It feels rather incongruous to be visting a Boat Show when the ground is still covered in snow.But hope springs eternal, as they say, and there were many stands and boats available despite the weather and the economy.
With a predictable division of labour we were interested in motors, ovens, electrics, boat colours, porta potties (we even saw a "luggable loo"), on the one hand and curtains, cushions and beds on the other......... some photos.....
This is about the right size motor (at about €11000!!!) YANMAR
Oven and hotplates : Brand Name: Force10
Looks OK, but.......so many questions!
Well, maybe, ..... but the porta potties looked much better!
UpholsteryAlmost the same as Refuge Cove (the first).
We made an appointment for the upholstery with an old mate of Janny's. I'd heard of him before and finally met him - he has a big bus converted as a showroom - it was easy to believe you were sitting in a boat rather than a bus!.
Looks a bit green but is grey (granite). Perhaps the following photos are more indicative of what took our fancy.
We're still not decided, but we can start thinking about it. Depends if our quoted price extends to another colour in the Epithanes range.
We also liked the red/cream combination.
We're only getting a quote (which will probably frighten us off until 2012) but it includes cushions for the salon and proper matresses for the cabins and curtains!
As usual, I saw something for us at home - a nice BBQ table made by a "jetty builder" - nice little project and long overdue!
Optimistic! We bought our "Marrekrite" flag for 2010 - which one has on display as payment for and acknowledgement of the work done by the Marrekrite Group in keeping the mooring sites fit and tidy throughout Friesland.Well, that was about it for the Boat Show. Sadly, our boat-building friends from Birdaard were not present. I hope it is not a sign of bad times for them. Last saw them when Ivan and Louise were here in 2008 - I thought then that they didn't have many boats on the go. They built Refuge Cove (the first).
NEWS
I subscribe to a Dutch Newsletter with articles about the inland waterways of Holland. One item in particular took my fancy......
There has been a shortage of salt for the roads here this winter so they have had to organise a top up of more than 7000 tons - but this time it was seawater salt which is more expensive than the usual mine salt. The writer of the article said that he hoped that motorists would remember that the salt was brought by SHIP - next time they are cursing the "ships" for delaying the road traffic (when the bridges open). Drawing a rather long bow, I thought, but interesting about the salt. Our Local Government have had to change their "rules" about keeping the roads clear - simply not enough salt (or money).
Greetings,
Ken (aka Klaas Kakkerlak)
