Norfolk Broads - LIVE!

I am now beginning to consider 12v power use on a boat as no longer required. There, I said it which is a rather surprising thing to hear and goes against 'conventional wisdom'. Now of course the use of DC power on board is going to be necessary, but I would much prefer to see all DC power use being run at 24v because this reduces your amperage needs, and in many cases reduces the gauge of wire needed.  When you look at everything from electric toilets, bilge pumps, lighting, heating systems and even marine electronics they all come in 24v versions - often at no more cost than their 12v cousins.  As a society we have so much choice as to what is available to us for the home and increasingly we want these basics on board our boats.  I call them 'basics' because I do not consider it to be a luxury to have a Microwave, a Coffee Machine or a Freezer on your boat. So why do companies both when building new boats and those who supply the industry continue to be stuck in...

  The sun is getting higher in the sky and today is St. Patrick’s Day which can only mean one thing: To many a boater the time is right to get their little ship ready for the new season. In this ‘Tips & Tricks’ article, I am going to talk about boat cleaning, pre-season prep and making your boat look great to attract the envy of others. Boat Washing:   It does not matter if you have your boat under a tarpaulin, in a shed, or just bare in the in the open one thing is for sure after just a few weeks her topsides will be looking dull and since many owners pack up for the season in late October and do not return until late March, that is a lot of time for the muck and grime to build up.    Especially if your boat has a painted surface, it is important not to just reach for any old cleaning products but spend a little and get something nice.   The most important thing you want to look out for is it being PH Neutral.   This is because a pr...

I thought I’d give some thoughts on some boaty things I have discovered and thought of recently that may inspire or help others be them an owner currently, or perhaps those who aspire to in the future.  Varnishing:   You don’t need a wooden boat to need to Varnish; even Fibreglass boats have woodwork that can benefit from being kept in tip top condition. However, if you want to help preserve the wood, and produce a glass like surface together with reducing the number of coats of Varnish needed (and mind numbing work between coats) then use a clear Epoxy to begin as your build up coats. You will need to start with the bare wood surface for this, so there is no skimping on preparation alas and all previous coats of Varnish would need to be sanded back completely.   However, once done you will only need 3 or 4 coats of actual Varnish to achieve a surface much the same as if you’d used 10.   I think we all are familiar with West System as a brand n...

White Champagne is a large boat ideal for a group of friends or two families whose priority is space. At 45ft long the boat might be the same length as Broadsman, Commodore etc but because has a higher air draft and narrower side decks appears to be much larger inside.   Whether you are talking about the shower, outside space, or saloon you never feel cramped and there are drawers and cupboards everywhere to store away a crews belongings.  Sure this class of boat (Acapulco, Challenger and Pink Champagne are all the same type) are more known for large groups of men on stag do cruises, this label I feel is wrongly associated with them and upon take over the boat was spotlessly clean.  Our request for extra items for the galley and bedding was dealt with in a friendly manner and 'nothing is too much trouble' way.  While I had hired the boat it was for my mums birthday celebrations and we wanted somewhere people new to the broads would...

Part four sees us visit St. Helen's church at Ranworth (for some reason I refer to it as St. Margaret's Church) and we end up at Sutton Staithe Boatyard for very cheap fuel and a pump out. It truly was a lovely weekend with amazing weather that seems but a memory now.

In part three of the adventure, We decided to take a cruise down to Wroxham - for nothing more than to see what was going on then return back the way we had come to Salhouse Broad.  It was here I spotted the ice cream boat, so we duly caught their attention and I was promptly recognised and enjoyed a 30p discount.  From here we headed back down the river Bure in the lovely sunshine, Shiela taking full advantage  of this and as we passed through Horning decided to bare her Bikini to the world. We turned to head up the river Ant, but it was simply so hectic and busy our idea about going to Sutton Staithe, or Stalham for a meal was pushed to one side and we turned just before the first warning sign for Ludham Bridge and left the chaos behind us - destination now Acle, or failing that Stokesby. There was noticeably less boats on the Bure, and once past the river Thurne we were treated to several fast moving sailing boats coming towards us many wit...

Part Two of the adventure - as we cruise through Horning and then take a quick detour into the seemingly always serene beauty of Hoveton Little Broad (Blackhorse Broad). Our overnight destination is Salhouse Broad, where you can see how I was able to fill buckets with water should we need to away from water hose points and took some time out giving it one last go at getting the water pump to work. After that it was time for a BBQ of chicken and pork with potato salad, crusty bread and salad not to forget the trusty thousand island dressing.  It was, as you can see a rather chilled out day unlike some of the hire boat trips where I cram as much into a day as one can and end up on very long cruises. *Mark I will look to see if I can see your boat but usually I don't leave much 'on the cutting room floor' so to speak

A new series of Blogs are coming your way and we begin with part one where we find out what happens when a water pump seizes and one has to use your innovative skills to come up with a solution – in this case 15 litre water carriers and a watering can to flush the loo with.  None the less after a few hours in the wet shed trying to sort the problem we departed and spent our first evening at St. Benet’s moorings, we pick up the action as we begin day two where we visit Potter Heigham and Malthouse Broad.

