oldgregg

Ah so it's official now... Have known about this for some time but didn't think I'd better say anything. Yes, they are the former Fair Diplomats! Not on the Ricko's site yet though https://www.richardsonsboatingholidays.co.uk/boats/sunway Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

There's a fair amount there really... You have the pub which does breakfasts as well, and if you have people joining you they have the option of staying in the rooms on-site or one of the lodges. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

There were others?

Yeah I think that's pretty much it. Also, some 'experienced' drivers were probably marginal passes anyway and have gone downhill from there...

I think maybe the intention is to reduce speed to make it easier to join from a minor road? That awful roundabout at Newark just before joining the A1 / just after coming off it onto the A17 is probably what they're trying to avoid? The problem is that people just take them at the same speed and then come unstuck, especially as the trend is for people to drive SUV's and crossovers which have an inherently high centre of gravity and therefore poor handling.

Maldonado Island claims another victim! Yeah it's not a bad road really. The camber and geometry of the roundabouts catches people out but really if they can't judge the speed they shouldn't be driving.

That's an interesting one, but I think if it were the standard 'biscuit' provided with the car then you should be okay? They are awful though, yeah. The 50mph rating is little to do with straight-line speed and more to do with the fact that they're scary if you push into a corner at anything like normal speed. I've had to use one once and on the way to get the puncture repaired I came off a roundabout and felt that corner go all wobbly, followed by a blink from the ESP light just to remind me that biscuits have no grip.

They don't seem crazy actually compared to other mid-range tyres, and considering the extra grip you get in the winter. I was one of the crazy ones who got in the car last year the morning after the beast from the east had hit... Winter(ish) tyres would have been handy then. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Yeah very true. What is road noise like on the Michelin Crossclimate?

I'm not generally a big fan of french cars, but Peugeot have a fairly clever electronic system on some of their models which works surprisingly well. You wouldn't use it for proper off-roading, but if more cars had something similar then it would make the average front wheel drive car a lot more usable for the couple of days a year that it gets really snowy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIBMs3GHdzY

This is why the managed syndicates use cleaners on turnaround days. I get what you're saying though in that not everyone looks after the boat in the same way (sadly) and some owners have a limited understanding of how the boat works. Trying to explain to some of our owners why it's not a clever idea to plug in two 2KW electric fires on the 16A shore power (in addition to the battery charger and immersion heater) tends to result in raised eyebrows and suggestions that we're being melodramatic.

I wonder if Appleyard Lincoln were building them, given that they all seem to be Elysians? Still a lot of boats to finance, though! Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

It's a big saving that can be re-invested, for sure. I know of a syndicate where three individuals offered to take on the management duties in order to keep everything realistic and spread the load, and in recognition for their time and effort they'd get a reduction in their running costs. This would mean the boat was run by people with an interest in maintaining it well, and would save the syndicate over £4500 a year which could instead be spent on the boat, include winter maintenance etc etc. The consensus was that anyone taking up the role should be doing it for the greater good and not getting anything back for their vast amounts of time, emails, phonecalls, handovers, turnarounds etc. Funnily enough, the offer was withdrawn and the vote taken to carry on chucking money at a management company.

Although of course we can book the boat in for a clean at the yard on return, which costs £25 + VAT and if you build it into the cost you expect to pay, it still beats hiring. The management company is definitely the biggest avoidable cost, I think, although if you don't have one then one or more people need to run the accounts, share sales, turnarounds, maintenance etc and that's not a small task for a boat that has 14 owners and (in theory) a 50-week season. The work would clearly be less for a smaller syndicate, though, and most of the comms and discussion could be done via a private Facebook group or even a 'Club' on the NBN forum rather than lots of emails flying around the place. Our syndicate is doing more work on the boat itself now, and that is certainly saving quite a bit of money, but major tasks are left to the professionals. I've been on BA in the shed during the biennial maintenance period, and the amount of work the boys undertake on her is huge. There's no doubt it's the cheapest way of doing it, but if you're limited on annual leave then it could mean giving up a week's holiday so it is a bit of a balancing act.

Yeah, although not because of the location. I'd prefer to have a mooring like our current one, but in the South... They don't seem to really exist, though.

It is a good spot and hopefully will help attract more people to the South. We don't want everyone getting in on the secret, but a bit more of the tourism cash going that way wouldn't hurt

Details are a bit sketchy at the moment... I guess it will depend what moulds are in vogue. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I'd say that the benefit of a smaller syndicate would be that it's easier to self-manage and to reach decisions about the running so the costs might not actually be that high if a management company isn't required. If you take the management costs out of a typical syndicate then it reduces the price significantly, however it's probably required for a larger syndicate because of the number of people involved. A smaller syndicate without a management company would give each owner more time aboard for much the same cost, but obviously there would need to be some structure in place. Personally I think 35-40ft is about the perfect size for a Broads cruiser as they're a lot easier to find mooring spots for at that sort of size, and to manoeuvre at some of the tighter spots on the system. The lowliner style is a good compromise between the versatility of a dual steer and the go-anywhere ability of a bathtub or centre-cockpit. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I think it's on the site, but just perhaps not with the name you expect. I'm not a big fan of the way sub-classes are separated with a suffix of 'A' or 'P' etc. It's not great from an SEO perspective and also it just confuses people.

No idea if they've still got them, but there were a few there.

@C.Ricko Had some of those in the shop section at Horning as he showed me them earlier in the year when I was swapping some lighting out on Thunder..

There's definitely an element of that, people just buying / leasing them to qualify for the lower tax bracket etc. Daft really as like Chris says they do have a reasonable electric-only range nowadays and cost peanuts to run like that. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Thinking of you this morning, Alan.

Equally I'd say that Viscount or San Fernando would be good to get a feel for what a decent Alpha 35 is like. Viscount had a massive refit for the 2011 season, so probably not as representative of the average private one.

No, but it's the same type of boat so would be ideal to see whether it'd work for them... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app