Our Much Loved Hearts Cruiser, Idea For Side Graphic.

[Broads01]

I remember the red Brave Hearts and Light Hearts very well Fred. The Richardsons budget fleet made even the Stalham fleet look pricey. Back in 2000 I was considering hiring one of the Horizon 35s but ended up picking a Herbert Woods boat instead. On the last day of our trip I saw the Hearts boat and realised I could have hired that for 2 weeks for the same as what I'd paid Herbert Woods for a week and I felt a bit sick. Hire fleets on the south Broads, those were the days. 

[unclemike]

slighlty off topic, hearts had a braveheart with chocolate coloured upperworks, hired it in  1994, got back home film into developers nothing , faulty film, if anyone has photo/s of this it would be appreciated  thanks.

[JennyMorgan]

Is this she? 

http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki/index.php5?title=Boat_Photograph&photo=893e_2248&BoatId=1717&BoatHistory=2248

or even this one:

http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki/index.php5?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=1720&BoatHistory=2253

[unclemike]

thanks peter, as i remember it was much darker brown

[trambo]

5 hours ago, chameleon said:

slighlty off topic, hearts had a braveheart with chocolate coloured upperworks, hired it in  1994, got back home film into developers nothing , faulty film, if anyone has photo/s of this it would be appreciated  thanks.

Assuming rather a lot here but I think your referring to the former Coral Sea, an ex Richardson's boat (amongst others) which operated from the John Williams boatyard with chocolate brown superstructures. The yard was located in one of the former Richardson basins just before Stalham Staithe. When John Williams stopped hiring Coral Sea, and it is here that I am making an assumption, she would have returned to her owner, Richardson's who placed her to the Hearts fleet.

Fred

[unclemike]

you seem to have it fred under a cushion i remember it said john williams

[Broads01]

In the current Richardsons fleet San Pedro is an ex Light Heart and built 1967, although you'd never know that from the refitted interior. They also have San Luis with a much older interior (for which they cheekily ask the same hire cost). It's origins aren't as clear because there are several on the boat database and I don't know the registration number. So, Hearts finished in 2002 (boo!) but you can still hire them today. I've no doubt Richardsons also have others. 

[KitKat]

Lots of interesting history and comments. Am I mistaken that she was a 'hearts cruiser'. Her number Z932 shows she was initially a Richardson's boat but then later on Heart's. She was called Little Fish when we bought her from NYA.

Her interior doesn't have much of it's original budget holiday fit out, even less so recently. I hope those who holidayed on board had as much fun as we do. 

Maybe I should think of a different way to acknowledge her history or maybe leave those side panels plain for a while longer.

[Kunsttischler]

Hello everyone,

I have recently purchased a Hearts Cruiser the Six of Hearts.

Unfortunately the previous owner has no documentation about it and we are struggling to find out the weight of the boat.

Can anyone please direct us in the right direction please?

Thank you

Alvaro

 

[grendel]

if anyone on the forum knows it will be @Vaughan

 

[Vaughan]

9 hours ago, Kunsttischler said:

Can anyone please direct us in the right direction please?

Hello Alvaro,

My father was the owner of Hearts Cruisers but I can't say that he built the Six as I am personally convinced she was built before the War.  They say she was built in 1946 but I don't think there would have been time as they were building the Ace of Hearts then.

For more information and some photos you are welcome to send me a PM.

I don't know her weight as we always hauled out on a slipway, so weight didn't matter.  If you are ordering a crane I would allow for 10 tons.

Welcome to the forum, where you will find lots of advice from friends who are also custodians of classic wooden boats.

Here is a photo of the Six at Hearts, taken in 1947.  She is one of the two on the right.

 

 

[andyg]

I love these old photos of Thorpe Vaughan, my memories of Thorpe don't go back as far as yours but as kidds we loved visiting the green. The challenge of getting under the bridge's was always fun, at times with just inches to spare my father trusting mine and my brothers judgments as we stood on the back of the boat watching our passage under. I've also enjoyed your YouTube videos of life at the yard. Did your father design his boats Vaughan ? One of the things that always stood out for me as a child was just how well kept the yard was. Unfortunately we didn't hire from hearts until it was owned by Bobby richardsons and things and the fleet had changed somewhat. 

[Kunsttischler]

20 hours ago, Vaughan said:

Hello Alvaro,

My father was the owner of Hearts Cruisers but I can't say that he built the Six as I am personally convinced she was built before the War.  They say she was built in 1946 but I don't think there would have been time as they were building the Ace of Hearts then.

For more information and some photos you are welcome to send me a PM.

I don't know her weight as we always hauled out on a slipway, so weight didn't matter.  If you are ordering a crane I would allow for 10 tons.

Welcome to the forum, where you will find lots of advice from friends who are also custodians of classic wooden boats.

Here is a photo of the Six at Hearts, taken in 1947.  She is one of the two on the right.

 

 

Hello Vaughan,

thanks a lot for getting back to me and your information.

we thought it would be around 8 tons but to be safe it makes sense to go for 10.

Those old photos are amazing!

She is at the moment a little in need of some repairs. I am hoping to get her in the water in the next one year. If my work commitments allow.

I will send you a PM later.

Here some current photos from the Six of Hearts from where I have to pick her up.

[Kunsttischler]

20 hours ago, grendel said:

if anyone on the forum knows it will be @Vaughan

 

Thank you!!

