trambo

Wow Dan, that young chap in the hat has some attitude! My first trip on the Broads dates back to 1962 when I was twelve years old on the King of Hearts. In those days I and my friends were avid ship spotters and we thought that the Hearts boats looked like "real" ships. I had two more trips on this magnificent boat in 1963 and 1964 and on the Ace of Hearts in 1965. The Ashby's kept their boats immaculate and on the 1965 trip I won a Swiss army knife for the best written log. The knife and a letter from Harry Brooker that accompanied it I'm ashamed and sad to say were lost. In 1967 just myself and parents had Bondi 2, an Aston built craft from Maffett Cruisers, A series of family holidays followed. Tudor Rose from Little Ships, Loch Lundie from Loynes and three trips on George Smiths Salamander 3 which was very much a Tardis and had a superb layout for three but was not at all uncomfortable for four when my girl friend joined us in 1967. Glenis and I then went together on Loch Morraig from Loynes and Wharfdale which had just gone under new ownership from Cuttings, who had kept her in top condition but now under Dale Line was in a sorry state. Fortunately today , under private ownership she is once again i tip top. My last Broads trip for many years was on the Brooms beauty Navigator 2. A superb craft in every way, my only complaint being my mother inlaw's snoring which travelled via the bilges which seemed to act as a megaphone from the fore cabin to the saloon berths! At this point I discovered canals and the Broads held no interest for a long, long time. Also one of life's darker periods followed when personal turmoil turned into personal honesty and I got divorced. Amicably I might add and we are still great friends. I had a son and where was I going to take him on holiday? He was too young for me to manage a canal boat alone but maybe a Broads boat. So we booked Flamingo from Maffetts and the week was a total success and was followed by weeks on Cloudless Safari, Cadet 1&2 and my favourites the two Golden Realms from Pearson Marine at Reedham. Jimmy Pearson was so laid back and the total opposite of the fastidious Mrs Broom, Two different personalities but the end result was the same, a really well presented boat. Also had a couple of last minute weekends with the lad which I booked from Hearts on Lightheart 2 and Knave of Hearts. Hearts by this time was owned by Rico and was great fun. Very friendly people but they always seemed to be in a state of total panic! I was always proud to take the boat back spotless not only inside but also outside. It took some effort, believe me! By 1992 I was in a relationship and my son was at the age that he wanted to do his own thing, so the two of us went on Santa Cruz from VIP Harvey Eastwood. The new partner was not keen on boating so got the boot! Then along came Derek who is my civil partner today, and we got on from our first meeting. Our first Broads holiday was again from Pearson's and was on Golden Star followed by Golden Realm 2. Then disaster struck, Jimmy stopped hiring. Aggggh! There then followed a number of hires some good, some ok and one terrible! First the good, Swallow (sister boat to Flamingo which I had hired before). Wonderful little budget boat from really nice people. The o.k. twice on Brinks Omega a superb boat and really top class, spoilt in my opinion by the yards attitude. Whilst not unfriendly, also not friendly, if you know what I mean! Also just O.K Hawaiian Goose from Whispering Reeds A lovely Opel28, fitted out by Phoenix Craft just looking a little tired and my big, big, no no, perspex windows. Not only perspex windows badly scratched ones! Now the bad and I will mention them because they no longer hire. Woods Dyke Boatyard and Cederwood. Absolute shambles from the moment we arrived. There was no kettle,the oven did not work (they solved by hitting something on it with a mallet), smoke poured out the exhaust and the batteries would not keep a charge. The engineer came out three times in one week, plus we retuned to the yard twice (to get a kettle and have the oven waked again) Every cloud has a silver lining and in this case it was the gent in reception who on telling of previous trips took me over to one of the sheds and there behold was the King of Hearts which had started my love affair with the Broads and was having a full restoration. After a full guided tour I forgave him everything! Then it happened, someone I was moored next to raved about Silverline. Had always thought their boats to look good but have to admit I was not fond of starting from Brundall. Anyway today I too rave about Silverline. I cannot fault them. They are professional, friendly, want to please and their boats are fitted out and presented to the highest standard. Find a look a like boat in another fleet and I think I can assure you the Silverline one will be smarter and better equipped. The only criticism I have seen is the price of their diesel but I can live with that! Anyway, advert over! Have been on so far on Solano, Harmony and Symphony. Will be on Symphony from this friday as well. Anyway thats it up to now, probably missed a boat or two, usual do when I witter on like this! Fred

Well Clive it doesn't exactly excite me enough to get in a lather over it but I might take it for a spin if I tumble into Stalham.

Brochure comment "Will not pass under any Broadland bridge except the A47 viaduct at suitable states of the tide"

Hi Lori, I use my normal email address to log on to Flikr. I think you can also do it with your Facebook password if you have one. Fred

Thanks for the update, not as sinister as we first thought and I'm sure the snails will keep to the speed limit.

Although I have never hired from them they showed me over their Royal Velvet, while having a pumpout. Beautifully maintained but I thought at the time a little twee and I did not like the orange livery! Like to start in the South but If starting on the North side I think I would consider but first choice would be Summercraft. Fred

Very very nice and hello from a very very green with envy Fred!

