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Dan

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Everything posted by Dan

  1. I was taking you back to your earlier comment and asking a question relating to that Across all fleets and waterways I would estimate there was about 12/15 tinted window 6 berth versions running in the very early 80's. Do you believe all were built by Newson's? Dan
  2. Do you believe that all 6 berth variants were built at Newson then? There was an awful lot more than four across all the hirefleets? Dan
  3. Dan

    Hoseasons

    Integrity seems to be quite rare, but it maybe always was as I think he was quite remarkable at the time as well Companies seem to have realised that the message needs to be 'we are on your side/will do right by you', but without the integrity of someone genuinely believing in it or living those values the insincerity of it is normally revealed Dan
  4. All Ideal 40's built in the 6 berth layout had tinted windows, where the 8 berth did not They certainly looked a lot smarter for the tinted windows I always thought Dan
  5. Dan

    Hoseasons

    I too have watched Hoseasons handling with interest.... I cannot believe that after a month they have not adjusted the sails and they still just post (promptly) the same reply to everyone on Twitter asking for a refund & struggling to get through - please DM us your details so we can take a look, and so there is a constant roundabout turning of people posting that they have and haven't heard after XX days, and criticism such as why aren't they offering refunds etc follows. Haven have handled it well I think, stating very clearly (and simply, unlike Hoseasons long winded multiple condition and complex response including suggestions to call to transfer dates but then the recorded message saying you can only speak to someone if departing within 7 days etc) that a directly booked holiday placed for 2020 or 2021 will be refunded if the virus gets in the way. Haven took 30 days to process our refund but you can live with that as passable I think... people will have empathy to the situation if you are clear and fair about it Like Marshman I think those companies that have offered a refund or transfer to another date with a slight reduction/offer (Park Holidays for one I think) chose a good route to help cashflow/not lose all the money out of the business that it can probably not afford (and no doubt a big part of why Hoseasons are not doing what is right, they probably just cannot logistically afford to refund people) whilst still being fair to the customers that it depends on. I think in times of crisis you find out how good people are and whether they are for you or for themselves.... I wonder what James Hoseason would have done ;) Dan
  6. Just seen one of the adapted Aquafibre 42's for sale... https://m.apolloduck.com/boat/aquafibre-42/632513 These look far less successful than the Condor's Vaughan described to my mind! It does make you wonder why they didn't just sell them!? Dan
  7. I think Gainsborough was sold into private hands Also, the internal photos show an ex Crown Blue Line fitout (later Le Boat) so I think if it was Gainsborough they would have used the internals of that one, given they're quite a different finish Dan
  8. I worked for Anglo Welsh between 1994 & 1998 at New Mills... might have even done your handover or helped you moor.... It certainly did work very well and made money. Covering the entire Llangollen (one of the better to sell holidays on) and then quite some distance more was a good draw and these were some of the best booked (plus some of the oldest boats) in the fleet It worked slightly different to how you remember in that you drove to your destination base and got a coach to your start point, so at the end you just drove home. The issues we used to have were mainly logistical. Those I remember well were the centered around the two bases being franchised to different people. This changed towards the end of my time when Anglo Welsh was going/went PLC and was "run" by Bill Furness & David Daynes on the 'top floor'. What went wrong with their period I do not know as I left after an appraisal when they stated they felt most improvements were due to their cash input and I decided that their world/beliefs and mine looked disappointingly different! They seemed to be out within two years themselves. Anyhow, back to one way issues: Both bases were franchised and the boats were owned by the Trevor base (and all major maintenance done by them), we turned them round on a per turnaround basis. This meant bedding was theirs, if you hired a TV(!) it was Trevor's, this meant all this had to go back and too on the coach. My manager spent a lot of time chasing (all the way to Trevor) after the coach with a tele' or box of bedding in the boot, though we suspected he enjoyed being out of the way on turnaround days!!? Most people arrived on time or early for the coach but there would often be one group who hadn't arrived and held things or delayed/annoyed the others A saving could be made by one base putting minimum fuel in for the other base to top up, which got silly but good fun at one point. The coach's were from a small firm local to Trevor and were pretty old.... the one way bookings were enviable and therefore costs weren't a worry The two bases were just a bit too far apart really. I think you needed to do about 8/9 hours a day. If you lost half a day in breakdowns it would be a pressure, or in periods of shorter daylight Other one way routes trialed never worked as well, but Trevor to Great Haywood lasted the distance for quite some time too, the Llangollen seeming to be the common success factor Dan
  9. Perhaps if you had kept the interior completely original, and threw in some wheel trims for an Austin Allegro, I might have been tempted Dan
  10. The 34ft Tropical's look particularly cheap/ideal private boats and I'm sure will go quickly at that price Dan
  11. It's this one - last with Line Azzurro http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=7709&BoatHistory=13252 Dan
