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The Prodigal Returns - Part 2.


Vaughan

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Here is the most effective way of preventing wild mooring on your private land. You are not going to argue with those things!

 

On Friday morning we picked up my daughter in Stalham and took the boat out for a lovely day trip, up as far as Dilham and then back for lunch in the Wayford Bridge, where I had a delicious crab salad with new potatoes. Then back to Stalham, where it poured with rain all night and all Saturday morning. Not a good day for Richardsons' staff! It also gave me an attack of osteo arthritis, that I haven't had in years, so I had to unload the boat on one foot!

 

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So there were three generations of boat handlers on the same boat! My daughter Helen and grand-daughter Layla. Yes, I know she hasn't got her lifejacket on but she wasn't going outside in that weather and I am pleased to say she can swim as well as I could, at her age!

 

And so - the boat report. What did we think of Swan Romance?

 

Judging by the engine hour meter I would estimate this boat is on her 4th season, and is still in new condition in all respects. She is a very well built and well finished boat and is a tribute to all the skills of Norfolk boatbuilders. I was especially pleased by the extra attention to little details which are sometimes missing on the "average" hire boat. The very large wardrobe in the aft cabin has a courtesy light which comes on when you open the doors. There are also small deck lights in the fore and aft wells, which will light your way home when you come back from the pub. There are hooks, screwed on the bulkheads in all the little corners where you might want to hang a raincoat, or a tea towel.

On the tabletop in front of the helm position are directional vent ports, so that you can switch on a fan and de-mist the front and side screens with warm air. The saloon has what a wherryman would call "half hatch" sliding canopies (which we never opened!) but they are a tight fit and there are no draughts. This, coupled with a thermostat controlled Ebersbacher heater, effective right through the boat including the toilets and showers, makes it very cosy in bad weather. I could imagine spending Christmas on this boat. We had rain every day but the boat is completely watertight. No drips anywhere.

I haven't taken inside photos as Richardsons have plenty on their website, but that big island bed in the aft cabin is very comfortable indeed. There is also a double in the wing cabin and both cabins have en-suite toilets and showers. The calorifier tank is well insulated and there was always lots of hot water for showers in the mornings. We had no trouble with batteries but then we were doing long runs every day. The galley has a microwave as well as the gas oven and we actually used this on our last night, to do a quick frozen meal while we were clearing up the boat.

There is a HD flatscreen TV which has an aerial built into a recess at the front of the cabin top so that it does not protrude, and does not need any alignment. I am ashamed to admit that on the Monday morning we were able to watch the BBC news while going down the Bure towards Yarmouth! That's another first, for me!

I very much liked the aft well and bathing platform (see my photos) which was excellent for getting on and off at different levels, especially if, like me, your legs are "getting on a bit". I imagine it would also prove easy to get someone out of the water, if necessary.

The boat is very easy and pleasant to handle and makes hardly any wash, even at full speed. A right hand prop, which is unusual but as soon as you have gone astern the first time and realised this, it is not a problem. It doesn't have much of a keel but can still be steered when going stern first if you have your wits about you. I don't normally go for bow thrusters but I must say that in all those strong winds, there were a couple of times when it was very useful!

But I suppose there has to be a down side and in this case it was the toilets. They are very modern electric ones where you simply press a button and they go through an electronic sequence of about 5 stages of flushing, which involves filling the bowl with water twice. As a result they use a large amount of fresh water (luckily we had a water tank gauge) which meant that the tank had to be filled with water every day (for 2 people on board) and one of the holding tanks had to be pumped out twice during the week.  It is not easy to find water or a pump-out these days and this became a big inconvenience, to the extent that Susie and I could not consider hiring the boat again. Bring back the good old foot pedal and hand pump! You can see clearly whether you need a pump-out or not (by looking down the hole) and you don't waste drinking water or batteries just to flush it. This is a great pity as in ALL other respects this is a really first class hire boat.

So we are looking for a boat to hire for the spring meet next year. I quite fancy the Classic Gem. That would be like going down the river in a holiday cottage. The only thing missing is a brick fire place!

 

 

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On 26/09/2017 at 16:59, Vaughan said:

Readers of the EDP may remember, a couple of years ago, a big publicity article with BA photo opportunities in leather hats, on the occasion of the opening of a new "canoe launching point" in the middle of nowhere on Carey's meadow, so as to open up the resource of our waterways to a wider public.

So here it is now, folks. . . . . .

 

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I seem to remember that a figure of around £30,000 of toll-payers' money was spent on this.

Oh well -  another day - another "Vision" for the future of the Broads National Park!

