750XL

We returned our boat to Herbert Woods yesterday after a wonderful (albeit) flooded week on the Broads. It was sad to see most of Potter, Horning and Wroxham under water - mooring spots were limited despite the fact there was hardly any boats on the water (who'd rent a boat in November eh?) Upon arrival at 0830 to Herbert Woods they informed me the flood barriers were up, hence our car was trapped on the 'wrong' side of the fence. Few hours wait for them to pump the water to an acceptable level but they very kindly supplied us with cake and coffee whilst we waited! Big thumbs up to HW

Thanks all, think we got our last lot from Herby Woods then gave them away at the end of the holiday as didn't think we'd be returning anytime soon. How times change.

Don't suppose anyone has a few electric cards they aren't likely to be using again in the near future? Will obviously pay full price for them plus postage. Looking at 2-3 probably, as we're only there a week. If not, hopefully Herby Woods have some. thanks!

Speaking of bridges, is there any website that offers accurate Ludham Bridge heights? We had a 8ft 10" boat booked but chickened out and have done down to a 6ft 5" If the water levels are ok before we go, looking to probably upgrade to original boat

Monkeys fist flying towards me in South East Asia used to put the fear of god through me. Most of them had all sorts of heavy shrapnel inside which bloody hurt when caught the wrong way

At 6ft 5" we may even get under Wroxham this year which would be nice!

Had a change of heart and downgraded to Adventure Light as we'd really love to visit the Ant again, and possibly Wroxam for the first time. Few pennies saved as well for the odd

We've finally took the plunge and booked Gleaming Light from Herbert Woods for late October. Last year we had a bath tub so thought we'd go for something different. Southern Broads are a no-no due to tide times but our favourite spoke is north of the Ludham Bridge. Wild mornings, bit of fishing, we leave it. Air draft of Gleaming Light is 8ft 10" and I note the general consensus is Ludham Bridge is 8ft 6" on an average day, according to the markers. I understand this is a bit of a piece of string question depending on tides, rainfall, etc etc, but has anyone had any luck passing at that air draft? If it's a complete no-no I'm tempted to contact Herby Woods and see if we can change to something with a bit of a lower airdraft. I've seen in the past boatyard staff ballast boats with exceptionally high tides but not sure if this is a Richardsons thing or Herby Woods. Many thanks for your helpful insight. Very excited to get on the water after a very stressful few months (health, redundancy, all that lot!)

Personally I'd bite the bullet and get a whole new PC, there's only so much you can upgrade. You can get 'gaming' PC's quite reasonably priced these days

We spent a lot of time up the river Ant on our holiday as we really enjoy the wild moorings on offer up there. Noticed there seemed to be quite a few boats in popular 'wild moorings' that almost looked abandoned, or if they were lived on, were in a bit of a sorry state. We even saw one near the free moorings at Paddy's Lane with some sort of self built floating pontoon on the back of it (generally filled with rubbish). Never really noticed these boats in the past, is it a new thing? Or am I just becoming more observant these days

We struggled to book a boat for October just gone, especially as the choice for a 2 berth is pretty limited at the best of times - plus the staycation surge and all that... Personally, I love the Broads and I'm willing to go any time of the year but I'm struggling to justify it to the boss (missus) at 2022 prices. In her eyes, "we've done the Broads now" and paying almost a grand for a week of what will probably be very questionable British weather isn't worth it... Deep down, I probably agree! I fail to see how most of these boats will remain affordable to the masses going forward, when you factor in mooring fees, pump outs, water, etc etc

More of a post for anyone who happens to stumble across it through search engines etc than a full in depth review, but hey ho, it may help someone. Me and the missus just had a great 11 nights on 'Prince of Light' from Herbert Woods. No problems at all with the boat so had minimal contact with HW, but they were very good on handover covering everything we needed to know. Admittedly we've been on the broads a few times before so we set off without a river trial and on our way to Womack for the night. Boat is small but perfectly suited for a couple, in my opinion. Bed was comfy and despite the window being left open (condensation) during October it stayed pretty snug in there throughout the night. Extra blanket and hot water bottle goes a long way. Toilet and shower a bit on the small side but nothing to be too worried about. Full water flush was a bit hit and miss at times so a cup of water helped get those larger movements moving.... if you catch my drift! Decorated beautifully both inside and out and was an absolute easy to drive, as well as being very quiet. We had no issues getting on/off despite the water levels. Warm air heating was fantastic though we didn't use it much as I thought the engine had to be running at the time, which it doesn't. Nice little seating area outside which I found ideal for fishing. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend HW and Prince of Light. Hope to use them again soon

Prince of Light? Yes, absolutely, we loved the boat and had no problems at all during our 11 night trip. Everything worked flawlessly and Herbert Woods were excellent when we picked up the boat. A bigger water tank would be the only thing, if I was really nit picking. Hired 'Waveney Pegasus' last year and it was a bit of a nightmare, as well as being very tall so couldn't get up the Ant etc. Previous years we'd hired 'Brinks Duet' and had a few minor problems with them (toilets, heating, etc). For the price we thought Prince of Light was a great little cruiser for just the 2 of us, admittedly both in our 20's so perhaps more able to get on and off such a low boat than some older couples! Actually wanted to book Prince of Light for February but looks like Herbert Woods only have a small selection of large (6-8 berth) cruisers available for that time of the year, half tempted to give them a call and see if they'll let us have it a few weeks earlier than it's planned to go back on hire (March) but we'll see.

Thanks for the replies, interesting to know for the next time we manage to get afloat! Must say I did wonder how everyone around us managed to have their heating on, without starting the engine first!

For those better informed than me, can I ask about the diesel warm air heaters hire boats have fitted. We've just had a holiday on board 'Prince of Light' from Herbert Woods and it had a Eberspächer diesel warm air heater fitted. The young lad who did our handover said the main engine needed to be running with some idle revs applied during startup, and left running for about 50 minutes whilst the heating was running or it'll just blow cold air and drain the batteries. I knew that once the warm air heating unit had started itself up the engine didn't need to be running, so didn't question him on being 'wrong' and we just carried on the handover as per. The warm air heating was fantastic, really warmed up the boat in absolutely no time at all but we didn't use it after 8pm as we were worried about running the engine for a few minutes to start it up. But, on the last few days of the trip, knowing our batteries were well charged I started the heating at night without the engines running and it started up absolutely fine and ran fine for a good length of time! Wish I'd knew earlier in the trip really. Are the yards just over cautious giving out advice that the engine needs to be running when starting Eberspacher units? Was I just 'lucky' being able to start the heating without the engine running purely off battery power? Just for the record, Prince of Light was a fantastic boat and highly recommend it (and HW) to anyone.