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Rare 1995 Brochure

Broads01

By Broads01
in Hire Boat Discussion

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Captain

Captain

Posted
Posted

Thats a blast from the past. I am not sure what is more interesting seeing that yard or how much these old brochures (in my eyes relatively new) are going for as l have a cupboard full somewhere and some only lasted for a season. I don't know much about this one without finding it which would be difficult as I am on Pacific Sunshine at the moment.

I do however remember it operated out of Alan Johnson boats yard, nothing to do with Richardsons that was Diamond at Horning, they may have been known as Coral craft briefly and I vaguely remember they may have gone from Acle Dyke (Easticks) and even Brundall at one point. They had an assortment of about 10 boats including some ex Harvey Eastwood 34s and Anchor craft Falcon 26s. The yard may been leased from Len Funnel at the time who operated Alan Johnsons in the late 80s and early 90s and briefly as Acle Ferry boats (may have been brochure only) when this yard ceased.

Neil

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andyg

andyg

Posted
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Alan Johnsons, they were a nice fleet of boats. Do we know why they ceased hiring,Easticks didn't they have that bounty 37 bathtub with a patio type area at the stern. The good old days when there were hire fleets on just about every river bank. 

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Mouldy

Mouldy

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29 minutes ago, andyg said:

 . . . . . . . . . . . . .The good old days when there were hire fleets on just about every river bank. 

I always have a chuckle when I see comments on various Norfolk Broads groups Faceache, complaining about the increasing number of hire boats on the rivers.  They obviously weren’t there during the seventies and eighties when there were hire fleets based all over the network.

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andyg

andyg

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30 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

I always have a chuckle when I see comments on various Norfolk Broads groups Faceache, complaining about the increasing number of hire boats on the rivers.  They obviously weren’t there during the seventies and eighties when there were hire fleets based all over the network.

Indeed, it's a shame so many yards have disappeared. Another thing I miss are boatyards individual colour schemes. Aston boats,Castle craft and my personal favourite summercraft. Its so boring having all white boats with a few stickers added. 

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trambo

trambo

Posted
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26 minutes ago, andyg said:

Alan Johnsons, they were a nice fleet of boats. Do we know why they ceased hiring,Easticks didn't they have that bounty 37 bathtub with a patio type area at the stern. The good old days when there were hire fleets on just about every river bank. 

Easticks last season was 1994. The Bounty 37s with the patio area were the Petit Magnum class which started life with the Ferry Boatyard Horning as Ferry Cavalier in the 70s and ended their hire career at VIP Harvey Eastwood Brundall.

Alan Johnsons last season was 1992 and Acle Ferry Boats 1999.

Both Easticks and Alan Johnson provided much lost mooring space and in the case of Easticks a reasonable walk to Acle village.

Fred

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Mouldy

Mouldy

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32 minutes ago, andyg said:

 . . . . . . . . . . . . its so boring having all white boats with a few stickers added. 

But it makes them so much easier to sell when the time comes.  Summercraft sold off most of their fleet a couple of years ago and they’re still on the rivers and wearing the same colour scheme.  Obviously it could be painted over, but as can be seen with the amateurish effort to cover the orange stripes on the ex Royalls craft, with limited success.

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andyg

andyg

Posted
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17 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

But it makes them so much easier to sell when the time comes.  Summercraft sold off most of their fleet a couple of years ago and they’re still on the rivers and wearing the same colour scheme.  Obviously it could be painted over, but as can be seen with the amateurish effort to cover the orange stripes on the ex Royalls craft, with limited success.

Yes I've seen a couple of the repainted royalls boats, you can still see the orange under the white on the roofs. I guess painting out such a bright colour properly isn't easy or cheap. 

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Captain

Captain

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Hi Broads 01, 

Second time on Sunshine, nice boat. She is a 1997 Aquafibre 28 Opal built by Hampton boats of Oulton like Imperial hence the distinctive green colour scheme. She is in more or less original spec and was well looked after by her private owner's although she started as Summer Safari in hire. She does have a 240v inverter, shore power connection. A microwave a fairly rare rear view camera a built in hair dryer and Richard has fitted a bow thruster and an extension to make the settee more suitable for sleeping as an alternative berth. Not sure if you have had this type of boat before however she has the usual benefits of a dual slide roof and a large forward cockpit, rear Nanni diesel and handles well for a bath tub. Richard and Fiona give truly excellent personal and friendly service and the prices are competitive too.

Not sure if I am letting the cat out of the bag early however they have just acquired an Alpha 31 to complement Sunshine, not sure when she will be available possibly later this season. Ex private although was originally at Russell marine then Moore's Go boating as Orient Star to add to your choice which I hired in 2007 funnily enough.

Neil 

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andyg

andyg

Posted
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7 hours ago, Broads01 said:

Thanks Neil. Yes I've hired similar boats before and I was aware of the Hampton connection. I would imagine the rear reversing camera is a great asset. 

I remember Orient Star, I'll look out for that becoming available.

I hired orient star from go boating Simon it was a very nice boat. Good example of this design. 

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webntweb

webntweb

Posted
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4 hours ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

I haven't seen one of those for a while. I might actually have one. As Clive correctly says, this was Darren Lewis though any mention of the operator on the brochure itself seems conspicuous by its absence.  

A year earlier (1994) a very similar brochure, based at Easticks. Norfolk Broads Holidays and Lewis & Hughes on the cover but the name Coral Craft appears inside. Different pennant though.

Coral 1994 brochure 189.jpg

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Oddfellow

Oddfellow

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On 04/07/2021 at 10:26, andyg said:

Yes I've seen a couple of the repainted royalls boats, you can still see the orange under the white on the roofs. I guess painting out such a bright colour properly isn't easy or cheap. 

It just takes a bit of effort! Sand back, get a good key, use a good undercoat and use that to obliterate the orange and then a couple of top coats. 

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