Old Broads Boats

[Vaughan]

55 minutes ago, oldgregg said:

but they were I think designed for LeBoat / Crown.

Designed by Andy Wolstenholme, built at Crown Cruisers and operated by Crown Blue Line.  LeBoat are not responsible for designing anything that I personally, would call a boat.

[Cal]

£70K and one could be yours!

http://www.leboatbrokerage.com/brokerage-boats

[oldgregg]

10 minutes ago, Cal said:

£70K and one could be yours!

http://www.leboatbrokerage.com/brokerage-boats

You've got to admire their ambition. How about one of these sh*tboxes for 45K?

My personal favourite is the almost 20 year old Caprice priced at 85K and resplendant in white with rust stains from the fixings on the rubbing strakes. Where do I sign? 

[ChrisB]

Better value in Italy.  And real boats

I like this last one. If I could get rid of 30 or even 40 years I could see myself running down "The Trades" in her.

[Vaughan]

If you look at the ones at the bottom called Delphia Horizon you can see what I meant in my earlier comment.

The Haines 29 (called a Capri) looks a snip at that price. Very nice boats, but depends on condition. Perhaps worth a look.

Most of the photos seem to be taken at their base in the basin at St Jean de Losne on the river Saone, so they are probably in the hands of the broker there.

As far as I can see, none of the photos called Nautilia are of a Nautilia (unless they have re-named a few) and only one of a Crusader, is actually of a Crusader.

The Classiques and Crusaders are extremely well built (if I may say so) and they are a very comfortable boat. They will almost certainly need new engines and the ones actually for sale may not be in the same condition as shown in these photos.

They seem to be scaling down their fleet drastically if they are selling all these, both old and new, but I don't notice many Connoisseur boats. Maybe with a different broker.

I also saw yesterday that they have closed down one of their bases on the Canal du Midi.

 

[ChrisB]

It must have been about 15 years ago that we met a very nice couple in Yarmouth I.O.W.

Over a pint in the Kings Head they told us a complete Horror story regarding their Delphia yacht. The then agent had done a deal whereby he got the boats at a lower price than agents in mainland Europe  by taking on responsibility for warranty but was still retailing them at a price considerably higher than in Holland for example. 

All was fine until after a couple of years they hit a very serious hull delamination problem that could only be resolved satisfactorily by shipping back to the moulder in Poland. 

At the time of speaking to them they were getting nowhere. Nobody wanted to own the problem.

 

[Cal]

1 hour ago, oldgregg said:

You've got to admire their ambition. How about one of these sh*tboxes for 45K?

My personal favourite is the almost 20 year old Caprice priced at 85K and resplendant in white with rust stains from the fixings on the rubbing strakes. Where do I sign? 

The hideous looking Horizon 1 that we are hiring next year is £200k for a 2019 boat. I thought that was a lot then I read further and realised they still hire the boat out and manage it at that, so it isn't fully yours for £200k! 

[oldgregg]

Yeah, sponsored boats basically. Connoisseur's fleet kind of always was done that way.

Basically, you buy the boat, we rent if for you and at the end of the agreement you either flog it or keep what's left.

If you're a large-scale investor it can make sense, and equally some small operators do it very well with youngish boats that are kept for a fixed period and then the owner gets a good boat out of it at essentially a substantial discount.

As an individual dealing with a large business like that I think you know who is getting the better deal.

[Cal]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

If you look at the ones at the bottom called Delphia Horizon you can see what I meant in my earlier comment.

The Haines 29 (called a Capri) looks a snip at that price. Very nice boats, but depends on condition. Perhaps worth a look.

Most of the photos seem to be taken at their base in the basin at St Jean de Losne on the river Saone, so they are probably in the hands of the broker there.

As far as I can see, none of the photos called Nautilia are of a Nautilia (unless they have re-named a few) and only one of a Crusader, is actually of a Crusader.

The Classiques and Crusaders are extremely well built (if I may say so) and they are a very comfortable boat. They will almost certainly need new engines and the ones actually for sale may not be in the same condition as shown in these photos.

They seem to be scaling down their fleet drastically if they are selling all these, both old and new, but I don't notice many Connoisseur boats. Maybe with a different broker.

I also saw yesterday that they have closed down one of their bases on the Canal du Midi.

 

They are not selling the Horizons. They are leasing them back! 

Not sure why anyone would desire to own one though. They are ugly as sin. Perhaps we will like it more after we have hired it! 

I don't think they have that many of the Connoisseur boats left in their fleet to sell!

[Cal]

1 minute ago, oldgregg said:

Yeah, sponsored boats basically. Connoisseur's fleet kind of always was done that way.

Basically, you buy the boat, we rent if for you and at the end of the agreement you either flog it or keep what's left.

Having seen the state of the boats at the Brittany yard that arrangement wouldn't be for me.

 

There was not an inch of the boat we hired that had not hit something at some point that season. Not in our hands I hasten to add. Engine was sweet though.

[Vaughan]

2 minutes ago, Cal said:

They are ugly as sin. Perhaps we will like it more after we have hired it! 

I am not sure that the TOS of the forum would allow me to advise you on that.

[oldgregg]

5 minutes ago, Cal said:

Having seen the state of the boats at the Brittany yard that arrangement wouldn't be for me.

There was not an inch of the boat we hired that had not hit something at some point that season. Not in our hands I hasten to add. Engine was sweet though.

No indeed, LeBoat's fleet are not well-presented.

Some small yards do it really well, though. Aqua Narrowboats for example have a beautiful fleet of sponsored hireboats that are built to a decent spec, kept for four years, tidied up at the end and the owner gets a good boat for a good price.

[Broads01]

7 hours ago, oldgregg said:

You've got to admire their ambition. How about one of these sh*tboxes for 45K?

