"HERON"

Model                      :                   Norman 23

Cockpit                   :                   Rear

Year                         :                   1973

Engine & Fuel       :                   Suzuki outboard petrol

Capacity                 :                   30 hp

Toilet                       :                   Portapotti

COMMENTS

All our cruising has been done on the River Ure or the River Ouse. We have not yet reached Ripon but this could be rectified on August 16th when Ripon races are on and Denise would like to arrive in style. We took a couple of friends on the boat about a month ago and turned right out of the marina at Boroughbridge, (you can reach Hull ive been told but that will have to wait). We went down the Ure until it joined the Ouse. We went through our first lock just outside Boroughbridge. Denise and i have been on a narrow boat many moons ago as our first holiday together (Long Eaton to Barrow upon Soar and back), that involved a few locks. Well this one at Boroughbridge was navigated successfully if not very quickly. We kept the onlookers amused anyway. Carried on down the Ouse until we found a place to turn round and retraced our wake. Most enjoyable it was to.
     As i said we are waiting for a new canopy to be made by a firm in Stockton, Denise was in touch on Friday and they said all they were waiting for were a couple of zips. Haven't heard anything from them today so will chased them up tomorrow to see how they are getting on. Its a bit of a bind at the moment as we have the back of our boat covered by a tarpaulin and we were down at the marina yesterday and the eyelets had ripped due to the wind and the rain. There was fair bit of water to bale out but it was all in the tarpaulin luckily. We put a new one on yesterday so touch wood we might be ok.
      We have replaced the old rubbing boards (top ones) ourselves but we are wondering how to do the bottom ones. Think we might have to get the boat out of the water to do this. The new ones are all ready to put on but my wellies are not big enough to keep the water out. Denise has made new curtains for the inside of the cabin, these have been put up and look very smart. There is some damage to the cabin on the outside to repair, looks like a job for some filler and selotape or clingfilm. We have resealed the front windows on the cabin, seem to have done a good job too.
       The marina at Boroughbridge is a very friendly place,lots of advice if you want it. The people are very friendly and there is none of my boat is bigger than your boat. We had a start of season bar-b-que last bank holiday in May, Denise and i left about midnight and it was still going strong.