Mermaid’s Meanderings

[Smoggy]

If you are going to fit an in tank sensor fit it where the rinse inlet goes in so it gets a flush each time.

 

[RS2021]

I've seen tread drift before, but his one's really gone down the pan 

[ExSurveyor]

7 hours ago, YnysMon said:

When we were discussing loo ‘smells’ at a Moonlight Shadow AGM an year or so ago, one of our members (who also has a share on a narrowboat) said that putting blu directly down the loo was a bad thing, that it would rot the seals of our loos. He suggested putting extra blu down the pump out outlet instead. We have recently been using a ‘pink’ solution which is supposed to be okay for putting down the loo.

I’d be interested in other views on this smelly topic. 

Whitey has a thunderbox direct into the tank below.

With a manual type I would guess it needs a good flush to clear it to the tank.

[Mouldy]

15 minutes ago, ExSurveyor said:

Whitey has a thunderbox direct into the tank below.

With a manual type I would guess it needs a good flush to clear it to the tank.

Moonlight Shadow has two Thunderbox loos, flushed with water pumped from the river.  To be fair, I think they were fitted extensively to hirecraft, back in the day.  They are generally reliable, don’t block easily and fairly cheap to maintain.  The downside is sitting on top of a tank full of ‘slurry,’ but if you don’t look too closely and keep them maintained , they’re fine.  We do find that they have an appetite for seals though, which we’ve found need changing annually.

We used to have a manual Jabsco loo on Norfolk Lady, flushed with river water.  It did use more water to flush than a Traveller loo, but depending on where one was on the system, the flushing water could sometimes be a little sour, leaving the loo a little whiffy.  Our new macerating toilet is much cleaner, but I think uses even more water to flush than the Jabsco.  Additional care has to be taken to avoid blocking it, though, which would be an issue when there’s only one toilet on the boat.  Water usage on NL isn’t a problem.  We have two large tanks and with normal usage will last us three or four days easily, including showering every day.

[ExSurveyor]

1 hour ago, RS2021 said:

I've seen tread drift before, but his one's really gone down the pan 

I have started a new thread for Loos,

[Lulu]

Moving on from loos…. All is well and we have decided we will keep the existing one for the time being

Saturday 23rd March 2024

Finally a whole week onboard.  We left home about 7.30am. The roads were pretty quiet. Loaded everything on board, including new cushions to make things more homely and set off for How Hill as our first destination.  Barton Broad was interesting. Very choppy and we even had spray over the bow, not that it would take much! 

We picked our favourite spot, Luna’s Nook then it really sank in how small Mermaid is in comparison. No need for a rhond anchor as she fitted neatly between the two posts. So Mouldy is no longer on standby to pick up our forgotten rhond anchors…… ;)   

The Toad Cottage garden was looking lovely.  The bittern was booming, blue sky, fluffy clouds. All was rather nice.  Kate came over later and was officially our first visitor onboard. Obviously we cannot have many visitors onboard at anyone time as it is rather bijou.  Had a lovely catchup. Always an absolute delight to see you Kate x 

After our usual first night onboard meal of pasta bolognaise, we carried on finding places for things. A permanent place for Desmond’s water bowl, somewhere to put the dehumidifier out of the way, easy access for the bottled water, a torch by the back door. It was all about using the space efficiently and this would go on all week!  After watching a bit of tv we retired early very happy that we had loads of days ahead of us. 

[kpnut]

1 hour ago, Lulu said:

somewhere to put the dehumidifier out of the way

When I have a boatful of guests, the dehumidifier goes in the car, along with Henry hoover and the hose reel. 

[Lulu]

Sunday 24th March

We woke early after not having the best night’s sleep after hearing the bittern boom all night.  Amazing sound but the novelty wore off a bit at 3.00am!  After a lovely walk, we had toast and tea before setting off by 8.00. There were only a few other boats at How Hill and not many at Ludham.  We had decided on Acle as we wanted electric because the forecast was going to be a cold night so wanted the comfort of being able to put the ceramic heater on for a quick boost of heat. 

