Times Up / Alphacraft Auction

[kfurbank]

Matt, I really think the pictures speak for themselves, and that's the damage you can see. Some very sad pictures in another place. It would appear from TripAdvisor reviews that one boat was actually sent out on hire with a hole in the hull that you could see through!! Brings a whole new meaning to ensuring adequate ventilation.

[quo vadis]

38 minutes ago, Matt said:

All these people talking down the prices in what could be a double bluff to grab themselves a bargain. If the auction had gone ahead I bet next years meet could have doubled as an Alphacrat reunion.........

I could see this coming a while ago 

[Gracie]

I don't know much about buying and selling of boats, what to look for, although a ruddy great hole in the bow would put me off but the very fact that another hire yard down South has gone and all we have left is a couple of smaller yards is an awful loss to the Broads.

I hope that anyone lucky enough to nab a bargain will have the time and money to spend on these craft and bring them up to scratch, I for one would love to cruise along and spot one and to be able to say to im indoors "Look at that lovely boat, that was an Alpha Craft" ...........Alpha Belnheim and that big 42 (or is it 44) footer for just two people, what cracking craft and layouts they are, good luck to anyone buying one, judging by comments on here, you're probably going to need it lol

Grace

 

[LondonRascal]

Alphacraft was an odd yard – I don’t mean that in a rude way, but they always did things a bit differently than anyone else. 

Their eccentric interiors attracted some and surely put others off but they were proud to do it their way. Some boats had with faux leaded light windows, ironwork in their interiors and not to forget the three piece suites and cabinets with the drop down leaf door which could double as the ‘cocktail cabinet’. 

Putting domestic toilets in – a bath yes, it was all possible with Alphacraft, and for a period in the late 80’s through the 90’s I think it fitted the mood and times well. The thing was, as times changed these legacy cruisers stayed firmly where they were – in the past. 

With new moulds and fit outs they toned down some of their more unusual creations, but even then you could tell an original Alphacraft moulded and fitted out boat to that of the same mould being hired from another yard.  I liked that.  I liked the red draylon thick curtains many of their boats sported and the Union Jack logo – it was cool, it felt like something special was going on down in Brundall when you saw one pass you on the northern rivers. 

To see what has become of the boats and yard now is most upsetting to anyone who has a passion for the Broads and is a bit of a nerd when it comes to boats like me.

The boats are in a sorry state, like an abandoned fairground with weeds growing through cracked paths you can take yourself back to the happy days, the sounds of laughter and activity – and that is how I see each boat now.  Expectant families taking them over, their first look on the boat, the yard staff busy preparing them they created many memories and happy holidays.

So who would buy one of these now?  If you know your way around a tin of resin and some glass fibre matting this could be your project to get your teeth into but let’s fact it it goes deeper than that. 

You are going to need to go through the underwater gear with a fine tooth comb, just as with the gearbox, engine and electrical systems.  With batteries disconnected the bilge pumps will not have run, the floors and bearers are likely to have been ruined – bulkhead bottoms too.  The list continues with the foam mattresses and seating shot through damp and mould, much of the woodwork appears to have suffered from damp and water ingress issues too.  Think of it as a floating, powered shell to bring back to life.

Even a boatyard with the tools, staff and knowhow would take some time to make these pay their way again – look at Bridgecraft who bought two in the past.  It was no quick fix before the boats found their way into the fleet and paying customers to take them out. 

Of course you could patch them up and work on them over time – people who might seek a cheap live-aboard and gut the interior and re-build in the ‘home style’ of tongue and groove timbered interiors, freestanding furniture and so on – so long as it floats and is rain proof it’s a goer. 

I’d love some of the newer boats to find their way into other fleets but I am not so sure if they will, above all it is sad to read back here and elsewhere in the past when the first rumours were made of Alphacraft being in some trouble and where things are now but it seems there are still some more twists and turns to come forth in the story yet.

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

All these people talking down the prices in what could be a double bluff to grab themselves a bargain. If the auction had gone ahead I bet next years meet could have doubled as an Alphacrat reunion.......

I have run (hired out) a lot of Alpha built boats for a lot of years. I must admit that I asked the opinion of a Mod before I started posting on this thread, to discuss how much I could say, and how much I ought not to. In the end I decided to confine my remarks to the sort of condition that you will now find them in, after years of neglect, and leave aside anything else I might know about how they were built.

