Retirement

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

1 hour ago, Hylander said:

 

Dont wish your life away , it will go quick enough.       Make the most of being young.         The time goes so quickly once you retire.   One minute you are 60 and the next approaching 80 years.    

Absolutely spot on. 

My father always used to say "you`re a long time dead", and many others have said you can`t take it with you. 

In the last couple of years, we have lost several valued members of this forum, or their spouses, and at a young age too, something which we are all rightly saddened to hear. With this in mind, never wish your life away, and don`t wait too long to enjoy yourselves by working too hard, 9 times out of 10, your hard work for others does`nt get appreciated, but YOU will appreciate making the sacrifice of all the extra hours. I certainly do, i`ve cut down from an average of over 65 hours per week, and am now occasionally doing around 45, and loving it.

When Karen and i got together a bit late in life, i planned to stop doing Saturday overtime from the age of 55. That went straight out of the window, so i defered it to 60. Last year, i celebrated my 60th birthday, and HAVE`NT worked a Saturday since, in fact, i very rarely now work Friday afternoons, and am loving it. Karen no longer spends her Saturday mornings doing housework, as when i get home before Friday lunchtimes, i do the washing, and she does the shopping. Result, weekends are now our quality time together.

We have less time in this world than what we think when we`re young, and as Hylander says above, time goes by so quickly, so plan and work hard when you`re younger, and relax and enjoy the spoils from your middle years onwards, you will be glad you did.

[MauriceMynah]

I received a letter yesterday from the pension fund admin telling me what I would be entitled to come December this year. It is significantly more than I was expecting, plus the availability to draw a large amount as a tax free lump sum. I am tempted to trade in Nyx for a slightly larger boat with some of the lump sum, given that it still may well become my home.

This has had me pondering something which I've been wondering about for some time. Now this pondering has become much more serious.

I would like a craft up to 35' IT needs to be GRP (low maintenance ) and most importantly, must be able to pass under Potter bridge more often than not. So basically I'm looking for a boat much the same size as one from the Martham fleet.

Does such a boat exist??

The Broom Skipper is one I'm interested in investigating. What airdraft would that be? I understand that it is the beam that governs the passage under the bridge, and I further believe that the Broom skipper is 10' or 10'6"beam so that would be my max.

Any advice gratefully received. 

[MauriceMynah]

PS, I liked your post above mine ST, but could "like" it only once. I completely agree with it, though I did once see a cartoon of a chap standing at the pearly gates in tears while St Peter was saying "Yes, loads of people thought they couldn't bring it with them."

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

12 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I received a letter yesterday from the pension fund admin telling me what I would be entitled to come December this year. It is significantly more than I was expecting, plus the availability to draw a large amount as a tax free lump sum. I am tempted to trade in Nyx for a slightly larger boat with some of the lump sum, given that it still may well become my home.

This has had me pondering something which I've been wondering about for some time. Now this pondering has become much more serious.

I would like a craft up to 35' IT needs to be GRP (low maintenance ) and most importantly, must be able to pass under Potter bridge more often than not. So basically I'm looking for a boat much the same size as one from the Martham fleet.

Does such a boat exist??

The Broom Skipper is one I'm interested in investigating. What airdraft would that be? I understand that it is the beam that governs the passage under the bridge, and I further believe that the Broom skipper is 10' or 10'6"beam so that would be my max.

Any advice gratefully received. 

Hi John,

Many boats of 12ft beam go through "that bridge", as they have the right shaped cabin top, it`s why boats such as the bath tubs have sharply angled cabin sides. Also, remember some of the Whispering Reeds fleet where Nyx came from were bathtubs, and carried extra ballast to keep them low in the briny. 

Seeing as Nyx is aft cockpit, and you mention a Broom Skipper, i`m assuming a fwd dv is out, which will limit choice, as there is`nt that many boats in recent years that were designed and built for that purpose. Time to start looking around i suppose, but one boat that does fit the bil (well in my mind anyway) is the Alpha 29, 32, and 35 ctr cockpit, as they have the desired cut away cabin sides. Whether you find one that suits is another thing. 

Our own "Boycee" has one, so should be able to offer more advice on them.

Anyway, good luck with your search, and if i see anything that may interest you (boatwise that is) i`l drop you a message.

[Seagypsy]

2 hours ago, Hylander said:

 

Dont wish your life away , it will go quick enough.       Make the most of being young.         The time goes so quickly once you retire.   One minute you are 60 and the next approaching 80 years.    

