Swan Royale

[NorfolkNog]

Grrrr... 3 quid. That's quarter of a fender (ish)

Only one thing for it, an extra shift at the mill for Mrs Nog 

[NorfolkNog]

Looks like it's under offer   

Lottery didn't come up soon enough!!!

Didn't think it would hang around long

[OldBerkshireBoy]

May not be as good now as you remember Howard.

[boycee]

Went for circa 26 000

Boycee

[OldBerkshireBoy]

13 minutes ago, boycee said:

Went for circa 26 000

Boycee

Really! How good is the intel?

[NorfolkNog]

7 hours ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

May not be as good now as you remember Howard.

Quite possibly, Swancraft did sell it in 2014 before the Richardsons buy out. Looked to have been well prepped but I would have had it well checked over. I do like those Alphas though. Never mind, keep Mrs Nog on the overtime, you never know what might crop up 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I love the centre cockpit Alpha's, bt the layout isn't right for me. There are a couple of them where the aft cabin is as it says "aft", and the saloon midships. The downside of this layout is the lack of visibility through much smaller windows.  Another option I thought of was to have the aft en-suite repositioned on the stbd side opposite the cabin, but then this would mean making the galley a bit smaller. Then there's the other option of having a high level central saloon under the lowering canopy.  

They say life is about compromise, boats are a classic example. 

[Mouldy]

8 hours ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

May not be as good now as you remember Howard.

It wasn't.  We looked at her (now called Base Camp) and although it was tempting, there was too much that needed to be done to get her to the standard that we would require.  

The current owners are the same ones who bought it from Swancraft originally back in 2014.

If 26k is the price it sold for and is correct, it will give the new owners some money in hand to get her back into shape, but there is about 2k worth of work to do to the canopy alone so the back canopy windows will close correctly.

It was in better shape than an Alpha 35 that is currently under offer at another brokers though.  We viewed that one too and couldn’t wait to get off.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Going on the comments from other respect members on here, i would go in stating how much work is needed, plus another lot of niggly bits and put in an offer of £20,000 (ish). Very cheeky i know, but them i`m a cheeky sod, and it`s only a starting offer, and then the haggling starts, but know your limit considering the work that needs doing, and stick to it.  Anyway, to offer a boat in this condition at a price for a minter, is maybe a bit insulting, so go in with an insulting offer.   I know a few people who`ve done that with cars and bikes, and they`ve got away with it.

[Cal]

42 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

I love the centre cockpit Alpha's, bt the layout isn't right for me. There are a couple of them where the aft cabin is as it says "aft", and the saloon midships. The downside of this layout is the lack of visibility through much smaller windows.  Another option I thought of was to have the aft en-suite repositioned on the stbd side opposite the cabin, but then this would mean making the galley a bit smaller. Then there's the other option of having a high level central saloon under the lowering canopy.  

They say life is about compromise, boats are a classic example. 

We hired an Alpha 35 centre cockpit last time and have to say it was our favourite Broads boat that we have hired so far. We had Viscount from Richardson's yard with the aft saloon layout. Have to say that she felt a much bigger boat than she really is inside. The layout really does make the most over every inch of the 35ft length.

We will be interested to compare the interior space of Viscount to Swan Ranger which we are hiring this year as they are based on the same hull.

[Cal]

3 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

Going on the comments from other respect members on here, i would go in stating how much work is needed, plus another lot of niggly bits and put in an offer of £20,000 (ish). Very cheeky i know, but them i`m a cheeky sod, and it`s only a starting offer, and then the haggling starts, but know your limit considering the work that needs doing, and stick to it.  Anyway, to offer a boat in this condition at a price for a minter, is maybe a bit insulting, so go in with an insulting offer.   I know a few people who`ve done that with cars and bikes, and they`ve got away with it.

If you are not slightly embarrassed by your first offer then it isn't low enough.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Just now, Cal said:

If you are not slightly embarrassed by your first offer then it isn't low enough.

Very true young sir, i had`nt thought of that 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

2 minutes ago, Cal said:

We hired an Alpha 35 centre cockpit last time and have to say it was our favourite Broads boat that we have hired so far. We had Viscount from Richardson's yard with the aft saloon layout. Have to say that she felt a much bigger boat than she really is inside. The layout really does make the most over every inch of the 35ft length.

We will be interested to compare the interior space of Viscount to Swan Ranger which we are hiring this year as they are based on the same hull.