I wish to make abundantly clear that my remarks are in no way intended as a double bluff to grab a bargain. It should be obvious by now that if you want to take a punt on one of these boats then you risk fitting a millstone around your neck.

At least you will not be able to come back to this forum afterwards and say you were not warned by those with real experience, whose genuine concern was simply that you should not get your fingers burned.

[Matt]

The man doth protest too much methinks 

 

I think people may be taking my post just a little too seriously.......

 

[teadaemon]

12 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

I have run (hired out) a lot of Alpha built boats for a lot of years. I must admit that I asked the opinion of a Mod before I started posting on this thread, to discuss how much I could say, and how much I ought not to. In the end I decided to confine my remarks to the sort of condition that you will now find them in, after years of neglect, and leave aside anything else I might know about how they were built.

I wish to make abundantly clear that my remarks are in no way intended as a double bluff to grab a bargain. It should be obvious by now that if you want to take a punt on one of these boats then you risk fitting a millstone around your neck.

At least you will not be able to come back to this forum afterwards and say you were not warned by those with real experience, whose genuine concern was simply that you should not get your fingers burned.

Similarly, as a (now former) marine surveyor, I've seen a number of Alphacraft, and one thing that I'd take from that experience is that whilst two boats taken from the same mould might look externally identical, there can be a considerable difference in both the quantity and quality of materials used in their construction, not to mention the design of various systems (stern gear, especially the reinforcement of the rudder post being a specific example). It is obvious to me that within certain constraints, Alphacraft were willing to build shells and whole boats to a certain price point, rather than to a detailed specification. Consequently, when boats based on their mouldings come up for sale, a wise buyer would do their research and get a good surveyor to check exactly what it is that they're planning to buy, as there's no other reliable way to tell.

[kfurbank]

Around 18 months ago I started a thread which can be read here,

http://forum.norfolkbroadsnetwork.com/topic/7449-spoiling-the-ship-for-a-haporth-of-tar/#comment-106387

That exercise cost me well in excess of a thousand pound and a weeks hard graft, all because a certain boat builder saved a few quid on the build. I speak from bitter experience.

You also have to trust the experts at times. One yard I know is very careful how they prop certain Alphas when out on the hard standing. They need to be propped on the outer edges of the underneath of the hull. Prop to close towards the central rudder skeg and the whole floor has a tendency to pop upwards.

 

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, kfurbank said:

1 hour ago, teadaemon said:

a wise buyer would do their research and get a good surveyor to check exactly what it is that they're planning to buy, as there's no other reliable way to tell.

One yard I know is very careful how they prop certain Alphas when out on the hard standing

These are salient points, to which I would select another - from a list - does it have a Plummer block (thrust bearing) on the prop shaft? If not (and I have never seen one of them that does) then the propellor is pushing the boat through the water on the bearings inside the gearbox. Not all marine gearboxes are designed to accept this. There is an easy way to tell - lift off the engine cover, start it up, and engage forward gear. If the engine jumps forward about two inches, then you have trouble. As this violent motion will throw the engine out of line with the shaft and also wear out the damper plate on the flywheel, not to mention the flexible mountings of the engine itself, then you have even more trouble.

2 hours ago, Matt said:

I think people may be taking my post just a little too seriously.......

Sure, if you like, but then they may not be taking the purchase of these boats seriously enough?

[kfurbank]

16 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

These are salient points, to which I would select another - from a list - does it have a Plummer block (thrust bearing) on the prop shaft? If not (and I have never seen one of them that does) then the propellor is pushing the boat through the water on the bearings inside the gearbox.

I'm assuming it is testament to Barnes and their part of the fit out, but mine actually has two mounted along the shaft. One about a metre away from the stern gland, and the second under the berth in the middle cabin. Both have grease pumped in on a regular basis.

[Matt]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

 

Sure, if you like, but then they may not be taking the purchase of these boats seriously enough?

Why would I need to- I'm not buying one?!

 

 

 

 

 

[dnks34]

Some people who might have been serious eyes open buyers may have missed out on a bargain or dodged a bullet it all depends how you look at it.

[Matt]

Or maybe I am........

 

absolute rubbish those boats........

 

[BroadScot]

I am surprised know one has said these boats were all stinkies with stinkie being the prerogative word !