As we turned the corner and went past Boundary farm, the river got very choppy.  It doesn’t really show up on the photo. Maybe being lower down the waves seemed bigger! It was a lovely cruise, beautiful blue sky again.  We arrived at Acle and plugged into the electric.  Dunes cafe unfortunately wasnt open.   We spent the say doing our usual thing of not a lot although now we have the radio on quite a lot as Mermaid has a great speaker system.   We waved at Broads01 as he and Suzie went by and saw them come back a little later.  It was getting a bit chilly so the heating went on and Desmond wore his natty new cable knit number.  There wasnt a spectacular sunset but it was lovely all the same.  A little later in the dark a boat moored in front of us but  it wasnt until the following morning that I realised who it was…

[YnysMon]

I like Desmond’s new natty cable knit number. 

If you’d put that on either of our two, they’d roast. They both have too much hair! The hair gets everywhere too. Makes cleaning the boat at the end of the week a real chore.

Loving the tale, and awaiting more. 

[Lulu]

Monday 25th March

Brrrrrr it had been a cold night. Ceramic heater went straight on as soon as we woke up as well as the normal heating. Spent some time getting rid of the condensation but what we’ve noticed is there is far less condensation than on Luna.   I took Desmond for a very brief walk and in front of us was Karizma.  Desmond was quite calm with Cody dog. He’s definitely getting better with other dogs.  After a nice chat and catchup we as usual set off early with a plan to go to Potter. We only considered this after reading Broads01 saying there were only a few boats there.
 

 It was so good to see the wind pumps are having work done.  
 

We had a look at the webcam every now and then and could see there were spaces. I had a list of what I actually needed from Lathams so that was the mission.  We passed Broads01 coming down so we knew there would definitely be a space! 

Graham turned Mermaid easily (she turns on a sixpence, pity about the reversing!) and we moored at the start of the moorings.  I went off to Lathams for scissors, bin bags, bread, and Toastie fleece blanket for Desmond to stop him migrating into Graham’s sleeping bag at night and most importantly Haribo Gold Bears (Grahams favourite).

Later on there was work done to the path, laying down that grey stuff.  As I write this, its just reminded me that I must take a small brush next time as we kept bringing it onto the decks but it did need doing. I guess a lot of it must have been washed away in the floods. 

I took Desmond for a long walk (for us , certainly not in the Kate and Helen range!)  I’d noticed on the way to Potter that the plastic pig in the garden now has a fence beside him so Desmond couldnt see it anymore to bark at it unlike last year.  We hoped for a better night now Desmond had his new olive toastie blankie

 

[kpnut]

Desmond really does know how to live well. 

[kpnut]

I was going to ask why there’s some Springer’s Retreat orange on Mermaid’s bow, spotted on the photo of the mudweight and Oby Mill. Then I realised it’s the life ring and mudweight. 

[Lulu]

11 minutes ago, kpnut said:

I was going to ask why there’s some Springer’s Retreat orange on Mermaid’s bow, spotted on the photo of the mudweight and Oby Mill. Then I realised it’s the life ring and mudweight. 

Not the ideal place but we’ve nowhere else to put it unfortunately 

[kpnut]

Just realised you’ve changed your picture. 

[Lulu]

Tuesday 26th March

What a great night’s sleep! The magic olive blankie did its work.  So reinvigorated we decided on a longer cruise and something different for us. Destination Salhouse and take advantage of our stern on access. We also wanted to go there before the season properly started.   As I pulled out of the moorings , Dan from One Dan and his Boat approached in a Brinks Duet. We waved and realised he would have no clue who we were as he would only know us on Luna. Something we had to keep remembering if we saw anyone we knew!   
 

