Dan

Wooo... look at that bad boy of an Aquafibre from Le Boat! Dan

They're the ex Sealine T60 & T50. It was documented elsewhere that someone had bought the T50 so perhaps only the T60 will form the flagship in the new brand of Richardson's day hire picnic boats? Dan

I've just booked for next year.... at £226 for 5 days boating it seemed a bit of a no brainer! I'm sure lots more expensive trips will follow now I've set the ball rolling! Dan

Hi Neil Glad you enjoyed your trip Have you any piccies of Maffett's latest Kingfisher that you hired? Dan

Oops... Should be able to get it back working soon Good to know someone noticed! Dan

Good points well made Robin I agree - the Bounty 37 prices off peak are absolute bargains and great, cosy boats - ideal for an extra little break to normal, in fact you'd have to be stark raving bonkers to not take advantage! I can see me hiring one again next April to lose the boating withdrawal symptons and to enjoy a bit of solace Dan

I agree. The AF Pearl 38 seems to be doing well so far on the thread! Great Broads boats. I quite like the Royall's ones, especially Commander 2 which was ex Brister's, as I always thought this looked fantastic at Brister's in the red, and when Royall's first had it (I am not keen on the orange though). I used to like the Supreme Commander's & Yeoman's, again maybe it was the colours and immaculate presentation. Sadly not enough of them stayed on hire.... Dan

Hi Robin I too rather like the AF38... a really great boat design, along with many others that came from that stable (I also really like the AF Sapphire 32). The layout on the Sunlit Horizon's is very good, and I think it offers a good layout/space for two couple's, as you say - to beat it in 38 foor you would be doing well on I think. The main reason I have not hired a Sunlit Horizon is I do not think the red stripe goes with the very light blue, and at that sort of hire charge that matters to me( I am weird, as everyone knows)! For these reasons I have long toyed with hiring Sensation which I will perhaps get round to one time. I think all the AF38's from all yards are still quite expensive for their age and standard, but I guess the design is so good that they let well, but I think they sort of sit between two price brackets for what I tend to do (either go for mega cheap to get away more, or occasionally go for something really new). You have got me wanting to hire one now though! Dan

Good heavens! I trust this is the sole reason sea toilets were outlawed on hire cruisers! Funny stuff Dan

Nice looking boats.... I think I may have pushed the price up on that particular brochure you have there! Dan

Trevor, enjoyed this. A great brochure, amazing how stuff that is quite insignificant such as this brochure at the time, really became fascinating and of importance to keep with time Dan

Well this is great news, but how true is it? 30% is a really massive figure. I booked a family sized boat for August just this week and the availability choice from a number of places suprised me, so this 30% does not sit right with the feel of other years to me very much? Dan

Whatho folks, A straight forward one here, I was suddenly thinking about how everyone had different favourite boats and all the different reasons attached and thought I'd post to see what everyones were Personally I have not decided on a favourite yet, but have set about a robust system of trying to find one! Dan

Interesting Andy, I understand your viewpoint. I think you got a real bargain with your caravan. I have had a few good deals hitting my inbox from Park Holidays and the like, but when I was searching for full season 3 days breaks yesterday I couldn't find a basic caravan from one of the major players for much less than about £250 for 3 days in August, and some of the deals on the Broads this year for the same time would see a smaller percentage gap than you found, but I guess off peak the gap may get greater, though this said I hired a 6 berth boat in April for £225 for 3/4 days if I remember right (before fuel & waiver) which I think is superb value. The fuel may be making a healthy profit, but why is profit such a dirty word. Without it companies don't exist and staff do not get employed, nor companies expanded. The accounts of boatyards are out there I guess, but I don't think we really need to see them to know that it is a low profit creating business, so making a little on the fuel (or a lot if you wish) I believe is not really making them massive amounts or adding up to great profits once it is all taken into account, and at least you have the option to fill up or drop a bit in elsewhere whilst you're out if you feel the yard extortionate. I found that when I had a 27ft boat a few years back with the annual toll, mooring, insurance and the most basic of upkeep I could have 3 weeks a year on well chosen weeks on hirecraft on the Broads, and the added benefit of turning up and going off to enjoy, and no time tinkering/maintaining, and less stress/more enjoyment as a result, so whilst ownership is great and has it's advantages I'm not sure it really adds up to a bargain versus hire costs, though this said perhaps now is a good value time to buy a boat Dan

