mbird

Often hundreds of seals on the beach at Horsey Gap, and around new year loads of pups. Lovely creatures!

I fitted one of those to my first boat, which had three banks of batteries (so I fitted the 3 battery one). My banks were; 1x starter, 1x dedicated inverter battery, 2x domestic batteries. Seemed to work very well indeed.

I can only sympathise. When Jonzo upgraded this forum to IPB software, despite all the testing the team had done behind the scenes, when it came to launch day it was a non starter and meant delaying the launch for several weeks. Trying to migrate a forum without having the facility to carry out extensive testing for weeks prior must be an absolute nightmare for Richard.

Lol. Not my fault, they came with the boat! Still very handy though; one for beer and the other for more beer!

According to the NBF Facebook page, their hosting company has suffered from a DDOS attack (don't ask me, I have no idea either). This quote is directly from the latest post on 12/01/13 "I emailed them this morning, but as yet they have not got back to me. I notice that some of their servers are coming back online, but all accounts are suspended"

And now you've gone and talked it up Alan.......!

Bridge broad in Wroxham is a nice quiet place to overnight, just tied up to the trees.

We have 2 fridges on board. One runs from shorepower and automatically switches to batteries when shorepower is unplugged. The second runs solely on batteries and we have had no problems so far even when both are running on 12v. We do turn one of them off at night though )the beer fridge) as it's a bit noisy with 2 going at once!

One thing to bear in mind that should probably be mentioned is that some antifouls are not compatible with others, and will react with them stopping them from adhering properly. It might be worth just checking with Hempel if you know what was already on there. Something else to consider is painting a "boot line" (i.e. the bit of antifoul above the waterline) using a paint specifically for the job in the same colour as the antifoul you are using. This will be much more durable and not scrape off as easily against the bank or reeds, and stays looking good for longer than antifoul, just needing a wash over every so often to get rid of the green slime and scale that accumulates at the water line. Norfolk marine should be able to advise on suitable paints I would have thought.

I used to use Blakes "Broads" antifoul (now called Hempel Broads) when I had a river cruiser. Easily available from any chandlers. I know some who use antifoul where it's visible and then black tar underneath.

We have the Status 330 aerial which comes with a booster and works well in most places on the Broads. I'm sure maplin or a local caravan shop would have such a thing?

I used to run the engine at a fast idle (I.e. Just a little over tickover) when I had my first boat in order to heat the water. A cold engine will warm up faster than at tickover that way. Best of all is under load of course. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Same to you Gracie, and all NBN members!

Hi All! Thanks to all those that made it to the chat room for the draw. The list of winners is: Diesel Falcon - £50 Morrisons Voucher Linny - £25 Brian Wards Voucher Boaters - £50 iTunes Voucher Donnygeoff - Trip to Southwold aboard Happy Jax 3 MikeO - £200 Richardsons voucher Trambo - £20 Coldham Hall Voucher with a free bottle of wine Sternmoor - River cruise aboard Friday Girl with lunch Sternmoor - 1976 Blakes Brochure Each of the winners will receive a PM this evening to confirm. We raised a total of £424 (before paypal fees), so an excellent result. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and also to all those companies and members who generously donated prizes! The video of the draw (if you can bear to see my ugly mug) is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5MGaLauJP8 Happy Christmas to all!

It's amazing what a wash will do, as it looks like a different boat! Keep the blog and pictures coming, I'm enjoying this!

Hi Geoff, not a bad idea! To ensure everything is above board, I am going to get my two sons (under extreme duress!) to do the draw and video it, which will then be posted. However, there's no reason at all why I couldn't also be in chat at the same time. I am up planning to do the draw late Monday afternoon, about 4:30, but I'll get an announcement put up on Monday morning to confirm it on Monday morning.

I've never cruised up there before, but from what I have heard the only slightly iffy bit is Bishop Bridge itself. I don't think there is a height gauge and the depth needs to be watched. There is a video on YouTube done a few years ago by Lord Paul of a cruise through all the Norwich Bridges

Thanks Trevor. It was certainly a labour of love! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Thanks John, I had forgotten about Collins in Wroxham. I did floor a small area in my last boat using Karndean vinyl flooring, which looked very nice when finished, but if have a bigger area to do this time including engine hatches, so I don't think the Karndean will be suitable.

Well that certainly looks like Norwich cathedral in the background, so I can only assume it is beyond Bishop Bridge. If it is, then quite what a hire boat is doing up there is a mystery.

Hi John Those teak and holly panels look excellent. I want to use something like that to renew the floor in my boat. Where is the best place to source the material? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Well that's a coincidence! It's certainly a lovely place for a wedding, we had a great day!

We've just passed the milestone of 200 tickets sold!

Don't forget guys, ticket sales close at midnight tomorrow (Friday 20th December) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Where was that taken Trevor? It looks an awful lot like Auchen Castle in Beattock where Sue and I got married earlier this year...... Likewise, merry Christmas to everyone! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD