GARSTANG MARINA, Lancaster Canal

Issue 4August2010

The magazine of the Seamaster ClubVolume 19

CONTENTS3 Diary Dates

4 From the President

5 From the Editor

6 Membership News

11 Letters etc

“Thank you Jane”

Water Filler Cap for a Seamaster 27

I broke my Golden Rule!

12 Prop for an 8 Metre

15 Weather Helm

Forthcoming Changes in BoatRegistration on Inland Waterways

16 Seamaster 30 Sea-Keeping Qualities

17 A Seamaster Cadet

20 Update from the Lancaster Canal

21 Later Voyages of Second Melody 2006

23 Tales of Sailbad The Sinner

Cover Picture: John Topping supplied this picture of Garstang Marina on theLancaster Canal. Very pleasing to see they are well stocked with Seamasters. Morepictures in page 22.

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Disclaimer: The views, opinions and any other content ofentries in this magazine are those of the contributors; TheSeamaster Club, and the Editor, do not accept responsibility

How not to launch a boat

No comment(Source, a member)

Feb DIARY DATES2010

August 20th - 22nd Norfolk Broads - The Navy Lark, Beccles YachtStation

August 28th - 30th Thames - IWA National Festival & Boat Show2010 at Beale Park

September 3rd-5th Thames - Cookham Rally

September 10th-12th Norfolk Broads - Lion Inn Thurne - The AutumnMeet & Will’s Quiz

September 11th Committee Meeting - 14:00 - Lion Inn, Thurne

September 18th-19th Thames - RNLI Rally, Queens Promenade,Surbiton. Kingston on Thames

October 3rd Great Ouse & Fens “End of Season Lunch”at The Wheatsheaf, Tempsford, Beds

October 9th Norfolk Broads - Red Lion Coltishall - Lunchwith Dilham Boat Club

November 6th/7th AGM & Members Weekend - Roebuck HotelWare, Hertfordshire.

November 28th Committee meeting - 12:00 - Orpington

December 11th Norfolk Broads - Christmas Bash & Silver DuckAwards - Sutton Staithe Hotel,

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All copy should be sent to the Newsletter Editor: email: editor@seamasterclub.org or post to:

Brian Rowland, at 113 Park Avenue, Orpington, Kent BR6 9EG

Coordinators are requested to notify the editor as soon as newevents are scheduled for their area.

NOTE TO PROSPECTIVE MEMBERSYou may have been handed this magazine by a friend, and now be wondering how to find out moreabout joining the Club. For more details, please contact:

Brian Rowland, 113 Park Avenue, Orpington, Kent BR6 9EG Tel: 01689 824531

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From the President

The End of an Era.

I have sold Claire Marie. A decision that was not lightlymade. In fact this act is the result of much mentaltorment, sleepless nights, my frustrating ineptitude tocarry on with her renovation and an increasing aversionto the road journey time, 3 to 5hrs, current attitudes ofmany modern drivers. M25. A1M and heavy goodsdrivers who try to intimidate by driving right up behind, almost pushingone along. My average speed of 60 – 70 mph not being fast enough?!

Whilst I realise that some of the membership enjoy the peace andtranquillity offered by boating and also enjoy it alone I began to feel veryalone when cruising. I missed Wilf more on the river than I do at home.

Pathetic? Probably yes.

Over the past year or so I have used Claire Marie less and less.

In fact it got to the stage that I was keeping her for the purpose ofattending the Lazy Otter Rally and, last year, the rally at Little Paxton.With rare trips to Denver (which is a long haul alone) and an unsuccessfultrip up the Little Ouse to Brandon Creek or, at least, the new GOBAmooring. All I succeeded in doing was nearly losing my boat when Imoored up at Littleport and the wind blew her out and, since I hadinadvertently left the then very stiff throttle astern, watching her headingback to Ely stern first. Very luckily a narrow boater saw what washappening and averted a disaster. I still have nightmares about that andit really shook my fragile confidence.

I would like to thank the crews of Holly Rose, Alan and Pauline, andBounty, Mike and Susan, for their company on the cruise to Little Paxtonlast year. None of us ladies were that keen on managing the locksinvolved; I know I was shaking so much I had a job to keep Claire Marie

From the EditorThieves on the Waterways: Sadly I have been reminded that you need towatch out for thieves on the waterways. We have received a police appealover River Wey canal boat burglaries. Three more canal boats mooredon the River Wey in Surrey have been burgled, prompting police to renewtheir appeals for information. Thieves stole money, tools and food fromvessels in Ripley, Send, and Shalford. Surrey Police said there hadalso been burglaries at Triggs Lock in Sutton Green and in Pyrford nearWoking. Inspector Tim Shaw said: “I would urge anyone who is a regular user of towpathto keep their eyes and ears open.”Environment Agency: I have included brief initial information on The Environment Agency(Inland Waterways) Order 2010 in page 17. We don’t yet know what impact this will havebut I suspect it will be better for the authorities than the boater.Somerleyton Bridge, Norfolk Broads. Further to Jon Male’s report in page 10, he nowtells me that his news on Somerleyton Bridge may have been a bit previous - it seems thatit has gone on the blink again!!! Network Rail, the statutory operator and owner of theSomerleyton Bridge, has informed the Broads Authority that as a result of a system failure,mitigation measures have had to be put in place that will reduce the possibility of acomplete failure of the bridge swinging mechanism. The bridge will therefore be swungopen for river traffic for 2 x 10 minute periods, Monday through Saturday inclusive, and for2 x 50 minute periods on Sundays. The times of opening are: Monday through Fridayinclusive 0955-1005 hrs and 1525-1535hrs; Saturday 0922 - 0932hrs and 1525-1535hrs; Sunday 1000-1050hrs and 1600-1650hrs. This will continue until further notice. TheBroads Authority is currently negotiating with Network Rail for a more flexible timetableand for a long term solution to this latest bridge failure. Note that vessels that do notrequire the bridge to swing are unaffected and can pass under the Bridge without hindrance.(Source: the Broads Authority).XM LIFERAFT RECALL - Navimo UK - Also known as Plastimo XM - is recalling a batch ofXM liferafts that showed the potential for developing micro leaks which might affect theoverall buoyancy of the product. They will be exchanged free of charge with a new Europeanmodel.After a prolonged time in the water the occupants of the liferaft might have to use the pumpsupplied in the raft to top it up. The problem is confined to a limited batch of XM liferaftsmanufactured in the Far East carrying part numbers 53871 to 53876. This batch of raftswas manufactured from early 2006 onwards and were probably sold after June 2006.‘”While we have had no reports of any incidents with this batch of rafts, we take this matterextremely seriously” said Paul White, Navimo UK sales manager. “We just don’t feelcomfortable offering a safety product that - no matter how small the possibility - might putanyone at risk. So we want to get that entire batch of rafts back and replace them - free ofcharge - by the same type of product manufactured in our European factories.”Navimo says any person with a liferaft from the affected batch should contactCarl Gilbert-Wood on 01489 778853, or email carl.gilbert-wood@navimo.co.uk to arrange for shipment back to Navimo.Broads Gazebo: The Broads coordinator is looking to replace their oldlarge gazebo, which is getting to be more a liability than an asset, witha new and stronger one. An appeal for donations is in page 12.

Brian Rowland

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MEMBERSHIP NEWSSeamaster Club Members Weekend

and AGM 2010 - a reminder.

Interested members are reminded that thisevent is being held at The Roebuck Inn,Ware, Herts on Saturday 6th and Sunday7th November 2010. Members wishing tostay in the hotel overnight may book on01920 409955 quoting booking referenceG44304’

Full details will be published in the nextissue of this magazine (due out 1st October)and will be included in the AGM callingnotice which you should receive mid-October.

THE FENS & GREAT OUSELazy Otter Rally

19th /20th JUNE 2010

Held on the GOBA moorings adjacent to theLazy Otter we had another good turn-out.Members arriving by boat:

Jane - Claire MarieGordon & Doreen - FantasiaBarry & Marion - White KnightDave - River PugAllan & Pauline - Holly RoseBrian & Phil - AchelousChris - ExodusKevin & Angie - Old BonesPaul & Mo - SaratinaStewart & Carol - Spirit of the FensArriving by car:Mike & Eileen - Hideout

Many thanks to all members who came tothe Rally. “Flaming June” it certainly wasnot! However, the cold and the rain did notdeter us and those who attended had agood time. Barbeques were lit not only to

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cook on but also for warmth!! £57.00 wasraised by the raffle. Thank you everyonewho donated prizes. Sorry Barry, no whiskythis time. A warm welcome to our newmembers Stewart and Carol. We will tryand get better weather for our next event.I will report on the San Souci rally in thenext edition of the magazine.Details of the End of Season Luncheonscheduled for Sunday 3rd October 2010 atThe Wheatsheaf, Tempsford, will be sentout in due course. At the time of preparingthis report I do not have details of the menu,

price, deposit etc.. Notification will besent out to members at the end of August.Eileen Phillips

THE NORFOLK BROADSTHE NAVY LARK

20th /21st August 2010Beccles Yacht Station

Plans are well sorted for this event. Jonand Caroline have it all in hand and thetides through Yarmouth are in our favourthis year. It seems that at least 6 boatsfrom the northern Broads are venturingto the dark side so if any other membersfancy a few days out come and join us.After Beccles our next event is the AutumnWeekend at the Lion Inn, Thurne on 10th,11th, 12th September. No fuss, no formsbut I will need to know how manymoorings to book and roughly how manyfor dinner on the Saturday night, so justlet me know. It is also your chance to trymy special quiz with wonderful prizes forthe winning boat. It is also a chance tomeet the Seamaster Club Committee on

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that Saturday.A quick plug for our next lunch meet whichis at the Red Lion in Coltishall on SaturdayOctober 9th, then a short break before ourChristmas do. This eagerly awaited eventon December 11th is at the Sutton Staithehotel, with a 3 course silver service dinner,entertainment by “Desperate Dan, specialrates on rooms and free mooring. Plus theBig Duck Draw. How can you miss this?Booking is essential and the forms will bein your October magazine. Don’t forget, thisis your chance each year to see me in asuit!Will Hawkes, Broads Coord

Somerleyton Swing BridgeBoat users on the Broads are celebratingafter Network Rail engineers successfullycompleted repairs to Somerleyton SwingBridge.Damage to the bridge’s pivot mechanismhad left the bridge jammed shut since earlyMay, leaving fixed mast and fly bridge crafton the River Waveney unable to passthrough in either direction.The unique design of the bridge, which wasbuilt more than a century ago, meant that areplacement part had to be ‘reverseengineered’ and custom made beforeinstallation and testing could take place.Andrew Munden, Network Rail route directorfor Anglia, said: “Network Rail has gotSomerleyton back in action for boat users.Since taking on responsibil ity forSomerleyton and the other swing bridgeson the Broads we’ve had to learn about theirdesign and understand how they workalmost from scratch. Thanks to the effortsof our engineers we’re now much betterplaced to make sure they keep swingingwell into the future.”“Running a 21st century railway onEdwardian infrastructure is a challenge and

we thank boat users for their patience whilewe carried out vital repairs to this uniquestructure.”In recognition of the disruption some boatusers may have encountered while thebridge was unable to swing, Network Railis funding a mooring pontoon upstream ofSomerleyton Bridge where yachts can lowertheir masts safely and where vessels canwait safely for a bridge swing.Trudi Wakelin, Director of Waterways for theBroads Authority, said: “This has been atrying and testing time for all partiesconcerned, and the Authority has madestrenuous efforts to ensure Network Railunderstand the key importance of this bridgeto the users of the statutory navigation andalso the local economy.“Through good cooperation we haveachieved a positive outcome, including apartnership delivery of enhanced mooringprovision, and we hope that this relationshipcan further develop in the future.”08/07/2010Source, the Broads Authority web site.Jon Male, Navy Lark

The Ranworth Rally 2010Another great weekend. I hope all of youwho attended enjoyed yourself. It was goodto meet some of our newer members andcatch up with some of our older ones. Ithink the weather smiled on us. My choiceof “Desperate Dan” seemed to go down welland even I ended up dancing late onSaturday night. A full report by Alan and Hildefollows:Although the forecast earlier in the weekwas promising a break in the good weatherfor the weekend of 3rd-4th July, theforecasters were again proved wrong and

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Will Hawkes (Canta Libra), true to his word,had ordered up a beautiful weekend.Some 20 Seamasters and 1 HamptonSafari turned up at some stage during theweekend to enjoy a totally relaxing stay onRanworth Island. As everybody was geared

up for NOT visiting the Maltsters pub therewas plenty of drink on offer on the Island.The weather I assume was deemed tooenervating for the dinghy race, so the mainpastime for the Saturday afternoon wassome gentle duck dipping, reading, catchingup with old friends and the sipping of one’sfavourite tipple. For much of the afternoonAlan (Korali) led with a total of 11 duckshooked in the 3 minutes allowed, a total thatlooked uncatchable (excuse the pun) but lateon Caroline (Rum Navy) managed 14 to bethe winner. Again because of the heat therewere not many takers for the Tug of War.

As is normal Will supplied us all with thegoody bag which contained T-shirts withboat names, a copy of the Broadcaster, Bob& Pauline’s Guide to the Broads 2010 and

a leaflet aboutthe Museum ofthe Broads (wellworth a visit).Altogether anexcellent £8-00worth.The barbecuewas wellattended andwas followed bya singer Danwho royallyentertained us for the rest of the evening(and night come to think of it as he finishedabout midnight).The next morning the gazebos and tentswere taken down and boats started todepart. Canta Libra looked rather like oneof the work boats seen around the Broadsnowadays when it was loaded with theBBQ and packed up marquees.Much thanks must be given to Will and theothers involved for organizing an excellentweekend.

Lunch Meet at the Museum of the Broads

Members from 10 boats arrived at themuseum in Stalham for our annual picniclunch and steamboat trip, a laid backrelaxing meet with free tea and coffee, atrip on the river and a visit round themuseum. All this for a nominal contributionto the museum costs. Members attending:

Eric & Dot - Lady MargaretBrian & Sue - Marnia GirlWill & Su - Spirit of AdventureWill & Patty - Canta LibraDavid & Gisela - TouchwoodSteve & Angela - Emma LouiseAlan & Hilde - KoraliRoger & Pat - New MoonJon & Caroline Rum Navy

It was also good to welcome Stan & Jane,Joys Pride, to our company. Four boatsstayed on for a fine evening of Jazz that themuseum had organised and oursocialising carried on until late. In all agreat day on the Broads.

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Norfolk Broads Appeal for new tent:Broads members will be aware of theentertainment value of watching the socalled “Norfolk Tent” being erected atRanworth and Beccles each year. As timehas passed our trusty tent has becomemore difficult to put together and now needslots of tape and patience. The instructionswere lost many years ago believed to havebeen filed amongst the pages of the MagnaCarta. An idea has been raised to purchasea new tent which will cost around £500.This would give us a bigger covered areaat events to protect us from the elementsand would be available for members toborrow for their own functions. A donationof £25 per boat has been suggested andour hardworking co-ordinator Will hasagreed to collate any donations - if we cansecure enough funds the tent would bepurchased - if not any monies sent throughwill of course be returned. Please sendcheques payable to The Seamaster Club(Norfolk) to Will at The Reglets, EastgateStreet, North Elmham, Dereham, NR205HF. Will will keep us posted on how thefunding is progressing.

THAMESIWA National Festival & Boat Show

Beale ParkAugust 28 - 30

You should by now have booked if you wishto attend the Inland Waterways festivalbeing held at Beale Park near Reading,Berkshire.This is a huge very well organisedenjoyable event attracting boats from allover the river and canal network.I am looking forward to enjoying thecompany of these fellow Seamaster crewsand the festival itself which will notdisappoint with it’s excellent boat displays,chandlery and other trade supplier’sstands and excellent wining, dining andentertainment facilities.Mooring details will be sent directly fromthe IWA to all participants in due course.

Cookham Rally,3 - 5 September 2010

As in previous years, Paul has reserved allthe moorings on the lock island just aboveCookham Lock for the usual rally, with bonfire(bring as much firewood as you can), self-catering Bar-B-Qs, drinks, lights, music andtechnical discussions etc.it is always very well attended, and althougharranged for Saturday & Sunday many arriveFriday afternoon. Meet other club members,exchange advice and news and, perhaps,get to know more about Seamaster boatsand the Club.If you haven’t been before, try it, you might beamazed how much you enjoy it. Whilst wealways get a good crowd, normaly 15 to 20boats, moored up to 4 abreast, more will stillbe welcome.Please let Paul know if you expect to be there.If arriving by car you can walk across theisland or we can pick you up by boat from theFerry Inn slipway opposite. He will be on hismobile (07831 204 549).Please note this change from the originaldate which has been made so that thosewho wish to can more easily attend both theIWA National Waterways Festival at BealePark and then the Cookham rally in onecruise, rather than having to make twoseparate cruises.Paul Killick

RNLI Rally, September 18th-19th

Queens Promenade,Surbiton, Kingston on Thames

This year’s rally will include the usual rangeof stalls and a wide variety of boats plusvarious attractions including a blind skippercompetition, dongola racing and theirinfamous illuminated sailpast.If you have not already registered for thisevent you are welcome to attend by road orif you wish to attend by boat, please contactDavid Cooper on 01252 628250 or(email:david@seamasterclub.org) to see ifhe can fit you in.

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LETTERSThank You JaneDear Mr RowlandI am writing, through you, to thank Jane Wallfor the excellent service she provided whensending me copies of the engine manual formy Seamaster 23 sailer, I was not even askedfor the postage.I have enclosed a cheque for £11.72 to coverthe postage cost of the manual £8.22, alsothe cost of a copy of the ‘SEAMASTER 23SAILER’ boat report - £3.50 that I would like topurchase.May I say how I enjoy the club book I receiveand I am very impressed by the way the clubis run by the committee.Keep up the good workJames B Baird, Aberystwyth Mem: 1663 Water Filler Cap for Seamaster 27Q. Robert.to Paul Killick & Brian RowlandJuly 09, 2010Hi Paul and Brian,We lost the water filler cap overboardyesterday. It is a 2 inch brass cap with 2holes for the key and ‘WATER’ stamped onit. I guess you’re familiar with them. I tried acouple of local marinas and did an internetsearch, with no luck. Do you know where Imight get a replacement. An exact matchdoes not matter so long as it fits andcomplies with safety regs.Thanks very much for any help!BobA. Reply from: Paul Killick to Bob 9 JulyThat’s not an original Seamaster factory fitdeck filling plate as they were upstandingand not flush fit, it was part of Lloyds A1requirements and a jolly good one by thenumber of flush fit ones I see leaking pastthe seal and polluting fuel and drinkingwater. Case of biting the bullet and gettinga replacement I am afraid, there arehundreds of different ones available. TryASAP and get your discount!RegardsPaul

I BROKE MY GOLDEN RULE(and an 11/64th inch drill bit)

The Golden Rule is; “never do non-essential boat maintenance away frombase”. More about the drill bit follows.It was a lovely day in May 2010 on the G.O.B.Amooring adjacent to the Lazy Otter pub onthe Old West river, about 6 miles from ourmooring at Bridge Boatyard, Ely. A normallysimple, biennial job, was nagging at me tobe done. This, I should add, was while Iwas waiting for the pub to open, rather thanafter staggering out of it.The boat is an 813 with a trusty, approx. 30yrold, BMC 1500 diesel (also known asThornycroft 90 or Wortham Blake‘Fisherboy’). The job, is to remove the glowplugs and ‘ream out’ the carbonaccumulation using the 11/64th drill bit. Thepurpose is, I assume, to make sure theplugs don’t ‘coke-up’ and can’t then beremoved for replacement, and to stop theplug tips dissipating their heat back to thecylinder head via an accumulation of carbon.Anyone that’s done this will know it’s prettyeasy. You remove the wires and unscrewthe glow plugs. Then you ‘twiddle’ (technicalterm) the drill bit into the plughole, rotating itgently with your fingertips in and out of thehole, until all carbon is removed on the bit,or has fallen into the combustion chamberto be blasted out of the exhaust later. Nopower tools possible here, as you can onlyjust get your digits in between the injectorfeed pipes. Imagine my surprise when Inoticed that the drill appeared about ¼ inchshorter after I’d withdrawn it from the No 3cylinder glow plug hole. “Ooops” I said, as Itried to convince myself that the drill bit had

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always been this length, with a rough end,and I just hadn’t noticed. I simply couldn’tsee how it was possible to break a drill bitwith the little force your fingers can apply inthis situation.I transformed into ‘clutching at straws’ modefor a while. An hour or two of trying to look intothe combustion chamber, to see if there wasevidence of a piece drill bit, and poking aboutthrough the injector hole with a small magnet.Followed by some crazily optimistic gropingaround the starter motor, and in the bilge, incase the bit end had dropped there. Finally,logic reigned and I resigned myself toremoving the cylinder head. Although outsidethe pub was a tempting place to do this,common sense prevailed and I decided toget the boat back to Ely.The folks at Bridge Boatyard were brilliant,helped me get the boat back to Ely, lent me aposh torque wrench and a ‘crows foot’spanner ( to torque-up the cylinder head nutsunder the rocker shaft). They even had agasket set in stock. Also, most importantly,they didn’t tell me what a pillock I had been.I actually enjoyed removing and re-fitting thecylinder head, particularly when I found thepiece of offending drill bit lying smugly on topof No 3 piston. Time then for a consolationpat-on-the-back, because I’d noticed thebroken bit and hadn’t turned the engine over.The cylinder bores were in fine condition andthe pistons, valves and chambers virtuallycarbon free. Which was nice to know. So Ididn’t touch them, I just cleaned the head andblock faces and refitted the head.Job done, sigh of relief, and a promise tomyself not to break the Golden Rule again.Until the next time of course. The Devil makeswork for idle hands, apparently.Finally, a footnote for Paul K. When I need todo this little de-carb. next time, I’ll be a nervouswreck. So, is there a better, more robust toolthan a drill bit, for clumsy blokes like me? Iwondered about grinding some sort of tiponto a suitable piece of tool steel, or possiblya parallel reamer? Any thoughts please?

Roger Stuckey, 813 ‘Pippanella’Great Ouse and Fens Region

Prop for an 8 MetreFrom: Edward LawlessTo: paul@seamasterclub.orgSent: Thursday, May 20, 2010Hi PaulI would like to know if you would know thecorrect size of prop for a seamaster 8m.The Boat is 1972 I think with a Perkins4107 engine, the gearbox is TMP withreduction box. I have taken off the largenut on the prop, it looks like 17 by 11seems to be stamped on it, so I wonderis this the right size, the reason I ask islast year a friend was out with me and hethought that the prop might be a bit smallpossibly because of the way she handlesin the water. The only other information Ican give you is at 3000 revs you would getabout 4.5 knots. I would be grateful forany information you might haveRegardsTed Lawless Member 1395

On Fri, May 21, 2010 Paul Killick wrote:Hi TedThe original would have been 16x12Turbine three bladed. I would guess thatthe pitch is a little less than it should befor a start, my choice would be 16/14, myreason is that the pitch gives you the thrustso a greater pitch would give better asternpropulsion and slightly less top end RPMmaking for a quieter engine.Consideration should be given to the propbeing slightly less than the printed sizedue to repair/ routine balancing.RegardsPaul

From: Edward to Paul,May 22,Hi PaulThanks for that but I made a mistake I get4.5 knotts at 2000 revs so would you stillrecommend the same size and are theyeasy to purchaseRegardsTed

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From Paul to Ted on On Sat, May 22Hi TedThat’s more like it and not far out. Howmany RPMs do you get A/ Out of gear. B/ Ingear full throttle? When you test neutral maxmake sure that the engine is at normaloperating temperature i.e. 74 degreespush the throttle all the way and bring itback quickly to idle position as soon asyou have read the max rpm. This will alsotest the fuel injector pump governor andthe anti stall device. You should getsomething like 3700RPM. The max rpm forthe Perkins is 4200RPM but very few areset at that. If you don’t get at least 3500RPMthere is a problem either with the governoror the throttle cable is not adjusted correctly.The most efficient RPM of a propeller is1100 so that’s what we try and achieve fornormal speed through the water, with 2:1reduction gearbox that will be engine2200RPM. Where are you getting yourcruising speed from? The only accuratemethod is by GPS at slack water! In runningwater one does one run against and onerun with the current to get the average.(Known as a time trial)CheersPaul

From: Edward to Paul Friday, July 09Hi PaulSorry for the delay but have not been out onthe water until recently to test the neutralmax. I went out about 10 days ago and triedit, the max revs in gear was 3000 rpm, outof gear it went up to 4200 even though therev counter is only marked to 4000 so itwent as far as the clock would go. You askedme where I got my speed from. I have aclipper duet depth gauge & speedcombined which I fitted to the boat. It has alittle flipper wheel underneath which Ipresume detects the speed. I’m sure youare familiar with them.Last weekend I went out again and afterabout an hour I was cruising at about2000rpm when all of a sudden the engine

went up to 2300rpm for no reason andwithout touching anything. I slowed it backdown to 2000 but when I went into the lockand put the engine in idle position it wasrunning fast. I reved up and put it in reverse,tried everything but nothing worked, then Iswitched off the engine, started it up andeverything was fine. After travelling for about30 mins the same thing happened againand when you switch it off it goes back tonormal. Then I stopped for about 1 hour forlunch and when I resumed it took about anhour and a half before it happened again. Ihad a quick look at the throttle cable buteverything seems OK. Would you have anythoughts on this because it has me puzzled.I would be familiar with the engine, I have amanual on it and I service it every yearmyself. Also would you change the prop tothe size you first recommendedLook forward to hearing from you.Regards Ted.From PaulHi TedThe max RPM setting on the injector pumpgovernor should be 4200 so no worriesthere. 3000 RPM in gear flat out is also fine,most with original props do 3500 which Ifeel is a little too much when you considerthe torque curve. Advantage is a little quieterand slightly less fuel consumption so I thinkyour prop is fine as it is. Might need refurbingby now though, they balance and polishthem and it does make a difference and abalanced prop means no vibration to wearout your cutlass bearing.Surging is a sure sign of fuel starvation or aslight air leak. Start at the tank, draw the pick-up pipe and see if any muck is on the end. Ifclear re-fit making sure the compressionjoint is in good condition and tight. Thenmove to the next joint all the way back to thelift pump making sure all the joints are tight.If it still persists service the lift pump, afterthat we get technical. Some types of flexiblefuel hose connections can be a pain, hadone myself a few years back. Changed theflexi hose and cured the air leak! Lift pumps

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should be serviced regularly and therecommended marine engine spares kitshould include a pump service kit within.Its only a thin rubber diaphragm and doesn’tlast long. If you get ten years your lucky andthe older they are the weaker they are.Having a full spares kit aboard could savea long wait for parts. Marine engineers canoften fix most breakdowns quickly fromones spares kit!Hope I have put you on the right track andwhen servicing don’t forget the tappets, Ifound a Perkins the other day that had beenrunning on mal-adjusted tappets for yearsand the owner ended up with a huge bill.RegardsPaul

From: Edward to Paul July 11,Thanks for getting back to me so promptly,I read with interest what you had to say onthe fuel surge and I think starvation is theproblem. Yesterday was such a wet day thatI decided not to tackle the fuel problem so Ijust decided to fill the tank up with diesel.On my boat it has an overflow hole on theside so when it is just full the diesel willstart to come out of the hole and not at thefiller cap on deck but this did not happenyesterday, which leads me to think the holeis blocked and I am assuming that this isthe only way the air can get into the tank asthe diesel drops. If this is the case it wouldprobably create some sort of vacuum andmaybe have the same effect. Isn’t it funnythat fuel starvation would increase the revsyou would think it would be the opposite.Aurthur Keppel who I’m sure you know livesquite near me and I do remember he oncetold me that I should put some fine wiremesh in that hole because spiders or suchlike insects like to nest there. Anyway I thinkthis is the first thing to do and see if that willsolve the problem. I’m sure you have moretechnical problems to worry about thanspiders but would you think I am on tosomething.Again thanks for all the helpTed.

Hello again TedI must assume by your reply that you do nothave a Boat SafetyCcertificate because ifyou had and it was done correctly the fueltank breather would be higher than or atleast equal to the height of the fuel fillingpoint and have a flame arresting gauze onthe outlet (Skin fitting). Sometimes if theskin fitting is below the height of the fillerplate (Like Seamaster original fit ones)there should be a swan-neck in the breatherline. i.e. the breather line rises continuouslyto the underside of the deck then falls backdown to the outlet and must not be able toretain any fuel. In other words free draining!For a full description see the boat safetyschemes owners essential guide undersection 2.3 & 2.4 either the paper versionor on-line @boatsafetyscheme website.Coincidently I have had to fail lots of boatson this important standard this year andtwo had fuel starvation problems that evensome local engineers failed to diagnoseas the breather line was not free draining. Ihad two very grateful owners actuallythanking me for failing their boats!The other major issue of fuel escapingthrough the breather because its not highenough is pollution. When overfilling spiltfuel should always spill from the filler andnot the breather. When filling up always havean oil absorbent pad wrapped around thefil l ing point (Available from all goodchandlers). The same type of pad can beplaced under engines to soak up any oilyresidue and keep bilges perfectly cleanonce again to avoid the risk of any pollutionentering the watercourse which of courseis illegal.Some 15 years ago I fitted new breathersto my 30 and fitted the new outlets on thecockpit coamings above the fillers. Nomore spills and no nasty stain down thehull. Red diesel has a dye in it that is almostimpossible to remove especially from GRP!Sadly my scanner has packed up otherwiseI would have sent you the diagram of acorrect breathing system.

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WEATHER HELM

Of course there is still the possibility of afuel tank full of debris blocking the pick-uppipe or an air leak through a connection.Let me know how you get on.PaulWeather Helm, Seamaster 23 SDear Brian,I see that Don Govan raised this subject inthe latest issue. I believe I did contributemy own experience some years ago.Yes, the 23 S does develop weather helmas she heels. And this is in part because ofher fairly full sections - which is in part dueto her full bows which contributes to herrelatively spacious fore cabin. As Don hasfound out, little can be done with alteringthe sail plan without reducing sailingperformance.I never liked the balanced rudder whichcould easily take charge, particularly whengoing astern, so I concentrated on makinga new rudder and providing some addedlateral resistance at the aft end. This wasdone by adding a skeg in front of the rudder,and making a new and slightly deeperrudder, and this has worked well.The skeg was made from laminated marineply, with several layers at the upper end toallow bolting to the hull. As it happens theyard where I lay up was doing some fibreglassing, and without being asked (ormaking a charge) they glassed over thejoin.I am pleased to say that I have neverregretted the modification.Yours sincerely, Michael Beeton

Forthcoming Changes in BoatRegistration on Inland WaterwaysWe recently learnt that there are changes inhand that will affect boat users on the inlandwaterways. The latest information we havefrom the Envioronment Agency is:

Boat registration and regulationThe Environment Agency (InlandWaterways) Order 2010 and what it meansfor boat owners.When did the law change?The law governing boat registration andrelated conditions for our waterwayschanged on 6 April 2010.Why has the law changed?The new Order will allow us to introduceone consistent approach for boatregistration on our inland waterways inEngland by updating historic navigationlegislation in Anglian, Thames andSouthern Regions.What does the new law mean for me?Whether you have already registered withus, or are just about to, it is unlikely you willnotice any changes this boating season.Over the next few months we will bediscussing how and when to introduce theprovisions of the Order with nationalcustomer group representatives. We willprovide further information on our web siteabout how the changes may affect you. Untilthe next boating season we will continue touse our current paperwork and registrationcertificates. The new Order repeals orrevokes some parts of our navigationlegislation but we do not feel it is a gooduse of money to reprint existing registrationcertificates or licence plates.New registrations: If you registered yourboat on or after 6 April 2010 you should notethis is under the registration provisions ofthe Environment Agency (Inland Waterways)Order 2010 and not any other legislationthat may be printed on the documents youreceived.

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Seamaster 30 Sea-keeping QualitiesFrom: Stewart Bray

I am stopping sailing and starting using amotor boat owing to aged wife! Looking atthe Seamaster 30, and wondering if it hasgood sea keeping qualities for the Solentand surrounding areas? There seem to beseveral for sale at good prices but seem tobe river based, even though I did see onein Cowes IOW yesterday

Hi Stewart

The Seamaster 30 has its Sea-Goinglimitations like any other boat designed foroffshore. She is wide for her lengththroughout. In head seas, wind over tide,they can slam a little harshly but I have neverheard of one being damaged by this. Infollowing seas, especially when on thequarters, she does try to broach due tohaving a large wide transom. In beam seasshe is amazingly stable.

They handle like a dream, the props are farapart and the rudders are large. This helpskeep her from broaching in following seasand keeps a straight course. With goodengine control skills you can actually makethem power sideways!

If they had more power I am pretty sure theride would be much improved. A steady 8knots uses about 3 gallons an hour.Engine options were single or twin Perkins4107/8 or Thornycroft 2.52ltr based on theLeyland taxi engine. Expect about 10 knotsfrom the Leyland’s, originally 12 when new,and 9 from the Perkins.

Some experimenting with different propsizes can improve the boat as a wholeincluding reduction in noise levels. Theoriginal sound-proofing was abysmalmaking them a noisy boat. With some timeand money thrown at improved materialsone can transform the noise levels to a moreacceptable and comfortable level.

A lot of Seamaster’s hulls were sold forhome/boatyard completion. Be wary of

some of these as the materials andmethods used by amateurs are often notwhat I would call proper.

I have cruised a Seamaster 30 extensivelyfor 20 years, I have taken the boat apartand put it back together much improved inthat time. I have pushed her to the limit onseveral occasions and frightened the crewto near death. I even wonder myselfsometimes whether I have gone too far butonce you are out there one just has to applygood sea sense and bring her through theright way up! I am meticulous withmechanical maintenance and in 19 yearsof the 20 never suffered any breakdowns,in 20 years the only thing that ever stoppedboth engines was a rather long length ofbarge rope. Of course things happen, lastyear I had a lump of sealant go up the fueltank pick up pipe. It took me an hour at seato track down the problem and fix it whilstrunning on the opposite engine at 7 knots.

The year before in a terrible following seaan experimental engine air induction filterlead to a skull scratching problem with neartotal loss of power from one engine just atthe worst possible time. Again, once happywith how she was riding on the otherengine I sorted the problem just before Ihad to negotiate a rather rough harbourentrance. The induction hose I sourcedwas not man enough and with engine bayheat was collapsing and constricting airflow. My fault, but I can’t help experimenting!

We have quite a few retired yachtsmen inthe club who have switched to power. Myadvice is look at as many examples as youpractically can. If one takes your fancy makean offer subject to a full pre-purchase hulland engine survey. Locate a surveyor whoknows the marqué well like Paul Homer orChris Holmes. Don’t skimp on the survey,it could save you a fortune. Check for signsof window leaks, damp plywood panelsand the top corners of the main bulkhead.Leaks in the windscreens can run over ontothe bulkhead end grain causing rot to setin! Check engine mounts carefully.

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slot in which the keel was set into. Bothtypes relied on long phosphor bronze boltswith the heads glassed into the hull thatcan be seen on the inside.Without interior photos I cannot tell youwhether she was a factory completed boator not.Original engines were a variety of Fordpetrols marinised by Wortham Blake.Has she got an oval plate with SeamasterLtd Dunmow Essex on it and a number?Look forward to trying to assist you if wecan.RegardsPaul Killick with my technical hat on!

To: Paul Killick & BrianHi to you both, Thanks for being so promptin replying to me. Please find attached twomore photo’s of my cruiser. I have takenthe 1.5 BMC engine out and lo and beholdI found the Seamaster Plate. The numberon it is 1660 but it does not say what type ofcruiser it is.I can’t wait to get it back in the water, with allthis great weather, and I might have someluck, the boatyard said it might be the Hurthgear box and not the engine, so fingerscrossed.Once again thanks.Malcolm Shirley 1718Re: Seamaster 1660Hi Maria & MalcolmGot the photos thanks. She is a SeamasterCadet, one of the few with a single cabinside window, had one myself years ago.The Hurth gearbox you mention would nothave been original but is a goodreplacement for the original and normally

Vibration in the rear cabin whilst underwayis an issue and if it is fierce suspectengines out of alignment, worn cutlassbearings or possibly a worn or bent shaft.

If you find one close to me on the Thameslet me know and I will try my best to have acrafty peek for you. I am a boat safetyexaminer on the Thames so might knowthe boat in question!.

One for sale that comes to mind is on ourweb-site and on brokerage at Chertsey justopposite Thorpe Park. (Lady Greybrook)Has been used on the river for the last tenyears but before that was coastal. Fairlyclean and original with some smallosmotic blisters the last time I saw herashore. Good condition for her age.Another at the same location is a much latermodel and has not been properlyadvertised anywhere, I know the elderlyowners have used her at sea.

Hope I have given you food for thought

Regards

Paul Killick with my club technical hat on.

A Seamaster CadetHello Brian,Hi, I have just become a Seamastermember and I am refurbishing mySeamaster at Fox’s Marina. Her name isSabre and she is about 25ft long. Pictureattached. Can you help, or is there a way totrace the number. I would like to refit her toher original make.Thanks, happy cruising.Malcolm ShirleyHello MalcolmI was sent your question by Brian RowlandShe is a Seamaster 24 Cadet hull andsuperstructure with a single cabin windowthat’s one of the rarest on this moulding,built in the sixties.What I cant see on the attached photo isthe keel layout sadly. I would expect nocentre keel just two large bilge keels eitherfitted onto a protruding moulding about 2feet in from the hull side or on later hulls a

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pretty reliable. Parts all available.Looking at the photo I can tell you that thehelmsman shelter would not have beenoriginal and the keels appear to bemissing, can this be true?She would have most likely had twin bilgekeels but a few were built with three, take alook at the underwater sections and see ifany old bolts or holes are in a line down thecentre and further up from the centre roughlytwo feet in from the chine line and coveringa length of about ten feet.Having no keels would not effect the hullstrength and as long as the old bolt holeshave been properly filled would give noproblems other than directional stability andno protection to the running gear (Rudder,Prop and shaft). She may have a flatprotrusion in the hull moulding or a slotwhere the bilge keels would have beenmounted via long phosphor bronze boltsthat were captive (Glassed in on the insideof the hull). I think two bolt heads werevisible under the floor in the heads (Toilet).She may have been fitted out at theSeamaster factory or sold as a hull and

superstructure for home or boatyardcompletion. I would guess that she wassupplied as hull and superstructurebecause the builders plate was fitted in frontof the engine on the bulkhead, not unusualas there may not have been anywhere elseavailable to screw it given that thebulkheads were always fitted at factory atleast up to cockpit floor level.The hull number fits in nicely within a seriesof Cadets built. Please keep us informedwith the boats progress and if you feel likewriting a piece for the magazine please do

ADVERT REMOVED

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so as its just the sort of material we like.RegardsPaulRenovating Weathered WoodHave you ever neglected the wood on yourboat? Rubbing strakes, etc. I have. Forreasons not very laudable I needed to givemine a make-over this spring. I’ve beenthere before - carefully mask-up, strip theremaining varnish off, keep repeatedly tryingto strip it and finally resort to wire-brush,wire-wool or sandpaper, use bleach to getrid of the black areas, etc. Never seems todo the job properly.Frustrating.No need. This year I triedout Dilunette Gel Removerwhich I bought years ago inAbingdon Boat Centre onthe Thames but had neverused. I was amazed at theresults - if only I had used it

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before. It is a rather runny gel. I cleanedthe wood first and removed any flakey bitsof varnish, then applied the gel with an old(but clean) brush, applied another coat, thenanother, then hosed it off. I helped it a littlewith a scrubbing brush. After washing it offthe wood was wet and looked a lovelyoriginal colour. Even better, it was still thatlovely colour when the wood had dried. Ithen did my normal varnishing with a weaksolution first, then a stronger solution,before applying several coats of neatvarnish, rubbing with fine wet-and-drybetween coats. I am very happy with theresult and I recommendDilunette strongly.The manufacturerrecommends using their“neutraliser” afterwards tofully remove any of the gel-remover. I didn’t and allseems well.Brian Rowland

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Update from The Lancaster CanalGarstang Marina

Early morning in June as the sun rises overGarstang Marina, north of Preston.

The collection of images show the widerange of vessels, including manySeamasters old and new.

Sachell now has military navigation lightsBeing incredibly frustrated when trying to buya quality set of replacement navigation lights

I turned to ebay and found this gem of a set.The vendor had advertised these lightsunder patio lighting. They were in fact ‘brandnew’, forty years old, still packed in MOD air-tight bags, flashing wing lights from a 1960sEnglish Electric Lighting fighter aircraft.They came complete with all aircraft fittingparts and instructions.The tear-drop shaped coverings are clearglass and I spray painted them internallywith the green, red and white enamelcolours. The aluminium rim contains aneoprene seal which is fastened by thestainless steel screws. I had to modify theexisting boat bulb holder assembly tobecome a small halogen fitting for increasedbrightness. These lights are I believe quiteunique, robust and superbly bright.John Topping, NW Coordinator

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Later Voyages of Second Melody 2006

We had not intended to stop so soon, butsuddenly it was a good idea. The chart didnot show facilities nearby, but the five sailingyachts turned right into a new housingdevelopment so we formed the opinion thatthere must be somewhere to go andfollowed suit.

