750XL

Thank you, Such a shame as we wanted to visit north of Ludham again but hey ho

Was hoping to get through Ludham at the weekend but we need about 8ft 6", I think.... Can anyone advise what the latest heights are? Assume I should just give up on the idea now...?

I've been the last couple of years on a boat that won't pass under these bridges and I'm going again in October on a similar boat, and it's not bothered us at all. If you look on the Broads maps there isn't a whole lot beyond Wroxham, Potter Heigham, Wayford or Beccles bridges. There's still plenty to see and do for a week or two without being able to get under these bridges. There's moorings before the bridges at both Wroxham and Potter Heigham as I've stopped there before. Not sure about Beccles or Wayford but I'm sure someone will advise.

I hired Brinks Duet last year which had iirc 2 battery gauges, both remained very high throughout the whole trip despite charging phones, laptop, lights turned on etc! Only issue we had was the heating would only come on for 5 minutes or so and then cut off/trip out so it was absolutely freezing at night being unable to use the heating despite the batteries being at 97%+. Did call them out twice at the start of the week to look into it but was just told the batteries 'probably needed charging more' which they didn't. Bit of an annoyance but we didn't want to waste anymore time trying to find moorings etc the engineer could come out to every day so we just made do with the extra duvet at night. We were the first hire of the season (April) so probably just teething problems.

Perfect thank you! Been down there a few times but never realised there was a water point, thought it was all private moorings etc. Hopefully might be able to get a few drops of water there after a night on the broad

Mind me asking where about at South Walsham the water point is? Could be useful for our upcoming trip, as we plan on mudweighting there overnight. Thank you!

If all goes to plan we're going to head up to the North Broads and then back over the week, so plenty of cruising with no excuse for those batteries not to be charged. Plus, the fuel is free so we may as well get our moneys worth

Thanks for all your knowledgeable and helpful replies on this. Helps me see the 'other' side of boating that us mere hirers don't really see! Me and the girlfriend were looking at which boat to hire for quite a while from Barnes, Richardsons, and the other budget ones on offer across the broads. Considering the year we've had so far (she works for the NHS so we've had to spend most of the COVID-19 crisis apart, then I got made redundant, twice!) we thought we'd treat ourselves to something a bit posher than the usual.... We saw Waveney Pegasus in the Hoseasons 'Starboard Collection', looked at the pics, and thought sod it, we'll have that! Only since we've looked a bit more closely maybe we're having second thoughts - but it's probably just me overthinking it all! We certainly don't want to be having to hook up to electric (never done it before, wouldn't know where to start) and tend to prefer mudweighting or wild mooring where we can, further away from others the better! For the price (£900ish for a week out of season) I'm certainly hoping it's not going to be a constant battle vs the batteries for 7 days just to cook ourselves a simple dinner https://www.hoseasons.co.uk/boat-holidays/waveney-pegasus-bh2607 Don't ask me how but a few pints of beer and takeaway last night obviously aided my investigative skills at 2am, and I found out it's actually a microwave-oven https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/zsc25259xa/zanussi-zsc25259xa-built-in-inclusive-frame-microwave-oven I'll be writing a thorough in depth boat review/report after we've been so fingers crossed all goes well

Waveney River Centre have some nice looking boats for couples, indeed me and the girlfriend are off on Waveney Pegasus in a few weeks. Island bed, heating, blahblah, it claims to have it all for a more luxurious stay

Just a quick question (which I know could be solved by ringing the boatyard, but I figured it might just be easier asking here given how helpful most of you are and since it's 11pm on a Saturday after a few beers...) Ref the galley... is that a microwave, oven, or both? Neither Hoseasons nor Waveney website seem to give much specifics on the equipment on board except 'cooker, fridge and kettle'. Girlfriends trying to plan our shopping list and meals for the week

I did notice that one, also the complaints of it being cold in October... and the noise of water keeping them awake....? I do suppose people are more likely to come home and write a negative review when they actually have something to say, rather than a positive review. A bit like where few people take the time to write a positive TripAdvisor review after a good meal out, but are quick enough to leave a negative one after a bad meal.

