Grebe

We only ever had two boats. Both had wooden deck boards and both failed. Both failed mainly because of water getting into the core of the wood via holes cut for budget-lock keys, lifting eyes or lifting holes. Grebe had a modern plywood composite with a bobble finish like rubber top surface. We replaced the entire rear decks with marine ply, all epoxied and track mastr on top and sound indultion underneath. A great job but not for a restricted budget. They were still great after 10 years. Make sure the holes are sealed!!

Those vent grilles look like a good idea. How are they geting aboard? Some boaters we knew in Norfolk had a mouse problem on their mooring which was on marshy/reedy ground. The mice came up the mooring lines. Ships have a similar problem with rats. We cruise regularly and the bosun always rigs rat guards when the ship moors up. Look up rat guards on a search engine and then consider making some discs for your mooring lines. It worked for our friends

Is there any chance of issues with the control electronics in a new machine not liking the inverter supply?

That was probably R&WBC member Ian on Dingo, with his lady Chris. We were with them on Saturday morning at 'Albert Dock' and they were planning to moor near top lock to go to The Parish Oven for Sunday lunch.

There's a winding hole just before the bridge hole. In the 1980s it was our half-day trip out from Stockwith with visitors. Two locks a picnic near the winding hole and then back. Lucky ones got the full-day, Stockwith to Drakeholes and back four locks and a tunnel. Pub optional.

The narrow bridge is Manor Farm Bridge No 78. Sometimes called Walkeringham Bridge. This so called research quoted in the OP shows how just reading dimensions from a table can be totally misleading.

Our old boat Grebe was wired as Peter describes. The caravan/motorhome charger was wired into the load/vehile side of the domestic isolator switch, so we could also run the domestics with no domestic battery fitted. The electrics gurus will have an answer (or more). My only thought is that any connection to the engine battery needs to be independant of the domestic battery to preclude any chance of draining the engine battery by domestic services. probably all taken care of by the controller but may need a diode if not.

Yes, same spot. The location is the north bank of the canal and also north of the River Don, so the coal is probably from Cadeby Colliery which was on the north bank. The site is now an educational centre which follwed on from the doomed Earth Centre of the 1990s.

Hi PD1964, you beat me to it. We were there at about 1030 and took the attached pictures. The image Ray (Heartland) posted is a bit deceptive because it flattens out the two curves in the line of houses/cottages. I spent from 1973 to 1979 driving coaches regularly in that area and am still familiar with that area and what was the old Doncaster Road bridge. The original image is from 1974/75 and the erection of a pumping station, a new bridge, and 45 years of tree planting and growth make a 'before and after' feature impossible. My first picture shows Pastures Road from its junction with Doncaster Road, at the bottom of the old bridge with the tyre depot building as previously mentioned at the foot of the old bridge. My second image from the south bank is similar to one of yours. You can see the vehicles parked on the old bridge approach and a bit of parapet wall below the trees. Ray - I am now 100% certain it is Pastures Road Mexborough and PD1964 agrees.

Thanks Derek, I had looked at streetmap but do not have the savvy to make the link. For completeness I'm going to both places today to check. Also a good excuse for eating out.

I'll try to find a chance to drive down there tomorrow, it's not a business I know. I did commute sheffield to doncaster for 20 years and the trains used to run via the 'Great Central' on the canal/river bank through Kilnhurst. I do not recall a row of house like that. They were more in blocks. Plusthe pit buildings and yard, transport yards, and the Thomas Hill locl works.

Thanks for checking my memory. The houses gradually curve away from the canal. Remember the canal was changed extensivlyin 1980/81, widened, banks piled and some straightening. The north bank now has a pub/hotel on it plus industrial buildings and caravan storage. The road beyond the row of houses now has modern housing on it. The big clue is the tyre depot building, still there and still doing car repairs. HS2 is planned to cross the canal at the point shown in the photo.

