Captain

Hi, If it's two digits it more likely to be the later sister boats Star Victor's E11-E13 or Star Magna D31/D32 and less likely D213 based on Craig's list Neil

Hi Bikertov, yes the 2 Gleaming Lights are Broom 35 coupes as suggested. They were fitted out by Woods and launched in 2019 and 2021 Neil

Andy, I recommend the Fens and Bridge boatyard. The rivers are quiet and very scenic in the main, the locks are few and far between and easy to operate, some of the tributaries make the Chet look wide and the pubs are generally good, mooring tend to be free and for 48hrs. On the Cam you can moor directly outside the Fives miles pub on a decent quay heading for upto 48 hours without booking all for free with good food and beer on the doorstep. Cambridge is also free however for some reason the quay heading has fallen into disrepair with bolts sticking and unmown grass, personally I would rather pay a fee there and get a better mooring. The 15 boats tend to be compact and date mainly from the 70's and early 80's although they have 1997 Alpha aft cockpit and 4 relatively modern narrowboats I still tend to hire the old favs Sunseeker and Sunquest as they can fit into the moorings easier. They are all solid, well cared with updated fixtures and are decent value. Black Prince have 4 narrow boats running from the yard as well. Neil

I am thinking Bridgecraft maybe a possibility for a cruise on the North, the boats and yard appear to get good reviews and they haven't pushed their prices up to silly levels. My only concern is that the boats appear to be old school in their interiors I appreciate the immaculate outside however they seem to have an awful lot of Vinyl flooring and even vinyl berths brings back memories of cold out of season berths or hot and sticky berths in the summer. Are all their boats like that or just some or certain berths. Thanks Neil

Andy, I believe Barnes properties of which there are currently 15 have day boats included with the exception of peak season therefore potentially nearly half of Barnes day boats could be out in the evening without evening official hire, assuming they don't do evening hire as well. Neil

No need to apologise. We regularly moor in Langley Dyke and I remember being on a Swan boat when Reflection 2 moored in front, then again that could have been September 2014 and on Romance in June 2015. Neil

I am sure I read on Facebook that NBD are closed for the season for boat hire, I believe the holiday homes and maybe some of the trip boats remain in part service or for Santa cruises not sure about the day boats. I guess Len has decided winter hire isn't worth the hassle, more trade for Ferry, Woods etc I guess although less choice for customers. Neil

I think forward bookings are looking good so far for 22 although I suspect with the opening up of foreign travel we are no longer looking at full capacity next year. On a positive side there should be a few returnees from the staycation boom of 20/21. I too have noticed a fairly substantial increase in prices including what I would call value yards, I just hope we don't kill the golden goose as Andy has described with high prices and relatively poor infrastructure. Looking at the numbers I quoted earlier for new boats these are slightly skewed as for exampl Nbd introduced 11 in 2011, Swan no longer build for hire, Richardsons have stopped building. Brooms haven't introduced any new hire boats since 2019 although still build for other people and Ferry's new build for 21 is being sold to the private market. On a positive note Horning Pleasurecraft are building now however realistically we are looking at a build rate of no more than a 10 a year for the hire fleets out of 620 boats allowing for a fall of 40 from Sanderson's and Richardsons etc. Neil

Good question. I can't say how many private boats are built by the yards however I have totted up the approximate new builds introduced by each yard for hire in their own fleet between 2011 and 2021 for yards that come to mind. Remember however that some yards subcontract out building to other yards for example a large proportion of Barnes recent classes were built by Brooms and Silverline. Ferry had some from Haines etc Richardsons 35 (stopped building in 2019) Faircraft(Nbd) 29 Barnes 28 Brooms 24 Herbert Woods 18 (plus 9 day cruisers) Ferry Marina 14 ( plus 5 at Waveney River Centre and day Cruisers) Silverline 5 Swancraft 4 Neil

Hi, Good to see the Topliner with a caravan, ridiculous however Topcraft must have been one of the most innovative small yards around. Looking at the 1988 brochure for example they still had Lady of Leisure class which was a unique almost home made conversion of a Carribbean into a fly bridge cruiser. Neil

Hi Annv, Thanks for the clarification, I am sure you are right regarding the insurance claim, the flop comment was based on a possibily wrong assumption that as they only lasted a couple of years that was the case. Goes to show you should n't make assumptions! Neil

Hi with regards to the dates in NBS I would take some , not all with a pinch of salt. I could quote numerous examples where ages boat types etc are not correct and I am certainly not claiming to be an expert. For example I reviewed the Hoseasons brochures from 1988 and 1994 last night which confirms when the the Topliner 4 and 2 berths first appeared. The caravan boats were not however marketed by Hoseasons and were built earlier however not as early as 1987, they were subsequently rebuilt cc 1994 as 2 berths so the hull perhaps dates from 1991 and the rear cabin from 1994! Neil

Can I just clarify that the first Topliners were the two cabin versions in 1988 to 1991, they then in 91/92 built 2 Carolinas which were unique in that could carry a touring caravan, finally in 93/94 they built the 2 berth version. The caravan versions were a flop and were converted cc 94 to the 2 berth versions, giving 3 of each class in total. Neil

Plus the second hand market is strong at the moment, likely to get more or less what they paid for it back, a good time to sell. Although as Liz says they likely had issues with it, although if it was my boat I would of thought some of those issues would have been obvious from the outset before they bought it, perhaps family or financial circumstances changed, who knows. Neil