Many of the houses had private mooringswhich was not encouraging. However, afterhalf a mile we were rewarded as the leaderstied up at moorings which radiated from abig circular building. Oh joy! there was morethan enough space for us.

We had scarcely tied up before othersailors came to ask about our problem. Weexplained and asked if there were liftingfacilities. “No problem,” said Benjamin, “Iknow a man who will happily dive and for alot less than the cost of a crane. “He willcome in the morning.” The Dutch go out oftheir way to be helpful. It was a great reliefto me. The wind was howling in the halliardsand the water looked very cold. It was notime for me to catch pneumonia.

The building across the quay was toppedby a restaurant with views over the boats.The food was to be Greek, a novelty for us,but the advice of the young lady provedexcellent and we enjoyed a notable meal.There was entertainment of a kind. Theyachts that we hadfollowed in had all beencrewed by people fromthe same company - oneof those bondingweekends. Theyappeared to enjoy thefood as much as we andthe wine even more so.There was muchlaughter and merriment,speeches with slurredvoices and, later,singing, though not tochoral society standard.I wish I understood more

of their language. When the noise becametoo raucous we made our departure tocheerful valedictions from all sides.

The following morning was still cold andwindy. Ben arrived with friends. He waswearing goggles and a full wetsuit - I oughtto get one of those, but then Mary wouldexpect me to put it on and lower myself intocold water, ugh! Ben did not mind though.He dropped into the water and, after a fewseconds, popped up asking for a breadknife. Mary had one ready. He disappearedagain and within half a minute reappearedwith the knife in one hand and two meters ofragged rope in the other. At least this timewe knew the provenance of the offendingitem and had no-one to blame but ourselves.

We thanked Ben heartily and gave him 50euros, money well spent. He acceptedgraciously and wished us a pleasantcontinuation of our journey. We then went

into the reception office topay the mooring fees. Theyoung ladies refusedabsolutely to take anymoney from us. Thebusiness was one ofchartering yachts and theircomputer programmehad no means ofprocessing overnightcharges. They just couldnot do it. Had we not beenmariners in distress, theywould have asked us toleave the previousevening. We were

2-STOREY HOUSEBOAT ON SLIP

SAILING BARGE ON CANAL

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embarrassed at this. Not only had we beenmade welcome and relieved of our difficultybut we had made free with the facilities, hotshowers etc. Eventually, they allowed us tomake a generous contribution to the Dutchlifeboats and, honour satisfied, with manyexpressions of thanks in several languageswe made our departure. We are very awarethat British tourists are very rare in thesewaters and though we are not rich we wouldrather seem to be generous than niggardly;ambassadors for our country and all that.

Traffic was heavy on the Prinses MargrietKanal - one barge seemed to have most ofthe hull of another one on its deck- so wehad to choose our moment carefully to crossand enter a backwater. We were headingfor Sloten. The guidebook said it was thesmallest fortified town in Holland and a verypopular tourist attraction. To get there wehad to cross the Slotermeer. It was only amile across but that wind had been blowingstrongly from the same direction for severaldays. It was a very lively crossing, to say theleast, but the sun came out and entertainedus making pretty rainbows in the spray.

Clearly the sun regretted its prematureexhuberance and by the time we had tiedup it had disappeared behind some reallythick cloud. Flaming June? It was only 6degrees in the cabin and we wore most ofour clothes to tour Sloten. We were not theonly visitors, but the other family seemedas pleased to see us as we were to seethem. We all piled into the candlelit cafe gladthat it was warm, the chocolate hot and thecake delicious. We did not hang about butmoved on smartly to Woudsend and parkedbeside a thatched windmill.

The mill looked very old and was open forvisitors, so, after lunch we galloped up theramp to take a look around. It was not whatwe were expecting. Instead of whirlinggrindstones, hoppers of grain and flourdrifting into sacks, there were batteries ofgiant saws chewing their way through verythick tree trunks - a real sawmill. Themachinery was simple but very robust and

still working after a couple of hundred years.Multiple plank production without top andbottom sawyers and all wind powered, what atechnological advance that must have been!

Having clambered up several ladders, crawledinto every part and examined the machinery,we went back to S.M. and continued the cruise.The wind dropped, the sun came out and atlast we were warm. In Drylst we stopped againto visit a canal-side cafe. We could have madeour own tea, but we needed ‘brug-geld’, smallchange for passing through bridges. The girlbehind the bar was happy to provide thenecessary and ease our progress.

Sneek (rhymes with snake) was bathed inwarm sunshine, just l ike summer. Wedisembarked our bikes and visited all parts. Itwas a very animated town. The open air showon a stage built out over a canal was sold out,but as we returned through the town centre,we found a tree-shaded square where a youthband was entertaining the crowd. They werebrilliant and the singer was top class.

After an hour of classic ‘swing’ the concertcame to an end and we returned to S.M.. Whatwe had not found was a pannekoeken shop.We do like our pancakes! We mentioned thislack to the havenmeester but he was new tothe area and did not know of one. However heknew a man who would know, so he phoned afriend and was told that there was one only ahundred meters away. It was a very localrestaurant facing a big green playing field inthe middle of a modern development. The chefand his wife were very happy to chat. They werenot accustomed to tourists and were amazedthat we were not Dutch. They had only recentlytaken over the business, but were cautiouslyoptimistic about their chances of success.Certainly they were busy that evening. Therewas a crowd of small children and theirmothers. Maybe it was someone’s birthday.They were having a lovely noisy time. One littlegirl was curious and came to our table to askwho we were and where we were from. Shethen entertained us with an amusingdescription of her family. Her mother wasastonished when we wished them farewell and

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were able to greet her by name. She lookedfrom us to her daughter and back andgrinned as she realized whose tongue hadbeen wagging.

We left Sneek the next day in a long convoyof boats. It seemed like a holiday as wethreaded our way through masses ofdinghies and canoes in brilliant, warmsunshine. The small boats disappearedand we turned East onto the PrinsesMargriet canal. A curious feature was a dualcarriageway effect caused by a hugeconcrete wall down the middle of thewaterway. Maybe 3 or 4 meters high and 100meters long, it’s purpose was not clear. Mybest guess is that it is some form of floodcontrol.

The area to the south of the Prinses Margrietcanal has many large navigable lakes withnumerous wooded islands. It was strangeto see the masts and sails of large yachtsdisappearing and re-emerging from behindthe trees as their skippers sought theperfect picnic spot. We had no time for suchfrivolity.

We were on a mission to visit Franeker, nearthe north coast of Friesland. A small townwith no obvious industry but with wide streetsand many old buildings, it merited only asmall entry in the guide book. Two itemsmade it special: leather wall coverings inthe town hall - not available to us as it was aweekend - and a planetarium. It was acurious, out-of-the-way place for such afeature. Curious too was the site, a small18th century shop in a row of small shops.

The young woman who took our moneyguessed that we were English and offeredan explanatory video in our own language.

