Captain

Going back to the original post there were 3 of these Aquafibre 33 Ruby's operating out of Richardsons initially under the Stalham Pleasurecraft brand. I believe when it was initially set up cc 1989/90 it was mainly made up of Johnson yacht Station and Ferry Marina hire boats as has been suggested who may well have still been listed in the Blake's brochure as operating out of those yards therefore for atleast one season the boats operated under the Blake's booking system up at the John Williams end of the yard. As to this class one was ex Ferry the other two were re registered B90 and B92 from another Wateway and I believe came from the Thames as Richardsons were buying everything that floated at the time. Whispering Water class at Waterline Maiden head is a likely candidate. Although the Hoseasons 1988 brochure I am looking at uses a stock Harvey Eastwood boat rather than the actual class so the green livery isn't confirmed Neil

I had Harrier an Alpha craft Alpha 35 with my parents in 1996, it was the last boat I had before I lost my Dad and I absolutely loved the plushness of interior. I appreciate it wouldn't be fashionable these days however I remember the 70s and 80s was a sea of vinyl on the floor and upholstery which maybe practical however I never found it comfortable and we appear to be heading back that way. This was luxury to me button back dralon upholstery carpets, tinted glass and thick dralon type curtains two toilets a mini bath. I take a look at some of the £3000 a week boats today with curtains you can shoot pees through with disdain, I like a black out curtain. Any way it was a good holiday and boat which I always had a soft spot for. Neil

Hi I believe there is a small private marina at the bottom nearest the pub, I know Russell a vlogger who used to post on here nosed into the dyke and turned around fairly sizeable boats down there. Only problem would be if it was very windy or two wide cruisers moored opposite each other at the narrow stretch which may make it impossible to reach. Neil

Wow that's changed, they must have filled that in can't just be silt used to be Priory craft with marina and 25 Alpha built boats! Presumably Priory craft was related or owned by Alpha. Neil

Just checked the Woods website the £4 map is provided complimentary unless you want more than one copy Neil

Hi, Herbert Woods used to provide a decent quality map (2011 and 13) with each booking I presume from the comments on here that may no longer be the case if anyone or Woods could confirm. Neil

Hi, Just back from a week on the Southern rivers, a week of relative peace and tranquility at Geldeston, Langley Dyke, Loddon and mudweighting overnight on Surlingham Broad near a Grebe nest. Saw a barn owl, otters , marsh harriers kingfisher s. Bliss don't let the video put you off. Have a great time. Neil

Hi Broads 01, Second time on Sunshine, nice boat. She is a 1997 Aquafibre 28 Opal built by Hampton boats of Oulton like Imperial hence the distinctive green colour scheme. She is in more or less original spec and was well looked after by her private owner's although she started as Summer Safari in hire. She does have a 240v inverter, shore power connection. A microwave a fairly rare rear view camera a built in hair dryer and Richard has fitted a bow thruster and an extension to make the settee more suitable for sleeping as an alternative berth. Not sure if you have had this type of boat before however she has the usual benefits of a dual slide roof and a large forward cockpit, rear Nanni diesel and handles well for a bath tub. Richard and Fiona give truly excellent personal and friendly service and the prices are competitive too. Not sure if I am letting the cat out of the bag early however they have just acquired an Alpha 31 to complement Sunshine, not sure when she will be available possibly later this season. Ex private although was originally at Russell marine then Moore's Go boating as Orient Star to add to your choice which I hired in 2007 funnily enough. Neil

Thats a blast from the past. I am not sure what is more interesting seeing that yard or how much these old brochures (in my eyes relatively new) are going for as l have a cupboard full somewhere and some only lasted for a season. I don't know much about this one without finding it which would be difficult as I am on Pacific Sunshine at the moment. I do however remember it operated out of Alan Johnson boats yard, nothing to do with Richardsons that was Diamond at Horning, they may have been known as Coral craft briefly and I vaguely remember they may have gone from Acle Dyke (Easticks) and even Brundall at one point. They had an assortment of about 10 boats including some ex Harvey Eastwood 34s and Anchor craft Falcon 26s. The yard may been leased from Len Funnel at the time who operated Alan Johnsons in the late 80s and early 90s and briefly as Acle Ferry boats (may have been brochure only) when this yard ceased. Neil