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, Kunsttischler said:

Here some current photos from the Six of Hearts from where I have to pick her up.

And here, a comparison from about 1955, before the wheelhouse was extended, with a new sliding canopy.

 

 

 

[Vaughan]

9 hours ago, andyg said:

Did your father design his boats Vaughan ?

Hello Andy,

The photo above of 1947 shows the fleet as it was when my parents bought into the business.  They were designed and built by the Hart family and Frank Gooch, who was yard foreman and also a director and shareholder of the company.

Frank Gooch then designed and built the Knave, Ten and Queen, in 1949 and 50.  These were the first hire boats on the Broads to have a Diesel engine.  By that time, my father had managed to reclaim compensation and back pay from his house, all his belongings and his job, which had been lost when Hong Kong fell to the Japanese in 1941, and was able to buy out the other shareholders and become sole owner.

The first boat that he designed and built with Russel Newby, who was foreman boatbuilder, was the King of Hearts in 1952.  Followed by the Seven and Eight, which were among the first front drive, single level cruisers at  that time. 

 

 

 

[Vaughan]

This is what Thorpe Green looked like, in August 1955.

The Queen of Hearts was out on a 2 week booking on that Saturday morning.

[andyg]

I noticed in one photo you posted Vaughan, the gunboat is moored outside the boat sheds. It appears to be having loads of work done to its superstructure. Can I ask how she was delivered to Thorpe. The roads back then must of been quite narrow. 

[andyg]

On 18/07/2017 at 22:09, Broads01 said:

In the current Richardsons fleet San Pedro is an ex Light Heart and built 1967, although you'd never know that from the refitted interior. They also have San Luis with a much older interior (for which they cheekily ask the same hire cost). It's origins aren't as clear because there are several on the boat database and I don't know the registration number. So, Hearts finished in 2002 (boo!) but you can still hire them today. I've no doubt Richardsons also have others. 

I think San Pedro was one of the boats from the graveyard. Refitted around the same time a lot of the old Thames were, the concertos etc etc. Pretty good job they done on all of them aswell. 

[grendel]

from memory I think she was sailed in, but may have had the superstructure removed to get under the bridge.

[floydraser]

I predict that a thread about the restoration of this boat is going to be one of the most popular threads on here for many a year! 

I love the comparison of the old and new photos - are they handles for winding the windows? The original upholstery looks very comfortable indeed.

[Vaughan]

14 minutes ago, floydraser said:

I love the comparison of the old and new photos - are they handles for winding the windows? The original upholstery looks very comfortable indeed.

Well spotted!  The handles were the same mechanism as a car, for winding them up and down.  It didn't work well as it was impossible to keep the water out when it rained, so they were replaced with hopper windows when the new canopy was built and the forward bulkhead moved a bit further aft.  The original windows were rather larger than those in recent photos and I suspect the boat has had new cabins sides fitted at some time.  This may be a reason why she seems a bit hogged in recent photos.  Something that the owner will have to attend to before he starts on replacing planks.

Those mattresses were indeed very comfortably covered and upholstered.  The Two and Four of Hearts used to have drop down saloon windows which pulled up on a thick leather strap with holes in it.  The whole effect was rather like being in a second class LNER railway carriage!

[Vaughan]

4 hours ago, andyg said:

I noticed in one photo you posted Vaughan, the gunboat is moored outside the boat sheds. It appears to be having loads of work done to its superstructure. Can I ask how she was delivered to Thorpe. The roads back then must of been quite narrow.

When my parents bought the yard they had just got married at the end of the War and were living in Surrey, near to my mother's family.  Housing in Norfolk was very hard to find (as everywhere) but father had obvious connections with naval coastal forces and found this boat on a yard in Rochester on the Medway, having just been sold by the Navy.  He did a deal with the yard that they would haul her out and paint the hull and then tow her to Gt Yarmouth free of charge, in return for having the engines, stern gear and all other machinery, which they took out.  Many years later, in the 60s, he ruefully remarked that he had given away three Rolls Royce Merlin engines!

She was then towed up to Thorpe by Hoboroughs  (later May Gurney) where the superstructure was stripped off and the bilges filled with water to get her under the bridge. The tug dragged her over the bottom and I was told she cleared the bridge by half an inch at the top and four inches either side. She was then fitted out by the boatyard as a houseboat, which took nearly 2 years. Meantime my parents and baby (me) lived on the houseboat which you can also see in the photo of 1947. This later became a hired houseboat, called Misty Morn, which was moored behind the gunboat on the island, with its own garden, for many years.

Up until the early 50s the Gunboat was moored outside the office in summer and was towed over to Thorpe Gardens (Rushcutters) for the winter, as there was no mains water on the island at that time.

There was a photo in the EDP of the time, which showed the gunboat being towed under the bridge, but I have never been able to find a record of it.  I remember it looked rather like toothpaste coming out of a tube!

[BroadAmbition]

Fascinating history.

Looking forward to seeing more about Six of Hearts restoration - She looks to be in fair condition as she is currently.  Well chuffed you are saving her

Griff

[Kunsttischler]

@BroadAmbition hello, she is actually in a very good state, certainly for her age.

It will take a bit to get her to her old glory but I will give it my best effort’s.

Might need some more of the expertise from you all here.

I will transfer her down here into my yard end of February. 
can’t wait to get started!!!

thanks you

regards

Alvaro