 

http://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/news-and-publications/news/new-canoe-launch-for-city

" The £12,000 canoe port is part of a suite of new facilities being planned by the Broads Authority with the Wensum River Parkway Partnership to help small boats access the river in Norwich, the only city to be set within a member of the national park family. "

Clearly well used then ........:default_cool:

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Very interesting to read your review of the boat. Have to say that I think that the electric toilets used on the Swancraft boats are absolutely the best of all the hire boats we have had from various yards. With two of us aboard we have done short breaks and full weeks with just the one toilet. Careful use of water for washing up and showers has meant we only ever need to fill up the water every couple of days, sometimes not even that. And we have never needed a pumpout.

So each to their own. For us Richardson's felt too large and too much like a holiday camp check-in ... but the lure of the ex-Swancraft boats might prove too much at some point!!

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4 hours ago, Vaughan said:

She is a very well built and well finished boat and is a tribute to all the skills of Norfolk boatbuilders. I was especially pleased by the extra attention to little details which are sometimes missing on the "average" hire boat.

Swancraft build quality Vaughan! :default_biggrin:

Romance was the last in the Swancraft fleet, under construction in 2014 and just hired by Swancraft in their last year of operation in 2015 :default_crying1animated: I was allowed to look around during the build and was very impressed with the quality and attention to detail.

So this is actually the third season in hire although I guess a very popular boat so hence a very well reasoned estimate of the engine hours!

Swancraft always went that extra mile and didn't cut corners. For example they fitted double battery banks so one would be charging while the others were in use. On tunaround day they simply switched them over. I don't know if Richardson's have kept this feature.

You're also right about the cosyness. With the build quality and good heating systems they were great winter boats. Swancraft used to hire to us in December and we were always as snug as the proverbial bug. The hot water systems were superb, gallons of piping water which kept hot for ages.

Superb boats.

Ha - just crossed with Jean :-) but would echo all she said too.

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I very much enjoyed your write up once again Vaughan and thanks for the boat review. I'm looking forward to Swan Roamer even more now which will share some of the same benefits I'm sure. 

On the toilets subject, I have a dislike for the old hand pump type and I prefer the electric ones plus I always top up with water every day anyway so hopefully we won't have an issue.

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Hi Simon

We've hired both Roamer and sister Radiance under Swancraft ownership. I can't say that we noticed any particular increase in water consumption as a result of the electric toilets - having said that Romance is a family boat and of course we take advantage of the facilities in the pubs! :default_beerchug:

Electric toilets are fine but the golden rule is to use pound shop loo roll and, as with any toilet, wet wipes are a complete no no.

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11 hours ago, NorfolkNog said:

 

Swancraft always went that extra mile and didn't cut corners. For example they fitted double battery banks so one would be charging while the others were in use. On tunaround day they simply switched them over. I don't know if Richardson's have kept this feature.

They certainly have on the Rapide, the engineer was keen to point out the massive bank of batteries (should have taken a photo)

The battery levels never dropped ( had a gauge and light display) and we never needed to run the engine when not moving (never have on any boat)

Our cruising always takes care of the charging.

The electric toilets were great and we didn’t notice any great increase in water usage

 

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Thank you all for your comments about toilets. I could have guessed that we would soon end up telling pumpout stories!

I think perhaps I should have mentioned that our requirements of a toilet are not the same as the average hirer. Susie has suffered for most of her life from a stomach complaint which means that she has to be near a toilet at all times. Just in case! This is why we do all our travelling in a camper van (with a toilet) as she cannot fly, or go by train. Most convenient in a traffic jam on the M25 as you can put the kettle on at the same time! She is actually registered handicapped in France, as she cannot simply get up in the morning and go to work in an office, as most people can. It does mean, of course, that a week on a boat gives her enormously more freedom than any other form of holiday. So I suppose we look at toilets from a somewhat different viewpoint!

Personally, after a lifetime of boat hiring, I don't think automatic electric toilets go well with holding tanks. Le Boat in France use PAR electric toilets which flush with river water, through a normal Broads weed filter. Locaboat use toilets which are almost the same as the ones on Swan Romance and flush with fresh water. I happen to know that the flushing pump on these is a metal turbine type impeller which would easily accept a few particles through it, especially if you were using a shower tray filter in the pipe from the river, so can run on river water, in my opinion. The difference in France is there are no pump out stations in the ports, so we don't use the holding tanks! When this eventually becomes compulsory they may find a lot of difference in the practicality of electrics.

One advantage of electrics is that they are macerators, so it is easier to pump out the tank. The PAR toilets are fine if they have a good voltage but if the batteries get slightly low, they will block up solid. On Swan Romance it is written that if you run out of water, the toilet will block. In addition there is no way of knowing how full the tank is other than a little green light, which presumably goes out or changes colour, when it is too late! Both of these things gave anxiety to Susie.

I will always prefer toilets like the ones on the Ultimate Gem : the good old "hole in the bowl" with a push button, to flush as little as you want and no more.

 

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