Totally agree with you 60 certainly doesn't seem to be 17yrs ago

[vanessan]

MM - Cap’n Joshie has his Broom 30 (Braveheart) up for sale, see t’other side for more details. 

Edited July 20, 2019 by vanessan
Incorrect info given!

[gancanny]

capn joshies boat ia a fixed top so will not go under that bridge at any time

[expilot]

"Alpha 29, 32, and 35 centre cockpit, as they have the desired cut away cabin sides"  

I regret that none of these boats compare even closely to the Broom Skipper.  Provided the screens haven't been modified and no-one has added pulpits, push-pits and side stanchions, a Broom Skipper will readily pass Potter Bridge at 6' 6" headroom.  The Alpha 32s 35s and 42s need between 6' 10" and 7' 0" at Potter.

Nyx (ex Grey Goose from Whispering Reeds, Hickling) easily passes under THAT bridge at 6' 4".

Hampton safaris are your best bet - particularly if you avoid the sliding canopy version (that need 6' 7" clearance) and many of the forward drive Solars, Bounties are in the region of 6' 6" . to 6' 8".  Calypsos need 6'9 or 6' 10" . DC30's are anywhere from 6'5 to 7' 1" and all stops in between.  Easticks Falcons are 6' 11" to 7' 1"

I hope this helps.

[vanessan]

My apologies for the duff info MM! 

Good thing expilot is here, first hand info where Potter is concerned. 

[MauriceMynah]

16 minutes ago, expilot said:

Nyx (ex Grey Goose from Whispering Reeds, Hickling) easily passes under THAT bridge at 6' 4".

Nyx passes under potter at 6' absolute minimum (though not with me at the helm! I will take it under at 6'3" so as you say, easily at 6'4"

Thanks for the info Expilot, are those figures the absolute minimums? if so it seems that nothing I really like are options if I stay at Hickling... which I would really like to do. The DC30 is about the only "bathtub" I like and sadly at 25' the Hamptons come in as a little small for my purposes. 

Even the centre cockpit Elysian offers little extra facilities over Nyx.

Fussy blighter ain't I !

[ChrisB]

Surely you must like the Broom Skipper? 

[Aboattime]

Our Alpha 32 has air draft of 6ft 4in,with every thing down. The bridge pilot at Potter has told me he can get the boat under the bridge at suitable tides.

[MauriceMynah]

1 hour ago, ChrisB said:

Surely you must like the Broom Skipper? 

I like the Broom skipper very much, but it has to be the soft top so able to get under PH bridge

[BrundallNavy]

9 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I like the Broom skipper very much, but it has to be the soft top so able to get under PH bridge

I don’t think you will find it has much more room than your current boat you loose a lot of space with the centre cockpit. 

[TheQ]

1598 days till I intend to retire,  I'd go earlier if I could, 

that's about 1045 working days. 

 

I'm not counting.... 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

2 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

Nyx passes under potter at 6' absolute minimum (though not with me at the helm! I will take it under at 6'3" so as you say, easily at 6'4"

Thanks for the info Expilot, are those figures the absolute minimums? if so it seems that nothing I really like are options if I stay at Hickling... which I would really like to do. The DC30 is about the only "bathtub" I like and sadly at 25' the Hamptons come in as a little small for my purposes. 

Even the centre cockpit Elysian offers little extra facilities over Nyx.

Fussy blighter ain't I !

I was thinking of the DC30, but did`nt think you would want fwd dv. We hired Maffett Cruisers Mandarin, An aft engined DC30, back in 89, and went under that bridge with quite a safety margin. She was rated on the console at 6`5", yet like all hireboats, the quoted clearance was more than what it actually was due to the safety margin. Probably around the 6`2", possibly less, but she did have a lot of ballast in the bow, which kept the fwd end low. 

As for the DC30 itself, i love them, one of my all time favourite boats on the Broads. Plenty of space for 2, and with an aft engine and the roof back, lovely quiet cruising. Also, great for fishing with both fwd and aft cockpits. 

If Karen and i were to buy a boat of our own, the DC30 would be top of the list if Potter Bridge was at the forefront of the list of requirements. The trouble is, they`re getting old now, and getting an immaculate one, with everything running properly etc could be difficult to find. 

[Ray]

I recently measured the air draught on our DC30, I spent some time trying to be accurate and double checking figures.