Sorry chaps, to be honest I don't know the pricing of flotex so I bow to your greater knowledge, consider it more of an opinion on my experience of craft when it is loose fitting and not properly cut Vs properly fitted carpets or flooring. Neil

Hi, Hired Bolero 2 (built 2015) about 4 times a few years back. I think the 360 degree view gives a good idea on the Broom website. It's a lovely little boat, easy to handle and the yard is very friendly and helpful, nothing is too much trouble unlike the other major yard in Brundall although Broom appear to have put their prices up somewhat. I see from the tour most things are unchanged however they appear to have added carpet to the saloon. I suspect this is because the table was scratching the wood flooring. I have to say I am not a lover of the latest wood or vinyl flooring or upholstery which appears to hark back to the 70s, I am sure it looks good however when I wake in the night or morning I like my feet to land on something comfortable and relatively warm particularly out of season. The carpets they fit are proper pile variety not cheap flotex. As to the question most of the storage is in the rear cabin there is a full height wardrobe behind the mirror and a large double doors cupboard and shelf above. Believe also two drawers under the rear berth which was interior sprung when we hired. The saloon has two drawers under the settee and a small covered area, there is also a small cupboard on the right of the settee. The shelf behind the settee is sat upon one of the galley cupboards not the engine, this is rear mounted and relatively quiet. The galley is well equipped however they didn't include a colander when I hired, the Fridge is an okay size however a little smaller than Silver Coral and Brinks Encore which are similar boats. When I hired Bolero 1 and a 2 burner hob and number 2 had a 3. Hope this is some help, either way you will have a great time Neil

I believe the Bounty 37 and indeed the Horizon 35 both appeared in 1971, 5 years after the original Grp bathtub Caribbean. So 50 years this year and quite rare outside of Richardsons. Richardson s Bounty/solar 37 and 44 were largely built in/for 1975 part of Rank Organisation Gem investment. Others earlier and later examples have arrived since. One of the Rhapsody class was Tropicana from Mixer Marine dates from 1972. The original Horizon 35 Superline more recently San Carlos was sold from the fleet in the last couple of years. Neil

I have to agree with Mouldy. I don't have a problem with inclusive pricing for most things as security waivers, parking etc are effectively compulsory so it's pointless making them additional and in my opinion should be included in all prices, Pacific already do this. Fuel should be based on use otherwise light users will effectively be subsidising heavy users, it's simply not fair that someone who cruises around flat out with the heating on all the time pays the same as someone who is frugal goes with the tides and only cruises small area. Neil

It does amuse me that in this age of instant news and social media that boats that were sold in 2018/19 are still appearing on website searchs for Hoseasons and to be fair Richardsons and a few others as well. Appreciate it may not be a 5 minute job to remove but surely it can't be that difficult, after all the old school paper copy can be updated once a year and it only appears to take a few days or weeks to add boats! Neil

Hi, No need for a pilot at Potter or Wroxham for a dayboat, well not the small ones ie. without the the loo/sink. Woods fleet is I believe entirely Diesel, they have about 16 Rapiers and 9 Starlight 24 day cruisers plus a new fleet of fishing dinghy s with outboards. They did have about 8-12 electrics however these were sold and eventually replaced by the Starlight 24 s Neil