I'm high 90s percent certain that this is SSYN at Pastures Road Mexborough. The building on its own, with white gable end and sliding doors, was next to the old bridge on the Doncaster Road before various changes, including a higher bridge, were made when the navigation was enlarged in 1980s. The building used to be a tyre depot.

My fading understanding is that the mark you refer to is the mark of the 'classification society' that inspects and certifies the vessel for use. The round mark with L and R either side would be LLoyds Register, B an V either side Bureau Veritas etc.. Could be a Dutch or Scandnavian society

It's a hell of a lot of horsepower to move a boat. I suspect most members on here would consider anything over 50HP as excessive. It might look nice in an engine room.

we had new one today. Strange number on the caller ID, (they never look right). Message starts " This is acall from VISA, a £600 debit has just been made on your card please press 1 to contact us...

I was born and brought up in a pit village. My parents and grandparents having had to eak food out both through WW2 and on low pay after the war would never have dreamed of using butter or marg on a bacon sandwich. So i had no choice. Much the same way as my mum didn't like currants - so no fruit cake, didn't like briwn sauce - so no brown sauce. I carried on with the no butter until 1980. At that time I was working delivering frozen food and ice cream to shops, restaurants etc in Yoeks, Notts Lincs. One day I turned up to stock Newstead Hall up for the summer. The key holder for the storeroom was not there but the cafe girl was. Could I wait? Could i wait if there was a bacon sandwich and cuppa in it? Yes of course. She fried the bacon i butter and served it in a buttered bread cake. Bliss. At home, yes to butter (SWMBO) likes it that way) in a shop it varies with the extras, so I swing both ways. As for brown sauce I usually decline, but do like a bit of Branston with a cheese and crisps sandwich.

This sounds very similar to what we had near us. We live 100 metres away from Ulley Reservoir, luckily we are above the site. In 2007 following big rains the spillways failed and a rotational fault threatened the dam-wall. It was all over the tv and news, M1 closed, big pumps imported from around England and Wales and the water dumped into the Don system i.e Ulley Brook, River rother and River Don, the wall was saved. The village of Catcliffe was badly flooded. Low lying properties as far as Conisbrough were warned and sandbagged. This was the storm that swept down the Don flooding parts Sheffield, Meadowhall Centre, Rotherham and played havoc with boats on the SSYN at Ickles Jordan etc. So the emergency services have a previous model to work from. Good luck everybody

Remember that a 30 ton Hiab or other crane can only do 30 tons near the crane. Lifting further away reduces the capacity. Lifting technical people work on ton/metre radius, so 30 tons at one metre or one ton at 30 metres. We used to lift 7 ton railway bogies out of our stock storage tracks, but often needed a 80 ton or 100 ton crane to cope with the reach.

We always worked on the basis of 1 ft rise/fall at Norwich (based on guide books and observation). Atmospheric pressure in the North sea also has influence. Low pressure allows the sea to rise and the broads also come up. Tides are not equal rise and fall, just like the lower Trent. We reckoned HW Norwich to be HW Gorleston (Yarmouth Bar)+ 4.30, LW Norwich to be HW Gorleston +11.30. Note that some tide tables use Yarmouth Yacht Station as the standard 'port' which is about an hour later than the Gorleston time. We always used the Gorleston (Yarmoth Bar) times as they were in almanacs/sea going tables.

Me again. we left the Broads 3 years ago. Grebe was only 5ft 7ins air draft so no issues for us. BA Broadcaster has some info and maps aimed at visitors. http://edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=7b9d4321-8dee-4ce8-aa11-3c7fc1916c9f

Hi Alan, The problem will be Foundry Bridge in Norwich. All the others are high enough and Trowse Rail Bridge swings. Foundry Bridge is near the Railway Station and before the Yacht station, whch is in effect the only mooring site in central Norwich. Broads Authority quote 10 ft headroom. Try these links http://www.thegreenbook.org.uk/ https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/navigating-the-broads/bridge-heights-and-opening-times

Only just seen this thread. I too thought micro switches in taps was a possibility.