Dan

Good heavens, a toilet each - how posh are you! Dan

Sadly I dont think one toilet on a ten berth boat is acceptable Jonny. I would never hire it and I'm sure others wouldn't either. Also, I wonder if it is fairly common for boat bathrooms to be fairly tight, the one on the Discovery is very tiny, I cant even stand up properly in it and am only 5ft 10, so maybe the fact one bathroom is big should be seen as a bonus! I think when a toilet compartment is placed along the side of the boat they often are quite tight due to the roof shape not really being ideal, and there is probably not enough cabin length with the berths involved to have another running the width ways of the boat. I do take the point though... spacious bathrooms if possible are always better of course Dan

Hi Jonny Glad you had a good time. I dont think the boat would book very well with just one toilet to ten people! All the best Dan

It looked to be well sanded back on one of my earlier visits... I have been having a regular nosey as my boat is moored in the pool behind the shed where she is! She's still a budget end thirty year old boat and a lot of what has been done has been behind the scenes structural work rather than interior refit I think but I dont think you need worry... a freshly painted boat with a few improved internal bits (forward headlinings etc) should be much more reassuring than one that hasn't to my mind, although yes any bump will show so you will have to be careful! Have a great holiday Dan

I suspect as its June they have lots of other things that need prioritising first. When I was last at the boat, two weeks ago I only had a quick walk past the shed but she had been painted, had the windows back in and had replaced the saloon headlining. If shes not totally finished yet I suspect she will be in the final throws and relax and look forward to your August holiday! Dan

Come on Neil.. where's the rest of the tale... and lets see some piccies! Dan

Thanks folks. Here's a few more piccies for the Aston lovers. Amongst my favourites were Aston Dawn and Aston Seabird & Songbird. Dan

Hi Neil There's no way I'm doing one! Have enough on my plate with the Bounty, FB Wilds, Black Prince and my own websites really, plus we dont want all of these type of websites looking the same! I am a complete bozo and non techie person, so if I can do it it really is true that anyone can. Running three of my websites costs less than £50 a year so it can also be done at little cost. The software I use is a bit out of date now (and only tends to run perfectly on Internet Explorer which has reduced in popularity/usage over the years) but there are lots of ways you can do it, including hosting packages and softwares that are still fairly cheap for small sites and sort out any tricky bits for you. I dipped my toe in it as I thought the story of the Caribbeans (and the influence/direction change they startted that is still significant & evident today) needed to be told and in the absence of anyone else doing it thought I best I did. There seems to be lots of people as interested in thre subject here so it would be great to see, especvially as this thread alone has generated & produced some great pictures.. you never know what more may emerge with a whole website about them! Anyway if not hopefully more pictures will come to light here... I do enjoy looking back in time! Dan

Here's an ex Aston one I snapped last week Dan P.S I still say get an Aston website together!

What a cracking thread this is. Surely with all this info and some great photos coming to light there's enough info for someone to start an owners website? Would be great to see that happen, especially now the company has closed. Sounds like the Aston Mersey as Rambling Freedom looks right then. I thought it was a BMC 2.5 actually but sounds like this has been checked and a 2.2. I did take her for a short cruise last year and she certainly handled superbly. Suprisingly responsive and light for a boat of her length All the best Dan

Hi Jill Topcraft are still going strong on Oulton Broad. They also have a new boat for this year - "Blue Kestrel" which hopefully is finished or not far off now but most of the increase in numbers seems to have happened on the more popular northern rivers. All the best Dan

Hi Jill I dont think it's right to say the holiday trade is dying on its feet. Boom times are here again for UK holiday companies and the Broads is no exception. There are significant increases in numbers through significant additions at Le Boat (prebiously Connoisseur) who off the top of my head have around 40 (?) more, Richardsons must have around 30 more, DRL at Womack must have about 13 and were a new hirefleet for last year, Freedom have around 13 and only appeared two or three seasons back to quote just three examples... numbers may have significantly reduced since the 70s, and numbers were still reducing five years ago but the trend has gone the other way for now, fleets are growing not folding. I have my concerns and interests in when this pocket of boom time falls slightly but for now (and hopefully for the future too) things are very good All the best Dan

