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catcouk

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catcouk last won the day on April 8 2023

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About catcouk

  • Birthday February 22

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Worthing, West Sussex (i.e. not close enough to the Broads)
  • Interests
    Sailing, boating, climbing, model railways

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  1. We have booked Melody from Richardson's for our Easter break. Their prices dropped suddenly for the first full weekend in April but that's still our school holiday. After booking, my 5-year old was grumpy with me - "Why do we have to wait THAT long?!?! Why did you not book it for sooner?!?!"
  2. This is all utterly amazing! Seeing the actual craftsmanship going on here is a delight. Not to say that modern boats don't need a similar level of skill but there is something magical in seeing wood shaped and formed with such precision!
  3. I think she could be a Swedish Navy ship (well, a decommissioned one). I went on the Internet and I found this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/183120664@N08/49429195057
  4. We went to Dilham during the Easter holidays only to find the very small mooring already full (with three boats). I guess my point is be prepared to have a backup plan. We were lucky enough to get one of two remaining spots left at Wayford Bridge BA moorings but saw two other boats and I have no idea where they ended up.
  5. Cost of living crisis added to the rather large price increase of this type of holiday in recent years. I can't say that I am at all surprised, sadly. I just hope yards have recovered enough from Covid to weather this new decline in trade.
  6. Can I say a big thank you to all the replies - always great to hear accurate information from a different perspective. I think it's the initial outlay that makes me consider syndicates as more expensive but you are right about getting money back at the end. Also, for me as a teacher, I could never find a syndicate that I could make use of for more than one week a year.
  7. Just to offer an alternative opinion, hiring is very convenient (especially if you become a regular with a friendly boatyard). I could be completely wrong but a week on a syndicate boat didn't seem that different from a hire boat but with a hire boat, none of the problems are yours. If I'm missing something, please feel free to correct me. I am far from educated in the world of syndicates and ownership!
  8. I feel as though I should log my first trip as an adult too which was also my son's first trip. It was an awesome week aboard my favourite ever boat, Contessa from Richardson's (an Aquafibre Crystal 37 dual steer). We went with friends and the rest of my family came too, albeit aboard a second boat. So much fun and marked a wonderful return to the broads after a 15 year gap. The boy was only 8 weeks old and we knew the wife might not be up for much after labour so I suggested the broads as an easy holiday where she could just sit in the lounge if worst came to worst. When asked how this was different to staying at home, I said the view would always be changing and it would be beautiful!
  9. I suspect my journey started before I was born when my parents honeymooned on the smallest aft cockpit cruiser in 1980. My first cruise was in the early 90s when our family hired San Christian 3 (a bathtub from Richardson's). Beyond knowing it was Easter time (still my preferred time to visit), I can't remember much. I seem to have a vague memory of eating battenburg 'window' cake whilst mid weighting somewhere above Potter Heigham (maybe Hickling) and that my parents had a bed in the saloon that folder down out of the wall. After that, we had one other bathtub before largely having centre cockpit sliding canopy cruisers. We could only afford to do it every other year but I remember the excitement of browsing the Hoseason's catalogue 'helping' our parents choose that year's boat! Happy memories!
  10. The price of a day boat is almost the cost of a short break! Oww!
  11. For those that have followed this thread, I did threaten to release a video showing exactly what we got up to. Apologies it has taken so long, I had a few issues with my video editing software refusing to publish it. But here is what our holiday looked like even with me having Long Covid (so no lovely walks like in the past but still a great time) - I hope that it can be useful to others worried about a trip. Someone on the Internet did comment on my boat review video telling me that Long Covid (that I suffer from) doesn't exist. Whilst I absolutely respect their right to an opinion, it seems a little rude telling me that the illness I suffer from can't possibly exist - they're now blocked!
  12. Ah! The good ol' Force 10! Still used by many youth organisations. In fact, we are taking our year group on a camping residential trip in a month and, I suspect, Force 10s will be the order of the day! As you say - memories! (I notice you didn't necessarily describe them as god memories though...)
  13. They set up a two lane one-way check in road during Covid and have kept that set up (it works really well). The signs are just where you meet the first member of staff who gives you some basic information and tells you which quay you will find your boat - all in a 'drive-thru' style.
  14. To add to the conversation, I mentioned this to Mrs Catcouk. She remembers seeing the sign too but assumed that the sign specifically referred to people 'chartering' the 'posh' boats (not the riff raff like us 'iring a bafftub...). Sums up the whole debate if you ask me!
  15. I saw that sign and chuckled. They have really tried to make the old yard look up-to-date and the use of the word charter instead of hire speaks volumes. Maybe it will help make the experience that bit more pleasant for new boaters. But, as someone above already said, it is definitely just camping on water!
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