Mark

As like Alan we do too having bought it this season, no issues with Pic quality at all. Sound is not brilliant (as you would expect from a small flat screen) but more than adequate on board. Very simple to use and also has built in DVD. For £150.00 I wouldnt complain.

Many thanks for that and we look forward to it. She was indeed immaculately maintained - although we will be replacing the canopy. The surveyor was very impressed with her given she was both a hire craft and 25 years old .. No "red" font recommendations and only a few relatively minor " blue" advisories.

Bryan, that was me on what used to be Grenada Girl. We haven't moved her to Horning those were "celebratory drinks" following that mornings completion and out on first cruise, and passing the New Inn. Didn't get the impression that anything much is happening that doesnt happen at other yards when it comes time for one reason or another to sell a boat on, although I,ve not seen any replacement boats. Howard: Grecian was indeed the drop nose and was sold via NYA last year at end of season Mr Cabby: Correct and she will be out of the water after the bank holiday for the livery to be removed and new paint job on the roof (She is in her original gel coat ) and some small changes (anti foul colour and bootline added) to help emphasise the now private nature and also for us to officially rename her - it was a very quick sale and completion !

Dave, as mentioned elsewhere the £25.00 is a choice for owners to have an external clean on Thunder by Ricos , whilst the internal is done weekly via hired cleaners sourced by BCBM and paid out of running costs. There is a perennial debate as to if the internal clean is value for money as the syndicate pays the cleaners fixed weekly as part of the contract so owners cant pick and chose to do it themselves on individual weeks and not pay. If there are enough on Goosander who support the idea of fixed weekly hired cleans it might be worth checking with BCBM and ask if they can give you the nbr for a quote. They do three syndicate boats at Richardsons in Horning already so would be easy for them to come across opposite and clean Goosander as well ?

Russ , I,m Chairman of the Thunder Syndicate, if you need any further info / questions just PM me. We currently have a half share (2 weeks) and very shortly a full 4 week share.

A full share in Thunder costs £71 a month in running costs so £852 a year. Add the Management fee its a total of £1,296. Our owners also work on the boat. WM and any upgrades done during it and agreed at the AGM are of course also extra . Repairs / replacements etc during the season come out of the account to which the £71 goes to. Last season for eg we had a new cooker/hob added and also a battery charger amongst other things as the £71 maintains a healthy bank balance for these very things.

.. and now go back to all our discussions and mails etc about trying to go self managed last year and how everyone was happy to take the savings but not many volunteering to get involved- who,d, be a Chariman :-)

Yes fully agree and no offence taken, shares have gone for even lower in last years or two . I was using the e.g. of how even a low priced low liner would not necc equate to a cheaper individual costs for lower nbr of owners. Thunder was indeed refurbished some 10 years ago at Brooms and even as recently as 2015 shares were still going at close to 8k. In the last year we have invested in a new engine, rewired her, and in Feb will have new Teak effect carpeting thru out so a further investment but I doubt the current share price will go up to reflect this either.

James, that 3.1K is before you allow for weekly turnarounds and servicing, we will pay around 2K on Thunder per annum for that (and that excludes things like the new battery charger, labour , heating wiring etc) so unless you are allowing for the Syndicate to be local owners doing this (and also cleaning) themselves then you would need to consider it as you would nt want to arrive and not be able to go. Also a basic average WM without upgrades etc has normally come in at between £400 and £500 per owner over 12.5 shares, so taking a mid point £450 x 12.5 = £5,625 would be £1,125 per owner instead if only 5. Then with a AF38 lowliner built in the 90,s if you could purchase for say 40K thats 8K per share to start before any upgrades that may be required. Lastly if a major upgrade is required and 1 owner defaults then you have a bigger issue. That's not to say its a bad idea, just that I would see the trade off as one of accepting that overall there is likely to be more cost due to fewer owners putting in but the return is that you have more freedom to do the upgrades (if like minded people) and also more weeks out if one has the free time other than at w/.ends due to work

Nor else where on line, hence the "if true " bit in my comment :-) Will be interesting to see how this one plays out after the footpath issue and the being mindful of the tidal aspect etc.

