Phil Ambrose

Interestingly we are on E.A. waters and thanks to Denver Sluice we are just about sitting on the bottom because they dump a lot of water out of our system prior to the rain getting dumped on us, of course if we dont get a lot of rain we have to stay down till Denver gets the sluices shut to raise the level. Phil

My pump is under the foredeck and yes it does make a noise but I like it as I know it is working. Pump is a Shurflo. Phil

Always trust your Dad, I neglected to say that we also kept Chickens and Ducks. Having said that I'm sure this discussion will roll on to eventual expirey. Phil

I would beg to differ, Angel Wing is in fact a genetic condition caused by in-breeding, this is proven by colonies of isolated birds with a small gene pool, at one time my wife and I bred Budgies and Cockies which we sold in large quantities in Belgium and we have learnt a thing or two about breeding birds. Phil

Hi Shaun, you will love it here, never a dull moment. Welcome Phil

If it helps our last boat that we lived on for 10 years was a Caribbean, 40ft X 12ft and we had a 8kw Glembring diesel eater, no problem with staining on the roof. We only changed to a 60ft NB as we moved from the Broads to the Fens. Phil

Do'nt limit yourself by discounting an immersion heater, we have a 3kw one which gives us a full tank in 15 to 20 mins, that will not break the bank. We can also heat water by way of our Ellis gas boiler as well as our caloifier. There is nothing wrong with using some shore power if it makes life easy, we do I might add run a 12 volt fridge and a 12 volt freezer, we use batteries when "out" and charger when "in" It is just a question of getting the balance right. I agree that many people do put to much reliance on 240v leccy as per a fatboat in our marina that has ahuge range cooker with THREE electric ovens!!! Phil

I also do not like the Birdcage look, our previous boat, a Broads cruiser had decks to sides as well as fore and aft and we painted in gloss with non-slip granules added. However on our present NB we used International non-slip garage floor paint on the roof and for the gunnels I used self adhesive non-slip strip from Screwfix painted over to match the gloss. Looks great and overpainting does not effect the non-slip. Phil

I wondered about this as the Nav Rangers are very hot on overstaying moorings all of which are 24 hour and on that stretch the boat would have been passed at least twice a day although if it was actually tucked up in the Broad it may not have been visible. In fact thinking about it that particular Broad is no longer under the B.A. jurisdiction as it now is in effect a private Broad possibly under the ownership of Lord or Lady somebody or other (the name escapes me) Though the Broad is policed in terms of collection of overnight mooring fees. Phil

River valley, I know from experience that any phone signal is decidedly iffy in those parts. Phil

Sorry Martin but with respect you are wrong, we lived aboard at Horning for 10 years and it got worse every year. So much so that we sold our wide beam Broads cruiser and bought a NB, moving to the Fens. I would liken it during the season to the M25, many others that I know have taken similar steps. Phil

I get a good signal by hanging my 3 dongle under my Houdini hatch, remember inside a boat is like being in a Faraday cage. Phil

E-mail to Sterling usually results in a prompt reply. Mr S. may be a bit terse but help is normally forthcoming. Phil

Oh dear the young lass must be beside herself with worry, Teadeum may come along with some more info. I know this stretch of water so well and for a child to spend the night alone moored were she was must have been scared witless. Phil

He -he, dinky and cute, you are right they look like a lot of fun. Phil

When I was in engineering this was what was known as "a just job" The governor would say "all we've got to do is JUST DO THIS (or that)" the we was of course not him and invariably it was never straightforward, still loved the challenge, it was what made the job. Sadly it all went t*ts up at the start of the 80's Phil

Worth noting that outside of bends tend to be deeper because the water has to flow faster to get round the bend so scouring the bend while the water on the inside of bend travels slower enabling it to drop silt, not being picky but some people may not know this, of course only applies were there is a flow. Phil

We used a surgical latex glove with the finger tips cut off, the hand fitted around the dis while the leads were passed through the fingers, bit of tape finished the job off, did'nt need WD40. Phil Oh yes remember that well, nightmare! Phil

I think VERMINATOR has a nice ring to it, could have used MB's services the other day as our Hamster escaped and set up camp in the tumble dryer, took ages to pull it apart to get the little "angel" out. Phil

Sadly around my way there are people who have no qualms about whanging others boats, their stock phrase is "It's a contact sport mate" well it's not and for my part it is a matter of pride that I do not make contact with other boats, much the same as when I drive. Phil