Palmtree

Hi, We hired from Sabina a few years ago and would do it again as the Broads so quiet and special at that time of year. Heating as not a problem, the boat had both hot air and a house type gas fire (not certain if that will pass the BSS now) but the hot air heating was fine. Ian

Barry, Just out of curiosity how many tins of varnish have you used so far? Ian

Wow superb picture. I notice on your site you list the Celestron Skymaster 15 x 70 Binoculars as part of your equipment. I am looking for a set of Binoculars but checking the price of these at about £50 for a 70mm set they appear to be a real bargain. What do you think of them? Ian

Perry, I think it is very noble of you to act as the guinea pig Ian

Is there a standard size CSA/length for the earth wires connecting the anodes or does it vary with the contact area of the anode? Ian

David, The pattern of anode erosion, has that been the same since you had the boat or has it changed since down at Shotley? Ian

Dan, I have just had a look at the Blakes website and there are no yachts for hire on the Broads. I thought Eastwood Welpton and the NBYC at Horning were with Blakes or have they also gone their own way in the past and I missed it. Ian

Hi, Some time ago I found an article that is very important to boat owners, especially if you go to sea. I did not post it at the time as there had just been a boat sunk on the Broads and all sorts of comments and speculation about hull fittings. With the credit crunch and cheap components being imported into the UK it is worth knowing what you are paying for and what can happen to your boat. Have a read of this, http://www.michel-christen.com/2T-H.pdf Ian

Hi, Excalibur Craft or Norfolk School of Sailing before they moved to Upton used to run at least one of their boats on chip fat. Ian

Clive, The floor bearer (dark brown bits) in the picture, will that now be removed and used to form another mold? Ian

Hi, I sneaked a look through the door of the shed a few days ago and I was surprised that the boat looked smaller than I thought. Plenty of activity around the boat Ian

Hi, Sounds like a nice stress free way to start your holiday Ian

Hi, When the mudweight is down do you wrap the synthetic rope (Dyneema?) around a cleat or use the winch to hold? Ian

Hi, White Moth on Malthouse Broad today. Ian

Hi, That is a very good site, I have just made my first Monkey's Fist Ian

Hi, Good to hear all went to plan and the trip over was good, even in the marina us rag and stick types get in the way I trust the lazarette will be filled with new types of consumable ballast The weather looks like it is holding for you so have a brilliant holiday! Ian

Hi, An encounter with a 4x4 before Christmas left me with a bad back this year and the physio suggested I found a better way to lift the mudweight. What I did was to put a pulley on the mudweight and that gave me a 2:1 advantage on the lift. This has worked out very well with one exception. As the rope is pulled in you have to pull on the section of rope that was in contact with the weight/pulley and is now covered in mud. OK so this is only a few feet of muddy rope but does make a mess on the deck. Is there a rope that the mud will not stick to? David's suggestion of a Yacht winch might help, these winches have a handle that fits in the top and can give you plenty of torque to pull the weight out. Ian

Hi, Some beautiful shots there Simon. Like David I did not know it existed, but I have always found the Bird reserves have few birds in them, and I see more out on the rivers! Ian

If you had a MT17 fridge you could wake up in the morning with a hangover, start the engine (I had forgotten how loud that is) and reached for a frozen can of beer..... OK so a MT17 is not a good idea Ian

Hi, Try plugging in one of these http://www.engelfridges.co.uk/ We have an MT17 , 2.5A draw when it is running, and it is superb! Ian

Neil, I agree the pump looks lower than the tank, and therefore expect gravity will prime to the pump. This is why I suggested bleeding the air if there is an airlock bend in the pipework where the pump is. The pump is a diaphragm type pump so it will not have a rotating vane but a rubber disc moving in and out and a set of valves, these needing the water to be fed in on the inlet side to prime the pump. I suspect the pipe on the water tank needs to be disconnected and a jug or two of water poured down the pipe to fill the pump. Ian

Hi, Thinking about this I made the assumption the brass nut fitting is on the inlet side of the pump, it is the inlet side you need to get the water into. Does the water pipe come out of the bottom of the water tank or the top? Ian

Hi, Is the pump lower than the tank? The filter beside the pump is there water in it? You might have an air lock in the system, if so try just cracking the brass nut beside the pump and let the air out. Ian

Hi, Clive, since the boat is designed to get under Potter bridge, will there be some sort of reinforced handrail on the roof corner that will also protect the boat from bridge damage or do you just trust the pilots? Ian

Hi, Just a thought how about putting on the the sarnie shelf a bit of non slip rubber. That way you can leave a camera or phone on there while going along with out fear of it falling off. Ian