest ONLINE tide gauge reading from the Repps tide gauge to use this chart Link to online most recent actual gauge reading (and recent history) is in the attached pdf document PHBridgeClearances.pdf

Hello Simon, (Did you used to use the name "Cattleya"?) Yes I had water coming in, but only slowly as the widening hole started to creep past the edge of the rubber gaiter on our PSS Shaft Seal. There had not been (and still was not) any undue or recognisable noise when underway to give any indication that the prop shaft was wearing away the shaft log. If your shaft log is not bonded by an earth wire to the engine/gearbox you can easily check for contact between the prop shaft and shaft log by connecting an ohmmeter across the two (such as an avometer or even better, a multimeter on the resistance range that gives an audible buzz on contact). If the prop shaft is clear of the sides of the shaft log as it should be, you can tell how close it is to touching by physically pulling up and down on the prop shaft while you have the meter attached as above. Thanks to Clive (C.Ricko), Jason and their team we now have new engine mountings, although we're not out of the woods yet as regards finalising associated work. Our old engine mountings (aft end) were completely collapsed with the engine apparently sitting down on the mounting plate and wearing away the heads of the bolts that held the (collapsed) rubber mountings in place from underneath! (None of this was evident when looking at the engine from above). Rgds, Steve

We ate in the marquee at the riverside in a near gale.

If you,re going to have the hunter's chicken either take a friend, a hungry dog or a doggy bag to help you get through it. Really nice, but far too much food on the plate for the average diner. They serve Wherry and Nelsons too

Never mind (but thanks for reply) Rgds, Steve

I like to pull things apart to see how they work. Plus I could use parts as spares for our Waeco. Do you want to sell your broken fridge?

What are you doing with your old fridge?

Does anyone know what the current supply situation is for Calor 3.9Kg Propane (in Gt. Yarmouth area). I had the empty bottle ok last year - just couldn't get it filled up!

Andy, I have a friend who is looking for a boat (hence my interest). My post was to alert you to the absent website. From our perspective In present circumstances (i.e. lockdown) there's no hurry, so we shall wait for return of the website. If you give some basic info here (Make, Model, Price) that will be enough to pass on for now and he can email Pam if it's of interest. Good luck with the sale. Rgds, Steve

Absent.pdf

Wherry at Langley after it closed and before it was converted to a house

Those buoys are actually quite substantial compared to others that we encountered (and the underwater obstructions are completely unmarked) The bed of this river is unforgiving rock

Now the weirs on the River Lot Actually the couple of buoys in this picture don't mark the weir at all (which is about 9 feet high and stretching across the entire river - it's almost invisible in this picture) but instead they just abouy manage to mark the side channel to avoid the weir:-

How the British mark navigation hazards versus how the French mark them..... first the benign Upper River Medway in Kent (sluices or weirs):-

Tony Christie was the other one

I wonder how the lovely riverside vineyard at Parnac fared. Their workers looked like a really happy bunch exchanging banter and enjoying a meal together on a long table by the river as we passed by. (For ref, it's where the "Celebrity 5 Go Barging" crew of Tom Conti, Penny Smith, Diarmuid Gavin and Tessa Sanderson first boarded their boats before going back to the base and staying overnight at Douelle. Most of that programme featured their outward / return journey in the opposite direction, upstream of Douelle and back). The river bank at Parnac (vineyard side of river) is much lower than on the opposite bank and must be vulnerable to events like this.

Hello Griff Already seen it thanks, too late though (That makes three of us that have separately posted about the same topic) I would have found it sooner if the OP had used a more descriptive title Enjoyed a holiday from that base back in 2008. I know that Vaughan knows the base well. Rgds, Steve

Moderators - I think I should have put this in "Hire Boats Discussion"

Pontoon carried away in floods carrying 21 of Le Boat's hire fleet with it Some sunk, some smashed up, some stuck under bridges Spectacle of boats scattered along the river moving at speed in the flood waters

https://www.leparisien.fr/video/video-inondations-des-bateaux-dune-societe-de-croisiere-fluviale-emportes-par-la-crue-du-lot-03-02-2021-UCQRFZV4RZDKBDMA4ZFJFEAJ3M.php

Not only is it a great place to moor for the 360 degree views, clean air and peace of the evening (after the last boat has passed) and the call of Oyster Catchers on the opposite bank, but it has probably the strongest cellphone signal on the Broads if such things are important to you.

Thanks for all the replies. I haven't physically looked to see what's going on with linkages but I don't expect to find a problem. The gearbox engages ok and I'm sure that the throttle linkage will be ok. The problem is the lag in engine response time to the control input. It does eventually respond (without any further change of control line input) but after an initial irritating lag. I reckon that I will find that it's the same whether I'm going forward or astern, but like any other boat owner astern is my braking system. (Imagine your car brakes dithering about deciding to stop you) .

Sorry Vaughan, I respect your knowledge and experience, but I have to take issue with the last sentence in the above statement. For clarity only:- A PSS Shaft Seal does need water around the mating static carbon face and rotating stainless steel face to both cool and lubricate them. On a slow boat, this just comes up the stern tube (or shaft log), but in a fast boat exceeding 12 knots the water drains out and has to be fed down the vent tube mechanically. As far as the cutless bearing goes, many Broads based boats have this totally divorced from the shaft log in a skeg that drops down from the underside of the hull near ther propeller (but you know all this) By vent tube, I mean the tube that connects to item 4 and has to run up to above the water line in this link:- https://www.shaftseal.com/pss-type-a-seal.html On reflection (winter time):- I suppose that the very top of the water filled vent tube might freeze with the boat in the water in a severe winter but surely would not freeze up right down to the PSS gland (at bilge level inside the boat under the water line). Would it??

Well now, you have certainly set me thinking. I have never considered the stern gland vent pipe when winterising, but then again our PSS Seal has been there for many years and the boat generally stays in the water all winter. So unless we get a really big freeze, I won't be losing any sleep over it. Food for thought though!