We chugged slowly down the Thurne and turned onto the Bure. As we approached the Ant mouth, we saw Moonlight Shadow pull out.  As I waved madly, Helen realised who we were as we went past but we were both concentrating on a small boat whose bow was extremely low in the water at the time. 
 

We went past an empty Cockshoot Dyke and through Horning and eventually reached a very empty Salhouse Broad. Ok, this was my chance to have a go at this stern on malarkey. Oh wow does she crab but I kept tweaking the throttle and slowly went back in quite a straight line, then messed it up a bit at the last minute thinking i was in neutral but wasnt but overall quite pleased and surprised at how much visibility I had.  
It was lovely to have the place to ourselves for a while and Desmond loved exploring. He found a big hare. Lots of sniffs and molehills to wee on and squirrels galore. He was as fascinated by the cows as they were of him.  We had absolutely no signal for the tv but wasn’t expecting to so we carried on listening to the radio for the rest of the day. A few boats came in and out and then about three stayed over night.  We were all falling asleep by 9.00. Its always like this on the boat. It must be the fresh air and relaxation 

 

[Lulu]

Just to add, the picture of Desmond staring out of the window shows our fix for the drafts along the sliding canopy. Cheap and easy solution. 

[Karizma]

1 hour ago, Lulu said:

I took Desmond for a very brief walk and in front of us was Karizma.  Desmond was quite calm with Cody dog. He’s definitely getting better with other dogs.  After a nice chat and catchup we as usual set off early with a plan to go to Potter.

Was lovely to meet up with you again at Acle ....... and then Potter, we must have had the same idea of getting a mooring place and visiting Lathams before the rivers got busy.

Hope we didn't disturb you too much when we moored up ....... as it was dark!

[Lulu]

Yes, I doubt we will visit Potter again until the season ends and no you didnt disturb us at all, its just always a surprise to see a boat moor up when its dark!  

[Broads01]

2 hours ago, Lulu said:

After a nice chat and catchup we as usual set off early with a plan to go to Potter. We only considered this after reading Broads01 saying there were only a few boats there.

When I wrote about Potter I had no idea anyone would head there as a result 🙂.  Glad to be of assistance 👍. 

[Mouldy]

Salhouse is one of the worst places for TV reception on The Broads, or so we’ve found.  However, 4 & 5G coverage seems to be much improved across much of the area and if you have a smart TV, streaming services may be the answer, with a decent data package on your mobile phone to hotspot.

[Lulu]

8 hours ago, Broads01 said:

When I wrote about Potter I had no idea anyone would head there as a result 🙂.  Glad to be of assistance 👍. 

We do often check the webcam but it really helped knowing if we got there early the chances there would only be the few boats there you mentioned. Basically, because we went there and got the magic olive blanket for Desmond, you saved us from more sleepless nights! 
 

Wednesday 27th March

A peaceful night comfortable night and awoke to an overcast sky. After a walk around all the various paths with Desmond, I decided to try and capture the same scene with myself and my mum from 1970. Because the trees to tie up on have gone and no beach due to the quay heading, the only clue was to look at the tree line beyond. I think I was in the right area.  It took me back to many happy times and also made me a bit sad as I know  those days are long gone. My parents are in their 90s and dad didnt take up our suggestion of hiring and we would be the crew. I can understand it and also it just wouldnt be the same. 
After a lot of discussion, our initial destination was going to be Womack Staithe for the first time but the weather was looking awful and we wanted to be somewhere we were familiar with.  We decided to go to Bridgecraft for a pumpout, water and refuel before the weather got bad and then decide from there. 
I was glad to see the pub is starting to be repainted. I’ve never liked that brown beige colour. 
 

We got to Acle but unfortunately there was no space at Bridgecraft so we dithered a while before deciding to stay at Acle again. Decision made we hooked up to the electric. 73p left on the meter!  It was also nice to see that the abandoned saily boat had been removed from the mooring nearest the cafe. We had seen the rangers looking at it when we were last there and said they were making some calls.  
 

