Something New In Hoseasons

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Jean,

Have a look at our Bridge Height file, that shows the bridge height at high water, the estimated variation of height for the tides and contact information if available. please click on the following link that takes you to our information page:-

http://forum.norfolkbroadsnetwork.com/topic/5144-bridge-heights/

Regards

Alan

[DAVIDH]

Arabella seems to have gone but a Cover Girl has taken her place.

http://www.hoseasons.co.uk/boat-holidays/nya-private-charter-nyap/cover-girl-bh2456

 

[Baitrunner]

She didn't look that good last Saturday. 

Damn big looking though. Couldn't see inside and the weather wasn't great so didnt hang around. 

Looks a good comfortable boat though. 

[Broads01]

10 hours ago, Baitrunner said:

She didn't look that good last Saturday. 

Damn big looking though. Couldn't see inside and the weather wasn't great so didnt hang around. 

Looks a good comfortable boat though. 

When you say "didn't look that good", in what way? 

[Baitrunner]

Needed a damn good clean. Then again so does mine

I am sure once they know she is going out James will get his boys sprucing her up. 

She did look in good sound condition though. 

Sorry should have been more explicit. 

Has anyone been inside her yet? I heard a rumour its a bit furry as in faux fur

[JamesLV]

I think it's nice to see any sort of new business on the broads, we're seeing far too many posts these days about yards, hire companies and pubs closing.

that said I suppose part of this (certainly in regards to the pubs) is that as the boats get ever posher with more mod-cons then the need to go ashore for sustinence (sp?) becomes ever diminishing. Doesn't stop me though, hire a posh boat, still go to the pub, it's a holiday!

certainly nice to see some action on the south as well, Brundall is a beautiful yard, when I was interested in a share of Southern Crusader I spent a bit of time there.

[marshman]

I actually disagree with James, and indeed I think the evidence actually points to the reverse being true! I don't think the people who hire the more expensive boats, especially for short breaks, actually want to go anywhere near the galley!!!

I am also too much of a sceptic to see much logic behind the expansion of a new hire fleet down south. I would love to believe the feasibility of such actions, but if noone else can make it run effectively, then how all of a sudden, can Brooms?? Cynical I know but if they don't get the bookings, and others couldn't, then there may be other motives behind the expansion!

Not seen a lot in the Press lately either, about the much vaunted plans to shift the manufacturing away from the river up to a new site nearer the main road? I think Martin Broom selling up was probably a wise move, but I really hope I am wrong and that the current owners are in it for the longer term!!

[JamesLV]

23 minutes ago, marshman said:

I actually disagree with James, and indeed I think the evidence actually points to the reverse being true! I don't think the people who hire the more expensive boats, especially for short breaks, actually want to go anywhere near the galley!!!

I am also too much of a sceptic to see much logic behind the expansion of a new hire fleet down south. I would love to believe the feasibility of such actions, but if noone else can make it run effectively, then how all of a sudden, can Brooms?? Cynical I know but if they don't get the bookings, and others couldn't, then there may be other motives behind the expansion!

Not seen a lot in the Press lately either, about the much vaunted plans to shift the manufacturing away from the river up to a new site nearer the main road? I think Martin Broom selling up was probably a wise move, but I really hope I am wrong and that the current owners are in it for the longer term!!

You could quite possibly be right, I can only speak for myself, and I suspect I'm not your average demographic for a boat hirer (being a 30 something, no kids person). We plan to probably cook on the boat 5 nights out of our 7, maybe more, maybe less. Most of my peers are off to sunnier climes and doing city breaks, and tend to live in the likes of Brighton and it's surrounding towns, whereas I'm more than happy to holiday in the UK, and live in a very small village outside of Brighton with my partner and our dog.

I think the main point I was trying to make, was it was nice to see the emergence of a new business, as opposed to the disappearance, or merging of an existing one. Though, from what you've posted, it sounds like you have a greater insight to the goings on than I do.

[marshman]

James - I wish them every success believe you me, but running a hire fleet these days seems to require deep pockets and an abundance of other income streams!

[NeilB]

I know Brooms do have some plans but I believe the new production facilities are on the back burner for now.

[dnks34]

Marshman can you give examples of which Southern Yards couldnt run effectively? 

