kadensa

' we are here not for the money but for the love of boats, boating and our customers :love' In that case, do I still have to pay the balance owing on next years holiday?

So, according to the facts 'Broadsman' is the most popular boat, but which boat is the most profitable?

To 'ranworthbreeze' Womack is one of my favourite mooring places also, especially at the back of the island. To 'C.Ricko' Clive, I've always said Richardson's customer service is second to none and I've never had cause to change that opinion. Mistakes happen, but it is the way they're dealt with that makes all the difference. We've booked 'Major Gem 2' for 11 days next May. (It would have been for two weeks had my son not arranged his wedding for the same month. Children can be so inconsiderate ) To be honest, I just couldn't believe that the price quoted on the website was correct. It's a lot of boat for the money and means I can get well away from my husband when we've had our usual row about whose fault it is that a particular mooring attempt didn't go quite as planned.

Having booked my next years Broads holiday on a whim (for which, may I add, I hold this forum entirely responsible) I was perusing Richardsons website and noticed the route guides. I thought I'd take a look to see if there was anything I'd missed on my previous visits and I came across this somewhat puzzling statement - The River Thurne This is a tributary of the River Bure. Womack Water gives access to Ludham Bridge. Now, perhaps, my family's worst fears have been realised and I have finally gone completely crazy , (which I am willing to admit is entirely possible) but I could have sworn that Ludham Bridge is on the Ant. Come to think of it, maybe this explains the {much complained about) behaviour of some hirers. Having spent hours on Womack water looking for Ludham Bridge, they've been either driven mad or turned to drink!

Reminds me of when we were moored at Banavie on the Caledonian canal and the MV Lord of the Glens http://www.magnacarta.bz/information/information.aspcame through the locks at Neptune's staircase.

Tell me about it! On the way back we had real problems trying to turn across the waves to get to the moorings. Everything on the shelves came flying off into the cabin (luckily I managed to catch the malt before it crashed to the floor!) Can't really remember the loo, to be honest, but what stays in my mind the most is the condensation on the cabin roof which meant waking up to a wet duvet every morning. Having said that, we did have a very enjoyable time, and the moorings at Banavie, Kytra and on Loch Oich have to be some of the loveliest anywhere.

I wasn't comparing them to Richardsons on price, just on service,which ,as I said, was OK, but not outstanding. I can't comment on the other yard as I have no experience with them.

Can't agree with you about Caley Cruisers. I found their boats over-priced and the service OK but nothing special. Not half as good as we have experienced with Richardsons, for example.

Why don't you Email the BBC and ask them if they have any objection?

It's not discrimination on the grounds of gender, but that of sexual orientation, which is illegal. An example of the court's ruling on this was the case of a gay couple being refused a room in a guesthouse because the owners were devout Christians. In the judgement in the case of car insurance premiums, it was made clear that a commercial organisation cannot breach the equality laws for any reason, and, yes, I know that particular case involved gender discrimination, but the ruling itself must surely apply to discrimination with regard to sexual orientation too. I have Emailed a couple of the boatyards who display the 'no all male/all female groups' rule on their websites but as yet have had no reply.

I have been looking at various hireyard websites and notice that many of them do not accommodate all male/all female parties. In the light of recent legal cases which have upheld the rights of gay couples are not these restrictions illegal? I expect the boatyards will argue that it has nothing to do with the sexual orientation of their customers, but is, in fact, owing to the increased risk of damage from such parties. However, the recent European court decision on car insurance premiums would appear to suggest that a basic right to equality cannot be qualified by any commercial considerations. I wonder if any of the boatyards have taken legal advice on this, as it would appear to me that they are breaking the law in this regard.

Hurrah!!! We hired the identical boat fron Leboat the last time we were in Italy and said at the time how much we wished she was available on the Broads. We're a bit short of money at the moment (just paid the balance of our Corfu holiday in August) but will probably try to book her for next year if she's still available later on. Now, if only someone can arrange for some Italian style weather in October 2012.

I'm not so sure about that. We went to Venice in 2008 and 2009 and both times chose the cheapest boat to acconodate our party. In 2008 we had the 'Tower' (12 berth) as we were a party of 7 and every time we met other hirers they were extremely envious. (One German couple even made us write down all the details so they could book it for the following year). Last year there were only 4 of us so we had the 6 berth Merchant, and we had 3 other hirers wanting to look around. The problem is, I think, that Leboat in Europe use the same craft at all their destinations instead of tailoring them to their clientele. Most people who visit Italy use the boats as a floating hotel room /tour bus and to be honest, their newer designs leave a lot to be desired in this regard.

Yes, a lovely job! One question - What is the pole at the end of the bed for?

In my opinion, the main problem is with the design NOT the finish. The whole thing (I can't bring myself to call it a boat!) is so totally without any aesthetic appeal whatsoever, that I confidently expect it to win numerous awards.

