oldgregg

I think I'd probably cover iOS. The way we build apps there is not actually much difference in effort to also deploy to iOS.

It's still an important market, it just doesn't have the market share it did. The stats show both major platforms increasing, but it's not that simple. We're talking about people who will actually BUY apps, rather than just owners of a device.

Yes I have... If you'd like to see it on iOS, probably proposing a competitor isn't the best way forward

This is where it gets complicated... To release an Android app would cost £25, as a one-off fee to set up a developer account. You can develop on Windows, Mac or Linux - A £100 PC would do the job. To release an iOS app would mean £79 a year as a developer, plus the development tools only work on a Mac. And some stuff only works on a real Mac, so you'd need one of those. Take the cheapest Mac Mini and spec it with 8GB of RAM to make it usable and you've just spent another £569. Let's assume that's got a five-year life span, so total cost over the five years of £964 (plus a bit for the developer cost going up). Apple take a 40% cut, so realistically the iOS app would need to sell £350 a year just to cover costs... And they wonder why they're losing market share.

What would you pay? I don't mean that in a capitalist way, but more what do you see as a sensible price? These things take time to build, obviously... An Android release would be easy, but it's harder to justify an iOS release because of the costs.

Yeah I think offline use is one of the critical features. Other services are available but having it in one place is perhaps the key.

The Ocean 30 wasn't a production Broom model per se, I think that's the problem. They did fit out some themselves, but they also supplied them as mouldings via sister company Aquafibre and thus there are probably more of those (and the centre cockpit 30's) around than Broom fitted out. For that reason I think they only consider models which were exclusively built by Broom as a 'proper' Broom. Broom as a boatbuilder are no more anyway, so it's all a bit irrelevant now.

Would there be an appetite for this plus other bits as a mobile app? The other bits I would see as speed / compass / map, bridge heights and some sort of distance calculator.

This is quite a nice Pearl.... https://www.richardsonsboatingholidays.co.uk/boats/sunlit-horizon/

That's kind of what I meant...

Very sad. I'm a big fan of Broom's boats in general.

Haines use some 'old' Broom moulds, some generic Aquafibre moulds, some of their own design (the Haines 400) and some from others (Alphacraft in the past, and now Ferry Marina for the Haines 26). When Aquafibre went under, Haines acquired the moulds they needed and the production Broom stuff went to Brundall. I think it is generally considered that the Haines fitout is better these days, I've heard it referred to as "like Broom used to be".

I think part of the reason is that Broom were building them for less than Brinks could.. Why they're prepared to build so cheap is probably a different story. They've also built a private one which also has that daft helm seat. It's Silverline who build the smaller models.

Yeah, this seems to be what is happening at Broom. Haines can't build enough boats at the moment, so the market is there. Seems odd when it's such a major brand as Broom, but I guess taking on the business requires skill whereas putting houses on it does not.

It's not the biggest dyke, certainly. 12 or 13 sounds more like it, though the boat at the end has now moved on so there's slightly more room.

What I don't get is who is going to build and develop their hirefleet going forward... It was always a way of showcasing the business and the models available, and developing new models is an expensive business. Something still doesn't add up.

I'm not a fan, but I do think it's very difficult to make a dual-steer 'lowliner' that is both practical and elegant.

It is indeed the same mould as Zircon - The Haines reworking of an older design.

ABS has been mandatory on new cars since 2004, and ESP (stability control) has been mandatory since 2014.

And Turf Fen opposite

Here's one of How Hill

As a reward, pour yourself a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster!

Ah, okay. Her reg number suggests 1994, as that's the year the system changed - But Broom may have had a block of numbers.

Endeavour has been around for a while and sits in between Thunder and Lightning in age (Thunder is 1997, Lightning is 1994 and Endeavour is 1995). She's fitted to a high standard but the interior finish is very much of its time and some of the ex-hire boats have potentially aged better. Also, a share is more than double the price of the Shadow boats.

I think you will find that Thunder is staying at Horning, Shaun.