Damage Waiver Was Paid!

[jimbob88]

Really interesting thread this.

https://m.apolloduck.com/boat/alpha-craft-42/598982

I assume this is most likely an ex french boat possibly one you ran.



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[Vaughan]

Yes it is. Probably transferred by Le Boat to Emerald Star at Carrick. After my time!

[Vaughan]

12 hours ago, Vaughan said:

I have often used bottles but I am not SCUBA qualified.

 

Taken on a winter diving holiday in Eilat.

The dolphin was not in captivity. It had come to play, of its own accord.

[NorfolkNog]

A very interesting thread. I suppose in most cases the damage waiver gets paid and thankfully there is no damage. But as we have seen, there is the odd exception. These are a couple that Swancraft had to deal with. I seem to recall the damage to Swan Ranger was sustained hitting Breydon bridge, how they managed that I'm not sure.

[Vaughan]

That's what we used to call "Gelcoat damage"!

[NeilB]

No problem !

[Vaughan]

Do you remember "Gelcoat Damage", Neil?

That was the nickname of the bloke who used to come and do our Fibreglass repairs in Staines!

[vanessan]

Ouch! 🤕

[grendel]

well its like this i accidentally hit the accelerator rather than the brake.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

1 hour ago, grendel said:

well its like this i accidentally hit the accelerator rather than the brake.

My grandfather was putting the car away in the garage one night, being an auto he put it drive, pressed down on the accelerator got his foot stuck under the brake pedal and the car almost went through the back wall.

He did have very wide feet I ought to add and the Rover P5 V8 was repaired.

[Vaughan]

You would be surprised how many hirers, in times of urgency, were looking for brake and clutch pedals on the floor!

[Dan]

Just seen one of the adapted Aquafibre 42's for sale...

https://m.apolloduck.com/boat/aquafibre-42/632513

These look far less successful than the Condor's Vaughan described to my mind!

It does make you wonder why they didn't just sell them!?

Dan

[NeilB]

4 hours ago, Vaughan said:

Do you remember "Gelcoat Damage", Neil?

That was the nickname of the bloke who used to come and do our Fibreglass repairs in Staines!

I do vaguely remember the name, John and myself picked up lots of tips and started practicing so eventually could handle most issues, even damage as bad as the above.

[Vaughan]

37 minutes ago, Dan said:

It does make you wonder why they didn't just sell them!?

Me too! Actually I was also involved in those boats you mention, although they were called Cavalier at the time, not Condor.

In principle, you build a hire boat : you hire it for 10 years before you make a profit on the investment : after 15 years you re-fit it to keep it going for a bit : and then you sell it.

Doing extensive and total reconstructions such as these is just not economical.

[webntweb]

On 20/04/2020 at 13:22, Vaughan said:

Me too! Actually I was also involved in those boats you mention, although they were called Cavalier at the time, not Condor.

Here's a Cavalier moored behind our Magnifique at Le Somail in May 2005.

[webntweb]

On the last pic there are three Péniches moored on the other bank, all used as houseboats. If you look at the one opposite the Magnifique you can see a small crane on it, which had a dinghy with outboard hooked to it..

The chap who lived on it was probably in his eighties. In the morning he swung the dinghy out, lowered it to deck level where he climbed in to it followed by his dog. After lowering it into the canal he swung the crane back using a cabled control and off he went.

About half an hour later he returned with his paper and groceries and reversed the process. What a place and way to spend your retirement . . . I was a bit jealous.

[Shiralee]

On 20/04/2020 at 22:22, Vaughan said:

Me too! Actually I was also involved in those boats you mention, although they were called Cavalier at the time, not Condor.

In principle, you build a hire boat : you hire it for 10 years before you make a profit on the investment : after 15 years you re-fit it to keep it going for a bit : and then you sell it.

Doing extensive and total reconstructions such as these is just not economical.

Hi Vaughan, we have a Cavalier V moored in France. There is not a lot of information available about theses boats so I’d appreciate any history you might be able to share.

Our model has a split sliding foot to the saloon/cockpit which is excellent. It’s now an old boat but in reasonably good condition and it offers a lot that more recent boats do not.

if you prefer I can send you my email.

[Vaughan]

Nice to hear from you and I am glad you are enjoying your boat!

