andyg

Been looking at Ruby light from herbert woods. I didn't realise they had two classes of this type, do herbert woods mould these boats on site as they seem to have quite a number of this mould in their dayboat/ picnic boat fleet as well. Very smart looking two berth boat, looks nice and cosy.

Three i know of one each at Barnes,ferry and Herbert Woods.there are some pictures of Barnes new Hull being laid up on their FB page and it looks huge. Earlier this year Barnes fitted out one of the new tempo dual steer boats in 8 weeks which was impressive. Clive mentioned a while back he had a Monaco class boat nearly finished sitting in his build shed,not sure if he finished it or it will launch next year. So a few new ones on the horizon

Alpha craft were in the process of developing a new boat for the European waterways before their sad demise i believe. Barnes are building a new 50ft boat for next year and seeing as most of the mould tools are now owned by Barnes I wonder if this could be the boat ?

No big shock there,they certainly weren't letting very well before the covid and the staycation situation came along. NBD already have a couple of lens designs that let very well. Its just goes to show how hard it is to get a fleet up and running on the southen broads. I wonder how many more of lens dual steer boats will be built at NBD.

I think its fair to assume someone at Richardsons would of seen this by now. I don't agree with the vid being taken down as it was already in the public domain,but respect the forum's decision. Just another example of lack of respect for others property. All in a days work for clives team I guess and sadly this is what you get when you don't have a substantial refundable damage wavier. Saying that if you have 250 odd boats earning 45 quid a week for nothing then dealing with half a dozen bumps like this is good business. I'm sure it will be made good and delt with during its time in the shed over the winter. Just another day in yhe life of a hire boat.

I've worked in food distribution for over 30years, the advances that have been made in logistics are mind boggling. Technology has played a massive role in that,The European distribution network amazon are building to support there online prime business is very impressive indeed and second to none. We are just about to see amazon enter food retail with there amazon fresh product, and I know even the likes of aldi are looking over there shoulders. So we do indeed have fantastic distribution networks throughout the UK that could of stepped up and helped pout. Let's face it during look down the government was paying the wage bill for all them drivers sitting about at home.

There was a simple solution to the PPE distribution issue and the army wasn't it. For a start the royal logistics Corp haven't got the right type of equipment. They are not set up for multi drop palletised delivery's it's as simple as that. We had entire pallet distribution network sat ideal with the likes of pallet express pallet network etc. They could of stepped in and had it up and running in a couple of days. As an ex logi myself I'm sure the guys worked there nuts off but army planning isn't as great as you may think.

Been watching HW webcam today still plenty of today's take overs sitting on the yard. Wonder if they have been advised to stay put for tonight??

Oh I've used them, I still enjoy the challenge of getting out of a tight spot using the rudder and engine. Backing out of thurne dyke being a personal fav 👍 but yes totally get it. As boats have got bigger and higher they are a good bit of kit to have.

I sat outside the ferry in horning one afternoon having a pint with my son. All of a sudden you could hear this high pitched rumbling noise coming along getting louder. It's was moores brand new boat supa Moore, Great big alpha dual steer job now at barnes. The guy was using the thruster to steer the boat along the river lol. You could hear it for quite some time after he passed. I wonder how long that motor lasted? Hire yards do give instructions on how to use them but easily forgotten whilst trying to take everything in on hand over. I'm sure Clive mentioned some time ago that they had fitted a hydraulic thruster to his boat supreme when it was refitted. I wonder if they are more durable and a better option for hire boats then Purley electric?

I was told exactly that by Brian at summercraft, I asked him why he hadn't fitted them to all his boats. His reply was they were a pain in the bumb to fix and one of the common problems he was having was twigs and small branches getting stuck in the thruster snapping the pins inside the motor. That was a few years ago so I guess technology has improved since then.

I like all three pubs in the village with the new inn my favourite. Great food excellent outdoor space. The ferry has become to crowded for me of late but still enjoy a pint. The Swan is OK. I'm probably bucking the trend here but I never warmed to gus nothing personal but just not my cup of tea, but wish him well. Glad to see the Inn doing well.

