Hire Boats Looking Uncared For This Season

[vanessan]

12 minutes ago, Maxwellian said:

I thought M733 was Fine Freedom. We saw some of the City boats out this year. Assumed they were still hiring. Prepared to be educated.

You're right, they do still seem to be going. I thought they had ceased hiring holiday cruisers at the end of last year - obviously not. M733 was one of Freedom's but I don't think it is now as it is no longer in Freedom's livery and is certainly not as well cared for as their boats usually are. We have seen it a number of times this year, always with a different crew so I assume it is still being hired out.

[ranworthbreeze]

We have not hired on the Broads, but we have hired all over the country including Scotland on the Canals. Most boats are clean, we have had a few exceptions during the years. Our crew clean the inside of the boat daily and outside weather permitting and we feel we hand over an as clean if not cleaner boat on the change over day. we also do any little jobs on board such as bolts & catches not correctly fitted.

On board Ranworth Breeze each owner has to refuel and pump out the boat and leave the water tank full for the next owner. We also have to clean the inside and outside of the boat or employ the services of a cleaning company. I tend to do the cleaning of the outside while Tan tackles the inside, it takes around three hours to clean the outside of the boat, but I like to do this so I can clean off any marks and make a note of any defects ready for the Winter Service during which any gel coat repairs are done.

A few years ago when Glenn was managing the syndicate, he arrived at 9.00 am on the dot, it had been raining overnight and asked why had I not cleaned the outside of the boat, needless to say I put him into the picture of how many hours I had spent cleaning the boat. 

Sadly with weeks of wet weather boats never look as good as they should do and the green between joints and on decks soon takes hold.

Regards

Alan 

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, Baitrunner said:

Vaughan, If Le Boat are classed as a small independent franchise who hire on the cheap then I agree - I have never thought of them as cheap or small though - and this was last summer.

Your post is not the one I was referring to, and nor is the company. However. . . .

"Le Boat" is all that is left of a private company that I was proud to work for, for 17 years. If what you say is the result of their new "global" marketing policies then I am bitterly dis-appointed and agree with you, that this can only go against them in the long run.

I am also rather sad, personally, that I seem to be the only one on this forum these days who is prepared to state my case as a boat hirer, and stand up for them. 

I think I should remind myself that I am retired, leave them to defend their own policies, if they may, and go and enjoy the afternoon sun on my terrace.

[riyadhcrew]

Sounds like a very good idea to me Vaughan. Wish I could come and join you. 

[Vaughan]

3 minutes ago, riyadhcrew said:

 

Sounds like a very good idea to me Vaughan. Wish I could come and join you. 

 

There speaks a man who knows, I would guess?

[riyadhcrew]

Oh I know Vaughan, I certainly know. Cheers.

[Baitrunner]

Vaughan I would be joining you as well if I could!!

I think it's good to have your view on here as you have a wealth of experience in the industry, so don't give up putting the other sides thoughts on the forum.

If that isn't typical French hire company policy I shall look to a few other companies - It wont put me off as it's on my bucket list to do - if you know any good ones out there maybe you could PM me?

My friend who got caught with this additional fee last year also said they charge a lot for car parking as well. I do wonder if that is just Le Boat trying to make some more money?

Back on topic (sort of) do all the yards on the Broads now charge for parking in high season? I know RIchos didn't in March. Or maybe it's just if you have more than one car?

[BroadScot]

Quote

Back on topic (sort of) do all the yards on the Broads now charge for parking in high season? I know RIchos didn't in March. Or maybe it's just if you have more than one car?

 Like th

Some yards charge some do not Mark. Richos were free in May last year.

Iain

[riyadhcrew]

I've never paid for parking outside. There is normally a charge for under cover parking.

[ranworthbreeze]

I think most yards allow for one car to park but there may be additional charges for multiple cars.

Regards

Alan 

[ChrisB]

Must say that I tend to go along with the Griff BA type of outlook. I do not take to scruffy boats. Unfortunately due to circumstance my own is well below our normal standard. I like to see a boat well turned out, fenders stowed and looking it's best.

[Broads01]

Many yards do still charge for parking which is understandable where they have limited space (Barnes for instance have to take keys and shuffle cars around to fit them in). Richardsons scrapped charging for outside parking 2 or 3 years ago.

