Brinks Sonata Y or N ??

[Guest oldgit]

Hiya all !!

Me(35) and the Mrs(?) are embarking on our first ever boating holiday this July, and being the big kid that I am , I booked the first good looking boat I found, without any thought of doing any research. After shelling out our hard earned cash, i eventually did some looking about and have now realised that this boat may be a bit too wee on the inside,,, can anyone confirm my fears or recommend another boat at brinks ?

Also would love to get some general advice on what to take, tips ???

to you all from bonnie scotland by the way !!

[Baz]

Hiya Oldgit,

The Brinks Sonata is one of 6 of the same type of boat. A "sporty" looking boat. My first thoughts are that it may be a bit small for your first trip, but it all depends on what suits you. When I started to hire ( a long time ago now ) we soon realized we liked a much bigger boat. If you think it may be a bit small for your needs, then I'm sure Brinks would be only too pleased to change it, if possible. As far as what to take, this is totally up to you, but, " Remember the Camera " and take hundreds of pictures, honestly, when you get home, you'll sit and look at them for hours every day.

Hope this helps a tad.

Baz

[Guest JoeReu]

Well, I think it looks gorgeous! And I bet it will be a smaller that you first thought, but i bet the swanky interior will make up for it! I have a big bum and would probably bend over and knock something of the cooker with it! So I need more space, but I reckon you'll be fine.

I dont know what Brinks provide, but most companies cover everything so you just have to take clothes and toiletries. I always take extra tea towels, a torch & batteries (muddy banks in the dark with booze in you dont mix!), a good map, and some good deck shoes.

Anyway, I bet you'll be hooked aftre your first holiday. Have a great time!

Joe

[Brian]

Those boats look fantastic, and i cant blame you you hiring on the looks I would do the same

They do have a canvas cover which goes over the rear area.

If its dry and sunny, it will be the best boat on out there

If its a real rainy one, you will need the canopy up.

A bit of a gamble, but i know for sure i would gamble

Those boats are aimed at a short weekend break.

Ive been trying to get a short break last minute deal on one for ages.

As there's always a few sitting outside non hired, Even last weekend !! ( BH )

[Guest oldgit]

Thanks for your replies,,, you have calmed my nerves ,, but ive still asked if i can upgrade to brink's Royale which seems a little bigger with a grill and oven instead of the hotplate and microwave installed in the sonata. Anyone had this boat ?

Mooring,, I take it most of these boats moore aft in ? And.......on average how much do the onboard waste and fresh tanks hold??

Si

[Guest]

Mooring,, I take it most of these boats moore aft in ? And.......on average how much do the onboard waste and fresh tanks hold??

Hi Si, I imagine pretty much all river cruisers for the hire market will go stern on. As for the size of waste tanks and water tanks that will vary hugely. The reason for that is simply down to the number of people that boat is designed to accommodate and will mostly be proportional to the physical size of the craft.

As a general rule when I have taken out hire boats (5 times) we have tried to fill the water tanks at least once per day, certainly after 48 hrs you should be looking to do it. But to illustrate how different it can be, we can usually take our own boat out for up a 7 days without needing to top up the water tank, provided we start off with it brim full.

[Guest]

this is an external shot of sonata

trying to find some internal pics

[Guest oldgit]

Johnny,, Ive seen loads of pics both in and out of the sonata,, still bit concerned about the space inside

[Guest]

well see if you ok for a swap for a boat priced the same or a little bit more tell them about your worries i don't see why they can't

[Guest]

All you'll do in the interior is cook and sleep. Those boats are all about the cockpit and that should feel relatively large and airy, even with the canopy up. Unless the weather is particularly vicious and the temperatures absurdly low, you should be able to remain in the cockpit pretty much all the time.

[kfurbank]

I think most people have covered the interior space and cockpit issues, the one thing I would add, especially as you are first time boaters, is that the boat does not look particulerly easy to moor side on, or if coming in to step off the bow. There is no side walkway, so you need to step of from the back somewhere. If you need to land someone off the bow, then I think the centre part of the windscreen, which would probably need the canopy down, opens to allow access to the front of the boat, but even then the rails will make it hard to step off from the front. If the water is high against the quayside, then it will be some feat to climb over the front railings and back down onto the quayside.

Just my personal opinion, but I would upgrade to a more traditional shaped broads cruiser, with a good walkway all along the side, at least until you have got the hang of the mooring bit, then maybe go for something like the Sonata next time.

