Coryton

Reading my post again, it looks as if I was accusing you of doing something naughty. I assure you that wasn't the intention - I was just commenting on what their web site says now for the Beam of Light.

I'm not very well up on such things, but from the photo on their web site there seems to be a metal hinge-y thing on the seat...

We couldn't find much to fault it. Larger windows in the front cabin would be nice. I don't know how there was quite so much space inside. We managed not to do that. Must have put a pretty abrupt end to their holiday. I must confess there were occasions we cheated a bit with GPS on my phone to find out where we actually were so we didn't hit the rocks. And there was an occasion where the entrance to a lough did a very good impression of being a curve in the river and carried on looking quite convincing until it started to get full of reeds. Looks a nice one too. The Captain handled a lot better than the day boat we hired for a week on our first go at a boating holiday. (Ex sea boat that had seen better days). Can't blame them for playing safe, I suppose. Yes - I have been wondering why they list Ludham as "subject to weather and tide conditions" given the rather large difference between quoted air draft and bridge clearance. They quote 7 ft for Jewel of Lights. They require you to use a pilot for Wroxham. (Bridge pilots are a new concept to me).

When I hired a boat a few years ago (not on the Broads) we had to sign something to say we'd had a handover and would follow the rules, and there was something there about the CO detector (I don't recall why). So I asked where it was, to be told that there wasn't one, but they could fetch one if I liked. I did like. It never went off but better safe than sorry.

Interesting - they say it's 7 ft 2 inches... You're right about Potter Heigham. They say it won't do Beccles Old bridge either. A "Noble Captain". I believe it's a Haines 38. We were very impressed with it - not that any of us had set foot on a cruiser before let alone stayed on one. Excellent for families - a completely enclosed flydeck which was set back from the sides of the boat. It felt a lot larger on the inside than we'd expected. A bit on the tall side for the broads, I think. I hope we enjoy the Beam of Light as much. It must have had an engine. When we turned the key something started making a noise and let us move the boat about. But I have no idea what it was - it was well hidden away and we weren't expected to do anything technical like make sure water was coming out of the back of the boat when it started let alone check oil levels. It went fast enough for us. Which boat did you have? Yes - fun in the way we could pretend to be at sea, but a little worrying. We spent quite a bit of time heading in the wrong direction because every time we tried to turn we started to take the waves broadside and it got too scary. We had to get nearly to the other side before we felt comfortable turning round. There were almost no other boats around and there was probably a good reason for that. I picked a very bad time to serve tomato soup.

If I recall correctly it was 5 knots in "built-up" areas and no limit elsewhere. Once we got past the end of speed limit signs we could really push our hire boat up to nearly 6 knots... We were with Manor House too. The boat handling part of the handover was somewhat brief - I don't think we had ten minutes to run flat out or otherwise. I quite enjoyed the having-to-navigate part of the holiday. And the broad lough was...interesting on a breezy day. It would have been useful if they'd told us what the air draft of the boat was though. Bridges weren't generally a problem but there was one route we didn't try because we didn't know if we'd get under a bridge or not. It's a "Beam of Light" (an Aquafibre Diamond 43?) - 7 ft 2 inches air draft. They say it won't do Potter Heigham (what does?), Beccles Old or Wayford. Ludham and Wroxham are maybes. I reckon there will be enough to see with where we can go, and it had the features we wanted unlike some that were a bit lower.

Yes - Herbert Woods. Definitely planning on heading to the Southern Broads though. The information on the internet makes crossing Breydon Water sound quite daunting, but I expect we'll manage it. Dealing with tides will be a new experience.

Ah that's a brilliant idea. I remember watching them when they came out...which was a while ago. I think the dog that played William ended up in Eastenders.

Oh we had a little fleet of them on Lough Erne travelling round together - one night moored next to them was enough and after that we gave them a wide berth when looking for a mooring for the night.

This is my first posting, and I hope I've put this in the right place... I have a 2 week family holiday planned in August in a hire boat on the Broads. None of us have been there before - all we know is from Arthur Ransome. Our boating experience is somewhat limited - a week of day boat trips on the upper Shannon, and a week in a cruiser on the Lough Erne. We had a fantastic time on both occasions, found (almost) everyone very friendly, and managed not to get into any trouble. I think that - at least on the Northern Broads - it will be a bit busier in August than Ireland was though. I'd be interested in advice people here have that might not be obvious on how to enjoy ourselves without being a nuisance to those who know what they're doing and have to put up with hordes of beginners in hire boats... We're not planning on mooring over any coots' nests.