SPEEDTRIPLE

Hi John, sadly Karen and i won`t be able to make the summer meet, as we`ve already made previous arrangements for that weekend (where`s the crying smiley gone?) but are hoping to make the Autumn meet in October?. I know it`s early, but do have any idea if it`ll be on the first weekend again, as that`ll tie in nicely with Karens birthday (a biggish one, though i won`t say exactly which 50th one?) so it would be great to treat her to a weekend away (we`d come anyway) again?. I know you`ll all be having a good time, so i`l be thinking about you all. Regards to all ....................... Neil.

I know Bridgecraft had some 3 years ago, as we hired from them and they were tied up in the yard, so yes Bridgecraft USED to, though i`m sure when we were there last year, we drove to Thurne dyke, and i seem to remember seing them when we stopped by the shop at the bridge, and saw them on the other side of the river. I know LBBY had loads of them, several different types and sizes, but don`t forget "Bank dayboats" at Wayford bridge. Have a great weekend away?.

Well, all i can say is that in the company i work for, we`ve had a dramatic rise in the number of project managers, project co-ordinators, production controllers etc etc etc, but the simple fact is, they`re the biggest waiste of the companies money. If i had a pound for the number of times i`ve pointed out where these office wallers are completely wrong, as no of them know anything about how to actually build the product, i`d be a millionaire. They just simply sit on their ar..s writning e-mails and doing graphs etc etc etc that are of absolutely no help to the production team (and by production team, i mean the actual people who use the tools to build things) and cost the company hundreds of thousands a year. No, as far as the BA is concerned. the sooner they start to streamline and get rid of all those "hangers on" and just simply concentrated on doing what`s best for the Broads, and those that earn a living from them, the better. They`re NOT an employment regime, and being publically funded, they should be doing a much BETTER job of giving the toll payers the BEST service .

Totally aggree with you there Leo, i`ve NEVER been a fan of Wetherspoons, as you say, the pubs have no atmosphere and generally are staffed with people who just don`t give a damn about the customers. We`ve got a Wetherspoons in our nearest town (Ferndown in Dorset) called The Nightjar, where Karen, me, and one of our colleagues from work met up and had an early evening meal. I had a mixed grill, and to be honest it was so badly cooked, you could`nt tell what was the steak,chop etc, and you could have used them as mini shovels, they were that hard. Probably been reheated a dozen times?. Never went there again, and have never been to any other Wetherspoons since. Better off going to Rosie Lea`s in Loddon Regards to all ................... Neil.

Hi Minor, yes, you can go from north to south and back, but in all honesty, you`ll take up around 2 days of your holiday travelling and use a lot more deisel, whereas if you stay south, you could always moor at Reedham, or even Brundall, and catch the train in to Yarmouth, or even bus or taxi it from St Olaves. Then you`d have an extra day to relax and cruise the peaceful southern rivers.

Hi Dean, welcome from me too. Over the last 2 years my wife and i decided to stay on the southern rivers having hired from Maffett cruisers, and we were glad we did. We`ve NEVER had any trouble mooring. We also appreciated the peace and quiet more, and enjoyed some really lovely "out of the way" moorings too. As for your party, you say you`ll have 1 or 2 children with you, are the both girls or boys, are are they mixed, as there are not that many boats that have "single" cabins, which will also affect your choice of boat. Regards ................... Neil.

So why do they NOW need the expensive services of another beaurotwatt, whos existance in past years was of no nessecity at all?. Personally, i think this is just another "jobs for the boys" scam to use up yet more toll payers money, instead of spending it on essential river maintainace. This bods salary WILL come from the navigation budget i`m sure .

Hi Simon, i know what you mean regarding the layout of the Horizon 42, and think the 35 has a far more functional layout. It would`nt have been so bad if they`d have made the stbd shower compartment "en suite" as it`s directly behind it. I think if Clive and the team are looking to do any re-fits to any of the range, i`d prefer to see the same 35 family layout with 2 single cabins in the 42, with 2 toilets, 1 being en-suite, but because of the investment required, and the fact the new 45 fwd dv is coming on stream, i doubt whether it would be worth it. Regards to all ................. Neil.

Hi Clive, i hope you won`t be offended, but there are a couple of things i don`t like about the design. Generally, i think it`s pretty impressive, but i don`t like those long curved sides on the upper deck (they remind me of those ugly sidescreens on the Ferry boatyard boats), where i think it would be much nicer to have a more usual screen with much shorter curved, or straight sides, and the large curved side window in the salloon comes down too far to the side deck. I know the trend is toward curves, but i think you can have too many of them, whereas a mixture of curves and straight edges gives a nice balance. These are only my opinions, and are not meant in offence and i genuinely think it`s very impressive, but i do think it could do with a few more straight edges. Whatever the final design, it will no doubt look very smart, and be very comfortable, and so a big well done to you and the team for investing yet more into the industry . I also think it would be more suitable for the southern broads, where there should be a few redundant hire fleet yards just waiting to be occupied by a hire fleet. "Somerleyton" comes to mind . Regards to all, and no offence meant Clive ............................. Neil.

LORI, YOU`RE AN ABSOLUTE STAR. Guy Martin, what a man, wringing the neck of his GSXR1000 around the Isle of Man then the Irish road circuits like the North west 200 etc, then chugging down the canal the next. He`s the ultimate celebrity who "is`nt a celebrity" if you know what i mean?. When you look at sporting personalities, and tv and film stars for that matter, they`re so far up their own ar..s, the only time they notice the average man or woman in the street is when they look down to see what it is they`re stepping on. I hate the culture of celebrity, and think there`s more important things in life than who plays for who, and who starred in what, so it`ll come as no surprise that i`l NEVER possess an autograph book. Egotiistical condisending scum the lot of them .