Keith

[Guest oldgit]

Just got word back from Brinks that the only one theyve got left is 400 quid more,,, so the sonanta it is !!

[Dan]

If it it's your first trip I'm sure you'll enjoy her anyway, and they do look very smart.

They are very compact so a lot may depend on the weather. If it's nice you'' both love being out in the cockpit and the boat will do everything you want, and they do look lovely. The lack of the side walkway is a bit of a pain I would guess, though as you've not been before it may be less of a problem as you won't appreciate the difference! If you struggle trailing the rope outstretched along the roof towards the aft deck should help, if the rope's long enough you may then be able to step off the rear with it in your hand.

There's no totally perfect design really... we had an aft cockpit April '07 and loved it as the sun was out and we were there out getting the benefit, April '08 same style again and we wished we'd booked a floaty caravan style as it was miserable and we'd have been more comfortable!

When you end your holiday see if you can look inside a few other craft there - it's often a good idea so you can choose next time, and much easier to immediately see the benefits/disadvantages of all the different styles

Have a great holiday!

Dan

[Pete]

I think most people have covered the interior space and cockpit issues, the one thing I would add, especially as you are first time boaters, is that the boat does not look particulerly easy to moor side on, or if coming in to step off the bow. There is no side walkway, so you need to step of from the back somewhere. If you need to land someone off the bow, then I think the centre part of the windscreen, which would probably need the canopy down, opens to allow access to the front of the boat, but even then the rails will make it hard to step off from the front. If the water is high against the quayside, then it will be some feat to climb over the front railings and back down onto the quayside.

The Haines 31's (amongst many others) have the same lack of access from the bow to the bank, which I initially thought was going to hinder moorings, however I've discovered that as long as you take the boat into the mooring slowly at 45 degrees to the bank (going upstream if there's a current), you can easily swing the stern around to bring the boat alongside the mooring. So as long as you take it slowly and calmly it should be ok, the majority of problems I've seen people having with mooring is when they've tried to do it too fast.

The Sonata is a great looking boat, but the inside does look a little cramped. As you're going in July though, the weather should be nice, so you'll probably be spending most of the day outside, so I wouldnt worry about it.

Pete

[Guest oldgit]

Thanks again for all your advice,,,, being a serving submariner im very used to going slow !! But underwater !! I am a very patient man and will not be rushing anything and that includes berthing,,, isnt that what holidays are all about ?

Not long now really looking forward to it

[Guest gcb]

Hello

Wonder how you got on? You messaged me from another forum about this boat and I was able to give you a fair bit of info on it having hired it out myself, you might recognise my username?

We spent the Friday to Monday on the Breakaway 2 from Barnes after finding our that all of the Sonata's were booked out and we were bitterly disappointed to say the least, if you thought that the Sonata was small then you should see the size of this!!!!!!

It's almost the same as the Sonata albeit an older version but is has the section of deck directly underneath the helm missing so you only have the double bed at the far end! Can't believe Barnes are hiring the Breakway 2 and the Sonata out for the same price, the Sonata a 5 star craft and the Breakaway 2 which must be a 2 star craft - totally unamused. The only thing I can tell you which everyone may like to take note is that the Sonata is a major gas guzzler, we ended up having to double our fuel bill when we brought the Sonata back but we were deeply surprised when we brough the Breakaway back as we actually got three pounds of our thirty pound fuel deposit back and we cruised exactly the same route as we did on the Sonata, I imagine the Sonata must be a heavier boat with a larger engine but it is anything less than efficient but give me the Sonata any day!!!!!!

Hiya all !!

Me(35) and the Mrs(?) are embarking on our first ever boating holiday this July, and being the big kid that I am , I booked the first good looking boat I found, without any thought of doing any research. After shelling out our hard earned cash, i eventually did some looking about and have now realised that this boat may be a bit too wee on the inside,,, can anyone confirm my fears or recommend another boat at brinks ?

Also would love to get some general advice on what to take, tips ???

to you all from bonnie scotland by the way !!

[Guest]

it also depends if you have diesel hot air blown heating whenthis is ontakes diesel from your tank so this might be when you might have burned alot of fuel unless you whent in summer and they dint fill your tank up

[Guest gcb]

Hi Jonny

It was summer so we didn't use the heating at all on the Sonata, funny thing is we did on the Breakaway 2

GCB

it also depends if you have diesel hot air blown heating whenthis is ontakes diesel from your tank so this might be when you might have burned alot of fuel unless you whent in summer and they dint fill your tank up