[A Holiday (on) Melody]

Hi,

Great holiday tale, now looking forward to my break in July on Pacific Sunshine. I noticed in the photos they show Juliette, not sure if Jayne was around as well. Either way she needs about 5ft 11 for Potter so would take a miracle to get under unless they ballast here down. Believe it hasn't seen more than 5ft 9 in recent weeks so they must be Either running here from Potter or getting the whole yard on here to way here down 

Neil 

[Brinks Encore Plus]

Forgot to say I am surprised it had no brushes on the roof. Bit tight on a boat that would cost you 175k private. I can only think it maybe considered part of the ventilation for the BSS. All the ones I have hired had them as I have slept in the saloon essential out if season 

Neil 

[Brinks Encore Plus]

Hi Simon, 

Great write up.

Any idea who built here? I hired Silver Coral and she was built by Silverline along with Brinks Encore 1 and 2. I know what you mean about the island bed. The only boat where that worked that I hired was Swan Reflection as you didn't need to put your feet under the side. Pointless in a Heritage 286/Opal as they are not wide enough to fit an Island properly. Bolero had a lovely interior sprung mattress which was more traditional and fitted. Pacific Sunshine has a more spacious loo and is very reasonably priced, I have got here in July. 

Surprised the upholstery was tired, I believe no6 dates from 2021. 

All the best and looking forward to your Thames write another favourite of mine

Neil 

[Eastick Falcon 26]

Hi Heartbeat,

Good luck with your restoration. Looking at the Horning boat database and from memory I believe your boat started as Blue Gem at Richardsons of Stalham probably about 1974ish and was likely one of the first Gem class boats built after the Rank organisation bought Richardsons.  I believe when the Rank Organisation bought Bert Bushnells of Maidenhead she may have moved to the Thames keeping the Blue Gem name cc 1979 onwards. Here Broads registered number suggests she was recommissioned on the Broads in 87/88 as Richardsons now back under familyownership moved the Bushnells fleet back to the Broads. She initially operated out of Richardsons,later moving to Horning Pleasurecraft a sister yard becoming Caspian, then finally joining Hearts Cruisers again now a Richardsons yard as Heartbeat, leaving in 2002 when Richardsons closed Hearts eventually being sold into private hands. 

All the best

Neil 

[Hire Fleet Changes 2024]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the update, I wondered what Silverline would be building for Richardsons next. Interesting and I am being picky here at Richardsons some of the details aren't strictly speaking correct. Broadway 7 was new on hire last year so 8 and 9 are new for 24. The other 20 new boats last year are presumably Silverline which although very nice and some are recent builds I think new to the fleet would be more appropriate. In fact they added 23 in total as Amore 2 and 3 plus Bella Maria were also added last year.

Neil 

[Come On A Norfolk Broads Train Ride]

As far as I know the old Brundall station gates were still in operation until February 2020 so you don't have to be too old to remember them. As far as I can remember they were manually operated until the end but I maybe wrong?

Neil 

[Richardsons]

I recently had a week at Brundall however as a boat nerd I spent 5 days touring what wasn't flooded including numerous trips to Richardsons new cafe. Most of my trips I saw no more than one/two people in the cafe which to be honest I wasn't expecting to be open with little or no passing trade. It was the first time I had been round the yard since hiring Swan Romance in 2019. What a change,  the reception, cafe and several out buildings have all been renewed or refurbished to a decent standard, lots of new tarmac and parking. They have completely rebranded with charter rather than hire. 

Having spent a fair chunk of change on all this new investment they are now going to dig it all up and start again which they are perfectly entitled to do and in many ways its good to see new investment. Particularly when yards like Nbd are mothballing investment plans due to increasing licence fees, cost of living, end of staycation. I guess Richardsons must have a very friendly bank manager, money left over from prior sales or a magic money tree although I believe their bookings are some of the best on the Broads relatively speaking. 