Spot on Roy. The boat the author was on was one of the old 38ft bathtubs Jonny likes. I`d imagine Rod and Shirly WERE in the pub

I was watching this on you tube, watch it yourselves, and see who`s boat you see moored at Ranworth?.

Oh yeah, and what will this new build thread be all about then Clive, what have you got up your sleeve this time?

It makes me wonder what other cons the morons at the BA are going to come up with?. I can see it now, are you intending to cross Breydon sir?, that`ll be £5.00 crossing fee, plus an extra £50.00 for our patrol boat to escort you across, then one of our rangers (legal conmen?) will board your vessel at Gt Yarmouth yacht station, where a short term mooring fee will apply, and collect your seperate toll for the Northern broads. Unless toll payers start to get tough with the BA, this sort of thing is only going to get worse. The BA won`t be happy till the Broads becomes a playground for the very wealthy, who will be the only people who can afford their ridiculous costs.

Or by the "quayside" Mark

Very well said Gordon . Which club do you shoot with?.

It can also mean losing out on the chance of scoring a personal best in a National archery shoot (i`m sure Mark B will know what i mean?). Seriously though, as many of you know, Karen and i live down here in Dorset, and i know the Stour well, and as a recurve archer, (who also owns 2 crossbows), i find this sort of thing absolutely sickening. One other thing i would just like to point out, and that is that it is NOT the Queen that ownsl the swans in this country, but "The Crown", be it worn by a Queen OR King. Although Her Majesty Qeen Elizabeth DOES own private property of many differnt kinds, ALL "Royal property" is owned by the Crown, be it wildlife, stately homes or whatever. Regards to all ....................... Neil.

Well, the weather could`nt spoil a good meet, but it did try bloody hard. The drive up was eventful too (attended by car) having driven through a blizzard at Ipswich. Thoroughly enjoyed the meet, and meeting up with everyone again, though it was a shame it was so cold, so we missed the chance to say hello properly to several folks. We got an early start home yesterday and called in to Loddon to have breakfast at Rosie Lea`s (again ) and noticed a familiar boat moored at the quay. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be none other than Trev, aka "Deisel Falcon", so a quick chat was had. It got cold, so we went in for brekkie, but when we came out he`d vanished. I must have that effect on people . Lastly, and most importantly, Karen and i would like to say a very big THANK YOU to John and Mary Jane for again inviting us to stay on Friday girl, and for being such wonderful hosts. We really do appreciate their hospitality, and wish we will one day be able to do the same in return . Many thanks to all for making us welcome . Regards to you all, and hopefully, we`ll see you again later uin the year....................... Neil & Karen.

It certainly looks good. It`s got that look of modern meets traddition. I still think it would look good with a fixed sectional, "raked" screen and foredeck though, any chance of that as an option Clive?. Also, when is she due to be launched, is it due to go in the fleet this year?.

Has anybody seen the weather forecast for this weekend, i hope there`s not going to be any snow as it`s a long enough drive from down here ?. Looking forward to it folks

Looks suspiciously like a Barmes Brinkcraft site, as all the boats that came up were theirs?. It makes you wonder whether due to such poor weather last year, and this cold spell, people may be waiting to see what the weather`s going to be before they make a booking?.

Because when you use the service Col, they never tell you how much it costs at the time. Then when you get your next itemised bill, you have a heart attack and vow never to use it again, just like Mark (without the heart attack though ).

Depending on which boat you have, if it can go under the Beccles old road bridge (at suitable tide) why not take the trip to Geldeston lock and (providing there`s public access of course) go for a walk along the bank of the continuation of the Waveney?. It`s a view of the river not seen by boat for a long time. Or, moor at Chedgrave common on the NORTH bank of the Chet before you get to Pyes mill moorings and walk to Hardley flood, or alternatively to the village and back?. If you`re in Potter Heigham, take the footpath on the southern bank from the old road bridge up to Martham and back?. Again, not seen as often as in the past because of the navigational restrictions due to bridge height. As Mark says (mbird) walks are numerous, and can be of varied length and terrain, so one of the guides would a good way to discover which walks best suit your party.Whichever ones you do, don`t forget to take your camera, as if you`re away from the river, you`ll get some good shots you can`t see by boat. Have a great holiday. Regards to all ........................ Neil.

When we were on Swallow last May, we were cruising up the Yare approaching the Beauchamp Arms when i saw what i first thought was a black bin bag floaing in mid stream. When we got a bit closer, the supposed "bin bag" moved suddenly and went under water. I called Karen over to look, and just as we came to the pub, it suddenly surfaced right on our port beam about 20ft away. I think that seal must have been the biggest i`ve ever seen, its head was massive, but i did`nt have my camera ready to hand. I wastotally shocked, as i had no idea seals would venture so far up river. As for Otters, down here in not so sunny Dorset (and Hampshire), otters are becoming a major pest, with many different groups calling for a localised official cull.They`re becoming so overpopulated, they`re actually killing their own species in territorial wars. We`ve actually had them patrolling the drainage ditches on the airport ground, and many of the fishing clubs have reported a serious loss in fish stocks. They look cute and cuddly, but they`re scavengers which kill fish and leave them. Regards to all ................... Neil.

Although this is good news, in a way, it COULD be seen as a bit of a wasted excercise, as the Broadland council magazine goes out to those who actually LIVE in Broadland, and already know what facilities and events etc etc are going on, so it seems like they`re aiming their publicity in the wrong place. Although promoting the Broads and this years events is to be commended, "tourists" by their very title don`t live in the area, so the council would be better off linking up with local, and nationwide tourist information centres. Just my opinion, and as i said above, i do commend them for at least trying to do something positive. Regards to all, and roll on Easter ....................... Neil.