750XL

Off the top of my head it was £60 or £80 fuel deposit, with whatever you didn't use refunded to you upon return of the boat. Just surprised me when they said I owed them money, instead of the other way round! Either way, I paid up. I mean, how would you even query it without a fuel gauge

Slight thread drift but just a question out of curiosity as I didn't think it really warranted it's own thread....! Has anybody had to fill up a hire boat with diesel on a weeks hire? We've had Brinks Duet twice over the last few years and I remember the first time getting £20 or so back on our fuel deposit which was a nice surprise. However, a few years later on the same boat upon return they said we owed them £30 odd for fuel. Granted, I know it all depends on how much cruising you do, against the tide, wind, etc etc but don't think our cruising patterns were massively different between the two trips. I recall the boatyard saying you'll never run the tanks dry on a weeks hire (hence why there's no fuel gauge on most hire boats?) but I was just curious how close to empty these boats are after a week on hire. Cheers!

I watched one of the ever informative CaptainsBlogs the other week, I think whilst Robin was filling up Independence during lockdown? He explained that the yards will have their diesel storage tanks filled up and pay whatever the going rate is at the time. So, assuming the yards all filled up before lockdown at £1.20 a litre, they've still got £1.20 a litre sat in their tanks regardless of the 'actual' price diesel is being sold at down the supermarket etc. If that makes sense? Probably not, but it does in my head.

Thanks for the link :) As mentioned previously, I was very young and have very vague memories of the Broads but that was one of the things that stuck in my head. Along with me and my mum lay in bed in a bath tub screaming going across Breydon water!

Thanks everyone, that'll be it! Just had a look on google, it's a Hindu Temple now. Interesting how times change, what a shame. From my vague memories it was bustling restaurant in the middle of the summer holidays!

Amazon and some of the other big online retailers did their bit during the early days of the pandemic, using their logistical expertise. Still amazes me looking at the tracking info for my Amazon Prime parcels... A lot start their journey in Germany or Italy, and arrive at my doorstep within 24 hours. Impressive

I vaguely remember visiting the broads as a young lad (probably late 90's or early 00's) and stopping off for the evening at an American themed Diner somewhere on the broads. North or South, I've got no idea. Any idea where this may have been? Presumably it's not there now wherever it was! Just reminiscing about old holidays... Thanks

I think many people don't understand the actual benefits of a life jacket. I certainly didn't, until I did my Offshore Survival Training during my Officer Of The Watch course. They aren't just there to keep you 'afloat', if fitted properly and you should go unconcious in the water they'll protect your airways, keep your head above water, prevent water ingress (assuming there's not a big swell) and also help enormously when someone tries to drag you out of the river. Ever tried to drag a lifeless lump of a man out of the water without a firm handle to grab onto? It's very difficult. Even with a lifejacket on. That being said, whilst working away on a 12,000GT ship in East Asia, all of the ships crew (myself included) would still dice death without lifejackets on trying to get on/off rickety old pilot boats to take us ashore for refreshements. The same ordeal would happen again when we returned at 5am, 12 pints later. How none of us ended up in the drink I'll have no idea.

One of the things that puts me and the girlfriend off visiting the Southern broads is the (so I hear) lack of wild moorings and mudweighting opportunities. For us, we really enjoy being moored/weighed for the night with no one around. Upper levels of the River Ant on the wild moorings have been some of our favourite times. From what I understand, there's plenty of 'official' moorings on the South but not so much in the way of wild

My thoughts with all those involved. Hopefully a clearer overview of what exactly happened here is shared in due course, to prevent future accidents like this.

Sorry, I did mean low water. My apologies

Indeed personally I won't be crossing Breydon at anything other than slack water (not that I have a choice, I don't know what Waveney Pegasus' air draft is but I assume 8' 6" ish). My post about lobbing the mudweight was more a, what should I do if an emergency arises - ie the engine conks out for whatever reason. I know the mudweight probably wouldn't hold, but suppose it's better than nothing when you're at mercy of the water awaiting rescue

Very interesting and informative posts, thanks for sharing your inputs. Just out of curiosity (and preparedness for our crossing in October). Should the worse happen and sh!t hits the fan, and the big spinny thing below the water line decides to stop in the middle of Breydon, what's the best course of action? Lob the mudweight over, pay out all the line, and call 999 asking for coastguard?

Thank you for all the informative replies, it's really helpful for novice boaters like myself. Hopefully the wind won't be howling too much in October and we'll get the opportunity to mudweight a few times again

How much rope is it advisable to leave out, assuming there's a moderate breeze out? Last time I seem to recall making sure it ran at a 45 degree angle to the boat, but in hindsight should have perhaps left more to stop us dragging into the bushes?