Hi, I hadn't realised until recently that Richardsons have sold or are in the process of selling 45-50 boats although that is over two seasons. Usually they sell 10 boats a year and build 3 however this all changed after 2019. The majority of Horizon 35s have gone once a mainstay of the fleet (Spring Horizon s, Southern Gem and a couple of others remain) all the remaining Connoisseur 37 and 42, all but 1 the Calypso's and for the first time in recent years the Classic for Richardsons Bounty 37s have started to disappear. Amber Gems and some of the Magic s for example. I suspect this maybe part of the restructure since the sad loss of Mr Richardson senior plus covid won't have helped initially although they are continuing to invest in the holiday park which suggests the company is still in it for the long term hopefully they will start building again in the future to part compensate for the reductions. Anyway back to the thread good to see additional craft being added here and there with Sephora being a more normal craft for NYA which can cruise a reasonable amount of the Broads. Horning Pleasure craft are expanding to atleast 6 boats and a number of yards still building new. Neil

I see in the 1966 photos amongst all the woodies the original pioneering bathtub Carribbean appears for the first time. Neil

According to FB Ferry are refitting or upgrading atleast 4 of the fleet, with Royale receiving the most extensive treatment. So far Emerald and I believe Brilliant have had some refurbishment. Plus a new build Haines 26 to follow I believe. I have to agree with others that Refits and refurbishment can extend the lives of otherwise tired craft which may have been sold onto private hands. They give hirers more choice, affordable options mostly bridge friendly however with the fixtures and fittings similar to those offered in the increasingly expensive new or recent builds. If you look at some fleets only a handful of these boats remain on hire, they are becoming very rare, the problem being that these designs are no longer being built or replaced with equivalents, once they are gone they are gone! Having hired a Richardsons refit I can say that they offer many of the benefits of a new build for a fraction of the cost, only problem for yards is that they cost a fair chunk of cash to do properly and because they are less flash to look at they can't get the returns and bookings that a new build may offer. Neil

Just looking at the Richardsons 2019 brochure price was £2,506 therefore a rise of 25.54% over 2 years. I suspect it is supply and demand however almost certainly unsustainable once the foreign holidays open up again plus Brexit and covid hits the economy. Neil

I am not sure if it will make any difference however having hired from the Thames most of fleet did operate in France/Europe before moving to the Thames. Neil

If I were gambling man Sovereign Gem probably came from France, over the years Richardson s have a splurge of buying second hand stock from various locations. I remember a number of Blue Line boats appearing on the far bank at the yard in the early 90s including Bermuda s A/F 35, Calypso s etc which subsequently ended up on the fleet. Sovereign Gem was definitely registered on the Broads as W479 and appears with a Richardson s flag in the Broads database for 1991. Not sure why it moved to the Thames however Ludham Bridge may have been an issue and bridges apart from Osney in Oxford are less of an problem. Just as an aside Richardson s left Rank ownership cc 1984 being reacquired by the family, although Maidline may have been acquired from Rank, Bushnell of Maidenhead being the original Rank owned Thames operation run in conjunction with Richardsons in the 70s and 80s Neil

Looking at the Horning boat database Porter and Haylett had a class of 3 Caroline 35ft Forward steers with what looks like very early Horizon 35 hull built cc 1972. Not sure if that is what you are looking for. Unfortunately I am not very good at adding links Neil

I remember the Railway Tavern and finally visited in May 2006 whilst on Pacific Swift. Clearly I was lucky to get a visit before closure. I know it moved to church road however did the Humpty Dumpty brewery start there. I am assuming it was somewhere round there as the all the beers were rail related? Neil

I believe Barnes acquired the boat when they bought the Moore's fleet who I believe used it for transferring people, things and staff from the Peninsula cottages and boatyards. Kris cruisers on the Thames have had a couple as day boats and possibly WRC may have one to transfer people over to the nature reserve Neil

I agree although I was under the impression that Moore's sold the hire fleet to the Trafford family in 1974 or thereabouts. It has to said that the ownership and history of the yards in 60s- 80s would fill a book the size of war and peace. I am not even sure who owned Moore's Powles and Collins in the 70s and 80s although they all ended up together at some point, Trafford's, Henley s Pennant, Mowat etc etc. Anyway I am going off thread so mustn't go down that route. Neil