New Boat From Herbert Woods

[BroadAmbition]

Sausages in the oven, bacon under the grill, black pudding and hash browns in one frying pan, eggs poaching in the other frying pan, kettle on another ring, tomatoes on the last ring - microwave absolutely essential for the baked beans to complete my full English.

You missed out on the mushrooms and toast.  Forget H.B's - Not English  Oh and where's the mug of whisky to put the tea in?  We do all of the above onboard 'B.A' without the use of a microwave

Griff

[ZimbiIV]

Oh I feel ashamed, we have a gas oven/grill, gas hob, microwave, electric oven/grill on Zimbi.

Microwave is vital for quickly warming fish 'n' chips from Limmy's in Loddon.

We also have a TV, Dab radio.

Well stocked wine Cellar, beer larder.

On a 27 foot boat, 

But we do spend about 14 weeks a year on board.

At the average cost of hiring, the boat that started all this, at £750 a week that works out at over £10,000 a year!

paul

[Matt]

When the kids were babies and still needed night feeds the microwave was a god send :-)

Just glad we don’t need to run the engine to use it!


Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[Paws]

We have all that too wouldn't be with out paws

[Chelsea14Ian]

There are a number of items in a full English and you can have bubble and squeak.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

There are a number of items in a full English and you can have bubble and squeak.

But why would you given the option? 

[vanessan]

What a forum! What started off as a discussion about Herbert Woods new boat is now about Bubble and Squeak!! No chance of discussions ever getting boring. 

[Ray]

Having cooked the black pudding presumably you pop it in the bin where it belongs? 

[JennyMorgan]

1 hour ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

There are a number of items in a full English and you can have bubble and squeak.

Talking of bubbles and squeaks I well remember a school boy joke that went something like this:

Lord of the manor was taking his evening bath, his ever loyal butler stood outside the door just in case his lordship required anything. His Lordship called out and the butler went to the kitchen and returned with his tray suitably laden. His Lordship looked quizzically at the tray and demanded to know why the butler had brought it to his bathroom?  'But Sir, I distinctly hard your demand'. and he reeled the list off quickly,' a hot water bottle and two bottle of pop'! 

Geddit?   

[Chelsea14Ian]

Go Scottish Haggis and a nice single malt

[webntweb]

2 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

Sausages in the oven, bacon under the grill, black pudding and hash browns in one frying pan, eggs poaching in the other frying pan, kettle on another ring, tomatoes on the last ring - microwave absolutely essential for the baked beans to complete my full English.

You missed out on the mushrooms and toast.  Forget H.B's - Not English  Oh and where's the mug of whisky to put the tea in?  We do all of the above onboard 'B.A' without the use of a microwave

Griff

Can't stand mushrooms and we've got a toaster for the toast.

[JennyMorgan]

Fresh mushrooms, off a nearby marsh, preferably one full of 'meadow ladies', grilled in butter and served with bacon, heaven on earth. The bigger and blacker the better, sod the little pink ones, not worth any effort!

[webntweb]

56 minutes ago, Ray said:

Having cooked the black pudding presumably you pop it in the bin where it belongs? 

The supermarket stuff isn't great, but the real stuff from Bury market is second only on my shopping list to genuine Melton Mowbray pork pies.

[JennyMorgan]

8 minutes ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Go Scottish Haggis and a nice single malt

Pint of mild, an arrow root biscuit and a pickled egg can be quite effective too.

[quo vadis]

Microwave Perspex bowl the best scrambled eggs and minimum washing up 

[Ray]

6 hours ago, webntweb said:

The supermarket stuff isn't great, but the real stuff from Bury market is second only on my shopping list to genuine Melton Mowbray pork pies.

You can't beat a Melton Mowbray pork pie, I could probably become an addict 

[Chelsea14Ian]

It's seems to me HW could take tips from us,making sure it has a microwave. Tips on a good English,Scottish or even American breakfast. Not sure about the pickled eggs or pork pies though!

[webntweb]

8 hours ago, Ray said:

You can't beat a Melton Mowbray pork pie, I could probably become an addict 

I am.

[vanessan]

5 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Not sure about the pickled eggs or pork pies though!

I think we might have moved on from breakfast to lunch now - pork pies, pickled eggs and bubble and squeak. Gourmet boating at its best! 

[Chelsea14Ian]

Pork pies and bubble pass on the pickled eggs, picked onions yes plus a nice piece of cheese and good crusty bread .

[LondonRascal]

I had seen this boat in the shed at Herbert Woods but did not want to say anything on a Forum at the time because it is easy to make assumptions and then they come back to bite you.

Brooms  have done well with these boats, but to my mind they were never very nice looking externally and as the years have passed I have not changed that view. The roofline that covers the rear portion of the boat for all the world looks like it was missed in the design phase and then suddenly added on at the end.

Herbert Woods have not built a new family sized boat for some years now, and I'd imagine they feel it was quite a 'win' to get the mould to produce this - the thing is those in the know, know it is a Broom design so Herbert Woods have to constantly remind people that it is actually their boat, fitted out by their team. They already had to do this on their Facebook page.

