Hello & Happy Easter

[Sylvo]

Just saying hello, have just joined the forum. Not exactly new to boating, have had several small boats on the none tidal Thames, am a member of BMYC at Thames Ditton also ex sailor (way back). Just sold my last little boat, a 14' maxi craft, still a BMYC club member but just keep our twin kayak there now. 

 

I live in Surrey and have just purchased a mooring at Pyrford Marina Ripley. By chance we also found a boat to buy locally (sale subject to survey) so hopefully all will be well as it will suit our purposes. It is a 41' Sea Otter in excellent condition (not everyone's cup of tea) but we wanted something smaller to get started with and with less maintenance as recently moved so have lots to do on the house also. Any info on the SO would be welcome (positive ones please) : )

 

So, looking forward to posting (asking irritating questions). Anyone else at Pyrford by all means drop me a line be nice to meet at some point. 

 

I am semi retired with a few skills to hand, good with most DIY skills, also a welder fabricator with a great home work shop. 

 

Looking forward to some adventures on the inland waterways (ones that are open anyway). 

 

Regards

 

Sylvo

Edited April 9, 2023 by Sylvo
additional content

[Nightwatch]

Welcome Sylvo. Always good to see new contributors in here. You are right in saying Sea Otters are not everyone’s favourite, but there’s plenty of them around. I knew an owner on a Sea Otter many moons ago, he was a happy owner.

Pyrford is, as far as I know, is a good Marina and in a ‘nice’ part of the country.

 

Enjoy your boat. As others will be along soon and say, photos please, so I will get in first and say Photos please. We like photos.

 

[mrsmelly]

10 minutes ago, Sylvo said:

Just saying hello, have just joined the forum. Not exactly new to boating, have had several small boats on the none tidal Thames, am a member of BMYC at Thames Ditton also ex sailor (way back). Just sold my last little boat, a 14' maxi craft, still a BMYC club member but just keep our twin kayak there now. 

 

I live in Surrey and have just purchased a mooring at Pyrford Marina Ripley. By chance we also found a boat to buy locally (sale subject to survey) so hopefully all will be well as it will suit our purposes. It is a 41' Sea Otter in excellent condition (not everyone's cup of tea) but we wanted something smaller to get started with and with less maintenance as recently moved so have lots to do on the house also. Any info on the SO would be welcome (positive ones please) : )

 

So, looking forward to posting (asking irritating questions). Anyone else at Pyrford by all means drop me a line be nice to meet at some point. 

 

I am semi retired with a few skills to hand, good with most DIY skills, also a welder fabricator with a great home work shop. 

 

Looking forward to some adventures on the inland waterways (ones that are open anyway). 

 

Regards

 

Sylvo

Well hello and welcome. Do you not get depressed having to live in Surrey?

[MtB]

4 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Well hello and welcome. Do you not get depressed having to live in Surrey?

 

Its better than Wales! 

 

 

19 minutes ago, Sylvo said:

It is a 41' Sea Otter in excellent condition

 

 

Be particularly careful not to set fire to it. They burn astonishingly well. 

 

 

[mrsmelly]

5 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Its better than Wales! 

 

 

Whats better about it? The higher crime rate? less scenery? zero beaches? or tiny houses at ludicrous prices? or is it simply the congestion?

[Sylvo]

15 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Well hello and welcome. Do you not get depressed having to live in Surrey?

Came on missionary work from Yorkshire many years ago....they were in such a bad way I had to stay, still working hard to convert them 🤣

13 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Its better than Wales! 

 

 

 

 

Be particularly careful not to set fire to it. They burn astonishingly well. 

 

 

Great advice....need to ban the wife's pipe 😂

[mrsmelly]

Just now, Sylvo said:

Came on missionary work from Yorkshire many years ago....they were in such a bad way I had to stay, still working hard to convert them 🤣

Lol, fair play. Us Yorkies need to move around to look after folk. I came to Wales in the end, I like sheep 🤣 oh and the beer prices 😃

[MtB]

7 minutes ago, Sylvo said:

 

Great advice....need to ban the wife's pipe 😂

 

 

Just make sure its not that one you're actually buying. People can be fooled with a fresh lick of paint....