[Oddfellow]

I would have thought that AYB (which isn't yet listing these on its web site as I write) would be sick of these boats. They have been offered and withdrawn so many times by this broker in the last 24 months that you would think the Alpha fleet was attached to St Olaves on a Bungee cord. 

There isn't one boat out of this fleet that is in good condition. Back in March, they were looking very poor. If these sit around through winter without any attention, they will lose more value and become more expensive to repair. Offers have been made in the past for the whole lot and refused. People have lost their jobs. Others have lost friends and face and the Broads has lost another hire fleet which brings the total of holiday boats on the Southern Broads no more than 60 (as opposed to around 300 from Stalham alone next year). 

I doubt that many of the Alpha fleet will appear in hire in next year; they would have to be stupidly cheap for me to want one - I reckon that Bridge Craft had the best of them (and they look great now).  

 

[Mark]

16 hours ago, Matt said:

Or maybe I am........

 

absolute rubbish those boats........

 

Wind up merchant , you,ll be telling us that the Irons  are a decent team soon !

 

[Matt]

7 hours ago, Mark said:

Wind up merchant , you,ll be telling us that the Irons  are a decent team soon !

 

 

Absolute rubbish. Wouldn't touch em with a barge pole ;-)

 

[Gracie]

Hi Mondeaoman

Just read through this thread again and I would like to apologise for your holiday tale to go so way off topic, I also posted about Alpahcraft at one point, so sorry once again. I am glad you had a lovely time and don't worry about your head, you will recover, when we had the sliding roof back on Broadland Mars I bumped my head going from the saloon to the galley on a daily basis, I had a lump the size of a golf ball and a mild case of concussion by the end of that holiday lol

Would love to hear more about your holiday, if you've got photos, even better, what boat are you thinking of hiring at half term?

Grace

[NorfolkNog]

Good point Grace. I think it's just one of the idiosyncracies of this Forum that it goes off on a tangent at the drop of a hat. I remember the famous Stokesby Ferry Inn thread that went off on one about smoking!

I did a holiday thread a while back which got hijacked so I just quietly started with another thread! If I were the OP that's what I'd be inclined to do

[Gracie]

I totally agree Howard, I think I may have been guilty of taking a thread off topic in the past, I am going to make a conscious effort not to do so in future, the Alphacraft issue is a totally different matter to Mondeomans holiday tale but I do understand that things can go off topic fast, we could be discussing the weather in one instance and what we had for dinner the next lol

I don't think it's meant in a malicious way, just human nature I guess

Anyway.....BACK ON TOPIC......looking forward to MM's holiday tale and while I'm about it, family are coming over for a BBQ later

Grace

 

 

[JennyMorgan]

Mention has been made of how some Alpha-Craft boats need to be propped on their chines rather than on their keels. Not entirely unusual as MTB's sometimes have to be sat on specialist trailers when slipping them. Anyway, that aside, a warning to others. I am aware of a g.r.p. ex hire boat that was slipped at Lowestoft last winter. The owners had, whilst afloat, removed bulkheads in order to 'open plan' their boat. The yard owner was wary so disconnected the prop shaft from the engine before lifting her in strops. At that point it was clear that there was movement as the shaft, or was it the engine, went out of kilter by over four inches. When she was sat on a cradle a great deal of effort was made to prop the hull and realign the shaft. The boat owner had completely ruined the integrity of the boat. If he were to put her on the market would a prospective purchaser be aware of the boat's shortcomings?  It's a nightmare world out there for the unwary.

[Mondeoman]

Hi Grace

We are thinking about a flat bottomed boat from Richardsons,something like crysta lgem.Cheap and there must be more headroom in those surely.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Mondeoman,

Here is a link to see Crystal Gem for forum members.

http://www.richardsonsboatingholidays.co.uk/boats/crystal-gem/

Regards

Alan

[Gracie]

Very nice Boat, not hired her but been on similar and never had any problems, im indoors is quite tall, I am only 5 feet four and still manage to bang my head on something It's whatever floats your boat (pardon the pun) as long as you enjoy her that's all that matters. Please let us know what you decide in the end and hope you have a lovely time......now about that holiday tale

Grace

 

[Bound2Please]

17 minutes ago, Gracie said:

 I am only 5 feet four and still manage to bang my head on something

Grace

 

You trying to better the :Peskies: fire extinguisher bashing darlin?

Charlie