Goodness, Clive, I didn't know Richardsons had their own 'enforcer'! I'd better brush up on my boat-handling skills before our holiday!

Goodness, Clive, I'm beginning to have second thoughts about my booking! Especially since I've read your charges for 'extras'. I mean, £3 a week for an iron? What kind of boatyard has customers who do ironing on holiday?

We, too, are hiring with Richardsons (three weeks in October) and asked about bringing our sailing dinghy along (we have done this with other yards in the past). I presume you have insurance so you will only have to pay the visitor toll, which, by the way, I think is a rip off! We have £2,000,000 indemnity cover with our dinghy, although it's hard to imagine how we could do THAT much damage, even if we hit Clive's new baby (the BOAT, I hasten to add, not the human one!)

Well, I've just looked on their website and for a week in June next year Rhapsody is £537.66 and San Sebastian £466.85, which I make a difference of £70.81, are you saying that this is wrong?

But there's about £100 per week difference in the price between San Sebastian and Rhapsody, so surely that should tell even the first-time hirer that the boats are of a different standard. At least Richardsons have boats to cater for all budgets and this, I think, contributes greatly to their success. By the way, we have just returned from our cruising holiday with Leboat in Italy and whilst there were shown around two new boats which were being fitted out. All very luxurious, but the really interesting part was that there was a wheelchair lift from the saloon to the flybridge ( this, however, meant that interior access to the flybridge for non-disabled users was by a VERY steep ladder). We were told that this was in anticipation of new EU regulations which would extend the legislation on disabled access and I wondered whether any of the hirers on the Broads were aware of this?

We have an 18 foot sailie called Hermia. Couldn't really change her name as it has been carved into her stern (if you know your Shakespeare, you may have guessed she is a Lysander). We also have a Skipper dinghy called Walrus, who will have a name change if ever realise our dream of buying a 30 foot cruiser which we'll name 'Shipshape'. The dinghy will then be renamed in honour of our hometown - 'Bristol Fashion'.

We can cope with 'basic'. We hired Juliette from Martham Boats three years running and you couldn't get much more basic than that in a cruiser (the entrance to the shower is from the cockpit and the first time we hired her the only form of heating was a radiant gas fire in the saloon). Lovely boat though, but sadly not really practical for us now. Nice to hear Rio will be getting a new engine, and since we're not hiring her until the end of the year, hopefully any teething problems will have been sorted out! (no offence, Clive, but experience over the years of having new mechanical bits fitted to various cars tells me there will always be one or two issues at first).

Just been perusing the Blakes site and I must say I found it to be possibly the most user unfriendly one I have come across in a long time. I'm afraid that should I have been trying to book a holiday, I would have given up and gone elsewhere. A little off topic but does anyone know how long Blakes have been booking boats in Italy? The base at Chioggia which they are using, is rather surprising as I would imagine it is murder to get to in the summer, especially at weekends when most of Venice seems to descend on the town.

I'm glad to hear such good reports of Richardsons, as we have booked Rio for our holiday in October next year. I was interested in the discussion as to whether discounting this particular boat would draw business away from other boats owned by the same company or whether it would attract new business. Well, we have had 5 broads holidays since 2000, none of them with Richardsons, although I've always been quite impressed with the fleet, (seen in passing on our way to stock up at Tescos). I have to admit that it was the price which drew me to it, initially, (previously I would never have looked at a forward drive cruiser, but unfortunately my husband's rheumatoid athritis makes a single level boat more practical now) but the layout of Rio also seems perfect for the two of us. Moreover, as the price is so low we have booked three weeks instead of our usual two, so it looks like a win-win situation for both ourselves and the company

Our choice of boat has been limited recently as my husband has rheumatoid arthritis which affects mainly his knees and ankles, so we now choose boats which are all on one level. Last year our party consisted of my mother (86), parents in law (80 and 76), and our son and his girlfriend, both in their 20s so we hired 'Tower', and although not one of their 'top of the range' models was admired by all the other hirers we met, even those on the more expensive boats. One really good feature about Tower which is not available on similar Broads models is that it has dual steering and a table and chairs on the roof! I realise this would not be possible on the Broads owing to the low bridges but it was certainly a feature that we used all the time (we were, of course, incredibly lucky with the weather last October). This year only my son and girlfriend are with us,(hubby and I were originally going alone but an extremely painful injury to my shoulder in May meant I am not confident about my ability to manage mooring on my own, at the moment) so we've booked 'Merchant', which should suit us perfectly. I suppose for people who have no health issues, it all comes down to a matter of personal taste, as to which type of cruiser to hire. For me, as long as a boat has somewhere to sit, a separate cabin for sleeping, clean facilities, a frdge and cooker, and some form of heating, I'm happy. Especially if the hire price is such as to leave plenty of money left over for the 'little luxuries' and I agree the Leboat boats do look to be rather expensive for what they are.