Looking at plans I am glad to see Acle seeing some much needed investment, I am slightly more sceptical about Stalham although I guess the proof is in the pudding. The main boat shed and ancillary sheds are close to the boats, the new main shed is some way from the shed so the staff will have to be very fit or a truck will be needed to carry Linen etc. The lodges appear to be next to the road industrial area opposite with a large car park not exactly scenic Waterside, although the location of the old main shed is now going to be  mainly greenery. 

Not sure what the difference is between Charter and Charter storage unless storage is for all the boats they are selling? Either way the fleet is set to drop from 214 currently to either 190 or 130, hopefully the former. Also interested to see the public moorings on the main river. I didn't realise Rickos owned the land opposite Broads Edge.

As has been suggested I imagine planning was pushed through with the help of the visitor centres, education facilities and I maybe cynical however Greg Munford was very understanding of the increase in BA boat fees a while back (23 year). I Guess he wouldn't want to rock the boat so to speak. 

I don't want to be negative about new investment I just hope this all works out.

Neil 

 

 

 

 

[Hire Fleet Changes 2024]

Florida light is a good little boat around 40 years old and originally operated by Kingline as New Florida Queen however Woods appears to have made some effort to upgrade the interior fairly recently. The flooring,  galley and parts of the saloon and upholstery have all been replaced/upgraded. It still has the Bmc engine though.

Surprised Shining light is for sale as she dates from around 2000 a relatively new member of their classic fleet. I do believe they have atleast one new boat in build to replace and those for sale I imagine will help finance a sister to Platinum without the hybrid bits so I understand. I also saw a shell for a Starlight not sure whether it's a day cruiser or a 2 berth or indeed even a private build.  In theory the fleet will drop from 124 boats to 121/2 depending on how many new builds they have.

Neil

[New Jack Powles History Website]

Wow, thanks for posting Neil, a great read I love the history of Broads boatyards. You learn little snippets of information that you would never know about for example my family hired Wayford Witch from Bowers Craft at Wayford in 1978, a lovely little Hampton Safari but the yard was the most ramshackle place I has ever been from. The yard loo was in an old caravan which made Glastonbury festival facilities seem luxurious, now I learn that they built the entire 6 strong Star Tracker class the year before for an international boat builder. This is like finding out Caracatus Potts  knocked out a fleet of Ferraris before he finished Chitty Chiity Bang Bang.

Neil 

[Boat Brokers]

The bulk of the original Sancerres were built between 1977 and 1980 ish by Bondons of South Walsham, around 16 were built for hire then plus some private builds although Russell Marine who took over Bondons built few more in the early 2000s inc one for hire. From my travels on the Broads and Fens I would guess a good half of those built now reside on the Great Ouse and Cam.

With regard to A/F 32 with the side galley, a number were built on or for the Thames hire operators, although these tended to be early examples cc 1983 rather than 1988, Caversham boat Services at Reading have one still on hire.

Neil 

[A Bargain?]

Hi,

Le Boat does this very thing on the Thames at Chertsey. With boats travelling between Benson and Chertsey. I used to remember it being very much a man/woman with a van , a mechanic who also did the trial run and a cleaner with all the linen and some spares. The boats were using leased pontoon moorings within a private marina and reception pointing to the pontoon where you needed to pick your boat up, you dropped your stuff at the pontoon parked in the marina car park and away you went.

Neil 

[A Bargain?]

Simon, 

You are correct about Woods and Hearts although I believe it may have been two or three similar classes including Tropical Heart and Ray of Light (Caribbean 39), without digging out the old brochures I am not sure whether there were any others although there were a few similar classes which could have been used as swaps. If my memory serves me correctly le boat did talk about one way cruises between Horning and Somerleyton and Connoisseur may have tried it for one season between Wroxham and Brundall. 

I think even Len Funnell thought about it as he intended to start up a Brundall yard at Brundall Bay marina, the ex Woods boats were renamed ready for the new yard however never operated from Brundall and stayed at Woods.

Neil 

[An Adventure Of Mystique]

Hi Simon, great holiday tale.

