Broads01 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 I'm intrigued by the boat in the second photo of this ebay "Broads Book" listing. It looks to be something like a Bermuda with increased saloon headroom and dual steering. I recall something similar on the Thames at one time at Bridge Boats, Reading. Was it an FB Wilds creation? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353354829600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Don't think that it is a Broads boat although there were one or two similar 'cathedral' hulls about. Suspect that the picture is down on the Thames. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldBerkshireBoy Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Style_Details&style=Ber2 http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Style_Details&style=Carb http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Style_Details&style=Ber 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webntweb Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 It's an advertisement for "Boat Enquiries", a company that if I remember correctly only ever listed two or three boats on the Broads. One was and ex-Broom Captain that was turned round at Oulton YS and the other two were small grp aft cockpits. No pictures I'm afraid as I don't have that year's brochure any more. The picture has a cathedral in the background which looks like Auxerre in France. There were definitely cruisers on hire in that area and I have seen very similar, if not the same boats, to that one on French waterways - although I don't remember Boat Enquiries listing any French hire fleets. The only thing that throws me a little is the date: 1976 which I thought was a little early for French hire companies other than the British owned/run ones which tended to use ex-Broads built boats in those days. Perhaps Vaughan can enlighten me on that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyMorgan Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 11 hours ago, OldBerkshireBoy said: http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Style_Details&style=Ber2 You could well be right! Well spotted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 You beat me to it. That Cathedral looks very French, Cahors is close to the river but I can't remember what it looks like. I know one side is very plain Norman Tower like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughan Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 1 hour ago, webntweb said: The only thing that throws me a little is the date: 1976 which I thought was a little early for French hire companies other than the British owned/run ones which tended to use ex-Broads built boats in those days. Perhaps Vaughan can enlighten me on that. The first company to start boat hiring in France was Blue Line, with all their boats built for them by Wilds, although I didn't know they had any of this design. The Beaver Fleet started in the early 80s with a mixture of boats from Norfolk, mostly having been on hire on the Broads first. The first French builder and hirer was Locaboat, which was just starting when I was first there in 1983. Connoisseur came a bit later, in the mid to late 80s (I think). Blue Line used to have a base in the Loire region, to the south of Auxerre, so the photo could be of that cathedral. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouldy Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 13 hours ago, Broads01 said: I'm intrigued by the boat in the second photo of this ebay "Broads Book" listing. It looks to be something like a Bermuda with increased saloon headroom and dual steering. I recall something similar on the Thames at one time at Bridge Boats, Reading. Was it an FB Wilds creation? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353354829600 Hi Simon. Have a look at this: http://fbwilds.horning.org.uk/thamesbermuda.html They whole website is dedicated to FB Wilds and their cruisers. http://fbwilds.horning.org.uk/page6.html 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webntweb Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 31 minutes ago, Mouldy said: Hi Simon. Have a look at this: http://fbwilds.horning.org.uk/thamesbermuda.html They whole website is dedicated to FB Wilds and their cruisers. http://fbwilds.horning.org.uk/page6.html The Wilds page explains it. They were building that type of boat in the 70s and they mention suitability for European waterways, which explains why one of the 34ft dual steers is pictured in front of Auxerre cathedral in 1976 in the original post. It also shows the two 34ft (higher saloon) versions, with and without, dual steer that were available to hire on the Thames. I thought I remembered one on hire in Ireland and the website page confirms that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS2021 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 A sample of some on hire. Hoseasons 1976 Hoseasons 1979 Blakes 1979 Blakes 1981 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouldy Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Delving into the website a little further, I found this: They’ve earned their money in hire fleets over the years and still fetching around 30k for the standard versions when they come to the market now. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS2021 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 From Blakes 1985 brochure. Loire Tahiti, now part of Blue Line (presumably a base takeover). Also this photo doesn't show the prominent front door seen in the 1979 photo (was that a stock photo? or class variation?). Now looks much closer to the photo on e.bay. The base also suggests the right region for Auxerre Cathedral as suggested by webntweb. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broads01 Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Thanks for all the replies and information. As I said, I recall the Thames version but it was the appearance in the "Broads Book" which intrigued me. How curious it seems the photo wasn't taken on the Broads at all. The link posted by Old Berkshire Boy led me to this one. It seems the design made a very brief appearance at Richardsons. I bet Ludham Bridge was a tight squeeze. http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=8667&BoatHistory=113 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcouk Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 This is an interesting design - I like it. But why wouldn't they keep the forward well? That his the wife's favourite place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff500 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Certainly the cathedral in Auxerre and the picture was taken from the Port de Plaisance in town. From memory it is/was a boat from Navig France who had a base down river in Gurgy.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS2021 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 3 hours ago, Broads01 said: The link posted by Old Berkshire Boy led me to this one. It seems the design made a very brief appearance at Richardsons. I bet Ludham Bridge was a tight squeeze. http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=8667&BoatHistory=113 This shows the boat going to the Richardsons Thames fleets and it does appear there in the 1992 brochure as Benson Empress. Why it didn't come back to the Broads when they closed the Thames yards, maybe Clive knows. 1 hour ago, catcouk said: This is an interesting design - I like it. But why wouldn't they keep the forward well? That his the wife's favourite place! I think it was a design before its time. Now dual steer boats are almost the norm on the Broads, but then it was considered a boat should be able to get through Potter, Wroxham etc... The Connoisseur FB range does look like an evolution of this design, but it was only offered in France. As the larger ones were 13ft wide they have never found their way back to the Broads, but the smaller 11 ft wide boats have with Richardsons (e.g. Astral Gem), Silverline (Silver Haze) and Barnes (Brinks Jazz), and they have a forward well! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS2021 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Hoseasons 1991 - Advertised for hire on the Broads. The photo is clearly Bermuda Bay on the Thames, but that boat was always at Bridge Boats which (as far as I am aware) was never part of Richardsons - so I assume it was just using a stock photo. So where did this boat come from? Was it ever actually on hire on the Broads, or was it found to be too high for Ludham Bridge and shipped straight to the Thames when Richardsons (Rank) bought Maidline. Brochures advertising boats are printed many months before an actual season, so may not reflect what was actually available. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 If I were gambling man Sovereign Gem probably came from France, over the years Richardson s have a splurge of buying second hand stock from various locations. I remember a number of Blue Line boats appearing on the far bank at the yard in the early 90s including Bermuda s A/F 35, Calypso s etc which subsequently ended up on the fleet. Sovereign Gem was definitely registered on the Broads as W479 and appears with a Richardson s flag in the Broads database for 1991. Not sure why it moved to the Thames however Ludham Bridge may have been an issue and bridges apart from Osney in Oxford are less of an problem. Just as an aside Richardson s left Rank ownership cc 1984 being reacquired by the family, although Maidline may have been acquired from Rank, Bushnell of Maidenhead being the original Rank owned Thames operation run in conjunction with Richardsons in the 70s and 80s Neil 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Ricko Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 is that not a Horizon 35 hull? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webntweb Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Did Wild's not mould their own 34ft Bermuda hulls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldgregg Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Yeah, looks like a Bermuda hull - Which then basically went on to be almost everything Alphacraft did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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