Atleast one closure I can think of had more to do with unrelated financial matters and a delapadated fleet.  Had that not been the case then their outlook could have been different.  Swancraft were very popular and had a tidy well kept fleet, did that make them ineffective?!  I thought their closing the hire business was nothing to do with shortage of bookings and more to do with owner time of life and sick of all the hassle. Who can blame them. 

Many customers these days will want to hire plush new vessels and those vessels will be attractive to hirers on whichever sides of breydon they are based.  I would have thought a Southern Yard with a new fleet should do quite well. 

The old days are gone, in my opinion the product on offer Is becoming paramount but whether these boats are actually suitable for hire does remain to be seen. 

[JawsOrca]

Interesting thread.. Must admit I suspect it is probably something along the lines of the boats didnt sell so they thought they'd try their luck at hiring them! But then again the infrastructure probably isn't straight forward so I dunno.

I've shared my thoughts on larger higher boats before.. that being that I think the yards are killing off the couple market and forcing people into ownership as boats get bigger and too  expensive to hire.. but I think I see this as the southern broads diversifying and changing to make a new market there.. lets not forget the southern rivers are larger and can accommodate larger boats,  moorings are typically quieter.. Obviously the distances are greater and as robin once famously said "You can't see shit" on a typically designed broads boat.. so a fly bridge /upper helm makes a lot of sense.. why not travel in comfort when you can.. ok you can't go down the chet but there's plenty more to see in a week I don't see any big deal there.

Good luck to them and good luck to the southern broads.. 

[Gracie]

Jaws  I agree with everything you've just said, I'm not really into big flashy boats personally but good luck to them and the Southern Broads, as long as there are hire boats the Broads will thrive, even if it means us pesky hirers will go South

I'm digging out my  hat and flag as we speak lol

Grace

 

[SwanR]

I agree that Swancraft's boats were always really well booked up and we would have to book 12 months in advance to get what we wanted when hiring from them.

However I disagree completely with the viewpoint quoted from one of Robin's videos about how little you can see from a forward steer boat. They are so practical in so many ways compared to any other style ... and actually sometimes you really don't want to see any further than the riverbank. Why would you want to be able to see the roads and the traffic when you're enjoying the peace and quiet of the rivers. Just my own opinion.

[Baitrunner]

I have just seen the internal pictures of Cover Girl. WOW!

its bloody gorgeous. I seriously hope they don't get knobs on her who trash it. 

And the faux fur is gone!!!!

loads of wood and varnish. I'd be scared to fart on her oh and cream upholstery. Red wine is banned!!!!!!

[trambo]

10 hours ago, SwanR said:

 

However I disagree completely with the viewpoint quoted from one of Robin's videos about how little you can see from a forward steer boat. They are so practical in so many ways compared to any other style ... and actually sometimes you really don't want to see any further than the riverbank. Why would you want to be able to see the roads and the traffic when you're enjoying the peace and quiet of the rivers. Just my own opinion.

Agree with you about the practicality and you seem to get a lot more accommodation for the size of boat. Nice to get a different perspective from a higher boat though. Swings and roundabouts really. Personally I prefer a boat that will get through all the bridges so my choice is made up for me but if I was booking a short break the decision might be differant.

Fred

[Gracie]

I think it really is a matter of our differing tastes into what we look for in a hire boat, we have been on a ton of forward steer boats, mainly for their space and the fact they will go under most bridges, the thought of missing any part of our Broads brings me out in a cold sweat lol. There's nothing wrong with the bigger, flasher boats and like Fred I would hire one for a long weekend as you couldn't do the whole system in that time. We've hired Melody and Broadland Wave from Richardsons, lovely boats but I did miss not being able to go up to Coltishall

If, as Mark says, red wine will be banned from these boats, that rules me out from hiring them

I know people knock the 'bathtub' style of boat but they are affordable and practical for families who are on a budget and need plenty of space, I hope they continue to be on hire, the couple boats (as Jaws said) are just as important as big family boats and extremely popular, try hiring one of your choice out of school holidays, almost always booked up

Grace

[marshman]

Surely the very fact that there are so few yards on the S Broads show that hiring from them is not as effective or as good a prospect as up North? I think that it is pretty apparent that this is the case , like it or not!

Whilst they are not the best example to quote, you will all remember the attempt by Le Boat to operate out of Somerleyton - that folded I think after just one season and the boats went back to Horning, quite simply because the Northern yard had  a higher boat/week booking ratio.

