Broads01

I think you're right Neil. It may be the same two that were later at Harvey Eastwood and Easticks.

Ah yes, Petite Magnum was a very rare variant of the Bounty 37 design. I like the idea of the extra large stern deck and I think that would work well on a large modern forward steer. I don't know why the idea never caught on. Before Petite Magnum was at Easticks it was at Harvey Eastwood. Where exactly was Easticks at Acle? Was it downstream of the bridge where Alan Johnson was?

I watched your video today, Bryan, thank you for posting it. I find your videos very calming. Thanks also for the walk through of Swan Roamer at the beginning - it looks superb and I'm looking forward to having it even more now.

Robin, do you have to keep the rib on top of Indy? Could you berth it somewhere else where it would be immediately accessible?

Hi Clive. Yes the Swancraft were a great purchase and I'm very much looking forward to my upcoming break on Swan Roamer. The sedan sounds interesting. I hope you're putting a large sunroof on it or a side entrance, as with a sedan that makes a huge difference.

Have a great time. There's no boat called Broads Gem though.

I'm always interested to see ex-hire rarities. I saw one of these last weekend at Rowan Craft Marina, it may have been the same one. Actually that marina is ex-hireboat city. I counted 4 Safari 25s apart from the sedan and all sorts of others. Geek that I am I found myself looking up the numbers on the boat database.

I was on the Broads that week too and I remember passing the boat. What a tragic story. I've watched part one so far Robin and enjoyed every bit as much as usual. Please let Sheila know it really adds to the video when she's aboard - the two of you bounce off each other really well and your personalities compliment each other. It's great also when you have the freedom for extra shots when Sheila is steering.

Officially 7 foot but based on my experience at Beccles (see my Holiday Tale) more like 6 foot 9. So yes, would pass under Potter now and again but only now and again probably.

Here are my thoughts on Lady of Freedom from Freedom Cruisers which I hired solo for 5 nights in April 2018. Lady is an aft cockpit design dating from the early 1980s and being 31 foot by 11 foot has a similar layout to the majority of aft cockpit 2-4 berths but of greater dimensions. The rear cockpit is exceptionally spacious and there is the standard seating across the stern although it's difficult to use this when the open canopy covers it. The canopy itself although large is straight forward to raise and lower even when solo. There is a central bar which assists this as it divides the process in to two stages. When the canopy is raised both the side and rear sections can be rolled up which makes for good access and ventilation. The windscreen is in 3 separate sections and is unusually easy to lower and raise. Lady is powered by a BMC engine which may be the original and I found it reliable if a little noisy in comparison to more modern engines. It wasn't exceptionally economical although this was undoubtedly influenced by punching strong tides and running the engine when moored to make frequent use of the heating. The saloon is spacious and the u shaped sofa would accommodate 4-5 adults comfortably. No doubt when converted to a bed it would be of good size for sleeping. The galley on the opposite side is standard with 4 ring hob and good sized fridge. The washroom is a reasonable size and using the shower doesn't feel cramped as is common on hire craft. The floor in the washroom has large holes for drainage to the shower tray rather than the lift out floor type which worked well. I couldn't get the spray function to work on the shower. The forward cabin consists of a 4 foot double bed with a single cross over above. This worked OK for me given I could use the single as a generous storage shelf. There is a long hanging rail underneath the single bed which was useful but I'd prefer to have a shorter rail and use of some of the space for shelving or drawers. There's an additional TV in the bows which I didn't use but it's a nice luxury touch combined with the fixed aerial mounting on the roof. I had good TV signal everywhere with very little aerial adjustment. I think it would be a comfy boat for 3 or 4 although I could see storage then becoming an issue. Saloon storage is limited to a small wardrobe, the under sink cupboard and a modest cubby hole under the sofa. Overall, the boat was well maintained and excellent value for money. The service I received from Freedom was friendly and personal. I really like their unique offering of any day to any day hire and their willingness to continue to allow solo hirers means I shall undoubtedly return to Freedom in the future.

I think it depends on who's hiring Jean. I just got through 100 litres in 5 days thanks to strong tides, doing plenty of miles and needing the heating a lot. In a week's hire I tend to use about the same and I'm careful with the throttle (but I love doing cruising miles!).

Thanks Bryan. I'm looking forward to having Swan Roamer myself at the end of the month. I've always found Richardsons great if you need to call out - prompt and no fuss as per your experience.

I'm with you Neil. Posting on Facebook as a sole course of action seems pointless to me.

Not as such Andrew, although you can usually take a rope off the cleat on the opposite side.