Hi all! I've been lucky enough to visit the Broads a few times now (on Brinks Duet) with my girlfriend and our favourite part is mudweighting! We've mudweighted on Salhouse, Malhouse and South Walsham in the past and really enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of it - we've little to no interest using normal moorings with noisy neighbours in the mornings. However, a question to you all if I may. Is there a right and wrong way to mudweight? I've read various methods online over the years. I vaguely recall being told never to 'throw' the mudweight overboard once on our handover, and always lower it into the water gently so just out of habbit I've always done this. Last time we mudweighted on South Walsham in a gentle breeze, when we woke up we weren't where I thought we would be... We'd been blown into the trees In future, should I lob the mudweight overboard to give it a bit of depth in the mud? And how much rope should I pay out? Thanks, safe cruising!

As far as I know :)

Storing two weeks worth of smelly rubbish on your boat then taking it home with you? No thanks!

Really enjoyed reading through this thread after being a fan of Robin on YouTube for many years and having watched almost all of his videos, I think! Just out of curiosity, is Robin active on any other forums/groups etc? Really enjoyed his content and input, but see he hasn't been active on this forum for a few months.

Thank you all so much for the informative and helpful replies, what a lovely forum this seems to be! Most other places I'd have expected half a dozen sarcastic unhelpful responses. Sounds like we'll give it a shot and try make it across to the North and back if the weather is favourable. Will of course ask for a second opinion when doing the handover at Waveney just in case I've missed something and they don't think it's achievable. My main concerns were making it under Somerleyton on the Friday to reach moorings by sunset (assuming there's none on the Waveney side of the bridge?) as high tide looks to be 1730 ish. Along with my concerns of not making it back across Breydon to reach moorings by sunset on the Weds or Thurs, but other members seem to have settled my worries here regarding that :) Re punching against the tides... This doesn't bother me too much, as the weeks rental is fuel inclusive - may as well get my moneys worth I know staying in the Southern Broads would probably be easier, but for some reason we just really want to head back onto the Northern Broads as this is what we've enjoyed the last few times. I may of course be wrong, but I seem to recall the South not being quite as nice when I visited a long time ago as a kid - perhaps this has skewed my perception of it! I just vaguely recall lots of sailing with nothing much more than tall reeds either side

Hello all, this is my first time creating a thread here so please be kind Hopefully not broken any rules during the process, please let me know if I have. Hoping to seek some advice from the seasoned boaters on this forum, as we've just booked a week on the Broads in October and I'm starting to get in a flap about it. Bit of background info. I've been on the Broads a few times (twice on Brinks Duet in recent years) so I'm not completely new to the Broads or boating but have always been on the Northern Broads except once as a kid when I recall being traumatised crossing Breydon and visiting the South for a few days...! The 2 of us have booked a week on "Waveney Pegasus" from 1400 9th October to 0900 16th October. I understand there might be mixed opinions on this boat design but we decided to treat ourselves to a bit more 'luxury' than the cheaper boats we've hired in the past, mostly hoping it'll be a bit warmer on board given the time of year. We ideally wanted to spend the majority of the holiday on the Northern Broads but I've started to get myself into a right old flap about crossing Breydon, whether we'll have the time/daylight to achieve it etc. I'd really appreciate some insight, advice, hints, tips, or simply being told I'm wrong and it's unachievable. We pick up the boat at 1400 on 9th October from Waveney River Centre (near Oulton Broad) with the view to crossing Breydon on 10th. I think we should be able to make either St Olaves or Somerleyton but I understand there's a low bridge at Somerleyton. High tide seems to be around 1723 or so. I've been unable to find out the boats air draught so far, can anyone offer a guesstimate at Waveney Pegasus' air draft and whether we'll make it under Somerleyton or not? As for crossing Breydon on the way 'up', I think I'm good with that - Leave St Olaves or Somerleyton first thing and aim to hit Yarmouth for 1047 on 10th October then on wards to the North. However, the part that's worrying me, is getting back to the south with a 0900 return time on 16th. Assuming Thursday isn't achievable due to slack water being 1643 and sunset 1800 we're looking at making the crossing Wednesday 14th. Weds 14th showing slack water as 1550 and sunset 1800. Would crossing Yarmouth/Breydon at 1550 and reaching the first moorings on the South be achievable in your experienced eyes? Is it possible to pass an hour earlier than the advertised slack water times or am I then risking not getting under the Yarmouth bridges given the height of this boat. I'm very apprehensive at the thought of crossing Breydon with the daylight rapidly disappearing and there being no room at the first moorings (presumably these are at Barney Arms or Burgh Castle?). I'm sorry for all the questions, just a little unsure on it all especially given this is one of the taller boats available on the broads and don't want to find myself in a pickle once I'm there. Thank you!

We've took the plunge and hired Waveney Pegasus for a week in October, understand it may not be everyone's cup of tea but we really liked the look of it for the price - hopefully a bit more comfort in October than a cheap Richardsons bath tub etc (not that I'm knocking them in any way, either!). One question for the forum, if I may? Does anybody know the air draught of Waveney Pegasus, or be able to take a rough guesstimate? I'm keen not to hassle the boatyard receptionists just yet when they've probably got much better things to be getting on with. Thank you all :)