Day One: This trip would be the last to Norfolk for the 2014 season, and as things turned out my Mum would be accompanying me for a couple of nights - after which I'd be left to handle 44ft of brand new boat alone.  No pressure then. The journey to the boatyard was familiar and a well trodden route - but began with massive problems on the London Underground.  I have two ways to get to Liverpool Street and I had gambled wrongly in the morning rush hour which to take - at Kings Cross they were 5 deep waiting for the next train on the sub-surface route so quickly turn around (as fast as one can with a large suitcase and my bag of cameras and various other non essential but often required boat bits) to the Piccadilly Line and on to Holborn where we can get the Central Line to Liverpool Street.   Then queue for a free ticket machine to collect the pre-bought tickets and just under 10 minutes before the train to Norwich was leaving. Once we ...

Brinks Royale is not the most practical of boats, but it does not pretend to be - it is a 'sporty boat' idea for a couple but will sleep up to four people.  It has a great social space which on sunny days with the canopy stowed is lovely to sit out in the cockpit, a table is included for alfresco dining too.  A high boat affording good views but that height means bridge passages can be tricky at times and the boat is easily caught by the wind - not helped by the planning hull which lacks the keel of a displacement boat to keep things more on the straight than the wiggly. Overall though I found Royale to be a very nice comfortable boat but I think having hired her I'll stick to the less sporty and more practical with things like more drawers and height and proper cabins.

The last full day (for me at least) is the wind down day, because you have to be close to the boatyard for the morning return - or like me moor in it - it is not a day where you might want to do as much as previously and so it was for me. I left the moorings a Paddy's Lane after 10:00am and though very much less windy than the day before it was certainly not calm.  I headed off to Neatishead just to go back up their via Lyme Kiln Dyke  which is beautiful, in fact I would go as far to say  that in summer when you have all the foliage on the trees and the birds are in song it is the most pretty stretch of water on the Broads.  It just feels like the most back water of backwaters so quiet and special. After turning it was back to Barton Broad then down the River Ant - funny how the weather can change things for we had not had much in the way of rain but the wind direction and pressure had caused the tide to do strange things - it was incredibly ...

Today began with a plan of being a short day as far as cruising, and doing rather little - however it evolved into a very full day with an awful lot including a visit to  the White Horse in Neatishead but it all started off around 6:00am in Horning. After yesterday's long cruise back north from Reedham, I had spent a nice evening in the Ferry Inn with some good priced, nice food and drink and I had come back to the boat and feeling worn out had an early night.  I woke up in the morning and despite being only around 5:15am I could not sleep more and was restless, a cup of coffee later and I was all set wanting to do something - so I got ready and thought I would leave at 6:00am and go to Wroxham, shower have breakfast pop into Roy's and then have a nice slow day and more up somewhere around mid afternoon and call it a day.  How plans change. It was lovely going past the chalet's all quiet without fishermen outside and needing to stay clear of their li...

It does not matter how I put this, today was not the most interesting of days on the Broads because it was what some might say is the 'long drag' when you leave the southern rivers behind and head north, knowing that there will be a long and winding mud and reed lined passage up the Bure towards Acle ahead. I did not need to be up too early today because having moored overnight at Reedham I was well positioned to catch the last of the outgoing tide to help me towards Breydon.  What surprised me was the amount of boats who had left or were leaving and whom I knew were heading back north and who would enjoy a rapid transit to hand over Breydon before hitting a brick wall of tide heading against them as they turned at the yellow post onto the Bure. I waited but there was an air of impatience wanting to get going and knowing one has a long way to cover - I departed calculating that I would hit the tide ebbing still out of the Bure but it would not be too g...

Having spent the night at Pacific Cruisers boatyard (free for hire boats £5.00 for private craft) it was a very different day to that of yesterday, sunny, warm and a real feeling of summer.  It was lovely.  I had neglected to consult my tide tables the previous night and wished now I had since my destination for today would be Norwich and it did not take Einstein to figure out half way there the tide would begin to ebb and I’d be going against it – had I left earlier I would have arrived at slack water and left with the ebbing current.  Hindsight eh? The Chet was beautiful – most of the boats at the Staithe had already left which meant by the time I was heading down river I had it to myself.  While some charm has been lost with the recent bank works I welcome the wider more open feel to the river so you feel more confident should you meet a boat coming the other way.  It is only a short river and before too long the mouth was approaching the...