That's the most hideous looking boat I've ever seen! 

7 hours ago, Vaughan said:

They seem to be scaling down their fleet drastically if they are selling all these, both old and new, but I don't notice many Connoisseur boats.

I thought they all went to Herbert Woods when they bought them around 2012 except for the one Richardsons had. 

[webntweb]

11 hours ago, Broads01 said:

I thought they all went to Herbert Woods when they bought them around 2012 except for the one Richardsons had. 

I think Vaughan was talking about their French fleets.

[webntweb]

On 29/05/2020 at 17:13, Cal said:

Having seen the state of the boats at the Brittany yard that arrangement wouldn't be for me.

 

There was not an inch of the boat we hired that had not hit something at some point that season. Not in our hands I hasten to add. Engine was sweet though.

I presume you mean under Le Boat's ownership.

We hired Magnifique's from Connoisseur in 2004 & 2005 and they were immaculate. I suppose the difference being, in Connoisseur's days there was pride in building and hiring their own boats, where as with Le Boat it's just a business.

When we hired they were very reasonably priced for the location – canal du Midi – and the quality of the boat and service. Comparing Le Boat's prices, even allowing for inflation, I think they are very poor value.

[oldgregg]

18 minutes ago, webntweb said:

I suppose the difference being, in Connoisseur's days there was pride in building and hiring their own boats, where as with Le Boat it's just a business.

Yep, that's about the size of it...

Such a shame, and sad to no longer see the new builds tied up by the railway bridge in Wroxham awaiting river trials.

[Cal]

4 hours ago, webntweb said:

I presume you mean under Le Boat's ownership.

We hired Magnifique's from Connoisseur in 2004 & 2005 and they were immaculate. I suppose the difference being, in Connoisseur's days there was pride in building and hiring their own boats, where as with Le Boat it's just a business.

When we hired they were very reasonably priced for the location – canal du Midi – and the quality of the boat and service. Comparing Le Boat's prices, even allowing for inflation, I think they are very poor value.

They really are very poor value for money and the fuel pricing is outrageous.

 

But there really isn't much hire yard choice in some areas.  

[oldgregg]

37 minutes ago, Cal said:

They really are very poor value for money and the fuel pricing is outrageous.

But there really isn't much hire yard choice in some areas.  

Totally agree.

We've been mulling over the Canal du Midi for years and LeBoat's pricing is just laughable because you know you're going to have one of those "did we seriously spend three grand hiring this shed?" moments with whatever boat of theirs you've booked when you actually get aboard.

LocaBoat have a fleet of odd-looking boats, but their fleet is - so I'm told by people who know about these things - much better-maintained.

[Cal]

24 minutes ago, oldgregg said:

Totally agree.

We've been mulling over the Canal du Midi for years and LeBoat's pricing is just laughable because you know you're going to have one of those "did we seriously spend three grand hiring this shed?" moments with whatever boat of theirs you've booked when you actually get aboard.

LocaBoat have a fleet of odd-looking boats, but their fleet is - so I'm told by people who know about these things - much better-maintained.

We stayed in a Locaboat yard when we hired a Le Boat in Brittany and their boats looked head and shoulders above the Le Boat fleet, far better maintained and presented.

 

The Locaboat staff also fixed a few minor problems with our boat to get us on our way again after none of us could contact the Le Boat service team.

 

We would certainly consider them if we go to the Brittany area again.

[Vaughan]

2 hours ago, oldgregg said:

LocaBoat have a fleet of odd-looking boats, but their fleet is - so I'm told by people who know about these things - much better-maintained.

The French word for hiring is location, so "Locaboat" is quite a clever pun.  They are the only real French boatbuilders and hirers who started off in the late 70s with their classic boats called Penichettes, designed to look like mini versions of the French canal barge, or peniche.  They still run these old boats and they are very suitable for the canals.  Very popular with their regular French customers, who hire  every year at Easter, or in October.

They also have a few boats on the Canal du Midi called Europa. These are the Crown Crusader hull and superstructure modified with an aft bathing platform and fitted out by Haines to a specification by Keith Gregory. Hydraulic drive off a Nanni turbo with hydraulic bow thruster, shore power, satellite TV and a Kabola hot water and heating system. So you have a British design, Broads built and run by a very reputable French company.

Those, I can recommend.

[ChrisB]

Here is another old boy of my school (OMTs) on the Canal du Midi in 1965 with his new wife and the last of his "relationships".

He was a close friend of Denys Rayner and the boat is a very early Westerly.

A cult figure for country lovers in the 60s. Do you recognise him.

[JennyMorgan]

Lets get back to the Broads with this one, a real classic. This was over the weekend, look at that sky! That's an ex Brighton beach boat in the background, one of the Dunkirk Little Ships.

[JanetAnne]

3 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

Lets get back to the Broads with this one, a real classic. This was over the weekend, look at that sky! That's an ex Brighton beach boat in the background, one of the Dunkirk Little Ships.

She's done a few miles this week!

She is coming out shortly, now facilities are opening up a bit again, for some routine maintenance and (as Griff would say) a couple of upgrades . And possibly her first trip through Mutford Lock?

 

[BroadAmbition]

Upgrades? did someone mention 'Upgrades' - We likes them, likes them a lot if only they didn't cost so much.

So, whatya upgrading then?   Running hot water?   Immersion tank / heater?  Heating?   Shore power?  LED lighting?   Lap dancers?

Griff

[JanetAnne]

8 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:

Upgrades? did someone mention 'Upgrades' - We likes them, likes them a lot if only they didn't cost so much.

So, whatya upgrading then?   Running hot water?   Immersion tank / heater?  Heating?   Shore power?  LED lighting?   Lap dancers?

Griff

I couldn't possibly divulge the more personal details of such a respectable lady Griff.