mini heat wave

Wow what a busy day it has been here today, the sun has been really hot today, 27 degrees! long may it last. The phones have not stopped ringing all day long and the tea room and shop have seen lots of people in, bookings on day boats and boats on the wharf for diesel non stop, we ran out again toady but managed to get the tanks filled pretty quick so they are full again, we only had two day boats out today and one hire boat which Simon soon sorted, Mick has had his head in the bilges of a private boat all day sorting out its generator, Simon has been plating a boat, Fred has been up the moorings tidying up after Steve had cut the undergrowth back, it grows really quick at this time of the year, Joyce and Jodie have looked after the tea room and Jodie has managed to do a bit of cleaning on the boats and poor old Ange has been run off her feet today doing just about everything, she is golden! David is on his two days off and I have been manning the phones and looking after customers, I still have some work to catch up on so it looks like i will be having a late one, now that the phones have stopped and the customers have all gone it is nice and quiet and i can get on and do some catching up, so until tomorrow

Busy busy busy!

Well given the state of the economy and the poor weather over the weekend I didn't expect this morning to go as it did, Monday mornings can be a bit busy but this mooring was as the title says, I know we are doing some superb deals at the moment and I reckon that people are taking advantage of that as first thing saw three of us with the phones glued to our ears taking bookings like they were going out of fashion, this was at the same time as seeing some boats back in, and trying to see the customers who had arrived for the day boats, the day has been pretty much full on since then.

Jake has showed the three day boats out, turned three hire boats around and has showed them out as well, he has also done a bit of finishing off on the engine that he installed last week, that's all done now and ready to go, Mick has been refitting the boat that has just come out of the dock and stripped the one that has gone in to the dock for painting and then went back to another private job, Steve has been plumbing all day, David mentioned yesterday that we had a burst pipe so Steve has been on that all day, Joyce has done a good job of looking after the shop, Jodie has been cleaning hire boats most of the day while Kim has done a sterling job of looking after the customers in the tea room, Me and David have sat with our feet up on the desks all day chatting, I wish!!

That's it from me for today.
Simon

It's been a busy day today. Mick is busy with work on private boats at the moment, so I helped Bernard undock the boat that has been on the dock for blacking, then dock a boat for survey, followed by Sue's boat. Sue has her boat blacked every year and is a regular visitor here at Norbury. You can certainly tell the difference when a boat has regular dockings as there was no rust or pitting evident.

We also had three dayboats go out this morning, all returned this afternoon without a hitch.

I thought that you might like to see a picture of Tom, which is the last boat that we painted. Here you go.


We've completed on Moonshine today and we have also sold Opal II. I'm in the process of advertising our latest arrival. She is a57ft traditional boat built by Pro Build boat builders in 2005 to a high standard. She has a traditional feel and layout but with out having a traditional boatman’s cabin, instead there is a rear cabin with a permanent double bed. The boat is powered by a four cylinder world famous Gardner engine which are renowned for their build quality and reliability. The engine is situated in its own engine room which also contains a massive specification of electrical equipment, from the engine room you have a large shower room with full size corner shower, pump out toilet and modern hand wash hand basin and a porcelain macerator pump out toilet. Next comes the large galley area with all of the modern equipment that you would expect to find in a high specification boat. There is also a small breakfast bar, forward of this is the saloon with fixed seating, solid fuel stove and cupboards for TV etc, wooden front doors lead out on to the front deck which is covered by cratch cover. The boat benefits from having diesel central heating to period radiators in the saloon area. The boat is lined throughout in solid oak tongue and grove and also has a solid oak floor which gives the boat the feeling of being a solid built boat. As already stated the boat has a huge specification which also include a 6hp bow thruster, 2 Victron phoenix inverters/chargers which are linked together giving 5kw of available power, twin banks of gel batteries and the list goes on, offered at a very reasonable price of £44950.00. Further details will be available on our website tomorrow.

Kim has been busy in the tearoom and has been assisted by Lorraine and Joyce during the busier periods although they have managed to clean some boats ready for tomorrow and next weekend. Ange has manned the office and the phones as I have been in and out most of the day.