I saw Bel Air in May and I thought it looked a bit sorry for itself. The former DRL/Anglia stickers on the rear vent behind the rear windows had been rather poorly scrubbed/painted and I found myself thinking it really would have been better and not taken much longer to have just painted the whole vent cover. I had a look at prices on Waterways Holidays for them and they seemed OK, perhaps less so through the unusual scenario of bed linen not being provided as standard, but it is nice to have some hire yards in Thorpe so it would be interesting to hear how people find them, and it is good to see a slightly enlarged choice from them Dan

Hi Strowager Before we created a Safari section on the old site I did contact them, as they didn't have a forum section but the site did seem well used, to see if they would be interested or even link through from their site to the forum (a bit like the Bounty one does). They were quite happy about it and did link on their news feed I think at the time, but I don't think participation got past one thread, but it is a marque that has a lot of owners and some affection too I think Dan

I agree. I was just wondering if people on the forum had changed their holiday patterns this year, as clearly a lot of the country have, so with quite a big member base I thought it might be interesting to discuss. It's an interesting analogy to the British Tele's and cars etc. My thoughts are that people buy what they like and what is good value. I think the examples that jump to your mind there are clear examples of where the product was poor so no loyalty existed, or people did but got their fingers burnt so voted with their feet. Are you saying you consider UK holidays to fit under that same damaging umbrella so they don't get your money? Dan

Whatho Everyone UK holidays seem to be having a hard time this year, I know everyone will have differing beliefs as to the reasons why, but I wondered if the forum was a good reflection of what the country is up to? What are peoples outlooks? Are people having less holidays to normal, are people venturing abroad for more certainty with the weather, are people waiting to see if there are any offers/good weather, and now that some good weather has appeared are people booking things up, and if so is it only family's who are prepared to pay the peak season price now the good weather has landed? Does anyone feel more inclined to holiday here to help the UK economy more during tougher times for many firms, or is there only me who looks at things like that?! Dan

Great find Jill, I always enjoy this sort of thing Dan

Welcome to the forum Which ex Calypso do you own Dan

Hi Clive No, the one in the link was one of the Lomond Heather/Modern Gem. I did see Premier Gem (which was Lomond Fern at the end of its Scottish life) at NYA a couple of years back, so she is probably still on the Broads, I think Craig has the two Lomond Heather's muddled up but would probably need to sit in a quiet room to recall the differences and why I think it, but I think the one you are still running as Eastern Gem is not the one I hired (which makes the one in the link the one I had) Dan

Hi Alan I know of Stenson only really from the couple of years that Black Prince were there, when they took over from Clayton Line who ran some green boats that were all built by Mindon Marine and I always quite liked the lines of them. I have some photos somewhere that I was sent from the mid 80's but goodness knows where they have gone! Fred, Interesting stuff. I've always liked Silverline, and interesting to hear of how you got to them being your yard of choice. I've always liked the colours and presentation, but like as you once thought, somehow I like to start north, also they are quite heavily weighted towards week hire, and often I hire for short breaks. Dan

Could it have been Beaverfleet at St. Olaves. They were, I think , where Alpha Craft were in recent times, quite near the bridge and it became Crown Cruisers before they moved to Somerleyton? They had quite a few different ones. The Aquabell's were just called Tango I think and ran from Bell Boats at Brundall before Richardsons bought them and they became Broadland Tango's. Quite a few Foster's ran from Thorpe, Corig Cruisers and the like. The ones I remember were called Rhinestone (a bit like an uglier Bounty 34 Sedan), Nugget (a slightly strange shorter centre but fixed cockpit job), Emerald but lots of others too Dan

Great stuff Jim Your story took me back to when those boats were about on hire. I always quite liked the Aquabell's and the Bounty Sedan's but as you say, they are a bit tall. The last time I was on a San Remo from Richardsons, which was also an ex Ferry Privateer the picture you describe of Jimbo's old boat stuck under a bridge was still there. The non boating trip will be a bit of a nightmare for me, but I have managed to get it down to two days due to work commitments and if all goes well will suggest calling in at a boatyard or two that are 'on the way' back Dan

Yeah, wherever might they have gone hey Clive! The one we hired is now on the Thames and is for sale, but luckily has had some owner 'improvements' which, along with an ambitious pricetag help suppress any ideas of taking her on! http://www.thamesboatsales.co.uk/boats-for-sale/boat-details/?BoatID=3892355&desc=3892355 - Cheeseman Ideal 40#.Ud0ftihwbIU The then owner told me that when they decided to close he advertised in various places and organised for a crane to be there for one day for inspections and he was surprised at how many people turned up, from lots of different places including Ireland and France. He was dreading selling them one buy one and it being a long, messy process, until someone came in the house and offered to take the whole lot. I guess where that place was will remain a mystery though Dan