We went to Dunes where Graham ordered a bacon roll, I had carrot cake and Desmond got some of those Pooch biscuits.  
 

The river was choppy and the wind was getting up amongst a bit of blue sky. We had a chat with Dan who had moored further down who recognised us and we explained our reasons for selling Luna. We hunkered down for the night knowing the weather wasnt going to be fun with the wind forecast

[Lulu]

5 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

Salhouse is one of the worst places for TV reception on The Broads, or so we’ve found.  However, 4 & 5G coverage seems to be much improved across much of the area and if you have a smart TV, streaming services may be the answer, with a decent data package on your mobile phone to hotspot.

We’ve never had phone signal issues there. We are on Vodaphone, but never had tv signal which we had forgotten about.  In the photo of us moored you will see the telescopic pole with the aerial at full height but nothing. So we were properly off grid! Fine for one night but I do like my tv. 

[Mouldy]

2 hours ago, Lulu said:

We’ve never had phone signal issues there. We are on Vodaphone, but never had tv signal which we had forgotten about.  In the photo of us moored you will see the telescopic pole with the aerial at full height but nothing. So we were properly off grid! Fine for one night but I do like my tv. 

The radio in NL is poor, so we generally stream music using my phone as a hotspot and linking my iPad for the source to a Bluetooth speaker.  We used to get a few times when the signal would drop out, but we cruised all the way from Brundall to Beccles, listening to Greatest Hits Radio.

We also sometimes used to struggle with phone signal at the marina, but it’s improved so much now that Deb can work on the boat, hot spotting her laptop to the phone.

I guess that the announcement that the old copper phone lines will end soon has forced the mobile companies to improve their service, so that there is continuity of a phone service when it happens, although many in remote areas fear that it will impact them.

[Broads01]

I love your Salhouse idea, it makes me think I want to do something similar.

[Lulu]

Thursday 28th March

Well what a night, wind and torrential rain. I woke up a few times with drip drip as water came through the window by my pillow. Once the rain had stopped, Graham temporarily fixed it with tape as we realised we had no sealant on board. My fault for saying we couldnt have the equivalent of Screwfix’s warehouse onboard unlike Luna! 
 

The blue sky came back and we set off early with the aim to arrive at Marine Tech when they opened at 8.30 for a pump out , fuel and water.  We got there just after they opened and reversed in as the pump out was on one side, fuel on the other. Pump out done and we now had a good idea of capacity. They reckoned it was nearly full so now we know it lasts a week. Water, we had used probably half and fuel, not used a lot. We’ve decided not to bother with any gauges as we can work it out now. How many days on board and just using a torch to peer into see what fuel is left. £80 spent in all. Absolutely excellent service from Marine Tech as usual. They even turned the boat around on ropes to do the fuel as they didnt want to damage the paintwork. Its definitely our place of choice over anywhere else now.  Graham did some figures and Mermaid is a lot cheaper to run than Luna especially with less mooring fees and less toll to pay. 
We needed to start making our way back so decided on Irstead if it was free or Paddy’s Lane if not.  The forecast was for very strong winds that night so we wanted somewhere sheltered this time. 
 

We had a lovely sunny cruise up the Ant.  So relaxing not having to worry about bridge heights.  We went under the bridge and saw a camera so assumed we would be on YouTube again, which we were. Relieved I didnt mess up. Barton was busy with some sailies and we arrived at Paddy’s lane late morning, deliberately picking the stretch in between the trees after Graham worked out where the wind direction was going to be coming from later that evening.  I could only walk down to the end of the boardwalk with Desmond as it was so muddy after that  but he wasnt fussed about going far as usual.  We battened down the hatches in readiness and sure enough it was soon blowing a hoolie but Mermaid hardly moved and no fender or rope squeaking. It was a bit scarey when i took Desmond out for his last comfort break before bed. The wind was absolutely roaring.  We were pleased we werent at Acle! I think there were only about three other boats there that night.