The exterior cleanliness of Richardsons boats has niggled me when I've hired from them and I've tended to use the feedback form to highlight. I do accept Robin's point however that customer expectations on turnaround times limit opportunity to rectify this. Interior cleanliness is always faultless.

I don't accept the argument that hirers should feel responsible for mopping down boat decks (which has limited effect anyway). In fact I've never really understood why people feel the need to scrub down interiors when the boatyard has responsibility for this and hirers pay for it within their hire charge. I only make sure washing up is all done, rubbish is emptied and everything is tidy.

[JennyMorgan]

17 hours ago, Vaughan said:

Your post is not the one I was referring to, and nor is the company. However. . . .

"Le Boat" is all that is left of a private company that I was proud to work for, for 17 years. If what you say is the result of their new "global" marketing policies then I am bitterly dis-appointed and agree with you, that this can only go against them in the long run.

I am also rather sad, personally, that I seem to be the only one on this forum these days who is prepared to state my case as a boat hirer, and stand up for them. 

I think I should remind myself that I am retired, leave them to defend their own policies, if they may, and go and enjoy the afternoon sun on my terrace.

To be fair, Vaughan, many people do stand up for the hire yards when applicable. Without the hire industry the Broads would not be the Broads that we love and enjoy. However, they don't always get it right and, for example, the present push for power hungry boats more akin to high-end, plush apartments with every imaginable gizmo onboard does suggest to some of us that a wrong turn has been taken. The techknowledgey is yet to catch up with the reality of the Broads and boating!

[Gracie]

I will stand up for the hire yards big and small until I am blue in the face, I think they provide a brilliant service for us to be able to have a holiday in a unique and beautiful place, I can only imagine what the outcome would be for the Broads if they were to be no more.

Boats are beautiful, big or small, old or new.......my fear is that normal every day people will be priced out of a broads holiday with the floating apartment type of boat being thousands of pounds to hire. This is just a personal opinion but for me a Broads holiday is going back to basics, all we need is a galley, a bed and a shower, the broads does the rest.

I am not knocking anyone who prefers all the mod cons, it's just not for us, we have that at home, I have never understood the expression 'home from home'......I go on holiday to get away from home lol

Grace

 

[Oddfellow]

M733 is fine Freedom and is definitely in need of a trip through the boat shed. More than any other craft in the fleet, this boat has been out of the water, hull cleaned and even painted in places, anti fouled and so on since our move to Thorpe. We've never repainted the whole thing though. 

Difficulties this year with personal health and the fact that we've barely time to breathe between hires has made it challenging to keep things looking as good as they have in the past, but we've had a good clean of many hulls in the last few weeks, though there is more to do. As we enter September, it looks as though there will be more opportunity to get in a dinghy. 

As for pressure washing, this is rarely an answer. It may remove top layers of grime, but there is no substitute for a good scrub and it all takes time. Also, pressure washers will take off paint, strip windows of silicone and flood window drain channels causing water to flow into cabins. We use them vary carefully. 

 

City Boats business has changed. It no longer operates the trip boats and has dropped it's fleet to just three holiday cruisers. The day boats remain. However, the land that houses the business and also Beryl High's house has been up for sale for some time. It went to auction and didn't sell initially but was sold after I believe. I hear plenty of rumours about who's bought it, but I won't repeat them as they are simply rumours. The two trip boats are available for quite low money now (after a big price reduction recently) at Boatshed. 

[TheQ]

"Boats are beautiful, big or small, old or new......".

Grace

 

Are you sure?

 

PS I agree with the rest!!

[MauriceMynah]

Hire fleets are customer driven just like (almost) any other business. If there is a demand for mod cons the yards will supply boats with them... at a price. If the boats are too scruffy, they won't get hired.

If people want to tell hire yards how to run their businesses, I would respectfully suggest that those people buy a fleet of boats and do it themselves.

Vaughan, you are not the only one who sticks up for the hire fleets, it is just some who sometimes forget the various joys of life and find themselves having a moan at things. We all do it from time to time ... don't believe me? just mention the Spirit of Breydon, refuse facilities or non comunicative sailies and see.

[Regulo]

Stop winding people up, MM! Just 'cos your computer is back in operation!!

[ComfortablyNumb]

Having recently returned from a holiday with Le Boat in Italy, I would say that most Broads cruisers are clean and well maintained by comparison - most of their craft looked like they had not had a polish or powerwash to their hull since they were first built... the rubber rubbing strakes were falling off too.  