Let's wait to see what the interior looks like - I doubt it will be too fancy, Herbert Woods tend to keep things pretty conservative. but then add some flare with upholstery as they did with Dazzling Light.  I'd also expect to see things like the hob and sink be a combined Plastimo unit which are okay but are pretty dinky things to actually good a decent meal on.

Some have commented on luxury items - it needs to be way more than a microwave, but more about a complete package from arrival, the boat itself, the amenities on board and the small touches.  I mentioned this some years ago and even emailed Herbert Woods with the suggestion  that their new build's should stand above the rest of the fleet under the name 'Blue Star'. It would be a theme that set the boats apart - priority at reception and hand over to get you on your holiday sooner. Bespoke interiors with items like the curtains being different in colour and material to the rest of the fleet, branded 'Blue Star' crockery, quality bedding, pillows, slippers,  bathrobes and towels - of course all beds made up on arrival.

Amenities onboard need to match the boat's new design and cost, include a pod coffee machine something so many have and are used to at home but yet still adds something so much over an above a hob top camping kettle! Bluetooth audio, high end televisions and onboard Internet with ability through this to be able to stream NetFlix etc. Again to some this may be a small idea but something a lot of people are used to and use at home, having this onboard keeps that special premium experience going.

As travellers we expect more and more from our accommodation and even the humble B&B is stepping up to the mark in many areas, from the type of breakfast they serve and catering for a wide range of dietary needs past the traditional English, to thoughts about the type of bedding that is used to the comfort and atmosphere of the room. If you have a new product that you charge a premium on and shout about it then I think you ought to be spoiling people and making getting those people to go away happy and shouting about their experience for all the right reasons on various Facebook Groups and the likes of this Forum.

I genuinely can see it now, selfie taken on the back of the boat in the morning sunshine - coffee on the table from the Nespresso machine, sat in the white fluffy bathroom with the embroidered emblem of the blue star on it with the backdrop of Malthouse Broad - shared to thousands on Facebook, that is advertising money can't buy.

 

[DAVIDH]

Experiential travel. That's what it's called and marketed as in the travel industry. You are right when you say "I genuinely can see it now, selfie taken on the back of the boat in the morning sunshine - coffee on the table from the Nespresso machine, sat in the white fluffy bathroom with the embroidered emblem of the blue star on it with the backdrop of Malthouse Broad" Instagram is full of that "look where I am" killer image that everyone wants, to make their friends sit up and take notice. 

I was talking to a chap at Yarmouth who had hired a Commander from Richardsons and asked him if he got preferential treatment when checking in. He told me they were well looked after. The bling boats were all moored together near reception and hand over times were well ahead of the standard boats. The facilities on-board speak for themselves. Faircraft Loynes boats cultivate the 5 star standard. A great many of their boats turn heads and are - for a boat - luxuriously fitted out. They have seen where the market is going and have invested accordingly. Search for norfolk broads boat hire on Google. They are always No1 of the natural listings. That is in part due to their terrific customer satisfaction levels. 

Yes Robin, you do need much more than a microwave to compete in this market. Mood lighting, temperature controlled showers,  240 volts - not just on hook-up,  en-suite cabins  with own TVs, island beds and of course, those huge sundecks on the dual steer craft from which the hirer's can be seen. Take a look at the standards set HERE. (takes you to the luxury boats for hire section of my website). These boats are fitted out to attract those people who want to experience the best, and there are plenty of them.

[Ray]

Reserved moorings and perhaps a skipper/crew for these Club Class boats too?

Nothing wrong with supplying what people want but it doesn't sound like my idea of a boat holiday. I'd fear getting a surcharge for removing my pork pie crumbs 

[JennyMorgan]

I agree with Ray's comment on this one. Beyond that I'd add that if I were hiring one of these bling boats then I would expect a far higher standard when it comes to the infrastructure. Five star boats, I don't doubt, but the Broads in general is not. Long may the Broads remain as a popular rather than an elitist holiday and boating destination. 

[Hylander]

9 hours ago, DAVIDH said:

. That is in part due to their terrific customer satisfaction levels. , you do need much more than a microwave to compete in this market. Mood lighting, temperature controlled showers,  240 volts - not just on hook-up,  en-suite cabins  with own TVs, island beds and of course, those huge sundecks on the dual steer craft from which the hirer's can be seen. Take a look at the standards set HERE. (takes you to the luxury boats for hire section of my website). These boats are fitted out to attract those people who want to experience the best, and there are plenty of them.

Well in theory yes but you have to have batteries that are going to be up to scratch to provide all this power that is needed and water tanks and waste tanks which would have to be substantial.  Otherwise there will be a lot of running of engines at all hours.    As we found when mentioning things that had gone wrong on our boat - well it is nearly the end of the season was the comment - well my thoughts were it costs just as much at the end of the season as the beginning.   The luxury boats will have to be 'tip top' for the whole of the season if they are going to charge a huge premium to hire them.