There were five of these AF centre cockpit boats in the Beaver Fleet (Freshfields) fleet at Port Cassafieres, on the Canal du Midi, when I was first out there in 1983.  I believe they had done a couple of seasons in Norfolk before they came to France and I think they were fitted out by Richardsons. They were called Fleur du Midi and had a BMC 1.5 engine.  Very smart, new boats at the time!

When Crown Cruisers bought the Beaver Fleet and then Blue Line, these boats went to Castelnaudary where they were based until about 1996 - if I remember rightly!  Keith Gregory, the owner, decided they were getting on a bit and needed a refit, so they were trucked back to Crown Cruisers at Somerleyton and rebuilt to what we called "Crown Class" standard.  The sliding canopy and windscreen were replaced with a new mould on top and the interior was almost entirely rebuilt.  Crown used very high quality plastic faced ply with all bulkheads and partitions in 3/4 rather than half inch, with teak mouldings and surrounds, all spindled on the boatyard, so a very strong boat which should last a long time. I feel we should have added a top steering position on the sundeck aft, but couldn't quite work out where to put it.

So you have a hull built in about 1981 but all the rest is around 1996-7 and fitted out to a high standard by Crown Cruisers.  You also have the AF42 hull design which makes a lovely boat to handle.  I hope you have a lot of fun with her!

 

[andyg]

Thanks for sharing Vaughan, never a dull day on the rivers, I actually like that version. For me langfords vision back then breeded new life into the hire boat industry for the broads and I guess the sheer amount of his boats/ designs that were produced are testament to that. Good to hear the boat lived on after the accident. 

[Shiralee]

Thanks Vaughan.

The info I have on the boat was that the manufacture date was 1994. But perhaps that was the refit date? Maybe they re-registered them at that time.

it’s described as a Crown Cruiser Cavalier V.  
it’s fitted with a Nanni 43HP. The hours don’t fit with the age of the boat, so I’m guessing that at some stage it was really-engined. I have some anecdotal info about that.

It appears to have been refurbished and maybe re-engined when Blue Line sold it off. 

By coincidence it was purchased by a couple from Sydney who sold it on to another Australian couple from the Gold Coast, who subsequently sold it to us in 2018. So it’s had 3 Australian owners since Blue Line.

The boat has a lot of features that you don’t find on more modern boats, good accommodation, walk around deck, split sliding roof etc., that we think we will do some refurbishment over the next couple of years, rather than consider replacing it with a newer boat.

It seems that the boat is pretty tough and was designed for the hard knocks of charter work  I’ve given it a couple of hard bumps myself without too much damage.

Regards,

Bob,

 

 

 

[oldgregg]

They're a solid boat, but yeah I don't think anyone was building the MK1 Aquafibre 42's after about 1982.

I actually prefer the Mk1 as it has that integral seat on the foredeck.

[Turnoar]

18 minutes ago, oldgregg said:

They're a solid boat, but yeah I don't think anyone was building the MK1 Aquafibre 42's after about 1982.

I actually prefer the Mk1 as it has that integral seat on the foredeck.

Agree about the seat, I don’t think I could be trusted on it at this age though, circa 1972/3 so Woods must have been early takers albeit I think this looks to be a 38 Dawning Light class.

Re the comment about layup I remember my dad rebuilding a rotary lawn mower with a rusted chassis onto a deck hatch cut off. A bit heavy to push so I can’t imagine what the boat it came from weighed!

 

[oldgregg]

Yeah I think Woods had some of the earliest ones.

Major Gem 2 is an ex-Woods boat and was built around 1973.

[NBYCo2124]

Dear Vaughan,

Great posts and really interesting. My father's company Trianglian Yachts built AF 42's for the Beaver Fleet in France, as I remember him going down following the first boat, as he loved going to France so any excuse!

I have a favour to ask? Are you still in France? I have bought President G783, and she is stuck on the French Canals 2 days sailing south of Vitry Le Francois. I have been told of a yard in Vitry le Francois, but dont know anything about them. Specifically what their wood work is like. I have a recent survey for President. I am looking for a recommendation for a boatyard that can carry out some repairs. In time I would like to bring her back to the Broads, but while she is in France it would be daft not to take advantage of this wonderful cruising ground! But she needs some fettling, and I dont have any contacts in the boating world in France. recent pictures attached. The chimney in the photos is going!

Regards

Robert

 

[Broads01]

Hi Robert. I recognise your boat from it's hire boat days at NBYC. My first ever visit to the Broads was as a child in 1981 when my parents hired from there.

Vaughan does indeed still live in France so hopefully he'll be able to answer your question.