This applies to not only cruisers but dayboats too - you CAN hire dayboats but the choice is pretty limited and generally basic.

Don't get me wrong but there is little evidence to suggest this is a new trend that is going to reestablish southern yards and it remains to be seen whether the Brooms operation is going to be successful over a period. I can think of several reasons why Brooms have started a hire fleet against the trend but you are unlikely to get me to put those on the Forum! 

[SwanR]

1 hour ago, marshman said:

I can think of several reasons why Brooms have started a hire fleet against the trend but you are unlikely to get me to put those on the Forum! 

I do wish people wouldn't post things designed to tease the mind but with a refusal to give any more information. If anyone knows anything that they feel shouldn't be posted then please can they not mention it in the first place ... doing so only leads to unhelpful speculation!!

[marshman]

Jean - I am sorry but I have nothing to add other than my own speculation!! I am a bit of a cynical 'ol git in my old age and Martin Broom was a very seasoned operator and I thought at the time ,he made a shrewd move out of the industry perhaps at the right time! They had already moved out of the hire fleets for one reason or another and if then, the return on capital employed was not good enough, then  whats changed??

The move of the  manufacturing base up the road to near the main road, seemed at the time nothing short of fanciful on behalf of the new owners, and so it has proved. Look back over the history of low volume boat builders in the UK and you see a very very chequered past - I have given up trying to count the number of times Westerly went to the wall and like it or not, Brooms are in a different league even today. Niche markets are notoriously difficult to call, orders are by no means certain and buyers notoriously fickle!!

There is little concrete or certain in what I have written but the new owners seemed to me, at the time, looking to invest for the future - Vaughan will I suspect tell you that investing in a yard is like buying a boat! A money pit but unlike a boat, has the ability to absorb gargantuan sums of money, all on the hope that someone might buy your finished product!!

Not for me methinks UNLESS of course, you could develop the yard into housing but how likely is that???

Lets hope the glass is indeed half full, and not half empty!!!!!

[dnks34]

Marshman if we are saying its simply the location rather than the offering affecting southern hire business then they are dammed from the outset! 

In my opinion the broads north and south have a lot to offer but with the current trend of southern hire fleets closing or fleets being moved North I can only think the Northern side must be becoming very crowded.  We keep our boat on the South side for that reason.  The last time we ventured North was 2014 and as much as i like the place I couldnt wait to come back South!  I have nothing against hirers (except the incompetant ones!!) but who will really want to be paying top dollar for a UK based holiday and spending the week in an area that at peak times is becoming to busy and somewhat overcrowded.  With that in mind if I was a hirer a Southern based yard to me would be quite attractive.  

[JamesLV]

Perhaps Brooms and NYA are looking at a different sort of hirer nowadays, potentially someone like me, who has done the North a few times and wants something different, a 'posh' boat and quieter rivers? Like all businesses, things are changing and businesses have to evolve, I guess this is why we're seeing more hybrid boats, Richo's offering 'posh' boats etc. 

Certainly from a consumer point of view, the more choice offered, the better, and if that choice brings in new people to boating, then for the most part, that is a good thing, more jobs, more opportunities for existing businesses, a boost for the local economy.

Whilst everyone may not embrace change, it is more or less essential for the preservation of the broads, for without hirers, a huge part of the income would disappear to the detriment of everyone.

This isn't meant as a 'hirers vs. private' post or to step on anyone's toes, just how I see things.

Take care all,

james

[ChrisB]

1 hour ago, marshman said:

 

Not for me methinks UNLESS of course, you could develop the yard into housing but how likely is that???

 

The timing may just not be right, but given one board member made his considerable fortune building supermarkets where it was said they would never happen and the rest are not cosy broadland boat builders like the well respected Broom family but Venture Capitalists with a very capital V, I would say it is a dead certainty that it will be developed. From a personal perspective I hope so. Having been recently widowed a penthouse flat with a pontoon mooring would suit me very well and I will fight to get to the front of the queue to buy should it happen.

[JennyMorgan]

Like Marshman my thinking regarding Brooms is also cynical. Brooms is not seeking a way of life, it's seeking to make money, it's what investment companies do, it's the bottom line, nothing else matters.

[Matt]

I would suggest that the tax allowances of new capital builds probably helps the Broom business model.