SPEEDTRIPLE

Or do you mean "Amber Emblem"?. Either way, i think you`ll find the 240v system is the inverter type, and not really man enough for using household appliances. Usualy, these systems are for low wattage things like tvs and phone / camera chargers.

Yep, i second that, get out of London, Dorset`s nice

Firstly, welcome to the forum Rob and secondly, i don`t think ANY hire boats have a 240v domestic hook up system (though i willfully stand to be corrected?), as i think it would lead (excuse that punn Strow) to a host of difficulties. What we have is a 240v hook up lead with a bank of 3 sockets and built in RCD (is that right?) circuit breaker. I`m sure if they`re CE approved, and you allow the yard engineers to inspect it, they would allow you to use it. http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/mobile-mains-kit-p155317 I know they are a caravan and camping outlet, but these units are designed and constructed to be used in all weather conditions, so should be perfectly ok for inland boating use. Even though we now have a 240v hook up on our syndicate boat, we still take it along as an emergency back-up.

Yes, i saw that one years ago too. It looked like one of the Carrington built boats from the fens, but i thought was Potter Bridge?. I`l have a look too Griff, as two sets of eyes may be better than one.

Keeping us in suspenders eh Peter?. Come on, play the game and please do tell who it is.

Aye, that`s the type Iain. I always like them back in the day, and always wanted to hire one, but never had the chance., as i think they were always out of my price range. They were quite a spacious design, with a surprising amount of room, and i think they also had a lot of internal headroom. Must have had a deep hull?.

Hi Alan (and Dave), i don`t know whether you`re aware, but the yard at Somerleyton was once the yard owned by Sir Christopher Cockeril, the chap who invented the hovercraft, and i think, though not sure, he did some testing etc there. He was also the designer of those classic Broads cruisers named after birds of Norfolk, Lapwing, Grebeetc etc. They were the ones that had the step in the hull, and a flat foredeck / cabin top, and the coachroof had a full curve to suit the bridges. The man was a genius, and now you have a mooring in his yard. He lived up in the village not far, and i believe the house has a dedication plaque?, though things might have changed in recent years. Congratulations on getting a good mooring too.

Yes, i`ve seen some of them. It`s amazing how ingenious people can be. I remember a couple of years or so back watching Top Gear where Richard Hammond was in Iceland (i think?) and he was racing some really extravagant off roader against a kayak with a jetski engine in it. That thing went like a missle, and won the race too. I`ve also seen one where a guy has built a canoe with a small electric (Minkota) outboard, which just potters around very peacefully, which in all honesty, i think i would prefer, and feel a bit safer in.

I think you might like this?. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhXy3eWH3Uo

Now this is what i call a hovercraft. With that estate car look, it might be possible to convert it into a "camping hovercraft" or a cruising one. Would`nt that be different to see it in the Hoseasons brochure?.

Hi John, yes, i`ve seen the Elysian website, and very informative too. I particularly like the picture of the pre production model undergoing "sea trials" on the Great Ouse, take a look at the bow wave and wash, but it is doing about 14 knots, which was NOT breaking any speed limit, as there never used to be one. Re the sea going hull, yes, you are correct, but only the early ones. The later ones were re-moulded with a skeg for river use, and these i believe were more heavily constructed especially for hire use, where the vast majority ended up. I think it also says somewhere on the website, that one of the Madeira variants had a pair of BIG petrols, which were clocked at around 30 knots, though memory might be playing me tricks?.

That`s a nice boat, but with twin deisels, on a 27ft in-land cruiser?, what a waste. I don`t think you need any more than 25hp in a 27ft Elysian / Madeira / Bounty for in-land use?. It`s the same as the Hampton 25, which were mainly fitted with BMC 1.5s or the Perkins 4108, but that was because there were very few small deisels to choose from when the were built in the 70s. Several Hamptons have now been retro fitted with smaller engines and i`ve even seen one advertised with a 16hp twin cylinder unit, though i think that might be a little bit too small. They did advertise it gave 6 knots cruising, but if you need an emergency burst of power, i think 16hp will struggle. Back to the Madeira though, and i think it`s a nice looking boat, and with that hard top, good in bad weather. I thought you already had the boat of your choice Strow?.

8ft at Wayford low, i`m assuming you mean the water level and not the air draught Iain?. Airdraught at Wayford usually averages 7ft.