The problem of a damp, wet summer causing grass to grow is not just evident on boats - in Devon this summer, we have never seen so many weeds sprouting out of pavement cracks, all over the place !  

[vanessan]

Andy, thank you for explaining about M733, it is good of you to do so especially after my criticism. Having seen some of the crews on board and the way they treat the boat, I am not surprised it is in need of some tlc. On this forum we have discussed at some length the trials and tribulations of a hire yard and I think most of us are supportive of the yards, particularly the independents. I still recommend the book 'A Broad Experience' by Robin Godber, it's a fascinating insight into hire yard ownership and I know quite a few forum members have read it.

[Vaughan]

55 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Vaughan, you are not the only one who sticks up for the hire fleets, it is just some who sometimes forget the various joys of life and find themselves having a moan at things.

You are quite right and I apologise. I must have been feeling a bit grumpy yesterday! I suppose I get sad sometimes, to see how drastically it has all changed over the years.

I know a lot of you support the boat hirers but I just felt I seem to be the only boat hirer who is supporting the boat hirers! Apart from Andy of course but then I regard his business as much more traditional (If I may say so). I don't suppose he is loading his boats up with complex AC gadgetry, and I don't suppose his boats are running their engines on moorings!

[LondonRascal]

Truly, I believe it comes down to the diversified nature of the ‘Norfolk Broads Boatyard’ – in years past you would have more smaller operators, then you would have medium to larger operators.  Some would have some additional revenue streams – houseboats, a few moorings and may take on a bit of private engineering work.

These days it seems in order to thrive you need your fingers in many pies.  You run boats, you have holiday apartments or chalets, you run a brokerage business, you take on private engineering and you have a large number of moorings either in your own yards basin or elsewhere that you own and manage.

No single part of the business might be enough to support it overall, but combined if the boats are letting poorly it might be the apartments are doing well, if neither are good the moorings will always pay and the brokerage side could be doing well too. 

What, you may wonder has this to do with the boats external appearance?  

Because I feel if it was a smaller yard with say 12 boats, and you had grown up within a family where this was the bread and butter of daily life that perhaps in school holidays you would help out with cleaning the boats, you might, as you are older wish to get more involved in the business.

With all of this pride is being formed.  From the service you give, the turn out of your boats to the friends you make over the years with your loyal returning customers and you might well see ways to improve, expand and so on that your father was missing out with it is almost a competition against..your competition.

With larger yards – the boats are simply assets. They go out, they come back, some get damaged and then repaired and eventually they are sold, new boats are built and so it goes on. Your staff will come and go so the receptionist people got to know over 5 years might move on, there is a disconnected far more commercial element to the running of the operation and no family ties or emotional feelings towards a boat that may have been a struggle to have saved for to buy and fit out in the past. 

As the owner of the modern hire business on the Broads you will be juggling perhaps 3 or 4 areas of the business and relying upon yard managers and so on to keep it ticking over each day and your one goal will be how to turn the best profit.

Of course since the beginning all businesses have been there to turn a profit, but I wonder if in this day and age on the Broads the customer came first wanting larger, more expensive boats or the yards began producing them and telling the customer this is what you will need.  Clearly these larger boats despite their cost let well and as fast as they can be built so the bookings remain buoyant.

[BroadScot]

My first hire cost me the pricely sum of £54.00 move on forty years and I coughed up over £1500 to hire a boat. I could or should have moved to owning, but the distance and when we could travel down, put a barrier on the idea. So instead, I have been a very happy hirer with many boatyards.

Thanks to them, I have had many wonderful holidays, too many to mention. So thank you to ALL boatyards on the Norfolk Broads, past and present. I am sure you have changed many peeps lives with boating.

Iain

[riyadhcrew]

Well said Iain. If not for us hirers, there would be nothing there for anyone.

[unclemike]

sat here at oulton broad makes me wonder about the day boat hire here, 1 elysian picnic boat and 6 little dayboats,one hs holesb in the rear window of canopy,another has canopy splitting, a third one has a hole where the mooring cleat should be with rope dissappearing into the depths, all 6 are very shabby yet seem to be in big demand#

what happened? there were 20 boats well maintained and well looked after,now only 6 poorly maintained, as the only hire yard here it seems to be a wasted opportunity