What To Look Out For Hiring Or Buying A Boat

[tim]

14 hours ago, Wonderwall said:

 

The £1000 I save , goes on food and drink. A boat which can get under most bridges is high on the agenda, as is one which lends itself to fishing from.

Absolutely spot on, I like to visit as many pubs as I can, Mandy likes to eat out every meal except breakfast, I'm not the greatest cook, the average galley isn't big enough for Mandy to use every utensil and pot to create one meal! 

We both like older style houses, cars, furniture etc, this rule also applies to boats, I cant stand some of these new 'floating caravan' styles that Ferry marina seem to have loads of!

Definitely no bath tubs!

We've been with Pacific for years now, good traditional, clean, well maintained boats at silly prices and a loyalty discount on top of that

Great service friendly approach, every year I think about going somewhere else for about 10mins and then book again with Fiona and Richard

Just a tip for those looking for comfort, if you are uncomfortable you're not drinking enough!   

 

[Smoggy]

6 minutes ago, tim said:

Absolutely spot on, I like to visit as many pubs as I can, Mandy likes to eat out every meal except breakfast,

Exactly how it should be, we do tend to indulge in a roll mid afternoon to see us through and soak up some alcohol though.

6 minutes ago, tim said:

Just a tip for those looking for comfort, if you are uncomfortable you're not drinking enough!   

And the perfect finale!

For us the current boat was for good sea keeping, a reasonable turn of speed, not too big, and an electric anchor windlass (my hands don't work as well they should and I've nearly caugt them in a chain gypsy a few times), and not too hard for an old dog to get on and off.

Everything else was negotiable.

[grendel]

9 hours ago, psychicsurveyor said:

Being 6'3" and having a son who is 6'6", headroom is the priority.

water rail in the rear berth, i can just touch the bottom end with my head about 18" from the head of the bed, standing up its a different matter, you learn to duck, I am 6'4".

Jayne from Martham is similar, plenty of bed length, just remember to duck when standing..

 

[HEM]

7 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

Our son in law is 6ft 7 when he and our daughter are booking holiday accommodation they have to confirm that the beds do not have end boards which is often a problem if staying at a boutique style of hotel 

I'm 6ft 4 and have the same problem with beds (last 2 times we stayed at a B&B in Keswick I explained the problem & they reserved a suitable room).  It used to be a problem finding a car but in recent years they seem to have more headroom - even the Japanese cars.

As for flying - there are a number of gliders into which I cannot fit.  I learnt on the ASK-13 & had to do so without a parachute.  Now I have my own full-length (rather than just back) parachute & just fit into the ASK-21 with it.  Currently I own a DG-808c which is not perfect from viewpoint of comfort but its OK.  The performance of the glider is top - just this pilot is a bit rusty & old.

 

[CambridgeCabby]

As a youngster I used to go with my father to Great Gransden airfield where I was delighted to sit besides the driver of an old Land Rover which they used to pull the gliders up into the air , on my 12th birthday I was treated to a flight as a passenger in a glider , my lasting memory is how noisy it was due to the air flow , I foolishly believed it would be totally silent as it appears from the ground 

[Speleologist]

We seem to have graduated to gliding! For me, gliding came in my school days. A weekend at Lasham with the scouts, flying Slingsby T21 open cockpit gliders and then a week based at RAF Locking where we flew every day at Weston Super Mare in T31B's The climax was the three solo flights for an A & B certificate. It cost me all of £0.35. Everything was paid by the RAF apart from 5 pence a day contribution to the mess fund.

On to the boats. For me there are several key factors:

1. It must sail well
2. Wooden and traditional
3. No TV
4. No other fancy electrics
5. Preferably no engine

I go to the Broads to sail and explore the countryside, not to watch TV I expect to spend most of my daylight hours sailing, or possibly in an interesting outdoor venture ashore. I prefer to have food and drink to allow wild mooring as I have no interest in mooring up early enough for most moorings with pub access, although I enjoy a good pub when it is possible.

Apart from a couple of midwinter dayboat hires I have only ever hired from Martham, Hunters or Eastwood Whelpton. I am somewhat disappointed that Hunters are now fitting electric engines to many of their fleet and have dispensed with the oil lamps in favour of electric lighting. However they still remain the best option and, apart from a desire one day to sail Zoe from Martham, are the yard to which I will return as and when I get time to get back to The Broads.

[Turnoar]

40 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

As a youngster I used to go with my father to Great Gransden airfield where I was delighted to sit besides the driver of an old Land Rover which they used to pull the gliders up into the air , on my 12th birthday I was treated to a flight as a passenger in a glider , my lasting memory is how noisy it was due to the air flow , I foolishly believed it would be totally silent as it appears from the ground 

A while back I invested in another cycle helmet and it’s aero style with two top vents and tails to a point. Makes my neck ache in a strong crosswind but could do with ear plugs sometimes, sounds like an aircraft is overhead. Obviously that would be dangerous but even without plugs I keep looking back to see if a car is approaching my chuff! Strange as years back I had a fairly aerodynamic Audi coupe and remember how quiet it was at speed, a nice place to be.

[YnysMon]

We were delighted to pass one of the Hunters boats on Breydon when we were making our way up north last weekend. I took a few photos, so they should feature in the holiday tale that I’m intending to start posting up tomorrow. 

[HEM]

12 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

 my lasting memory is how noisy it was due to the air flow , I foolishly believed it would be totally silent as it appears from the ground 

I heard someone say it was like sitting inside a vacuum cleaner!

The noise level really depends on the build of the glider.  The old-timer mostly-wooden gliders were quite noisy but have a charm of their own.  Modern high-performance gliders made of glass-fibre etc are much quieter.  Bit like with boats really.

[PaulN]

Thought I would return to the original question and say what our priorities were in a boat.

Before retiring and buying our own broads cruiser, we hired for 8 years for a holiday even though we had a yacht on the east coast. One year we had a boat with a bow thruster, but on a day when it was raining and windy, with the wind blowing us away from a side on mooring, the stern moved away as my wife jumped ashore and she slipped on the timber heading which was covered in goose poo. Both her legs went into the water, but fortunately she held onto a mooring post and pulled herself out.

We decided that in future we would hire boats with bow and stern thrusters, making it so much safer as I could pin the boat to the bank and rest assured that my wife was safe. We hired Moon Enterprise 3 years running and then Commander a Richardson 45, which was so easy to manoeuvre with both thrusters on a single control.

When we bought our own boat, she was already fitted with bow and stern thrusters albeit they can often be retro fitted.

Our other priorities were good viewing of the scenery for everyone sitting down in the main saloon, having experienced many too windy and wet days in a yacht, sitting down below most of the day and seeing very little. Also easy fore and aft access for ease of mooring as just the two of us who are not getting any younger.

Finally we wanted a boat that could get under Wroxham Bridge.

Hope this helps, although I realise we all have different priorities, which I respect.

 

[NorfolkNog]

On 07/05/2021 at 12:15, tim said:

I like to visit as many pubs as I can

 

On 07/05/2021 at 12:15, tim said:

Just a tip for those looking for comfort, if you are uncomfortable you're not drinking enough!