This day may as well be known as 'the rainy one' for it began rather warmly and humid, but there was little in the way of sunshine.  The rain had come and gone, but it was never very heavy when it fell, the odd spot here and there. I had not woken as early as I might usually because the previous evening my sleep had been disturbed by this constant beeping noise.  Anything that beeps on a boat is not a good sign but initially I could not discover where it was coming from - you see it would only last about a minute and then go silent for about 10 minutes before it would come back.  The reason I could not tell initially its source was perhaps because it was so close to where the bed was - the LCD Battery Monitors were on the bulkhead to the left of the berth, and sure enough the 24v bank was showing just over 21v - every time the fridge's compressor tried to start so the voltage would sink, the inverter cut out and the low battery warning beeping begin....

I had thought about heading to the Southern Broads since I was up for a week before I had taken the boat over, but the previous evening I had made firm plans checking the tide times for Yarmouth and had decided a good place to go would be Beccles. As those regular boaters will know Womack To Beccles is not a short cruise by any means, and it would mean an early start - and so it was that today began at 5:45am.  It had rained a lot through the night and the usually quiet dyke leading to Womack Water  had been stirred up a bit by the wind meaning the planning hull of Royale caught the small wavelets and meant a noisy night of 'bow slap' come morning I was not as well rested as I would have liked and the dull cooler conditions were so completely different to that of when I picked the boat up the previous day. Perhaps it was this sudden change in weather from blazing sunshine and hot to cool and wet, or perhaps just a reaction with some kind of plant or No...

Having got a slightly later train than usual, I arrived in Wroxham on what had been the hottest day of the year so far.  There was not a cloud in the sky and I walked from the station to the Broads Information Centre and got myself the official time table that the Broads Authority produce for £1.00 - it comes in a rather garish neon orange this year. Then off to Barnes Brinkcraft where I suspected because almost all their fleet would be being prepared for going out today and tomorrow my boat would not yet be ready, and so it was the case.  I left my luggage in reception and went off to Roy's DIY centre to pick up some micro fibre cloths and the usual £1.99 windscreen wiper (which came in very handy as is often the case with hire boats).  Then up to Norfolk Marine to look at everything from fridge's, toilets and helm seats mentally making notes and seeing how things looked in reality compared to images one sees online and yet remaining puzzled at the c...

Song of Freedom proved to be a very nice, cosy and warm boat.  Although it was not that cold you could certainly tell that the heating would keep things toasty and I liked the way the boat was in four compartments, from forward cabin to saloon, to cockpit to aft cabin - all with their own doors. It is funny how it seems everything these days needs to be bigger, fatter, longer, wider from cars to pushchairs not to mention boats - but it goes to show how a good design and use of space can make 30 feet feel far larger and have plenty of space and drawers to stow your things. Good to handle, and considering the hours we did many against tides I thought frugal on fuel too.  Would be a really nice small family boat and while not the most modern has some nice touches - such as a refitted galley and salon space to make evenings spent on board pleasant, rounded off with a fair price you really can't go wrong. So now you can watch the walkthrough and see ...

We had spent the past days cruising for many hours and often getting up early - today therefore was going to be slightly less hectic so it was a later start and not before 9:30am that we departed Loddon Staithe.   It was low water and I was anxious as it did feel like we were cruising in a paddling pool leaving the Staithe and me worrying how much water was under us - our all but one of our neighbours having departed earlier when perhaps there was more water to be had.  However my worries became true when having passed the last set of moorings (just before the Staithe on the left hand side as you approach Loddon) there was a large floating mound of Reeds.  I moved to the centre of the river to avoid them and just as we came past what now appears to be a type of basin (the bank works scooping out a very large area oblong in shape) I felt the boat touch bottom and slow momentarily as if just struggling to keep going through the water and t...

An early start today - I was up around 6:15am doing the usual engine checks, making sure there was water in the header tank and how was the oil doing etc - these being all the more important on these old BMC's who always like to drink a little water and burn a little oil. By about 6:50am I was casting off from the quay and heading off over a still Oulton Broad who was just beginning to wake up - and finally, there was calmness and no wind so with canopy lowered it was destination Beccles. I should note that last night at Oulton Broad we had a very peculiar fault - start the engine, turn on heater - heater starts turn off engine once was running and within 5 minutes the heater would be off and the LED blinking.  Try as we might the heater would simply not stay on longer than a few minutes - yet we had ample power.  Another job for Andy, so I called him later an arranged to meet later that evening at our final destination - Loddon.  I am...