Freshfields Holidays 1983

[NeilB]

Kris Cruisers had a Bounty 28 when I started there in 1991, think it was sold a year or 2 later.  Cannot remember what it was called though.

[andyg]

9 hours ago, NeilB said:

Kris Cruisers had a Bounty 28 when I started there in 1991, think it was sold a year or 2 later.  Cannot remember what it was called though.

Hi Neil, do kris build any of there boats or are they all built over in norfolk. I see from their fb post the winter maintenance is mainly done on there car park, that can't be ideal. I also saw this week that they have commissioned a 2nd pontoon boat from phoenix at potter. They seem a very busy yard with a large dayboat business aswell as the cruisers. 

[RS2021]

10 hours ago, NeilB said:

Kris Cruisers had a Bounty 28 when I started there in 1991, think it was sold a year or 2 later.  Cannot remember what it was called though.

Interestingly I can only find it in the 1991 Blakes brochure - Lady Lynne.  Turks don't appear that year and the boat hasn't appears at Maidline yet, so maybe a very short stay at Kris Cruisers. Is it the same boat? Unusual twin rear cabin.

[NeilB]

37 minutes ago, RS2021 said:

Interestingly I can only find it in the 1991 Blakes brochure - Lady Lynne.  Turks don't appear that year and the boat hasn't appears at Maidline yet, so maybe a very short stay at Kris Cruisers. Is it the same boat? Unusual twin rear cabin.

I actually remembered the name overnight!  It's a long time ago now but I don't think it was there for very long, if a boat had a poor letting history it was normally moved on for something more profitable.  I'm only guessing but the 2 singles probably put a lot of couples off. 

[NeilB]

1 hour ago, andyg said:

Hi Neil, do kris build any of there boats or are they all built over in norfolk. I see from their fb post the winter maintenance is mainly done on there car park, that can't be ideal. I also saw this week that they have commissioned a 2nd pontoon boat from phoenix at potter. They seem a very busy yard with a large dayboat business aswell as the cruisers. 

I know Chris's dad built a couple of boats in the 60's but nothing much since then as far as I'm aware.  We used to carry out the odd interior refit but as the boats have become more modern it's probably not required now.  I was there April 91 to April 2001, at one point there was around 25 cruisers and around 10 dayboats, think they are down to about 15 or so cruisers and focus on quality over quantity now.  Think they have more dayboats now as well.

Yes, maintenance was outside and subject to all weathers which we had to work around, the only thing that stopped us was the occasional flood as per below.

The first 2 were taken around 1993, give or take a year.  The last is from the late 90's, I'm on the left with some unfortunate chap in the middle - probably their birthday dunking!

 

[oldgregg]

Talking to Paul Clarke a few years back, they basically have to buy the boats from the Broads because there aren't any suitable boatbuilders in that area. And adding a new boat every few years as they do, they just don't have the scale to justify employing their own boatbuilders.

If you look at some of the older boats like the Pearls they could do with updating internally, but the fleet is very well-kept and the boats do gleam.

It's odd to think that there were so many fleets and such prolific boatbuilders in that area. I guess the rise of affordable foreign travel must have a lot to do with the decline.

[Captain]

Affordable foreign travel won't have helped however I think specific to the Thames local property prices would be the greatest hit. Riverside housing or hotels etc would be be far more profitable than boating for the land owners. Throw in higher labour costs business rates and the expensive river license making the boats costly to hire creates the perfect storm. 

Back in the 70s and 80s there were several hundred cruisers probably almost as many as the Broads now including Herbert Woods, Richardsons and at Penton Hook Marina a fleet of Powles boats

Neil

 

[jimbob88]

Interesting thread, I do like to see a good discussion on the Thames. 

Ive just come back this week from another trip from Kris cruisers and you can't fault them. I find the Thames as a whole a more interesting waterway to the broads, there isn't a part I've passed through that I find boring like I do on some stretches of the Broads, and with a young family places like Windsor, Marlow, etc have so much more to offer than places on the broads. Even my girlfriend who hates the broads said how much she enjoyed it, so much so we are going back in April and I can't see us going back to the broads for the foreseeable. 

