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"go To Hull" In Thorpe!


Vaughan

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I wish I knew how to link these things but in the EDP today it is announced that the Town Council are considering permanent moorings on the River Green, but only for "aesthetically pleasing" boats which the Council consider "suitable".

Residents on the island are likely to have to pay to moor their dinghies and will probably all be penned in on a pontoon.

I could have bet this would happen, as soon as they said the public staithe had "fallen into dis-use".

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Not very long ago a certain Luke Smith had a minor skirmish with the Broads Authority regarding his mooring. At that time I had a planning application in and a very affable representative member of the planning office came out on the water with me. As it was a nice day we detoured around the North Bay at Oulton Broad. We chatted informally about things and whilst going past one of Broom's best, and one or two other opulent GPs, he commented something to the effect of, 'gosh, what an ugly boat! He further commented that in his opinion many boats on the Broads are poorly designed. Got to say that I had some sympathy with that last statement! Whilst I appreciate that the Parish Council are probably intent on ethnic cleansing, no live-a-boards, I do wonder at this one. I do suspect that friends of Councillors will inevitably have acceptable boats! Okay, so I would be fully supportive of a sailing boat only policy:Sailing:angel:, provided they remove the bridges.

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I think they are trying to stay one step ahead of residents complaints. A fellow member of the Viking Owners Club with a V26 about 10 years old was given notice to quit Racecourse Marina, Windsor when they refurbished.

Many residential holiday parks require you to replace your mobile home when it gets to a certain age.

Many new developments have covenants as to what can be parked regarding commercials, campers and caravans.

In principle there is nothing wrong in trying to keep a place attractive.

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In principle, Chris, you are entirely right. I do have some sympathy with the Parish Council on this one but then I look at the history of the Island and then I have some sympathy with those who moor there. It's not going to be an easy one, the Council will be criticised, of that I'm sure. I just hope that social cleansing fails to gain a toe-hold.

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I have just read some of the public comments after the EDP article, a couple hinting that only aesthetically pleasing people should be allowed to walk alongside the river. Could this ever happen? A worrying thought but at least I could, I hope, still be able to sit outside the pub and ogle the passing by of suitably approved eye-candy, on the superior side of the road.  

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Perhaps during the safety test, the examiner could award stars for the appearance each boat, which would have to  be displayed in the cabin window. Then maybe extended to cleanliness etc. After all, the star system works so well in eating establishments!!

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Just now, johnb said:

Perhaps during the safety test, the examiner could award stars for the appearance each boat, which would have to  be displayed in the cabin window. Then maybe extended to cleanliness etc. After all, the star system works so well in eating establishments!!

Perhaps the Authority's planning department will take note of that comment!

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There is, or was a magazine that had a supposedly light hearted competition to find Ugly Boats. Too good an opportunity to miss so I set off the the local yacht station & soon found some absolute monsters, it being a Bank Holiday weekend. Suitably photographed and snaps submitted I waited for my prize! No way, lots of criticism and severe humour blockages though! When it comes to boats the question of beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. I still wonder at the aesthetics of some of the modern designs though, there are some absolute horrors out there, with one or two of them being in the top end hire fleets.

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Wouldn't charging for short 24hr moorings but providing water electric and toilets make the moorings more profitable instead of annual moorings for a remarkably low price. I imagine applications for moorings would be in summer when boats are actually cleaned regularly. I struggle to see where they'll find enough aesthetically pleasing boats in Thorpe that would want to restricted by the bridges.

All aside I'll be whacking in an application at that price. My boats a mucky bugger but would be interested to see what response I would receive.

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Hi Vaughan, lovely photo. Goes to prove a point though. Has anyone seen a group of boats like this near Thorpe recently, No. Has anyone ever seen a group of privately owned boats in such an aesthetically pleasing condition on the Broads in general, I'd imagine not. 

 Thorpe council will have alot of work finding boats that are both in good condition but also complement the boats themselves. If each boat is a different make and design they will never look astetically pleasing to anyone who doesn't appreciate the unique variety of boats contained in the Norfolk Broads.

Branden

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42 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

589da960504b2_ThorpeIsland1955.thumb.jpg.19eb75e5cec1f2553ba3e0d93882e3b5.jpg

 

Perhaps this might be considered "aesthetically pleasing"?

Taken in August, 1955.

That converted MTB reminds me that as a youngster in the 50s every creek and mud berth around Chichester, Emsworth, Poole and up their rivers had numerous liveaboards on MTBs. Often stripped of engines and towed into position. There were a few on the Chichester canal where the houseboats are now by Chichester Yacht Haven. By the late 60s some were still in good repair others rotting like mad. I was told by one who had served that early examples were made of the finest salt water wood, Burmese Teak in double diagonal . As the war progressed all sorts of wood was being used that had virtually no life span. But then they were not looking for longevity.

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Just my personal comment but driving past Thorpe quite a bit now it does strike me what a shambles it looks. A mass of unloved boats and sheds. Not very pleasing on the eyes. But then they have probably been like that for donkeys years so it's only more modern expectations that taint our views. 

I certainly don't agree with a bunch of noddys deciding what is aesthetically pleasing though. Way too subjective to be acceptable as many of you have indicated. 

Despite what type of boats we have or like, I am sure we can all appreciate other boat types in their own right? Be it  a woody, sailie, broads cruiser or GP.  And there is a line at which point we might all agree - are you sure? 

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29 minutes ago, ChrisB said:

That converted MTB reminds me that as a youngster in the 50s every creek and mud berth around Chichester, Emsworth, Poole and up their rivers had numerous liveaboards on MTBs. Often stripped of engines and towed into position. There were a few on the Chichester canal where the houseboats are now by Chichester Yacht Haven. By the late 60s some were still in good repair others rotting like mad. I was told by one who had served that early examples were made of the finest salt water wood, Burmese Teak in double diagonal . As the war progressed all sorts of wood was being used that had virtually no life span. But then they were not looking for longevity.

I have an intriguing book written about a fictional family's life on such a boat and obviously moored in Chichester Harbour, a delightful read although written for children. The Broads too had it's houseboat communities after the war, so many boats being built locally and some subsequently not being used, landing craft in particular. Many were built just for the one way trip into Europe and most had disappeared by the early 70's.

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