ComfortablyNumb

Astral Emblems were built by Ernest Collins when they were owned by the Trafford family, who also owned Jack Powles. The hull of the 3 Astral Emblems is the Powles 40 seagoing hull that was used / adapted for use for many of the Powles fleet, as well as Collins and Moores, in the 1970s. Powles did their own moulding for a time in a disused bonded warehouse in Norwich but by the time the Astral Emblems were built, i don’t know if that site had been discontinued and done by Aquafibre instead? Anyone know when Powles quit the Norwich site? I guess all the superstructure moulds that could be used with the Powles hull have long since been broken up. The “classic” Powles centre cockpit superstructure put on a Powles hull in 1982 to create Kerrymore (now owned by me) must have been the very last hire craft built using these mouldings. Please correct me if anyone thinks different.

I have followed this thread with interest, having just spent 5 days out and about on the Broads. I have not been "Down South" for some time and i was pleasantly surprised how many more free moorings, or emergency, pontoon style moorings there were than i can recall previously. Credit where credit's due. When we recently did a boating holiday in the Italian lagoons, there seemed to be no concept at all of BA style "free moorings", and apart from a few really wild moorings (which i didn't want to risk), it was nearly all marinas, commanding up to 60 euros a night - they have you over a barrel ! Made the Broads seem very reasonable in comparison.

We always had great affection for Lionel Ponder and his team at Moores... so much so, it was natural that when we moved from hiring to owning, we bought one of their craft from them. Even after that, that extra human touch was always there eg: Lionel going on board to take covers off and put the webasto heating on, a couple of hours before we arrived - all free of charge. Sadly those days have gone, but we still have the memories. I also have great affection for boats we have hired previously (eg: Fair Ambassador 3... if you saw my other post, you will realise why !), but also great sadness when you see a once well maintained hire boat is a state of total neglect in private ownership...

Thanks for your best wishes - we have kept our boat moored at the bottom of Staitheway Road, Wroxham since we bought her from Moores in '95. It's an ever changing scene down there over the years - we have hopped between wetsheds in the Moores yard, then the Powles Marina, and now out in the open, after the wetsheds were demolished by Barnes Brinkcraft. I have actually been boating on the Broads since '74, with Star Glory being our very first hire. My wife and got engaged on the Broads in '89, and our daughter arrived 9 months after a great holiday on Fair Ambassador 3 .. both still going strong ! I'm still working, so i don't get to the Broads as much as I would like, but always like to keep in touch with things Broads related !

i follow various Facebook groups on the Broads, and have not been on a Broads forum for years, but this looks very good ! We have owned a Powles 36 (V294 Comfortably Numb) for over 20 years, having bought it from Moore & Co (it was Kerrymore 2), and if you see us out and about on the Broads, give us a wave ! This is us below - i do normally wear a shirt, but it must have been one of those glorious Broadland days !

Picking up on this thread, I see that Le Boat are now building a further 45 of these craft for 2017, "due to overwhelming demand", including 3 new larger sizes. See photos below. I too thought these were ugly craft, and when boating in France two years ago, we went straight for a Norfolk built Magnifique. As we soon discovered, France is not Norfolk, and air conditioning was essential ... so on the second year, we went for a german built Mystique, which was excellent. Having now seen one of these Horizons in the flesh, I can also see their attraction ! Back on the Broads, we still own our Powles 36 centre cockpit cruiser, which we are very happy with, so i guess its horses for courses ...

Having recently returned from a holiday with Le Boat in Italy, I would say that most Broads cruisers are clean and well maintained by comparison - most of their craft looked like they had not had a polish or powerwash to their hull since they were first built... the rubber rubbing strakes were falling off too. The problem of a damp, wet summer causing grass to grow is not just evident on boats - in Devon this summer, we have never seen so many weeds sprouting out of pavement cracks, all over the place !