A Boat is a Boat, or

[Baz]

Hi all,

I read somewhere that a boat should look like a boat, you know, a real boat,rear steer, rear cockpit and so on. My boat actually falls within those parameters, and I love it, a real boat I might say, but, and it's a big but, it's crossed my mind occasionally to go for one of those " bathtub" type boats, with a level floor in order to be able to bring my wife and my dogs with me when I come to the Broads. At present, my wife doesn't like the " normal" type boat as it has steps etc., and I don't think she would come to the Broads that often anyway, so I'm going to keep my "normal" boat. Does anyone think that their boat is not normal, ie, a bathtub, not my wording you must realize, and would they really prefer a "normal" type of boat, remembering of course the issue of possible problems with bridges. Just a thought, and does anyone have their own thoughts on the subject.

Regards

Baz

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

The thing is Baz, if your boat WAS as you put it "a proper boat", where are the rags and twig gone from the top? . And before any of you start chucking anchors and mudweights at me, i`m wearing my crash helmet

[jimbo]

Well my idea of a 'Proper' boat maybe slightly different from yours ..............

[diesel falcon]

Each to his own defines a proper boat, ie it does what the owner wants it to do,if you prefer ermmm ouchh ,rags and sticks and you and your family enjoy going backwards,sidewards,getting soaking wet and ulitimatly cold...even on a reasonable summer day...so be it.On tne the other hand ,i think you ve answered your own question on this....if your good lady can,t deal with high steps,then surely a single level boat would suit her more and make her more comfortable,and be there to keep you company. I know if i can,t manage a sports cruiser ,or sue comes to the point where she can,t ,a more suitable boat would be on the shopping list...

(written after several cans of becks bier!!)

[Baz]

Rag and Stick, no way, nothing against them, but not for me. I do like the Alphacraft 31 though. Now that boat would do me great. Not though, according to a friend, a " proper " boat, but all one level, and loads more room to swing the cat in, and a bed that's made up all the time, lovely, but, I still love my "proper" boat.

Nice to hear from you all

Baz

[senator]

If it floats then it is a boat, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Is a river boat a real boat whatever it looks like, after all is a boat not about the freedom to go anywhere?

All romance in reality, different aspects of boating appeal to different people, canals, rivers, broads, inland, coastal, offshore and blue water. Personally I do not find the look of a bathtub attractive but I'm sure others do and remember every boat is a compromise in some way or another. There is always a trade off and if the trade off is looks to allow maximum space, easy access and low headroom then I can totally see the attraction.

Would I swap? maybe one day but not just yet.

[Baz]

Would I swap............Like yourself, maybe one day, but not today.

Baz

[quo vadis]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-12278893

I rest my casr

[senator]

In a report, the inspector said the structure did not have any navigation aids or means of propulsion, and its "unwieldy nature" suggested it could only be manoeuvred with difficulty.

"The fact remains that not everything that floats is a boat," the report concluded.

Puts a bit of a nail in the coffin of the rag and stick brigade.

[jimbo]

Now there is an interesting case!! If it had an engine, how would the law decide??

[senator]

Think if it were mine I would be putting on an outboard. As to the manoeuvred with difficulty bit take a look at the reed beds during any sailing event.

[Guest]

I'm not sure if I have a view regarding this however with arm twisted I'll give it a go ......

On the whole I suppose I like the boat that I own (at least for the first few months)

I dislike any boat that looks nicer than my own.

I dislike the glitzy, planning, fun only boats that are out of place anywhere except the boating lakes in San merrics.

I dislike the ugly bath tub broads cruisers.

I dislike the new fangled broads cruisers that try to be glitzy, planning fun only boats.

I dislike wooden boats ...... well only in so much that I wouldn't want to maintain one.

I dislike rowing boats ...... can't see the point

I particularly dislike the growing trend on this type of forra of posting pics of your boat as your avatar. It is clearly designed to encourage snobbery and one up-man-ship.

Some might tell from the above that I am currently boatless, some might conclude a sign of envy but I suspect most couldn't give a monkees!

[goodall_m1]

A boat is something you use for whatever purpose you are into at that time

and the choice will be constrained by purpose and of ccurse by funds...

Give me the open sea and a rag and stick allows me cheap power, without paying the chancellor £1.30 a litre or more,

but I still like an engine for manouvering in harbours, charging the batteries etc

(but usually only use a jerrycan of fuel in a fortnight's cruising).

It also, given the right weather, lets me unwind and slow down to an easier pace of life...

For restricted waters (like the Broads) I go for something that has the accomodation that I need,

and is usually something like a floating caravan with an engine in it.

I like to have at least a chance of getting into the headwater stretches,

i.e. upstream of Wroxham, Wayford or Potter,

so it is normally a boat designed to allow that, i.e. a bathtub.