I see plenty of Ideal 45s still for sale 5 of 8 after nearly 2 years clearly the larger boats are harder to shift. Whilst the smaller premium boats appear to be harder to shift on hire in August. I notice Broadway 7 is one of the craft still available, this being brand new and the first built by Silverline.

Neil 

[Hire Yards Of Yesteryear]

Just found my Dad's old list of yards and fleet sizes probably taken from a late 50s or early 60s Blakes brochure. The total was 635 boats, not sure how accurate it is however the old brochures did list class numbers upto about 1974 for Blakes.

Allen 7

Bell Boats 10

Bondon 11

Broom 26

Chumley and Hawke 11

Ernest Collins 30 yachts only

Collins pleasurecraft 18

Darby 10

Dawncraft 14

Easticks 16

Eastwood Whelpton 11 yachts 

English 3

Ferry boatyard 17

Fowler 9

Freeman 16

Hampton 7

Hearts 13

Hefft 7

Hunter 1

Jenners 25

Johnson 6

Landamore 22

Loynes 17

Neatishead 11

Norfolk Broads yacht company 9

Norfolk holiday boats Horning 24

Powles  31

Princess cruisers loddon 11

Richardsons 77

Ripplecraft 14

Sabberton 12

Sanderson 8

Smiths 13

Southgate 12

Sutton Staithe 7

Sunboats Acle 8 (became Horizon craft)

Truman 4

Turner 4

Ward 21

Wayford Marina 3

Windboats 23

Woods 63

He also put the numbers in each class however not the names of the boats. I wonder where I got my anorak love of boat details from? Some yards I have never heard off including Norfolk holiday boats with 24 craft. Even then Richardsons were the largest, presumably based at Stalham by then to accommodate 77 boats vs 30 or 40 at Oulton 

Neil 

 

[Hire Yards Of Yesteryear]

That's interesting, I wondered who started Faircraft. I knew Len Funnells first yard on the Broads I believe was Faircraft.

As far as I know he started in the mid 70s though , so perhaps he bought the yard you are talking about. A company called trail marine was also involved. Initially he took over the old R. Moore yard in Marsh Road and also had a small yard in Brundall. In 1981/2 he bought the Lloynes boatyard at the Bridge, the Marsh road yard became properties and sometime after the old Norfolk Broad yacht Co yard which became Roy's DIY and George Smith dayboat operation, now part of Richardsons. 

You could probably write a book on Lens broads yards and ownership, his involvement/takeovers have included Herbert Woods, Chumley and Hawke, Burehaven, Brundall Gardens Marina, Harbour Cruisers, Harvey Eastwood (owned the yard,  didnt run it), Waveney River Centre, Ferry Marina, Alan Johnson Boats, plus many others which of course now includes a return to his old Faircraft Lloynes yard reaquired and run by his son in law. 

Neil 

 

 

[Hire Yards Of Yesteryear]

Mixer Marine were based at Broads Edge, although they weren't that small, at their peak in the late 70s early 80s they had nearly 30 boats. 10 Montego Horizon 35s  about 16 Bounty 37 Tropicanas and Tahitis plus 3 Alpha 32 Roncardos. 

Other yards possibily not mentioned inc Bowers Craft Wayford Marine hired Wayford Witch in 1978.

Corig Cruisers at Thorpe

Neatishead Boatyard at Wayford. 

Babik Boats at Hoveton

Zodiac Cruisers at Hoveton

Bernard Press at Hoveton who worked with Fineway near George Smiths

Various Coral Craft

Nerina boatyard Horning 

Colin Facey Ex Turner of Horning

Woods Dyke Horning 

Pool craft at Beccles 

Bondon South Walsham which became Russell Marine

Aquamarine Loddon

Broadland Cruisers Loddon 

Worsley Craft Loddon which became Greenway

MistralCraft opposite the Staithe now houses 

Walkin Cruisers next to Pacific 

Bell boats Brundall the houseboats are still there 

These are from 70-90s if you go back further their were loads more 

Neil 

 

 

[Bargate]

I always call it Surlingham Broad and always will, even though that's technically incorrect. To be honest I have called it that for 50 years so wont be changing soon, I blame all the guides and relatives who have always referred to it as that, just like Ranworth is Malthouse. I am awkward like that.