That's it from me today.

Regards,

David.

Sunshine and showers

The weather forecast last night showed that today was going to be sunshine and showers and it certainly wasn't wrong! One minute it the sun has been scorching hot and the next the heavens have opened and it's been like a river running down the road.

It's been one of those days. We had a burst water pipe in the wet dock this morning, which has subsequently meant digging a 8 x 4 x 4ft hole just outside the dock. Steve and I have capped the supply off so we could turn the main back on which supplies the shop. The only problem being that the girls couldn't do any washing in the laundry, so we have now rigged a hose pipe up across the yard. We'll have to go to our local plumbing shop on Monday to get some fittings and pipe to do the job properly.

It's been a busy day here at Norbury today. Five boats have gone out and as I write Mick and Billy are still showing boats out.

The girls have all had their work cut out running the shop, tearoom, cleaning the boats and of course answering the phones...

I think we are going to retire to the pub for a well earned pint :-)

Regards,

David

dry day today for a change

it has been a much better day weather wise here at norbury today, we've had no rain at all although it has been a little bit overcast at times but for for the most part it has been a very pleasant day.

we had quartz, pippin and reflection return to us this morning, all had an excellent time and we have turned pippin and reflection around, sphinx has also gone out with a hen party on board, they don't plan to do much cruising, just having a girlie weekend with plenty to eat and drink, they did ask if there were shops on route just in case they ran out of alcohol........ha ha.

we have also had the ex ownerships boats go out today and most of them have gone out for 2 weeks, lucky people, i hope they all have a good time.

engineer simon has been welding a boat on hardstanding and bernard has been busy doing the engines on the boats going out and has made a start on the boats going out tomorrow. we also had bill in today to do the internal checks on the boats that have gone out today and he also done the show rounds.......at 5.45 this evening he was going down the moorings on sphinx with the hen party with a great big grin on his face.

fred has been busy on the wharf with diesel and pump outs this morning and he also had the hire fleet to do so was a bit grumpy as he was falling behind.

we had 3 day boats out this morning and all returned without issues.

the girls have all been kept busy today aswell, cleaning, cooking washing and looking after the shop and the phone has been relentless with day boat and holiday bookings, i have even had a couple of enquiries for next year, and we have actually taken a confirmed booking for may next year......if you want to book a boat for whitsun next year i suggest you get in now because as soon as christmas is done with the phones will be red hot and they will all be gone.

well that's it from me today, until next time...........byyeee ange.

Another nice'ish day

Its been another nice day apart from the odd torrential down pour, now the sun is shinning and its loverly (said in a 'curly accent'as Denise would say it) its been a very very busy day today, the wharf has been virtually non stop and we have also had several boats on the wharf with engine issues and battery issues, that has kept Fred busy, the pump out blocked up it had that much use, me and David soon sorted that out,we even ran out of diesel, not to worry though as the tanks will be full of fresh stuff first thing in the morning, Simon has been welding and dodging the showers, Jake has been fitting a new engine and he has cracked on well with that and it is in danger of being finished on time, the shop has been very busy which has kept Lorraine and Kim busy and we have had a lot of our boats return after their holidays.

We had a couple in today from Nottingham, they were viewing houses in the area and a lovely couple they were, the lady commented on the blog, I was amazed as they were not boaters but had read the blog, it just goes to show how many people read the blog and not just those interested in boats.

That's it from me for today.
Simon

lovely day

It hasn't been to busy in and around the wharf today but the phones have been non stop me and Ange have taken lots of bookings for the boats, it has been a productive day though and Simon me and Jake have put the new engine in to a private boat and Jake has cracked on with its installation, Simon has cut more plates for the re bottoming job, Fred has blacked the boat on the dock and painted its counter bands and then him and Steve has spent the afternoon on the moorings strimming and weed killing.

As I type the blog the heavens have just opened up and it is now throwing it down, Ange and Lorraine are taking refuse by the door, shall I be horrible and kick them out as I want to go home!!

That's it from me for today
Simon