Nice one Strow :clap

Yes, Lee on Solent, and one of my next planned visits later this year. I did phone them to find out when they were open, but they said they were closed for important repairs to public areas, what ever that meant?. I`ve always had a facination for hovercraft, and am still interrested in buying a small personal on to blast around Poole Harbour in. With a hovercraft, we could go all over the flats etc, and get everywhere you can`t either by road or boat. The REAL problem is to try and hide it somewhere so Karen does`nt know :naughty:

That`s a good pic Strow, and have you noticed, the SRN4 is actually at rest?, you can tell because the skirt in not inflated.

I don`t think Richardsons hire out before easter, and not after October. Very few yards used to hire year round, but i think with many yards now very much indipendant from agencies, they`re looking to cater a bit more for those that like winter holidays. Howard usually hires from Swancraft, and the only other yard that were well known for hiring out of season was Royalls. Now there`s Herbert Woods, Alpha craft (as you point out), and i think Faircraft do to?.

Hi Strow, that`s excellent quality, thanks for posting it. It`s wet and windy along there today, not a lot different from when we went along there in October last year. How exactly do you find out about where to see webcams?. I`ve watched webcams from several different places, but only ones that others have included a link to. There`s plenty of places i`d like to see from a webcam.

Yes, i know what you mean. Last year, we had a week allocated for us in the syndicate, but had already had the week booked and payed for on Maffetts Kestrel, so we could`nt use it so soon after then. We had a good result though, we managed to swap it for a week in late October, where we saw the Waveney 2ft over Beccles quay. I doubt we`ll ever see that again as it was a very rare occurance. When we draw our weeks for next year, if we get another February week, i think we`ll take it, providing there`s no snow about. Keep the pics coming Howard.

I`m always looking up at the stars, i can`t afford a ticket in the balcony : . Seriously though, i often look at the stars and marvel at them. To think some of them are so far away that light has so far to travel at 186,000 mps (miles per second) the star itself has long since died. The best night sky i`ve ever seen was in the depths of the Cornish countryside, when some friends and me had a cottage. One of them went outside at nearly midnight and called us all outside. When we got there, it was quite simply the most amazing sight i`ve ever seen, and one i looked at for at least half an hour. The real beauty of it was the fact we were near the middle of Bodmin moor, with no town lights or street lights to give "light polution", and there was no moon. Result?, the brightest star lit night sky i`ve evr seen, and one i`ve never seen the like of since. We do get close down here, but the light polution from Poole and Bournemouth, although 8-10 miles away, still has an adverse effect. A few weeks ago, we had a star lit sky, when the street lights had been turned off, and there was very little moon, so we had a pretty good one then. One thing that surprises me is when you look up on a bright sunny twilight evening, and see all the satelites and space stations glinting in the setting sun light. You can tell when it`s a station or satelite, because they actually twinkle, and the sky is`nt dark enough to allow the light of the stars to shine.

When you go in there Marina, please tell Caroline that Neil and Karen wish her well, and will be seeing her at the end of May?..................... Several times probably.

Howard, do you only hire out of season?, as whenever you post up pics etc, it`s always out of season.

We went through Loddon on Easter Sunday 2 years ago, and Caroline was open then. Needles to say, we stopped off for a cuppa and a cuddle with Caroline ., then on the Monday, we went there from Oulton Broad for breakfast before the customary 5 hour drive home.

Hi Marina, They`re the main reasons we always hired from Maffetts. A great little yard run by a great family, from a great locayion. On top of that, the eat in or takeaway choice is one of the best on the Broads, but best of all is as soon as you arrive, it`s lunch at Rosie Leas, then 1 minute to the boat. Good luck with your first cruise, and we hope you enjoy Loddon / Chedgrave as much as we ddo?. Hopefully, we`ll see you when we`re up there in May, as we won`t be on Ligghtning next weekend.

Just think, in years gone by, people had the rite to "THINK" FOR THEMSELVES. Is`nt it marvelous that we now have successive governments that have taken away our ability to think whats right and wrong for us, what`s safe or dangerous for us, and make us realise that to make big expensive gas guzzling or deisel cars safer, you only need to invent yet another tax which automatically makes them more environmentally safe for us? Oh, i almost forgot, is`nt it marvelous to have a government the knows better than us, who seem to think that an abundance of speed camera makes the roads far more safe than an abundance of visible police cars that can recognise cars that are obviously not roadworthy, or being driven so dangerously that they are a risk to innocent motorists or pedestrians. I just love living in modern Britain, it makes me realise that there was no need for me to be born with a brain at all.