 

 

[Lily Rose]

40 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Whats better about it? The higher crime rate? less scenery? zero beaches? or tiny houses at ludicrous prices? or is it simply the congestion?

 

On the whole I suspect living in Wales (well some of it) is better than living in Surrey. But there is such a thing as too much rain.

[MtB]

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

Whats better about it? The higher crime rate? less scenery? zero beaches? or tiny houses at ludicrous prices? or is it simply the congestion?

 

The sheer density of wonderful places such as Silent Pool, White Down, Chobham Common, Newlands Corner, the river Wey....

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Pool

 

 

[tree monkey]

3 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

The sheer density of wonderful places such as Silent Pool, White Down, Chobham Common, Newlands Corner, the river Wey....

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Pool

 

 

Lived in Surrey for 5 years and yes you are right it is beautiful, fascinating place full of history, still rather be in Wales though, less cultivated and beautified, damn site more rugged and a lot less people 

[MtB]

Oops, I forgot to include the River Thames! 

[tree monkey]

3 minutes ago, MtB said:

Oops, I forgot to include the River Thames! 

But hundreds of bloody people 

[Athy]

\welcome to the forum. I understand the "missionary" angle, as I was (whoops, were) brought up in Sheffield but spent six years educating the natives in Bletchingley.

   In your preamble you say that you look forward to positive comments about Sea Otters. Fine, it's always pleasant to be complimented on one's boat, but you'll learn more by being receptive to less flattering comments too. For example, I hope that MTB's earler post had you scurrying out to buy fire extinguishers and/or blankets.

[mrsmelly]

17 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Lived in Surrey for 5 years and yes you are right it is beautiful, fascinating place full of history, still rather be in Wales though, less cultivated and beautified, damn site more rugged and a lot less people 

Population density Ceredigion, where I live 40 people per square KM

Population density Surrey 722 people per square KM .............yuk..............

[Alan de Enfield]

8 minutes ago, Athy said:

blankets.

 

You don't need blankets with a Sea Otter, you'll be plenty warm enough.

[Lady M]

Are you sure?

[Alan de Enfield]

6 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Population density Ceredigion, where I live 40 people per square KM

Population density Surrey 722 people per square KM .............yuk..............

 

We spend much of the year in Gwynedd with 46 per square KM

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Lady C said:

Are you sure?

 

If MtBs picture is to be believed.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Alan de Enfield

[Athy]

9 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

You don't need blankets with a Sea Otter, you'll be plenty warm enough.

When it catches fire, you mean?

 

 

Note to Sylvo: humour is not banned on CWDF and many of us indulge in it, with varying degrees of success.

[mrsmelly]

8 minutes ago, Athy said:

 

 

 

Note to Sylvo: humour is not banned on CWDF and many of us indulge in it, with varying degrees of success.

Especialy in the politics section 🤣

[Athy]

9 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Especialy in the politics section 🤣

...where half the posters are fine, sensible people and the other half are total comedians and/or dangerous lunatics, you mean?

 

Which half, of course, is in the eye of the beholder.

[haggis]

Congrats on becoming a sea otter owner. Great low maintenance boats and they have a very helpful owners club, I believe. We have a baby sea otter in Scotland although it has to be said that we do most of our boating on our non sea otter in englandshire.

[Mike Adams]

Great decision to buy a sea otter which is the boat I should have bought in my old age. I have the problem that I like to fiddle upgrade and mess around with things,sort of part of boating. We have an NT mooring above Pyrford Lock and it is a very nice location. The Wey is one of the nicest waterways now.

[Bran]

19 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

We spend much of the year in Gwynedd with 46 per square KM

 

 

 

 

If MtBs picture is to be believed.

I'm in the Black Mountains in South Wales 20 miles from Brecon Canal a couple of miles from Pontadawe Canal which flows into Swansea.

Love the walking along these canals, going to the Canal events coming up at the end of April to see and meet boaters and their boats. 

[Alan de Enfield]

Our boat is in a marina near Caernarfon, normally we spend around 5 to 6 months of the year on the boat cruising around the North Wales and Anglesey coasts, with periodic weeks in the marina which we than use as a base for diving trips.

In the past we have been all the way up the West coast almost to the Northern tip of Scotalnd and had regular weekend trips over to Ireland and the Isle of Man.

 

It's a grand part of the world.