Alpha 34 would be a good choice based on what you have said 2 appeared recently "Happy Jack" on Broadland Yacht Brokers and Enterprise on the NYA and both seemed to go under offer almost immediately

There is over on "the other side" a post stating that according to the BA planning website it has only been withdrawn with a re-submission proposed by the end of the year. If true then given the relatively short time lag it may be that they have attempted to address some of the concerns expressed first ?

I.m not sure that Haines were very successful in their endeavour !

Thunder is 6ft 10 with the nav lights... although it is of course arguable what she would be if it measured with an empty water tank and low fuel :-)

Cheers , I,ll ask the Question direct

Best options for a quote anyone ?

The gradual loss of service quality , the increase in prices, plus lack of follow up to queries was one of the main reasons we moved Thunder North in March. I remember speaking to Malcolm this tine last year when fueling and pumping out and him telling us that they would be shutting the fuel jetty earlier and wanting to tell him that at our AGM the following month we would almost certainly be voting to move. Nothing since has caused us to regret that move.

Ah but perhaps Anthropocene Climate change has helped delay this ? Maybe if we ever hit Global CO2 reductions the new ice age will hit extra hard (by ice age standards)

There is also the "rebound" effect on the land as the Glacier melts. For eg Scotland is ever so slightly "rising" as its Highland glacier/snow cover melts relieving the weight of its downward pressure on the crust , and in turn the UK tilts with the East driven "downwards" into the sea and so getting a double whammy !

Matt, the good news is that the warm weather is with until October so those of us with an 8% share get a decent Autumn week too :-) Great pix and looking forward to early Sept

Shaun, I,m Chairman of Thunder so feel free to PM me with any queries or can have a chat if you wish. Thunders turnaround day is Saturday so you would normally be able to have a look then and could be set up in the morning with the owner coming off, or alternatively BCBM have a guy who can show you around at that time if the owner needs to get away. Currently there is one share for sale.

Shaun, Matt has beatem me to it on the other items , but ref cleaning, this is inc in the fixed annual costing. Thunder had been at Brundall since the syndicate started, so this is the first time she has moved. Unless owners are not happy with Ricos or the site it is not likely that we would wish to move back, and this is for the same reasons (all in all) that we left. The "home base" is however an item on the AGM each year so technically we could be at a different base each year but in practise the Syndicate boats do not move very often, and it only comes up if owners have an issue. If you do have any other questions just let me know.

Hi Shaun, London Lad/Andy has answered much of what you were asking about but just as an aside we on Thunder are currently having our engine replaced at Richardsons having voted to move base from Brundall to Horning this season. As far as the expense is concerned, anything that is suggested/needed gets discussed at the AGM , voted on and provisons made. In this case we first discussed the engine issue it at the 2016 AGM and voted to set up a reserve fund so that members increased their monthly contributions for a period of time to cover the majority of the costs that we will now incur this month. We currently have a share for sale as you may have seen from the BCBM site and if you do need any info pls just PM me. The engine is currently being fitted over these two weeks which is also our WM so any share purchase from anyone now would be after completion. Valet cleaning on board is done each week at turnaround time by a cleaner employed by BCBM

Hi Allan, yes indeed and my first sentance may not have been clear. Because BCBM are not the registered owner is the reason why they dont pay the Tolls directly ( as another poster was suggesting) I should have perhaps said "..and because BCBM are not the registered owner the Toll demand is actually instead addressed to whoever is from the Syndicate :-)

..and because BCBM are not the registered owner (to whom the Tolls are addressed & sent) £616.80 for Thunder this season, up £18.72 or 3% . Equates to £1.48 additonal per 8% or equivalent share holder, or more importantly £49.34 per share overall.. taking Sues point earlier.