Broads Open And Hire Boats Allowed

[NorfolkNog]

Looks like an Alphacraft Simon, solid choice. It should go under the bridges and be warm too. Good one for a winter boat. 

 

[CambridgeCabby]

I popped up on Thursday and will be back up over the weekend also 

[SwanR]

7 hours ago, Broads01 said:

I had the option of White Emblem or Rose Emblem and chose the pricier Rose for the bow thrusters and the radiator heating. Stern cabin looks really nice. 

Aha, good choice. We did our first March hire on Rose Emblem and I would take that one again. I seem to recall being told that FM bought it from a private owner as opposed to it being one they built. Would highly recommend the yard as well. 

[marshman]

You are correct - it was bought by Len after the boat had not been winterised and sustained quite a bit of damage. Ever one for a bargain, he snapped it up and reengined it and sorted out the rest,  and put in the fleet.

If I remember, which I cannot in detail, there was a reason why the bloke did nothing to it, but old age prevents me recalling!!!!

[SwanR]

Thank you Marshman. The knowledge of folk around here is so much appreciated. 

[WherryNice]

Annnnd we....are....back......phew! One boat checked, one to go

[Broads01]

4 hours ago, SwanR said:

Aha, good choice. We did our first March hire on Rose Emblem and I would take that one again. I seem to recall being told that FM bought it from a private owner as opposed to it being one they built. Would highly recommend the yard as well. 

I know you've hired from Ferry a few times Jean but didn't realise you'd had Rose. Was it nice and warm with the radiators and is there any draught from gaps around the canopies?

[SwanR]

58 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Was it nice and warm with the radiators and is there any draught from gaps around the canopies?

Ah now I actually went back to my holiday tale to refresh my memory as to what I had written at the time as it was back in 2016. You might like to take a look. I've mentioned over the few days what I thought of various aspects of the boat. Strictly speaking the Skipper's Manual at the time said that you should only run the heating for two hours without the engine on. We had a debate about this on my holiday tale. There was an immersion heater as well so whether that was heavy on the batteries for keeping the water hot I don't know. But you get the shore power lead so have the option to find hook up. There were bow and stern thrusters and a rear view camera, which was useful for stern on mooring. The steering was a little heavy but it kept a good straight course but you seemed to need to keep the revs quite high however the engine was quiet and you do get a tank of fuel in your price so this wasn't a concern.

All in all it was a boat that I would take again.

 

 

[NorfolkNog]

I think the draughts issue particularly around the canopy depends a lot on the build quality and maintenance. They should have dense brushes in the gaps to stop draughts. Swan Radiance was excellent in this regard as is Humber Bridge. I would imagine radiators take a little longer to heat up but will no doubt maintain the heat longer. I'm sure you'll be fine. We've done about 12 years February breaks on the trot in Alphacrafts and never been cold. 

[Broads01]

Thanks Jean, I enjoyed re-reading your tale. There's me saying I didn't realise you'd been on Rose and then I saw my comment on your tale 😊. 

I don't normally bother with hook up but I definitely will for this trip. In my experience, how long the heating will run for depends on the condition of the batteries at the time. As you know I always do plenty of hours cruising to charge the batteries. However, sometimes I can run the heating for 5 or 6 hours without restarting the engine, sometimes it's petered out after less than an hour. 

[NorfolkNog]

55 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

However, sometimes I can run the heating for 5 or 6 hours without restarting the engine, sometimes it's petered out after less than an hour. 

Depends so much on the quality of the charging and battery systems, and maintenance of same. Never hired from Ferry so can't comment specifically but I'd certainly expect the heating to run for several hours without the engine. 

[SwanR]

To be fair my hire will be five years ago by the time Simon has this boat so who knows what may have changed in that time.

[Cheesey69]

My lorry’s heater can run all night but, here’s the point, on well conditioned batteries. 
As for my own boat, I installed a smart charger that conditions the battery and keeps an eye on it. 

[WherryNice]

Whoops, forgot to get a pic but boat number two is all checked and sorted and now home n cosy. Was lovely to get back onboard and breathe that crisp Norfolk air..... back again tomorrow to get the works underway

[YnysMon]

We’ll be out on Moonlight Shadow the first week of February (hopefully...depending on how things go post Christmas gatherings). We’ll be staying ‘down south’ though due to tides.