The previous owner installed a rather nice remote controlled spotlight which has added a few inches. I made her 6' 8.5" at the highest point.

I decided that means I would only attempt Wroxham at 7' and Potter at 7'3” although in all honesty I probably wouldn't attempt Potter at all as there are expert pilots there at what I think is a very reasonable charge.

[expilot]

Hi Ray

If you have measured the actual air draft on your DC30, the information will help neither you, nor the pilots at Potter bridge.  For reasons I stated earlier, DC30s probably have a greater range of required air drafts for Potter Bridge than any other class of cruiser.   Even with the remote controlled spotlight, provided it is mounted centrally on the roof, it won't be the spotlight that gets damaged.  It will be either, or both, corners of your DC30s forward roof apron.

The first question you will . be asked by the current pilots will be, was your boat ever in the hire fleet?  If it was, they will have a record of the air draft required for Potter Bridge - to the nearest half inch!

During my ten years' piloting at that bridge, I recorded every hire boat's required height and every private boat air draft that I had personally helmed through that bridge.  I would expect that record still to exist because I left it in the office.

 

[Bluebell]

This is very interesting. Does the ex pilot know the airdraft for the Aquafibre 28 Opal?

It would great to go through that bridge.

[snunn]

Mick and I retired end of 2017 At 59 spent 4 months in Cornwall 3 months refurbished house for sale and are now days away from moving to padstow permanently loving life back on broads September will always continue until we feel it’s too much

[HEM]

23 hours ago, Kron said:

And I bet you wonder how you had time to fit in work!

Its a true statement!

I retired at the end of January 2018 after 43 years working in IT (first as part of the High-Energy Physics research group at Manchester university, then witha German software house & the final 19 years & 9 months for a global IT manufacturer. 

Now my wife complains that I spend even more time sat at my desk working with the PC (that what one gets from being involved with a sport at local, national & international level on a voluntary basis - same amount of work - just no pay).

It wasn't exactly planned that way.  I have a whole list of things I wanted to do around the house before I get too decrepit to do things.  Am not making much progress.

[Ray]

1 hour ago, expilot said:

Hi Ray

If you have measured the actual air draft on your DC30, the information will help neither you, nor the pilots at Potter bridge.  For reasons I stated earlier, DC30s probably have a greater range of required air drafts for Potter Bridge than any other class of cruiser.   Even with the remote controlled spotlight, provided it is mounted centrally on the roof, it won't be the spotlight that gets damaged.  It will be either, or both, corners of your DC30s forward roof apron.

The first question you will . be asked by the current pilots will be, was your boat ever in the hire fleet?  If it was, they will have a record of the air draft required for Potter Bridge - to the nearest half inch!

During my ten years' piloting at that bridge, I recorded every hire boat's required height and every private boat air draft that I had personally helmed through that bridge.  I would expect that record still to exist because I left it in the office.

 

Thank you, your knowledge built up on years of experience is invaluable! In my boat's case although I believe it was once in the hire fleet the topsides were substantially rebuilt and upgraded some years ago... Swancraft in 1971 according to Boats of the Broads, whether the changes to her since then have made much difference to "that" bridge I'd love to know!

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

1 hour ago, Ray said:

Thank you, your knowledge built up on years of experience is invaluable! In my boat's case although I believe it was once in the hire fleet the topsides were substantially rebuilt and upgraded some years ago... Swancraft in 1971 according to Boats of the Broads, whether the changes to her since then have made much difference to "that" bridge I'd love to know!

I seem to remember your boat being called either Swan Regent, or Swan Regina, though not 100%. We hired Maffett Cruisers "Kingfisher" many times, and she was built by Bounty Boats, and was originally called Bounty Brigand. There were two of them, and the other is now called "Goodall Gal" which i pm`d you about. I believe Bounty boats built them all, but the Swancraft boats looked like they had very slightly different windows.

[Ray]

Yes, she was Swan Regent. This is her page on Boats of the Broads with a current photo.

http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=3384&BoatHistory=66690

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

22 minutes ago, Ray said:

Yes, she was Swan Regent. This is her page on Boats of the Broads with a current photo.

http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=3384&BoatHistory=66690

Hi Ray,

If you click on your link, click on the gallery and the three that we`ve mentioned are there. Yours, Kingfisher, and Goodall Gal. If you look at the top centre and top right pictures of Kingfisher, look down in the bottom corner of each picture, and it copyrights them to "Daytona-Bill".