 

Le boat however looked awful. The repairs and maintenance they carry out are shocking and the general state of them I'd be horrified if I turned up to my holiday to find that. 

 

[andyg]

38 minutes ago, jimbob88 said:

Interesting thread, I do like to see a good discussion on the Thames. 

Ive just come back this week from another trip from Kris cruisers and you can't fault them. I find the Thames as a whole a more interesting waterway to the broads, there isn't a part I've passed through that I find boring like I do on some stretches of the Broads, and with a young family places like Windsor, Marlow, etc have so much more to offer than places on the broads. Even my girlfriend who hates the broads said how much she enjoyed it, so much so we are going back in April and I can't see us going back to the broads for the foreseeable. 

 

Le boat however looked awful. The repairs and maintenance they carry out are shocking and the general state of them I'd be horrified if I turned up to my holiday to find that. 

 

I would 100% agree with you about the scenery, its far better. Aren't the le boat boats,managed by Benson boats for them ?? I saw some broads boats back in April that clearly hadn't been taken out of the water over the winter. One particular elite fleet boat that looked absolutely dreadful, showing all the scares of the previous season. I'm guessing covid restrictions and staff furloughed played a part in the yards maintenance programme's. I have a rule of thumb that says if a boat looks that bad then it probably is..

[webntweb]

2 hours ago, Captain said:

Affordable foreign travel won't have helped however I think specific to the Thames local property prices would be the greatest hit. Riverside housing or hotels etc would be be far more profitable than boating for the land owners. Throw in higher labour costs business rates and the expensive river license making the boats costly to hire creates the perfect storm. 

Back in the 70s and 80s there were several hundred cruisers probably almost as many as the Broads now including Herbert Woods, Richardsons and at Penton Hook Marina a fleet of Powles boats

Neil

 

Connoisseur were there for a couple of seasons. Can't remember exactly when but possibly late 80s, early 90s.

[NeilB]

1 minute ago, webntweb said:

Connoisseur were there for a couple of seasons. Can't remember exactly when but possibly late 80s, early 90s.

Somewhere near Staines I think, they were gone by early 91.  Vaughan was running some boats in Staines by then.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

2 hours ago, NeilB said:

Somewhere near Staines I think, they were gone by early 91.  Vaughan was running some boats in Staines by then.

Was it perhaps at Runnymeads between Staines and Old Windsor or on the edge of Old Windsor

[RS2021]

9 hours ago, NeilB said:

The first 2 were taken around 1993, give or take a year.  The last is from the late 90's, I'm on the left with some unfortunate chap in the middle - probably their birthday dunking!

 

Is that Lady Lynne centre shot?

[webntweb]

11 hours ago, RS2021 said:

Interestingly I can only find it in the 1991 Blakes brochure - Lady Lynne.  Turks don't appear that year and the boat hasn't appears at Maidline yet, so maybe a very short stay at Kris Cruisers. Is it the same boat? Unusual twin rear cabin.

Turks were in the 1988 Hoseasons and it appears as Sunbury Minstrel. Still as two singles in the rear cabin with the washbasin is in a different place, but that is possibly down to the person drawing the floor plan. Turks weren't in 1989 Hoseasons.

[NeilB]

35 minutes ago, RS2021 said:

Is that Lady Lynne centre shot?

That’s Lady Jane, a Bounty 37 with a white sliding canopy.  She came from a yard in Abingdon after they closed.  
I remember one set of hirers never returned it on time and abandoned the boat in Marlow, after removing the bed linen, pots & pans, crockery etc!

[jimbob88]

22 minutes ago, NeilB said:

That’s Lady Jane, a Bounty 37 with a white sliding canopy.  She came from a yard in Abingdon after they closed.  
I remember one set of hirers never returned it on time and abandoned the boat in Marlow, after removing the bed linen, pots & pans, crockery etc!

I like their thinking. Hire a boat that would be substantially more expensive than just buying bedding and pots and pans. 

 

Love the old photos of the yard back in the day before all the flash stuff. 

[Broads01]

Another fascinating looking Freshfields brochure from Roy's (webntweb) collection. I've added to my Watchist.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285043548655?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=W_ofwU7wS32&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=4b-5bJkbQHi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[Vaughan]

That would have been their last brochure.  They sold up that year.