Hi Jill An interesting list. This was the year I first visited and it brought back a few memories, both of the yards that have long since closed and also some of the people running those at the time that are still going today with different people heading them. The name of the chap running Crown Cruisers at Somerleyton rings a bell for some reason Dan

Hi Jill I reckon a hireyard would have more incentive and urgency in keepng areas clear as I can imagine the grief and letters of conplaint to them and their agents if the key areas were badly fouled. Someone moaning in reception with another stack of arrivees would not create the kind of repeat business impression you have to work towards if having any intention of staying around for the long term. Also if they have done a long journey loo breaks for dogs will also have happened mid journey.. I would suspect the privately/independently owned purely berthing marinas would be more of an issue if anything, especially as hirers tend to board there boats and go, whereas boat owners often stay in the yard longer, doing jobs, sleeping aboard in the yard more regularly etc. They also do not need to continually generate the same amount of new or returning business that a holiday company has so their outlook could be different if they were of the mindset, especially as private berths are not in an abundant supply in relation to demand. Just a few differents thoughts on the same situation anyway.... All the best Dan

I dont think Richos have sold any of their AF33's. If it's green it's probably ex Ferry Marina, as they had some built in the 80s that were green. A quick look at http://www.horning.org.uk/boats.php should provide some interesting information on your boats past All the best Dan

That crossed my mind too. However, this one has just sold so maybe we should take bets?! http://www.norfolkboatsales.co.uk/boats ... e=Amicitia Dan

Sounds more like Arkwright's Store to me! What a great tale, a shame to have lost such characters! Dan

Hi Everyone Good to see that despite selling three of their bigger more expensive boats Moonfleet Marine have now added "Moon Quest" to their line-up, joining other late addition "Moon Adventure" in their short break fleet, which also looks great in their modernised livery http://www.moonfleetmarine.co.uk/shortbreaks.php All the best Dan

Hooray, great news! Good to hear of an extra boat in the fleet. The 27 Sedan's are neat little boats so look forward to seeing it in the fleet. All the best Dan

Hi Trevor No idea I'm afraid, and they are not listed on their sales website. All the best Dan

Hi Neil There were two Elysian 34s there the other week. The dividing door off 'Louisa is currently looking great in my office! I have to decorate at my parents this week but will hopefully make a start on it soon All the best Dan

Hi Andy What was it you were wanting to know? I've attached a few pictures I took inside her last year. Have you bought her? She was for sale at Richardsons last time I saw her All the best Dan

Hi Geoff Great tale and some cracking pictures I like you often used to book one of Richardsons great value range as I'd rather go more often or for longer on a basic boat than less often on a more expensive. I used to like the fact that even if you booked an older one they had still be kept up to a good standard inside & mechanically in good running order. I found I couldn't count on the same being true of some other yards (the most memorable are no longer running hirecraft). All the best Dan P.S Did you notice the boats former name ("Bonne Vie") faded in the fibreglass from when she was on hire in France?

Hi Ian Richardsons Bolero, Go Boatings Superstar and Alpha's Spitfire stye are all the same mould - Alpha Highliner 44' Go Boating used their own window shape but those three are the exact same mould. If WRC have now produced a centre cockpit boat at similar proportions I guess there will be similarities, but I reckon each will have their own distinctive individuality, especially if the Ferry ones are going to look anything like their dual steer models! All the best Dan

It was sad to see them close, and the numbers of craft produced for Ireland, France etc that were not that long ago coming out of there, but good that there is new craft being produced at Horning Ferry marina & soon Richardsons. At least some of those staff and expertise that existed at recent sizeable builders such as Le Boat/Connoisseur Wroxham and Aquafibre etc may have been able to find work at the new setups and the skill and craftmanship does not get lost through all the jobs going with no alterntives, and their Sister company (Broom) live on so production increasing to meet demand should always be an option for the future I would hope. Still, I cant see there being another company setting up iminently to the same scale as Aquafibre were building at say ten years ago in all truth... but at least there is reasonable production levels (and the likeliness of that continuing/growing) at the places you mention. All the best Dan