It seems that in the 1770s a merchant in thegrain trade took a serious interest inmathematics. The crisis of the ageconcerned the transit of Venus; when thatplanet passes between Earth and the Sun.The British government had the wisdom tosend James Cook to the South Seas thebetter to observe it. Less enlightened peopletook the usual view that such a rare cosmicevent, like a millennium, must presage theend of the world. Our grain trader tookexception to this stupidity and decided toprove how wrong they were. His bedroom, 5or 6 metres square with the bed built into awall, has a sun in the centre of the ceiling.Around this, in slots cut through the ceiling,revolve the planets known at that time:Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter andSaturn. The whole system is governed by awooden clockwork mechanism, which ourhero constructed in the room above. It stillworks and accurately, though it is 40 minutesslow being based on Franeker’s local time.All towns used their own time before theadvent of railways. The mechanism can beseen but, as everything goes so slowly, onlythe pendulum and escapement seem tomove. It is truly phenomenal and should bebetter known.

Downstairs, there is a small museum ofspace travel which is interesting but whichcontained a very small piece of mis-information which Mary and I were able tocorrect. On one wall were panels withinformation about the planets in Dutch andEnglish. As we read these, Mary observedthat Neptune must be travelling very fast.“Yes,” I replied, “all cosmic objects do.” “No,”she insisted, “faster than everything else. Itclaims here that it revolves round the sun inonly 164 days, and yet it is so far out.” Wechecked the Dutch text and soon found theerror, it should have read 164 years. Weshowed this to our kindly guide. She washorrified. “That has been on display for yearsand years,” she said. “No-one has ever

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queried it. We don’t get many Englishvisitors!” “Pity,” I thought, Friesland has somuch to offer.”

Next door to the planetarium was a coffeeshop, with a few tables at the back. Thesmell was seductive and we did not needthat encouragement. The choice of blendswas bewildering. We selected our cakesand asked for the young lady’s favouritecoffee - we are just not qualified! When itcame, we were entranced. “We must takesome of this with us,” said Mary. I was notgoing to argue, so we went to the counterand asked for some of what we had justdrunk. We were all right with that, and thequantity, but his next question defeated us.His daughter, the waitress, said he wantedto know how we made our coffee. We werestill at a loss, so he set the mill going. I wasstruggling to explain, and gestured theplunger action of a cafetiere. He reactedquickly, stopping the whirring machine andre-setting it for a coarser grind. We don’t haveshops like this where we live.

I don’t know a shop like the dress shopwhere Mary bought some trousers and ajumper the same afternoon. In the centre ofa larger store than you might expect in sucha small town, there was a sitting area withtable covered in newspapers andmagazines and a coffee machine. It madethe event much more appealing for men.

The following day was Whit Monday. Wecycled into Franeker again hoping to dosome food shopping but all the shops wereshut. The effort was not wasted. The noiseof an excited crowd drew us to a smalltemporary stadium close the centre of town.The policeman at the gate said it was toolate to buy tickets. Not only was the groundfull, but the match had only a few minutesleft to run. From the entrance we could seethe pitch and the players fairly well. Thegame, kaartsen, resembled pelota, but, thepoliceman insisted, the rules vary quite a lotfrom the Basque version.

Tales of Sailbad the SinnerDon’t Jump! Oh go on thenWe belong to another boat club as well asthe Seamaster club and being on the watera lot we also talk to others in other clubsand see a good cross view of what happenson the water and the Norfolk Broads inparticular.A particular interest is life jacket usage andthis was reinforced recently when a windfarm support boat was visiting our marinayard and this boat has a very curious stickeron a stern deck locker. I had seen it beforeon a previous visit and knew the story behindit and pointed it out to Mrs Sailbad who ofcourse had to take a photograph of it.What is clear is that our club’s have lostmembers over the last couple of years, andthe hire boat business after a couple ofcracking years are now suffering from lownumbers. It ’s understandable, clubmembers get older, boats get sold, therecession bites some, costs rise, and therecession has also bitten the hire industryas the foreign holiday industry fights back.What is not understandable is that with sucha low usage of life jackets why we are notloosing them through drowning morepeople on the Broads and boats in general!Hold on, I’m not suggesting that we should!I’m just amazed that so few actually diewhen we know and quite often witness thatso many do fall in.Knowing the dangers of unplanned coldwater immersion into deep water myconclusion is that in many cases theirsurvival is either by luck or the interventionof others. If I’m right and I think I am, manypeople are putting their life into a lottery orhoping that some one else will save them.I’m sure that this and the low publicity levela single tragedy achieves (mustn’t upset theholiday business) lures many people into afalse sense of security.I know many people who do not wear ajacket at all, or who put it on to cross BreydonWater or to go to sea, but not when on deck,mooring or casting off on the Broads or the

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river. The water is just as wet, just as cold,still deep, in many cases has a strongercurrent or tide. Hirers can use ignorance orinexperience as an excuse, and few of themor their children use a jacket, what’s yourexcuse?The RLNI campaign sums it up, a picture ofa jacket with the phrase “Useless unlessworn”.You can swim? So why bother, you don’tneed a jacket? Nature has given us somegreat self defence design features,adrenaline, which heightens our responseto an emergency, and many others, butbecause we are designed to breathe airsome of them work against us. When youfall in unexpectedly and even when youexpect it and its cold the body produces areaction, it wishes to charge the brain withoxygen so it will, following a sudden coldemersion (and even on the hottest day ofthe year the water is below bodytemperature) produce a short hyperventilation, i.e. you will gasp for breath forapproximately 5 to 8 seconds. This is verydifficult to avoid and is effectively a braincontrolled response. Hyper ventilating inwater or even spray will have you coughingto clear the water you have drawn in, and itis very difficult to swim even for a strongswimmer in those circumstances. Part ofthe RLNI trainingincludes a process forplanned immersionwhich includes coveringthe nose and mouth forten seconds to get pastthis response hyperventilation. Still think youcan swim whilstcoughing for breath? Alifejacket won’t stop youcoughing but it wil lsupport you while you getyour breath.The sign? Well itdemonstrates that youguys who don’t wear ajacket are not the only

stupid ones who risk their own livesunnecessarily.The story behind it is unbelievable but true,I won’t include the name of the boat so asnot to embarrass the company involved. Theboat runs out of Great Yarmouth to servicethe many wind turbines just off the coast, onthe day in question it was pounding out tosea at 16 knots about a mile out in a lumpyforce 4 with 6 foot waves. On board as avisitor was the company operationsmanager, this man for no sensible reasonsuddenly decided to jump off the back of theboat! By luck, one crew member saw himjump and ran to the wheel house to alert theSkipper. 16 knots, waves you could lose aman in and by the time they stopped andturned they could not find him! Full alert,Coastguards, l ifeboats, helicopters,fortunately the boat found and recovered himreasonably quickly. He was wearing alifejacket and when asked why he hadjumped, he said he did it to test the crew’sresponse to a man overboard!!! He was notsacked but he did not stay long as theiroperations manager after that, but thecompany’s sense of humour did extend tothe notice which appeared on the boatshortly after.

Crew of Sailbad the Sinner