Totally agree about the space, though we found the storage space in the central en-suite was very limited WITHOUT a wardrobe to hang things in. It was also impossible for two people to be in at the same time, that`s why i prefer the central saloon layout that is on one of Richo`s Alpha`s.  I love the boats though, great to handle, look really nice, and amazing space for a 35ftr.

[Cal]

8 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

Very true young sir, i had`nt thought of that 

Sir?

[Cal]

4 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

Totally agree about the space, though we found the storage space in the central en-suite was very limited WITHOUT a wardrobe to hang things in. It was also impossible for two people to be in at the same time, that`s why i prefer the central saloon layout that is on one of Richo`s Alpha`s.  I love the boats though, great to handle, look really nice, and amazing space for a 35ftr.

There were only the two of us onboard so we didn't really use the second middle bedroom other than for storage and the OH used that as his shower room so we didn't really find it a tight fit.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

1 minute ago, Cal said:

Sir?

Oh,errrr, sorry, i clicked on your blogspot  below your post and saw pictures of a young fellow walking the dog, and at the helm and made an assumption . If you see us on Lightning at all, please DON`T SHOOT ME.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

2 minutes ago, Cal said:

There were only the two of us onboard so we didn't really use the second middle bedroom other than for storage and the OH used that as his shower room so we didn't really find it a tight fit.

That`s exactlly what we do on Lightning when it`s only Karen and me, which will be from this Saturday. We sleep in the aft cabin and use that en-suite for the loo, and use the central shower compartment . However, seeing as i will be replacing some woodwork in the shower comp, we`ll use the shower in the fwd en-suite. We also use the twin cabin for storage.

[NorfolkNog]

1 hour ago, Mouldy said:

It wasn't.  We looked at her (now called Base Camp) and although it was tempting, there was too much that needed to be done to get her to the standard that we would require.  

To be honest I was afraid that would be the case and I was cautioned as such by an extremely well informed source. 

Rose tinted specs I guess. Swancraft maintenance was the best so it would have been as good as it gets then. We had many happy weeks onboard though

One weak point with these is the canopy, it was a design flaw and needs careful setting up. 

[tim]

We hired Swan Raider in her last season with Swancraft, probably about the same time they sold Royale, that was my first taste of the Alpha style of boat

I now don't hire anything else, I like the saloon being at the back with the high seat behind the helm, perfect for me Mandy and Lottie (dog) 

Since Raider we've hired Sabre (at 42ft probably more space than we needed), Tower Bridge and next week will be our third consecutive year on Pacific Dawn, it's just the perfect boat for us

 

[boycee]

The info is 100% reliable I asked Robert from SSBY who sold it and he told me. I have owned an Alpha 35 centre cockpit for 24 years now and I can honestly say I would not change it for any other boat- it fills all our needs and requirements which is all I could ask

Boycee

[NorfolkNog]

20 minutes ago, tim said:

Tower Bridge and next week will be our third consecutive year on Pacific Dawn, it's just the perfect boat for us

Got to agree, we hired Tower Bridge in May and were very impressed. Carol has hired Dawn too.

Alan's is indeed a cracking looking boat. I think Mrs Nog's overtime might take a while to accrue, so back to the lottery 

[OldBerkshireBoy]

3 hours ago, Mouldy said:

It wasn't.  We looked at her (now called Base Camp) and although it was tempting, there was too much that needed to be done to get her to the standard that we would require.

It was in better shape than an Alpha 35 that is currently under offer at another brokers though.  We viewed that one too and couldn’t wait to get off.

Sounds like one I viewed earlier this year where the top of the canopy was all warped. 

[NorfolkNog]

The winching arrangement is fundamentally flawed but can be set up by a good yard. Definitely a point to check with this model.

[Mouldy]

10 minutes ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

Sounds like one I viewed earlier this year where the top of the canopy was all warped. 

Could well be.  It had been raining (now there’s a surprise) and a mini pond had developed in the middle of the canopy, probably where hirers in its former life had sat on it.  Furthermore, the windows at the rear of the canopy wouldn’t close, leaving sizeable gaps for the weather to get in, necessitating additional work on the canopy and runners.

I also went for a trial in it and it steered to the right, the pull becoming stronger as the revs increased, leading me to believe that the rudder may be bent.

With money spent, it could be a nice boat and was certainly a better starting point than the ex Herbert Woods Alpha 35 I viewed elsewhere, but too much for me to take on.