We're booked on Pegasus for a week in October (as you may have read previously in the thread), probably doing myself no good looking at the reviews but it only gets 5.7/10 on the Hoseasons website... Bit worried about our stay now, having forked out nearly £900 for 2 people as we wanted to treat ourselves to a bit of luxury after the year we've had! Surely batteries not charging is a fault, rather than design? I mean, you can't be expecting to plug in every time you stop on the Broads right?

We're coming up from the South Broads and whilst I'm confident I can read the bridge gauge height and make it through (assuming there's enough height) I'm more concerned about the water levels riding whilst we're up the River Ant and getting the boat stuck there at 8ft 6" air draft or so Will probably drop in Ludham for a pump out mid week, if they're still offering the service. Remember stopping there last time for a pump out and a very helpful chap sorted us out, his name I've forgotten now.

Any idea what the bridge height was when you passed under? We're on a pretty high boat in October (tho unsure of the actual airdraft) and we aren't sure whether to risk Ludham or not.

Ouch... Perhaps a bump cap is top of the Christmas list this year for Santa? Speedy recovery.

Just out of curiosity, which App/Website does everybody use for tide times (ie crossing Breydon)

Dare I say first time Broads users on some of the 45ft top of the range boats with bow/stern thrusters are probably in a better position than those getting a budget Richardsons 35ft bathtub for their first hire? That said, I've seen some horrendous boating on the Broads from all shapes and sizes, be it canoeists, WAFI's, privateers and hirers alike. If the worst should happen and there is a bump, I think it's the way in which the involved persons conduct themselves which is the important part (ie not sailing off!)

South Walsham every time for me, especially if you can tuck yourself in behind the trees.

Everyone has to start somewhere, reaching out on Facebook for advice is more than most do! The first time I hired I had no idea what I was doing, neither did my girlfriend. First night we somehow managed to make Wroxham Broad and mudweighted relatively painlessly. However, the second night it was pretty breezy and being on an 8ft 6in air draft boat, trying to get into the last remaining 30ish foot space at How Hill was a real struggle. 10 minutes of going forwards, backwards, sideways, round in circles, into the reeds, back sideways, back into the quay, back forwards, and another few circles for good measure - I eventually got close enough for us both to jump off and moor up for the night. All this being watched by the privateer in front of us from the comfort of his rear sun deck, who's only move was to tie another fender to the rear of his boat rather than offer to take a line for us Fortunately since then my boat handling skills have improved to the point I'm allowed to steer any size ship anywhere in the world (Officer Of The Watch Unlimited) but we all have to start somewhere. No doubt on our return in October, I'll cock up a few mooring attempts. The Broads would be a bleaker place if it was restricted to the boating elite, IMO.

We always do a full weeks shop as I'm always worried about running out of food and not being able to find a mooring somewhere with a shop. But, be mindful the fridges on boats tend to be tiny

Just to add a bit of balance to the discussion, although I could be wrong and will gladly be told I am... I just had a brief look at Barnes, Richardsons, Waveney, Herbert Woods and Ferry Marina online and it doesn't look like any of those are passing on the VAT reduction (if indeed they are actually entitled to it) either. So perhaps the Hoseasons bashing is a bit premature. Similarly, we're off camping in the Lakes in a few weeks and I didn't find any campsites passing on the savings either. Personally, I'm happy to let them keep the 15% after the year we've had.

Are any of the boatyards passing on the reduction? When I booked our holiday with Waveney River Centre the price was the same whether direct or through Hoseasons

Sorry, thought I'd sneak in with a very similar question rather than create an entire new thread for it (thinking it may also be helpful for yourself or others viewing the thread). My apologies

Stupid question from a stupid person, so be gentle with me please We need to pass from N to S on Wednesday 14th October, on Waveney Pegasus which is probably about 8ft 6in (or so) air draft. I understand Slack Water is the best/easiest time to pass through with the tides... But, we think we need to cross a little bit earlier than 1550 slack water. Will the bridge clearances at 1450 be the same height as slack? We're just worried about crossing at 1550 with a 1800 sunset, and not making the first moorings after Breydon

Can't really blame the landowners for not wanting boats mooring on their land for whatever reason it may be. Littering, damaged quay heads, muddy grass, dog poo, noise, the list goes on. I do, however, find the Broads to be quite unwelcoming with the sheer amount of 'PRIVATE', 'NO MOORING', 'NO HIRE CRAFT' etc etc.