Exactly the point I was trying to make David, clearly not very well. I have a brother who works for one of the big two package tour operators and they are currently planning a huge marketing campaign for next season the launch date keeps being put back I think its going to be very interesting to see what's on offer come next April and the impact covid is still having. As Paul has said if anyone is still required to quarantine on there return I fear that will be the end of my brothers company. 2021 really is make or break for some very big household names in the tourist industry.

By now I'm assuming most yards have a good idea of there covid procedures and things they may need to tweek for next season. They would also have an idea of the extra costs incurred on turnaround day in terms of manpower costs additional cleaning products equipment cost. So do we think we will see a hike in hire charges to help offset these cost. Or do we think in the face of a major recession they will try and absorb them? I notice two yards plan to launch at least two new boats for next season with maybe a third at ferry marina. Must be incredibly difficult times for all involved especially the small yards. We still need to see what this winter brings in terms of this bloody virus. On a positive note my wife's is a nurse in our local hospital here in South Essex and today they discharged there last remaining covid patient. So hopefully things are improving, well in our small part of the country. Fingers crossed for a good season next year.

Is that one of freedoms boat moored in the basin, that's good to see I thought Andy had given up.

Ferry and Johnson two very good old broads yards in my opinion. Always liked Johnson boats very smart, I didn't visit the broads for some years back then and was surprised Johnson had close when I returned. Very modern and popular fleet. Shame

As does speeding, boat engines being run at mooring boats stuck on Breydon and of course the annual hire boat bridge strike etc etc etc. I've been visiting the broads since the mid 70s when it wasn't uncommon to find boats moored three abreast even at Gt Yarmouth. Sadly people seem less tolerant of each other today

Im a sedan style boat fan, sadly Princess isn't one of them lol. Are the melodies really that old Clive. We had number 4 not long after re fit. And it was cracking, You guys really do a good job on refits not blowing smoke up anyone's backside here. As mentioned a couple of weeks ago I still hope the new one will appear at some point in the future. BTW Clive were they all Part of the ex Thames fleet.

Pretty sure kris cruisers launched a flush type boat last year. Not as elaborate as these ones more a large day boat type craft. Built by the guys at Phoenix fleet PH. They seem to be growing in popularity, wonder if we will see them on the broads. I could see one pop up at the Waveney River Centre kind of fits in with what they do over there promoting the great out doors.

All sorted thanks 👍

Exactly, under the current circumstances we find our self's in a pub lunch isn't as appealing as it might of been. It's our only holiday this year so spending a few quid on a comfy boat for the day doesn't seem like a waste. Mud weighting in the middle of say Salhouse Broad eating our picnic seems quite a good idea to us,Social distancing and all that. I had looked at all the photos and vids online of picnic boats on offer but couldn't see if they were fitted with a mud weight.

Hi Alan yes I have heard the same. It's not till early Sept so hopefully things will have calm down. But I will book tomorrow. Thanks

Hi everyone, sorry if this seems a daft question. We are going to hire a picnic boat for the day on our up coming holiday to Hopton. We have chosen admiral from ferry marina. I was unable to phone them today but need to know if you can mud weight with this type of boat. Any info greatly appreciated

I believe that was Langford jnr who suffered the accident, I'm may be wrong but I'm sure I read that on here. Could the new boat you talk of be the one Barnes are developing I wonder. I'm sure the have all alpha mold tools. Time will tell I guess. I know Paul at swancraft had the job of cleaning up the exteriors of the boats that had sat around in the yard for god knows how long. Such a shame to see such a successful business go adrift.

My mum dad and their friends hired one of the new 35ft center cockpit boats ( don't remember the name ) when they first launched them. I'm sure it had bright red cloth upholstery in the rear saloon. They were so impressed with the boat they went on to hire it for many years after. My dad was ex forces and was always impressed by how well the yard was run. I've never really understood why the yard went belly up tbh. When you consider how popular the design's still are and revenue that must of been made out of all them sets of molds that were sold. I guess if Richardson's ever put there new designs up for sale to other yards that could well bring down the curtains on the alpha designs.