Thanks Simon for the link. I suppose the nearest comparable craft are the larger 2 berth Swancraft. Considering she is a new build, on the large side for two and based on the Northern Broads which seems to attract a slightly higher hire rate I thought she was priced rather reasonably. Add to that the standard of presentation you get at any point in the season from Royalls then I'm sure it will be a big success for them. At least I hope so, these small yards give a type of service only possible by the very fact that they are small. Unfortunately because of their size they are more susceptible to the economics of the hire boat / leisure industry but the Broads would not be the same without them. Fred

Its either silted up rather quickly or they missed a bit!

Has the river ever been dredged since it reopened in the 50s?

Best helm position?...........................Behind the wheel. For single handed cruising at that size I would have thought aft was best but for space it has to be forward every time. Fred

That really is macabre but something I always dreamed to do as a kid. Object, usually chocolate always seemed to leave the grab at the critical moment! Hope the child was ok, must have been distressing for all concerned. Fred

Thanks for info, looking into, they do look fun.

I must live a very sheltered life as Ive never seen (or noticed) one before. Fascinating little boat, tell us more about her, I want one!..................................How many days to Christmas?

Gem. Hired Omega twice going back a bit and she looks as if she has had a full refurbishment since we had her. Great boat for late season being fully enclosed i.e. no draughts but has full patio style doors to rear making it very bright. Very comfortable saloon with plenty of storage. If it is nice there is a seating area outside for your G&Ts. Omega is the only hire boat I have had that has working navigation lights although of corse you're not allowed use them as intended! Fred

Great looking day boat , glad you enjoyed and the weather held.

Hi Gem and welcome. Lovely time of the year on the Broads. Much quieter and relaxed than summer. Although I have had ice on the deck in October this was a one off, the boats heating being adequate and that was in the days of catalyst heaters. I think everywhere is still open till the end of school mid term. Only possible downside is that some boats will be looking a little scruffy on the outside but otherwise go for it. Fred

Hi Lori, Super card. I would date mid 50s. The boat coming towards us is a Sirdar class cruiser from H.C. Banham (later Norfolk Holiday Boats) Horning. Fred

Hi Robin, I think you almost answered your own question! However you are right in that I think yards should be more responsive to customers requests, especially when bookings are low. To the big boys it should be a doddle, they usually have something not hired and the staff base, even for notice bookings but I can see the medium and smaller yards having a problem unless it was like your scenario at short notice. If it is, then again they should be able to respond positively. If the boat is Saturday start and you wish to take it Friday, then it should have been cleaned on its return with only the making of the beds ( or the arrival of fresh laundry if the yard does not make them up) to be done. If cleaning does not take place on your return then it can be left until the normal takeover day. The yard I use, which I would class as small/middle sized with twenty one boats and is mostly weekly hire (Friday or Saturday)but still has some short break boats which adds Monday and Tuesday to the starting days. This leaves just Wednesday and Thursday when there might be a staff issue. I would like to think they would be able to accommodate but really don't know. The smaller the yard, probably the more it could be a problem. I can think of one very small yard that has a very good reputation for hospitality but hiring is only a part of the business, again the only way is to try. While on the subject of start days. For many years in the 80s/90s I hired a boat called Golden Realm 2 from Reedham. There were many reasons why I chose her but one of the main reasons was that she uniquely started on a Sunday. A lovely day to start. Roads quiet, no hassle. Now I now it's a unusual day to start, with staff issues but if a boatyard out there is reading this it might be a selling point. Fred

Agree the canals do not seem to be affected as much as the Broads. I live very close to a hire yard and he seems to have had most of his boats out for weeks now. There is a perception out there that the Broads are down market. If I tell someone I going to the Broads the response is sort of "Oh, thats nice," "You like the Broads don't you" or "We went once, years ago." On more than one occasion I have had to defend the Broads from negative comments. Mention I'm going on the canals and the response is that far more enthusiastic with much more interest generated. There needs to be a continues push by all interested parties to 'up' the Broads. Yes, lets have little bit of spin, after all it is backed by fact. Fred

Have no fear it is in a sealed envelope!

Clive, Thanks for reinventing the bathtub! She certainly is different and full of character. Had a look at the internals on Facebook and impressed. Have seen two new craft this week and both yours and the other yards look good, avoiding what I call the flat-pack look that some new build fit outs remind me of.

I suppose it is over what time period you are talking as most yards have increased their fleets of late. If you go back to the heady heyday years though the number has dramatically reduced. In the late 60s 2300 cruisers and yachts plied for hire from over 140 boatyards at over 30 locations. It was certainly the era of the agency. Most of the big yards ( Jenners Woods Richardson ) belonged to the NSBYA (Blakes), whilst Hoseasons had the largest number of (if much smaller) boatyards and Bradbeer, Broads Holidays and a couple of independents added to the number. What is certainly true is that the surviving yards today are of a much better standard. Today I reckon there are no bad yards as then (no need for a blacklist) and although I have my favorites I would feel confident booking from any. Fred p.s Now that I think of it there is one yard I would be reluctant to book with!

Trying to remember but I know it was all a bit strange. I think the notice was just a laminated one on a post or lamp. There were different rates depending on time of stay. I duly went to the baths entrance where the young lady had no idea what I was talking about and sent for someone else who then spent what seemed forever finding a receipt book. Anyway we paid and displayed for a short stay and made our way to Ellingham for the night but as we were stuck between two rather loud boats we decided late on to return to Beccles. Baths closed we just moored up. Next morning we kept on getting the eye from the the guy mentioned by BuffaloBill but he never approached us. Now Hylander says we should "pay at the harbour as the sign clearly states". I'm confused! Have to agree that Beccles is a really lovely little town and deserves to be more popular. Fred