  12. It is hard to imagine 3 boats will produce a viable return, and with the loss of their agent it is hard to imagine healthy bookings charts outside of school holidays Dan
  13. You can tell the ownership has changed.... 50% is a dangerous game to play Dan
  14. I always quite like a nod to the past..... Dan
  15. I think you were talking at cross purposes because you rang Swancraft of Brundall not Swancraft of Wargrave (the latter closed ages ago) So they were answering which boats they'd run from their business (they never ran the style you have). I'm not sure there was even ever a connection between the two companies, just a similar name If you look at the photo the rubbing strakes match, you think it was on the Thames at some point and called Harmony 2. Does the gel colour look similar to the photo? Thanks Dan
  16. Was this post missed. Looks like the answer to me??
  17. No, not really Not my style and wouldn't move me nearer to using them as a result, but no nothing wrong with that and perhaps might be appreciated by some who have found themselves needing to find alternative plans and still wanting to go boating Dan
  18. That is surely jumping on the bandwagon defined!
  19. Wow, this is bad news as I've had a few single hires from Richardsons and was thinking I might do this again for an impromptu break at some point this year. I'm more suprised though that as others have said existing bookings taken have been cancelled. Richardsons normally set a pretty good standard of how to do things and sorry but this just doesn't fit that. I always admire big companies who avoid that disastrous (in the longer term) corporate manager or accountant type of thinking, which appears (on the face of it) to have been the reaction here As this appears out of character my first thoughts are something really awful must have happened to force such an unenviable handling/policy change and to cancel long term customers bookings. After long term experiences with them letting people down is not what I would expect from them, ever. No doubt the reasons will become clear with time, hopefully once so it will seem more reasonable, and the business is not changing personality Dan
  20. Ah, this is a real shame. It's clear they hold/held a totally enviable reputation for quality & service so it is a suprise & catches people off guard I guess. There could be so many reasons.... it's unlikely Richardsons have just had a rush of blood to the head so no doubt the truth will out shortly. I would be very disappointed (and a bit suprised) if it were just down to profit & balance sheets (though Accountants have been known, over a five to ten year period to ruin many a great organisation through destroying creativity, stripping staff and assets for short term gain so I guess this too isn't technically impossible, but hey, dont start me on that one ) There could be quite understandable operational issues (retirement, land ownership/landlord complications for example) or many other plausible though still disappointing reasons. I wonder if the houseboats will move to Richardsons Stalham? Dan
  21. It's great to see a less dramatic drop of presence of hire boats at Acle and I really hope they make a go of it. I didnt like the name much to be honest and it didnt fill me with much confidence. Realistically though service & product quality normally wins through and name is largely irrelevant (I probably wouldnt call a business after a green or red piece of fruit either but they seem to have had some success) I notice they say they are using an agent in a fb reply but by well into January there appears to be no website, no listing via agency, yet they talk of February hiring? I'm glad to hear they're using an agent as this should give them a leg up while they establish, especially if the pricing is right. Surely as all the craft have previously been with the agent the photos & layouts therefore already exist with them then listing shouldnt be a great issue to the agent. As a new business I think I'd be ensuring the avenues for the cash flow to roll down were opened as quick as possible.... Dan
  22. Hi Robin I think the Thames hire scene dimished fantastically quickly in numbers of hirecraft. A decade made a massive difference, much bigger than the Broads had seen. There are not many hireboats left in any price brackets really. Dig out your brochures and add up how many boats disappeared between 1993 & 2003, and what percentage of the total number on hire this was. It's a different waterway but there are always similarities and differences so a lot could be learnt by what changed or made people stop hiring. Dan
  23. I'm not that keen to be honest... the colours dont look to complement each other as well as in the earlier ones, though perhaps the fabric needed to be more hard wearing I think brown is otherwise a less pleasing colour and darker finishes can look a bit cheaper to my mind and lighter colours tend to age better and be more timeless & less open to personal preferences and opinions. Dan
  24. Hi Eric Few things to maybe chat over with them so that then you can help them move to a position of making a start without just going all round the houses or wasting too much time: How much would they like to spend roughly (monthly or outright. If monthly next stage is to look at some loans to turn the payment into the amount this will generate How many berths are required (you mention two, are any further berths needed or desirable) Are they happy to have any areas restricted, or any favourite bits of the waterway they have The above point leads to style of boats considered (aft cockpit, centre cockpit, sedan, forward steer, dual etc. Point one may immediately eliminate some) Where will they keep it. Some rough mooring, insurance & running costs are good to have in mind Have they remembered they cant just tur up & go in quite the same way as hiring. Is some time allowed for tidying, maintaining, winterising etc, or if not a bit more cost to factor Dan
  25. The wording is "..parties" This implies more than two people & I always assumed was carefully chosen to not exclude same sex couples Dan
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