mbird

Apart from the costs already mentioned, it depends how handy you are personally with mechanics etc. Servicing costs can be kept down by doing your own, even if you just do the oil, filter, fuel filters, belts etc yourself. Maintenance items like changing anodes etc are also very easy to do yourself with a little knowledge.

Hi Mark I know what you mean about stainless Nylocs. I detail structural steelwork for a living for the construction industry, and they prefer to use stainless self-locking nuts, which have a split crown rather than a nylon insert. One question for you though, I thought I had read that A2 bolts were more prone to cavity corrosion than A4. Has that been your experience too?

Two names immediately spring to mind for a survey; Steve Truss of Insight Marine, and Ian Lumley of Lumley Marine Surveyors. I have no personal experience of these guys, but they come recommended by friends. They would happily carry out a pre-purchase survey for you. Bear in mind that even survey's aren't cheap, also needing to pay for a lift out if the boat is not ashore, or pay for a lift in for a river trial. However, when buying a boat ,especially if it is your first, they can highlight potential problems that can be used as a bargaining point for negotiating the price. If a survey results in you walking away from the purchase, it is money down the drain so to speak, but far better spend £500 on a survey than buy a boat you then find needs £1000's of work to put right. Whilst it may be convenient to buy a boat already on the Broads, the prices can sometimes be a little inflated so don't let the thought of having to transport a boat from elsewhere put you off. Our current boat, a 37' sea-going flybridge only cost £600 to get to the Broads from Newark on a low loader, so the cost isn't massive in the grand scheme of things. Good luck with the search!

The mods all work hard to try to keep it that way too

Welcome to the forum RumPunch. Get the tides right and you'd have no problem other than obviously having to lower your mast for the bridges. However, with a spring ebb running at 4-5 kts through Yarmouth I doubt you'd make any headway if trying to punch it! There is now a handy waiting pontoon between Breydon bridge and the entrance to the Bure, so you could always go through Yarmouth on the last of the ebb, stop on the pontoon and raise your mast, and then sail across Breydon with the first of the flood tide. You'd just need to book a bridge lift at Breydon to get through there with your mast raised.

None that I'm aware of. I have an 8hp 2 stroke on my tender and know a lot of other folk who also prefer 2 strokes from a weight and mechanical simplicity point of view.

Rockland broad is very shallow outside of the marked channel and also very weedy, so it wouldn't be my choice for mudweighting. Surlingham (Bargate) is very popular for overnighting, especially in the summer and nice and sheltered too.

Only once have I ever had an "incident" when crossing Breydon. That was on a delivery trip taking a couple of hire craft from a yard in Norwich up to the northern rivers. Unfortunately we were dictated by other circumstances as to when we left Norwich which put us going across Breydon mid ebb. That was great for actually getting across Breydon, but as soon as we turned into the Bure, the ebb was so strong we actually stopped dead even at almost full throttle! Luckily the tidal flow was just passed it's strongest and so we eventually made about 1 knt against the tide but it took ages to get through Yarmouth. I should add that I was also tandem towing another hire boat as the same time. At least now there is a floating pontoon we could have waited at for an hour, but this was a few years back. I certainly agree that now the holiday booklets aren't sent out, it is more up to the hirer to seek out information, but I can remember feeling a bit nervous after reading the literature embarking on a rare trip across Breydon. Of course, experience is everything, and after doing it once or twice, you soon get to realise the crossing is nothing to be afraid of, just respected with a little bit of planning. There are several videos on YouTube of boats crossing Breydon. This one from Lord Paul is probably the most informative

I was about 18 months old on holiday with my parents. Dad had been coming to the Broads since he was 18 years old with a few mates and I guess it rubbed off!

I had the same phone call last night. Unfortunately it seems the survey is being carried out by a company not from the area as the young lady I was speaking to did not know how to pronounce Acle properly, so I suspect that only the easy to answer "score out of 5" type answers will actually get back to the BA.

As others have said, it's a nice cruise and worth doing. When you get to the end of the river there is a T junction. Turn left for the Locks Inn. If you turn right, it is very narrow with not much room to turn and is a dead end at the old bridge. I think there is space to moor a boat up there but that's about it.

Might be a silly suggestion, but have you checked the belts? If one is slipping when the alternator is under load it could give the symptoms you have.

As well as seeing the Tower, Griff, try the Tower Bridge tour if time allows. It's fascinating to see it from the inside and be able to view the river from the walkway between the two towers!

I was going to mention the freezer trick, but you beat me to it Jill. If you freeze them and then thaw them, it's easy to squish them in your fingers and certainly a lot quicker than pricking them all with a fork.

You'd have to wait another few hundred years for that case to be proven Griff

Never tried Sloe Vodka! Sloe gin is lovely, but I'd be willing to try the vodka just for the sake of research

Or it was, according to Manko's post. Shame it's closed, as it looks so attractive, even though I've never had the pleasure of visiting there.

I've started taking my new Sushi Bazooka just incase I fancy rustling some up!

There certainly looks to be a central pier in the middle of the river, so either Haddiscoe or Aldby? My guess would be Aldby though, as the station buildings etc at Haddiscoe look totally different and I guess they would have been there at that time.

Looks like a good weekend Robin. but I can't believe you left the minor domestic dispute in the video . At least you only filled up the holding tank, and not the fuel tank like I did a few weeks ago .

We spent Christmas day last year at the Surlingham Ferry which we highly recommend. Luckily the weather was mild with only a touch of frost, but still had the ebby chucking the heat out. 5 hours must be the longest we have ever spent over a Christmas dinner in the pub!

A shame to hear this as I thought the new landlord might actually be able to make a go of it. Let's hope someone else is brave enough to have a go, but given the remote location, it's always going to be a very tough place to try to earn a living.

Yep, always support the RNLI, especially since having to avail ourselves of their services last year. I did an abseil down Southwold lighthouse last year for them too.

We were there, but bailed mid afternoon. What a miserable bank-holiday monday weatherwise!

Looks like you are doing pretty well on your own with that new camera, but I'm happy to help you out with the more creative settings if you like, John.