Jean, Sorry I believe Bella Donna is a Viking fit out still based on the Alpha 31 based on a Barnes layout though. Neil

Thanks Jean, The Shadow 31 was Swan's fit out of the Alpha 31, I believe Bella Donna is a Heritage 31 effectively Barnes fit out of the Alpha 31 now that they own the mould with the layout based on Brinks Sonnet. I will have to compare my photos of the various classes to see where they differ, it appears to me the issue maybe particularly with the entry and exit points. By the way believe you moored Infront of us in 2012 on Swan Reflection 2 when we were on no 1 in Langley Dyke one of our favourite moorings, also our first time on a Swan boat, certainly one of the best boats and yards I have hired (out of 55 hired). Neil

I believe most small and medium yards used to clean the boats top to bottom, nowadays as far as I know only Bridgecraft and Silverline Oh and Summercraft carry out the all over clean, sadly. I think Occasionally some of the larger yards do smarten up some of the posher boats hulls if they get particularly bad, if they have the time. Neil

Jean, Thanks for the review and holiday tale, my favourite boats when cruising with my Mum are usually Alpha 31 and Alpha 35 bath tubs or similar Aquafibre 28 Opal/Heritage 286's. I have to agree with you regarding the steering position much prefer to be out in the open rather than surrounded by a side window and windscreen, even the old bathtubs Bounty 37 and Horizon 35 from Rickos have opening side windows. Another pet hate of mine is size of ovens and hobs on some of the newer and largely more expensive boats such as Broom Captain class. I appreciate many people want to eat out however we love to wild moor or moor in out of the way places as my Mum appreciates peace and quiet and wildlife. Its strange how fit outs can vary on the same moulds for example I have to agree that Swan Reflection is the best Alpha 31 I have hired, far superior to Evening light for example I hired Pacific Sunshine an Opal 28 this year and have Oasis booked for next year however when I checked Oasis it appeared to have better headroom yet you say you had issues with headroom on the same design. Also you say Reflection is your favourite boat, did you not have headroom issues with that as it's the same mould as Bella Donna or do you think the floor is higher in that boat? Thanks Neil

Hi I am sure someone will be along with a brochure shortly not sure that you will find that specific boat however there were 6 built and if I remember correctly T502 Glistening Stream 1 usually appeared. The Glistening Stream s were renamed Glistening Lights 5-10 cc 1980 merging with the older wooden Glistening Lights when they closed the Southgates main yard in Horning close to the Horning sail club. I hired your boat as Glistening light 8 in 1988 from Woods. The GRP and Wood ex Stream boats ended their hire careers at Hearts Cruisers as Glistening Heart by then part of Richardsons although 1 may have gone from Diamond Cruisers at Horning an offshoot of Horning pleasure craft briefly. I believe your boat was part of an order for 10 of the original 35ft GRP moulds for this design being 6 Glistening Streams, the initial 2 Glenmores and initial 2 Baltimore's. Neil

If anyone needs to know availability on Oasis, she is on Waterways Holidays too. Still weeks free for next season. I am sure the website will be updated shortly Neil

The largest boat in the Le boat fleet I believe are currently the Vision classes at 15m or 49ft not sure of the width however I suspect around 13ft. These were brought in when they closed the Porter Haylett boat building facility I vaguely remember Benetau being mentioned. The Broads limit for general use is 46ft x 12ft 6 although you can have bigger it just isn't allowed down the Chet and various other Areas. Brooms and NYA have wider boats with restrictions. Brinks Emperor is 48 ft and Mirage/Brabazon at Alpha were 50ft although they were built around 1992, the Ba brought in the restrictions partly because of these craft and the rules apply to craft built from 1993 I believe. Nothing to do with you the EU as far as I'm aware. Neil

Yes Simon, Pacific Oasis is the Alpha 31 mentioned on the forum previously. Hired her back in 2007 as Orient Star Neil

I have got Lady Keeleigh booked for a week at Easter on the Thames, my first Thames holiday was on her in 2008 and Kris Cruisers are great. Unlike a lot of yards they held there price's for 21 at 20 levels and give an early Booking discount possibly 10% so if anyone fancies the Thames at discounted 2020 levels they should give them a go although still won't be cheap it's good value for the Thames. June 2 weeks in Scotland followed by a week in September on Pacific Oasis the new boat at Pacific for our usual week of peace on the Southern Broads Neil

What a great find of old boats, yards, Roy's etc. Including Golden plover the oldest cruiser still on hire in the late 70s/early 80s at Lloynes (20s/30s boat). I will need to spend an age studying all the boats. Looks like it was filmed in 1974 just before the arrival of Richardsons Gem fleet however Ranworth appeared to be taken over by a large chunk of the large woodies fleet at Stalham including Fulmars and Broads ventures plus a very nice Hearts cruiser and in the background a Topdeck American houseboat type cruiser from Oulton Broad Must remember my rubber soled shoes! Anyway well worth a watch for a boat spotter like me Neil

Have to agree with the recent comments about hoses. Whilst I don't like to waste water if you know a hose has been in the sun or not used for a while it's always worth running it through. Filled up at Swancraft a few years back and realised it was coming through green so ran it for 30 seconds until it was clear. I have to say a minority of people don't put the hoses back properly so it ends up on the ground picking up all sorts of muck therefore as suggested a quick clean before hand is wise. Neil