Of course, just as it was time to return the boat this morning the sun was shining and lots of blue sky, albeit it was still cold enough to need my coat and hat on. Having had some breakfast and packed up I couldn't wait to get outside and open the canopy. It was a short but lovely sunny cruise back to the boatyard. Andy was there to greet me and I mentioned the battery issue. He asked me if I'd had any issues with the fridge, to which I replied there were none and the lighting and TV all fine too. He thought it could be a heater issue rather than a battery issue. I had used 100 litres of fuel, mainly from fighting strong tides but also because I had to run the engine a lot at moorings, hence Andy kindly gave me a hefty discount on the cost taking that in to consideration. We had a good chat about Rambling Freedom, currently out of hire because it needs a new rear roof amongst other things and he showed me aboard. What lovely old cruisers they are. We also had a good chat about the hire industry and he mentioned the camaraderie that exists amongst hire operators, even though they're competing with one another in a difficult market. I'm home now after a journey thankfully free of delays. Overall, whilst certainly not my best Broads holiday ever given the terrible news I received on Friday morning and the persistent bad weather, I feel remarkably satisfied. It was as good as ever to fulfil my passion and I got quite a bit of satisfaction from battling against the conditions. It was lovely to be back on the south Broads after a 3 year back and the friendly, individual service I received from Freedom was a refreshing change. Andy confirmed he has no plans to stop solo hirers which is great and I'll definitely go with Freedom again. I'll do a boat review in the hire boat section. Thanks all for reading along and your kind comments. I'm back in 4 weeks time with Mrs Broads01 on Swan Roamer.

Yes indeed, Neil. I'm very happy to say the Ferry House is as good as everyone says it is. It was a lovely meal, not just standard gammon, egg and chips but huge gammon, two eggs, sweet potato chips and a plate of freshly cooked vegetables. The atmosphere is warm and friendly.

Have a great time. Wow, side on at Ranworth, not the most considerate. I'd have asked them to switch to stern on or if they werent aboard, moved the boat for them.

I'll mention the battery issue when I return the boat tomorrow and I know the boat isn't going out again until Wednesday. Well it's been challenging in very wet and windy conditions today but I've enjoyed it, having made it safely to the Surlingham Ferry House. I was umming and ahing about whether to tackle the Chet but made a decision to do so as I approached the Chet mouth. At the confluence the boat rocked violently from right to left as I turned in, much more so than I can remember experiencing and sufficient to shake a couple of items to the floor. It's a good job coffee jars are made of tough glass. I kept the canopy side panel rolled up which made for a cold, windy experience but at least I had the fall back of being able to peer out and see. I made it to Loddon Staithe and headed straight for Rosie Lee's tea rooms. What a lovely little old fashioned place it is and coffee and gluten-free cake went down very well. On returning to the boat I made the decision to set off straight away and catch the last of the incoming tide when I reached the Yare. It was raining even harder now and piloting took all my concentration. When I reached the Yare the boat rocked less this time but it was proper choppy nevertheless. I ploughed on and decided to stop again at either Cantley or Langley Dyke. Cantley was a no no because the water was so high I would have needed welly boots to step off the boat. Thankfully the quay at Langley Dyke was sufficiently high and it made a relatively sheltered spot. I had some food and a good break and then set off for Surlingham. It was an uneventful cruise despite still needing to peer out of the side every now and again. In the whole of my cruise today, I passed two boats on the Chet, zero on the Yare (yes, zero all day) and that was it. I'm sat in the Ferry House now and very much looking forward to whatever I have from the menu.

Here you go Howard, you thought Beccles was quiet.

My dual steer boat... MOV_0050.mp4

I've moved to The Ship which seems more welcoming. My pint of Aspall is 20p less also. I could do without a big noisy TV that no one's watching though.

Yes of course Neil and to be honest I ended up regretting my choice. Its just I never seek to minimise the cruising I do, even on a wet day and to go the long way round just seemed the more interesting choice. Earlier, as I expected, I had to pull over in the lay by at Somerleyton Bridge to lower the canopy and screens with clearance at 7 foot 11. I then raised the screens on the move (handily easy on this boat and opted to carry on to St Olaves where I dropped the screens once again for the bridge there. I took a break for some food at the St Olaves BA moorings and then whooshed along with the tide until turning for the aforementioned Berney Arms. I know the south Broads is quiet but the weather seems to stop everybody coming out. I passed a boat coming upstream just before midday then saw zero boats whilst stopped at St Olaves and the sum total of one on the way to Berney Arms. I left Berney just after my last post around 4-15. Some years ago when solo I almost got caught out untying at Berney and had to make a leap on to a boat which the tide wanted to sweep away to Great Yarmouth. Today I had that in mind and on leaving looped each rope around the post and back on to the deck cleat. That way I could release each rope from the safety of the boat. The ebbing tide was still very strong and at full throttle all the way to Reedham I made no quicker than 3mph. What I did enjoy is realising that with life jacket on I could stand on the side deck and steer with my right foot. I could enjoy fresh air for a few minutes then! I opted to stop at Reedham Quay for the night having cruised more than far enough bearing in mind the weather. As I arrived at 5-30 I doubled the occupancy of the moorings! I cooked on the boat tonight and I'm now in The Nelson. It's the first time I've been in here and it's ultra quiet and all fine except the interior resembles a restaurant with nothing but dining tables and chairs.

Sounds like a great tip, thanks.

Well today is once again proving a challenge. The weather is appalling - winter wind again and constant drizzle with it. I'm currently stopped at Berney Arms having come down the Waveney all the way to Breydon and then turned left. From going with a strong tide down the Waveney once I turned for Berney the boat was hardly moving even at full throttle. Rather than battle the tide all the way to Reedham I decided to stop. The boat is bobbing up and down now so much (and banging the quay) I'm at risk of getting sea sick. I'll move on soon and stop at Reedham I'm now thinking.