Southwold

CX54WEK

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We are planning a visit to the Norfolk Broads again this year and whilst there hope to get a couple of days at Southwold.

The last time we were there in 2013 the visitors moorings were against the wooden staging but there was talk of putting a floating pontoon in.

Has the pontoon gone in yet or are the visitors moorings against the staging still?
 
Long pontoon by the HM's office (which now also has loos and showers available during HM duty hours). Or you can still use the staging.
 
I like the staging! It's sort of proper olde worlde (and it's not that much of a problem)

It'll be a shame when it, inevitably, is replaced by more modern pontoons
 
The staging is a bit of a pain in the posteria for us as our boat is quite short and doesn't sit against the piles very well.

We ended up rafted four out against much larger boats last time, which in itself isn't a great problem, we don't mind rafting up, but our boat didn't sit against the larger boats that comfortably either.
 
We are planning a visit to the Norfolk Broads again this year and whilst there hope to get a couple of days at Southwold.

The last time we were there in 2013 the visitors moorings were against the wooden staging but there was talk of putting a floating pontoon in.

Has the pontoon gone in yet or are the visitors moorings against the staging still?

Rachael, it's about time you ventured a bit further south. You would enjoy the Deben and Orwell areas, plenty to see and do for a week or so. It's only 40 nm or so from Lowestoft, you won't get a nose bleed, honest!
 
Rachael, it's about time you ventured a bit further south. You would enjoy the Deben and Orwell areas, plenty to see and do for a week or so. It's only 40 nm or so from Lowestoft, you won't get a nose bleed, honest!

Liam is missing the Broads so we said we would head there this year.

NC is booked on a trailer to head North to explore the Caledonian and West Coast of Scotland for our main break next summer.

I do like the idea of heading onto the Deben and Orwell and we will do it at some point, it just wont be for the next couple of summers at least!
 
I also quite like the quaintness of the rickety staging and find berthing alongside it offers no problems provided you know how to use fender boards and the staging is properly maintained. On our last visit, one of the fender boards we were lying to caught on a notch in the pile as the tide made. The creaking woke me and I went to investigate finding the trapped board had already given our stiff 10 tons over 10 degrees of list which at least had the merit of keeping the fenders down at fender board height - otherwise they may well have popped out. Fortunately, we had tied the board lines to the toe rail, rather than the guard rail, so no broken guard rail wire. It took a deal of work to get the pressure off the board to let it come up past the notch in the pile, before I got back to my bunk.

The following morning the HM did a great temporary repair to the pile, but looking along there we saw several others need of maintenance. Next time we'll check the pile faces when we moor up!
 
I also quite like the quaintness of the rickety staging and find berthing alongside it offers no problems provided you know how to use fender boards and the staging is properly maintained. On our last visit, one of the fender boards we were lying to caught on a notch in the pile as the tide made. The creaking woke me and I went to investigate finding the trapped board had already given our stiff 10 tons over 10 degrees of list which at least had the merit of keeping the fenders down at fender board height - otherwise they may well have popped out. Fortunately, we had tied the board lines to the toe rail, rather than the guard rail, so no broken guard rail wire. It took a deal of work to get the pressure off the board to let it come up past the notch in the pile, before I got back to my bunk.

The following morning the HM did a great temporary repair to the pile, but looking along there we saw several others need of maintenance. Next time we'll check the pile faces when we moor up!

Using fender boards doesn't stop your small boat rolling around the staging post it is resting against and sticking its bow under the boardwalk!

We wisely followed the Harbourmasters advice and rafted against a larger boat despite there being room against the staging.

Sounds like we won't have this to worry about this year though :D
 
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