Anyway It's a great peaceful mooring with plenty of wildlife. I mudweighed two/three weeks back and was fine. I think the only issue I saw was plenty of weed or undergrowth in parts, no prop issues just a collection on the mudweight

Neil 

[Hire Fleet Changes 2023]

I believe the intention is to replace only  one of the boats if a suitable one becomes available. Originally I think the idea was to have 4 Friday and 4 Saturday start boats instead of 5, to make life easier on a Saturday. Although I see Diamond is going to move from Friday to Saturday start next year so they may have had rethink. I hired Imperial back in 2012 and found it be okay, Hamptons of Oulton Broad built here in 1990 and as far as I know used some real wood, she did need a complete strip down and revarnish. The upholstery and flooring were tired however they have been replaced since I hired here. I didn't hire Breeze only here predecessor Swift, a good little boat all be it a little lacking in headroom the front although it benefitted from a low airdraft which allowed us to have great music night at the Locks Inn in 2006

Neil 

[Hire Fleet Changes 2023]

The traditional aft cockpit is on the endangered list, Woods, Barnes and NBD have got rid of all of there's, Rickos have just 3, Ferry have 3, Martham have 1, Eastwood Whelpton 1, NYA have 1 and Brooms 2 , that's all I can think of. Pacific Breeze is also the last Aft cockpit Elysian 27 on hire on the Broads all be it a Bounty 27 mk 3 version, one of I think the last 3 built for hire in 1996 (the final 2 were 97 and 2000) and originally all with Castle Craft St Olaves. Hopefully Richard and Fiona have found a suitable replacement for these two assuming they do let them  go

Neil 

 

[Two Moorings Lost?]

Just come back from a week on a Brooms boat. In there video they advise not to mudweight overnight and not to overnight on rond anchors on the subject of health and safety gone mad. Of course I ignored them on both counts and are still alive to tell the tale. Langley Dyke is one of my favourite moorings on the South by the way, moored twice in May and by the sounds of it glad I did

Neil 

[What Is Going On At Loddon?]

Loos are 20p now payable by card only when I was there last week. 

Neil

[Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone]

Hi,

On the Waveney Rowan craft at Geldeston have one £90 per day According to the Web. Hippersons at Beccles have 5/6, Bridge stores at St Olaves have some. Waveney River Centre at Burgh St Peter had a couple (previously a dozen or so) when I went past a couple of days ago although I am not sure they let them out to the public anymore possibly just residents. There is a fleet of day boats at Oulton Broad too.

Neil 

[Ferry Marina Offer]

Mr Nog,

I see your comments about a Swan built Alpha 31 and agree they are lovely boats and we had some good holidays on Swan Reflection and Romance. If time and money were no object I think an Alpha 31 or A/f 28 Opal/Heritage 286 would be ideal, nice size and bridge friendly to reach all those picturesque stretches, Dilham, Geldeston, Belaugh etc.

Neil 

[Ferry Marina Offer]

I suspect some of the last minute offers and relatively good weather we have at the moment is helping the likes of Woods. Half term next week so everyone should do well in theory although the margins and prices will be high and a deterrent for some. Rickos still have some reasonable prices on the classic fleet and tend not to discount similarly Bridgecraft who have a good service record too. What surprised me is that with Silverline pulling out of the South from a hire perspective,  that Pacific are not pulling in many more people, they offer good prices and service on lovely quiet waters, yet the vast majority still flocks to the North. 

Neil

[Ferry Marina Offer]

Simon,

To answer your question definitely Brooms have cut the base prices and l am told Pacific cruisers have reduced the prices, not sure about the others as I have not got hard copy records to refer back to, plus of course clearly stated special offers in Hoseasons and Woods and Ferry. Interesting that some yards are shifting some of there older boats which tends to fit in with the cost of living and high prices some have been charging. I also see that the 2 new Platinum lights (with a 3rd in the shed) are nearly fully booked this season so still demand for some of the premium boats. 

Neil