Richardsons Commander

[Tempest]

We have hired Richardsons Commander from Saturday 29th September for 1 week this year and its the first time we have had this boat so any inside knowledge would be greatly appreciated

It is a high boat for us with an air draft of 8` 6" listed and I note for example that the height at high water at Ludham Bridge is also 8` 6" meaning for the first time in a long while, I really do need to take this into consideration  (For example we have already hired Crystal Horizon for early 2019)

There are 4 of us on board and as we have hired the Commander - P version so we will have our Newfoundland Dog "Roxy" with us which will be the first time she has been on a broads cruiser, although she has been on day boats and loved it. I do though note that getting on and off may be a challenge for Roxy as side on moorings on the port side should be fine as she doesnt mind clambering up and down steps and no doubt if the weather is fair (or not) she will love watching the surroundings from the ample sun deck (weather deck!!!) but the steepness of the steps to the sun deck may be another challenge..

It may go against the advice but due to the port side access, if I am at a side on mooring, irrespective of the tide, I will "attempt" to moor on this side just to make it easier for Roxy

I read Robins comments about the doorways being narrow and a little tight due to the stair cases and interior design features, which give more room in the bedrooms but then have a knock on affect in other areas such as the galley

Some might say, why have we gone for such a boat, but we have seen it on the water a few times and just felt, what the heck lets give it a go as many years ago we hired Moon Enterprise from Moonfleet Marina and we loved the view from the sundeck helm over the reed beds and wanted to give it a go again with a modern boat

Thanks in advance

[JanetAnne]

Over the years we have taken a huge selection of dogs boating. The one thing I have noticed is that they are always far more adaptable than we give them credit for and where we had expected problems the mutts turned out to be better at it than we were!

As has been said on here many times, a doggy life jacket is a must. It's nothing to do with swimming abilities, more a convenient handle to be able to grab hold of and, whilst I doubt you would be lifting a soggy Newfoundland, the handle, hooked with a boathook, will allow you to steer him/her to safety. A bright orange blob is far easier to see in the water as well.

 

[vanessan]

https://www.meandmypets.com/dog/accessories/lifting-harnesses.html

We have one of these handy for our smallish dogs in case of need. I don’t know how big a dog they would support but a phone call to the company would find out. If the side door on the boat is narrow, you may find something like this would be less bulky than a life jacket to get the dog through. A life jacket otherwise is, of course, a must. 

[Broads01]

I've looked aboard Commander's sister ship, Commodore. It's a beautiful boat and I love both the cabins and the luxury top deck. The only thing I didn't like was the galley because it was miles too small. 

I take your point about mooring on the left except where tides are strong you should always moor against the tide, regardless of whether that's right or left. If you try to moor with the tide you'll tend to get spun around. 

[JamesLV]

16 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

The only thing I didn't like was the galley because it was miles too small.

I’m going to take a punt that it was designed for clients who probably who don’t tend to cook on board. This is why I tend to favour the older “former” luxury boats such as Omega from Brinks, which have a decent cooking provision on board, as we tend to EOB one night, then eat out the next. 

That said, Fair Jubilee which I hired a few in its first season was a joy to cook on and Brinks Serenade looks well set up too.

 

[dnks34]

It is certainly a great looking boat but in the pictures the interior seating area just looks to small for the boat capacity to me.  I havent actually been in one so it could just be the pictures.  

[Broads01]

1 hour ago, dnks34 said:

It is certainly a great looking boat but in the pictures the interior seating area just looks to small for the boat capacity to me.  I havent actually been in one so it could just be the pictures.  

That's true, the seating area is smaller than on their centre cockpit sisters but its ok I think and the seating area up top is fabulous. 

[Tempest]

16 hours ago, Broads01 said:

I've looked aboard Commander's sister ship, Commodore. It's a beautiful boat and I love both the cabins and the luxury top deck. The only thing I didn't like was the galley because it was miles too small. 

I take your point about mooring on the left except where tides are strong you should always moor against the tide, regardless of whether that's right or left. If you try to moor with the tide you'll tend to get spun around. 

Thanks all for the feedback 

Must admit, never even considered a life jacket for my Newfie before, as being bringing Newfies on the Broads for around 20 years, but certainly got me thinking now. 

To be honest I have rarely worn one myself until latter years when the lightweight inflatable jacket was started to be issued. 

The big bright orange ones would go straight in the storage! 

As for mooring against the tide, yes I am aware of the power of the flow which can catch out the most experienced and would only moor with the tide if conditions allow me to drop the stern in first and allow the tide to push the bow in with the help of the bow thrusters if required 

Cooking should be fun, as I do tend to like at least one evening on board where I prepare a meal for the crew with a nice bottle (or two) of wine

I tend to go for something simple like a spaghetti bolognese with pasta and the trusty garlic bread 

Even in the smallest kitchen, that's usually quite simple to rustle up. 

If anyone has any experience of handling Commander or Commodore or has any further information about the vessel itself, please drop a note

Thanks again 

Yours Newfoundly 

Warren 

[adam]

we hired commodore pretty much the same as commander class boats. The lounge is very small but we coped with 3 adults and 2 kids. The upper sun deck is brilliant in all weather. In side steering is very bad visibility but do able. The kitchen is small but we cooked most nights on board.