mbird

Well, plunge was taken today and I've ordered a Standard Horizon CP300i plotter with C-Max local cartography and PC planner software. OUCH! At least last weekend proved SWMBO isn't going to lose her breakfast for at least the first half hour of any voyage, so it should be a worthwhile investment

I think you are right, although our last boat passed the BSS WITH a glass bowl

Does sound like a touch of "bug". If it's not causing a problem and blocking things up then probably best to just ignore it. Using a bug killing additive (I used Starbrite's "Startron") in Tranquil Breeze can't do any harm if you fancy it though.

HI Wayne, My primary filters ar Crosland 592 as well, and the ones already fitted are about 8" long. When I bought replacments to take on board as spares, the 592's are only about half the height, so don't be surprised if they arrive and look the wrong type! If you had sludge in the bottom of your water traps, was it a green/brown looking algae type gunge? I had that on the last boat, if so, and put it down to "diesel bug" and so started using a tank treatment at each fill up.

We are hoping to be up for this one too

Thank you for the offer of help Dave, it is greatly appreciated. We'll see what transpires when Jim tries to check it for me, but as I am based down south, a trip to WRC is always a distinct possibilty every now and then

They are cracking photos there Adam. You can certainly tell who is more used to getting those "special" moments when people don't realise they are being photographed

Thanks for the link Luke, some quite interesting stuff there. I'm not convinced by some of his radio protocols though

Yes, a lot of very salient points were made that have made me think slightly differently about the use of lifejackets. I even donned mine on the river on Monday to adjust the fenders, which I am embarrassed to say I probably wouldn't have done before.

Excellent pics Col, and good to see some of the people rather than the boats

Hi Robert & Rebecca, glad you found the site and decided to join As Luke has said, don't forget to pop a post into the New Members Say Hi section so everyone knows who you are! Another Sealine comes to the NBN

Many thanks Luke, that is very much appreciated

The Blakes (now Hempnel) antifoul does state the boat must be launched within 2 weeks of application Barry.

I listen on 12 on the Broads

Dunno what you mean Ian

Agreed

That'd would be really helpful Jim thanks. I'll pm you my mobile number. I'll also check the power drop on the battery cables as David has suggested, but as the radio is a Sealine original fit, I don't think cable size would be an issue, but could more likely be corrosion in connections.

Hi All My boat still has the original VHF fitted (now 16 years old) and seems to be having some problems with range. Over the weekend, calling Mutford and Lowestoft from short distances seemed to be okay, as did the river bridges. However, and further than about 0.5 miles and I seem to be getting no transmission. The set is on full power at these times, and was highlighted yesterday when Col tried to call me. I guess he was around St Olaves, and we were just past Cantley, so not a huge distance. I could hear him clear as a bell, but he was getting nothing from me at all. My aerial is dead vertical and around 7' long so should be in the right position. There is a joint in the cable just under the radar arch that I had to remake, but I would have thought if this was playing up it would affect the Rx as well as the Tx. I would point out that I am going to fit a DSC set in the near future, but was intending to keep the old one for backup. It seems as though this might not be reliable though. Any thoughts?

After this weekends jolly jaunt, it became apparent that I am going to need to purchase a plotter, as the laptop route didn't really work for me. My preferance at the moments seems to be towards either the Standard Horizon CP180i or CP300i. I notice these will take the C-MAP NT+ or C-MAP Max cards. My question, is what is the difference? Also, I have noticed the cards are available with various coverage areas. The "wide" cards seem to cover a much greater area, but for now I would have thought the "local" one from Wells to Dover would do me. Is the only difference the amount of charts on the cards, or do the "wide" ones not have the same level of detail as the "local" variety?

ps Sorry, forgot to add that a tin rattle has also added £45 donations to the site funds. Many thanks for your generosity Guys and Gals

Seconded Trev

Yes, and I am now using my GPS to make sure I do Neil, as it does feel a bit slow

Monday Dawned quite early for me, with another stroll before most happy campers were up, and another hangover I seemed to have misplaced A bit of a damp start weather wise, but I spotted a barn-owl hunting over the marshes near the church, and then was surprised to see a Great Spotted Woodpecker having a go at a metal lamp post near the diesel pump at WRC. He must have bent his beak as he didn't hang around long and went off to find a nice soft tree to head-butt. Breakfasts were eaten (at least for those that didn't go to the pool cafe) and good-byes were said as an absolutley excellent weekend came to a close. This weekend was a non-stop procession of new experiences and learning curves for me, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. New friendships forged, and existing ones strengthend. Here's to the next one!

Sunday (contd) We were all booked for the 14:30 bridge lift, which saw us all exit the RNSYC, and be joined with several other boats. Holding in the relatively narrow channel in a bit of a stiff breeze certainly tested my boat handling skills which were shaky at best. I nearly got into a pickle a couple of times, but managed to just about hold onto it until eventually the bridge lifted and we were through. As you'd expect, the waiting pontoon was a bit chocka ..... Once safely through the lock again, it was back to familiar territory to the WRC where most of the salties regrouped. An improptu pontoon party ensued and then off to the Waveney Inn for a pub quiz! A close fought quiz later saw the "Salty Bottoms" beaten into second place by the "Wet Wipes", so it was an NBN one-two from a rather full pub Gradually the group dwindled as bed or cocktails in the cockpit called......

Sunday I woke up early, not quite sure where the hangover I should have had gone to, but decided to halve a walk along the prom to gather my thoughts. 7am is a lovely time to wander by the sea with just a few early risers around. I was more than a little shocked to see that despite the early morning sea mist, the sun was trying to peek through and the sea was a flat calm mill pond! How could it be so different from Saturday afternoon? Gradually people surfaced, breakfasted, and it was time to place the eggs around the RNSYC for the kids to hunt for. We managed to form some sort of order from the rather excitable kids, and then shared the booty evenly at the end. I'm pretty sure they all really enjoyed themselves. There were only two that didn't take part. Kristie was happy to watch, but I'm afraid Luke had to be physically restrained (okay, so he's a 40 something kid, but he is "special" ) However, you should have seen his little face light up when he was finally given an egg at the end ! After the choclatey shenanigins was completed, a few of us decided maybe we'd better get our bottoms salty again. Luke was off in Relentless, and once Jonathan had sorted me out with the load of a laptop for chartplotter use (mine was crap), we headed out again, joined on board by Jonathan, Col and Conner. This time, with perfect seas, we tore up to Yarmouth, which gave me much more time to explore the trim of the boat, which some helpful advice from Jonathon and Col, and for Sharon and the boys to actually enjoy it rather than hanging on for dear life! After having a look at Yarmouth entrance so I could see what it looked like from the sea, it was back down to Lowestoft. Relentless was out infront and making a rather meandering course, forcing me to keep cutting across his wash (which is something else I learned how to do thanks to Col and Jonathan) and it was only later I realised it was so Claire (MrsLucky) could take some good shots of us. I can't wait to get the results as a quick preview showed some fantastic photos.