Davydine

Ultimately, it's easier to bring prices down than put them up, I think they will wait and see how the bookings go before lowering prices. There can always be “special offers” later.

Sorry to hear this, we used to have a Lhasa and they are the most wonderful dogs.

I am hoping Woods have cleaned the bottom of Astral light ready for our booking! Our friends have booked Beam of Light, so glad to hear that has had a wash and brush up. We have hired from Woods a few times now and they don't do much to clean the outside. Does anyone remember Brooms in the 80's? There used to be a paper tag on the wheel that used to get initialed as each job was completed. It always felt as though Mrs Broom would be there giving the boats the once over before they went out on hire.

Thank you, that video is great! Amazing what you can do with a drone!

Thank you! We have a couple of cushions, I will make sure we pack them!

Thanks Andy, I suspected it hadn't been, I hadn't seen any pictures showing it. We will take a couple of cushions!

Hi everyone, We have booked Bolero for a week this year, so I have been browsing the forum for reviews. I found a thread from several years ago, in which Clive suggested that they were going to add seating to the outside sun deck. Does anyone know if this happened? The pictures on the Ricos website don't show it, but looking at the interior pictures it looks as though they are the original pictures taken when the boat was new. If anyone has any recent pictures that would be appreciated. Thanks David

This a subject that will always be debated, and everyone has their own opinion and preference. Ultimately, you will need to decide what works best for you but hopefully you will get some useful pointers here. Firstly Let's look at boat types. You mentioned the single level type, which have the advantage of being spacious, easy access from the front and back and able to pass under most bridges so allow access to more of the rivers. The disadvantage is that you are sitting closer to the water so you are looking at the bank rather than over it. I also find the steering position right at the front slightly more challenging, but that could just be my lack of skill! Richardsons Moon Adventure is an example of this type. The other extreme is the dual steer like Richardsons Bolero. This has the advantage of an outside steering position if the weather is good and sitting high up, you will get a good view over the banks. The downside is that there are some bridges that you definitely will not get under, however how much this will limit a first ever visit is questionable. I confess, I have booked Bolero for my holiday this year. The compromise is a centre cockpit boat, with a sliding roof, such as Broadsman which will still get under most bridges, but you do sit up higher to enjoy the view. Hope that helps, David

My day job takes me in to most of the NHS dental practices across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex and I am not aware of any that are currently taking on NHS patients. The one in Hemsby is very good and as TheQ says they are part of a chain, but it is a small family run business that only has a handful of practices across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Mouldy, that is a very fair point, well made. I hadn't thought of it that way. I suppose the one exception would be at the ends of a run of moorings when people moor on the second or third mooring post, rather than going right up to the end. Edited to add that I should have read Vanessen's post who said more or less the same thing!

Thank you all, it sounds promising. I knew that there was double mooring on the BA moorings, which may be handy as we will be with friends on two boats. Do you know if you can double moor on the pub or farm moorings? @vanessanI think “git gaps” may be the best description I have ever heard to describe inconsiderate mooring!

Hi everyone, We have two trips to The Broads booked for next year and one place I would like to visit is Stokesby, not least because the pub looks good! My only concern is the availability of moorings for the night and I am reluctant to book a table for dinner and then not be able to get a mooring. We are going at the end of April next year, so not high summer. I wondered what your experience of mooring at Stokesby is? Thanks David

Thank you for the links, that's very helpful, I will take a look.

There were 8 of us on board for a weekend break and it was perfect, enough room for everyone and the layout meant that everyone had their own space and whoever was cooking wasn't constantly being barged out of the way by the kids when they wanted to get in or out. She was very nicely fitted out. She was easy to handle both ahead and astern and the bow thruster helped too. The only time I had any difficulty was on a very windy day when we were blown off a mooring a little quicker than I would have liked, but then, any boat of that shape is going to have a lot of windage. The only downside is the cost. Next year we are hiring two older boats for our weekend break and it isn't costing any more than all of us going on Dazzling Light.

Sorry Andy, I am late to the party on this one, but here is a pictureDazzling Light at Neatishead, so it can definitely be done!

Thanks everyone, I will do some internet searching and see what I can find. if we do go, I will, of course, let you all know what it was like!

Evening all, We are thinking of a trip to Ireland to visit some friends who live quite close to Lough Erne. Does anyone have any experience of boating in Ireland or any boatyard recommendations? thanks David

Shocking customer service is that, sorry to hear about your wasted journey.

Well, after much procrastination we went for Astral Light, I will let you know how we get on, thanks for your help everyone, we now have 2 holidays booked on the broads for next year!

Thank you everyone, I will see whatI can find.

Thanks, that's the problem, I use the internet myself, but I really want to buy them a real life book!

Evening all, My cousin and her family have booked a week on The Broads next year and I would like to buy them a guidebook to give them some ideas where they can visit. Which guide books would you all recommend for someone new to boating and The Broads. Many thanks, David

Actually I think Flash is on a shaft, she is a Bounty 40 and I know most of them have a rear mounted engine with hydraulics, but she has a slightly different layout to the standard Bounty 40 (two en suite twin cabins like Swiftway at Horning Pleasurecraft) and has the engine under the saloon floor. Not sure where the noise was coming from, but no way was the person in the aft cabin having a lie in when we were under way!

Thank you, yes, we have hired from Richardsons in the past and have one holiday booked with them already next year, we are just considering options for an extra weekend break with some friends, so looking for two boats on a specific weekend means that options are more limited. HW seem to be slightly cheaper than Richos, but I think that is reflected in the turn out of the boats. I was perfectly happy with Flash of Light and it had a newish Nanni engine, but the rumble when it was in gear made me think it needed some mechanical attention.

@jimbob88 Thank you for the videos, unfortunately they don't all want to open on my ipad, but the ones that do, give a flavour of what to expect. My gut feeling was for Astral too. We are looking for a boat for a cheep weekend in April next year, as an additional Broads holiday. unfortunately the elite boats that would suit are all booked and anyway, I am perfectly happy with something more basic, it means we can afford a bigger boat and the kids have a cabin each, so fewer arguments! This year we had Flash of light which was cheep as chips, but comfortable and worked perfectly, but I missed having the outside helm, I much prefer driving from outside, even in bad weather. Thanks again, David