Do I like the new flashier cruisers, some of them are OK, and have advantages over the single level boats,

especially in the lower stretches of the rivers (but then they can't get through the low bridges)

Clive's new RC45 looks like a good compramise, designed with the Broads in mind

but a bit more stylish than the older plastic tubs.

Others are purely bling, and just not really designed for the area,

but still some people must like them or the yards wouldn't build them.

Times change and so does the level of technology fitted, but personnaly I would

be more attracted by a bow thruster rather than by a whirlpool bath.

Sea going cruisers are good for those that want to go to sea, and I think it is good to see the way

that the forum's friendliness has helped some owners actually take the plunge out onto the salty stuff.

I do think back though, to an Easter weekend cruise across to the Channel Islands where we took all day to sail over,

and were being passed by all lots of gleaming motor cruisers only to find that when we came to leave they were all

still queing up to access the one fuelling berth in order to get the juice required for the return trip.

Given the money I would probably settle for a large super-yacht that I once saw in Corfu,

with a 40ft rag and stick on davits, for when the guests felt that they wanted to go sailing

(but as I have never bought a lottery ticket I don't see it coming my way)....

In the meantime though it is a case of chartering what I want for each trip,

as my only boat is a 1/12th scale model of a mirror dinghy, and as I built her over 40 years ago

(when the mirror was a fairly new design) she is currently in need of a refit anyway!

So no my avater isn't a photo of my boat!

[Hockham Admiral]

Hi all,

Does anyone think that their boat is not normal, ie, a bathtub, not my wording you must realize, and would they really prefer a "normal" type of boat, remembering of course the issue of possible problems with bridges. Just a thought, and does anyone have their own thoughts on the subject.

Regards

Baz

Baz, Hi

Over the years (31 to be exact) we've had all sorts of boats. From planing motor-cruisers to motor-sailors, back to planing and now, finally, ... wait for it...

a bathtub!

So no, we don't think of our bathtub as "not normal", just that she now fits our requirements absolutely ( as listed by Rod in the previous post).

When we wanted to go to sea then we had sea-going boats; now we have opted for the Broads and have what we think is the ideal boat for us (and the Broads).

[AEJB]

Traditional Broads Boat = Wherry........take the mast of the Wherry = Bathtub

[Baz]

AJB, can't really argue with that can I

Rod and a few more, your comments fit my own criteria exactly. My boat, upwards of 40 years old, does everything I want, at the moment. My wife doesn't come to the Broads anymore, and that's her choice, so as said, my boat does all for me. I can of course see the benefits of having extra room, made up bed, shower room and so on, but at the moment, I can slum it by using a sleeping bag, using site showers and sitting in my cockpit if I want to, and this I find very restful.

I still like the Alphcraft 31 though, very nice.

Regards all

Baz

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

In a report, the inspector said the structure did not have any navigation aids or means of propulsion, and its "unwieldy nature" suggested it could only be manoeuvred with difficulty.

"The fact remains that not everything that floats is a boat," the report concluded.

Puts a bit of a nail in the coffin of the rag and stick brigade.

And what will your thoughts be when the OIL runs out then Ian? , Then us "rag and stick" brigade will be the ones who will still be able to use our "proper boats", be it inland or offshore . Seriously though, my slightly sarcastic comment was only meant in good humour, and not intended to spark any arguments, so if anybody felt the slightest bit offended, then i offer my appologies. Yes, most definately, any boat is a proper boat when fullfilling its purpose, and it does`nt matter whether it`s an inland cruiser, or an offshore yacht etc etc.

[Guest]

And what will your thoughts be when the OIL runs out then Ian? , Then us "rag and stick" brigade will be the ones who will still be able to use our "proper boats"

The planet's second-most sought after commodity (after food ) ??

The human race will ensure for many generations ahead that they can propel themselves, even when the black stuff can no longer be harvested.

Electricity, hydrogen, biofuel, plutonium etc.etc....

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Hi Strowager, Yes i totally agree, we will always find some form of propulsion fuel, but some of them will only work for short times (electricity), and others may not be feasable on a boat, or in a marine environment. I did wonder the other day, whether steam power, in a much more updated form would be feasable?. Years ago, i watched an article on "Tomorrows world" about a guy called "Peter Pellandine" (i think?) who built a kit car and was trying to develope a much more sophisticated steam propulsion system. He was using an oil fired central heating burner to boil the water, but that`s all i can remember. Regards ....... Neil.

[Baz]

Actually, I've never seen a Pedalo on the Broads yet. Not one with a shower cubicle anyway.

Baz

ps. Couldn't resist it

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Actually, I've never seen a Pedalo on the Broads yet. Not one with a shower cubicle anyway.

Baz

ps. Couldn't resist it

PEDALO?.............. Not bloody likely........ too much like hard work. Tin bath with a paddle should be ok