topcraft

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Thanks Dan, it`s good to know some of them are staying on the southern rivers, as when Karen and i stayed south in June, we realised just exactly how enjoyable and less busy the southern rivers are compared to the overcrowded northern rivers. It`ll be interesting to see if Le Boat DO open a southern base, which is also what i think Richardsons should do to ease the overcrowding of the North. But then that`s only my opinion.

[Dolphin]

My sources tell me that the caravan style boats were looked at by pacific but thought to be too expensive. I didn't know at the time that WRC had bought the two big ones.

I've also heard conflicting stories about the yard. Topcraft say that they will be providing services still, others in the know say that the site is sold.

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

I also seem to remember hearing a rumour, and it was only a rumour, that the whole of that North bank on Oulton Broad was being re-developed with luxury appartments, probably that NOBODY in the locale can afford. I thought the BA were blocking all these luxury riverside developements because of the loss of much needed boatyard facilities.

[Broads01]

Are Pacific in the market fopr expanding their fleet more then? They've got very limited space at their yard unfortunately. I know they get round that a bit by splitting the start days but they've got to put all the boats somewhere out of season.

[Hemel_Dave]

Le Boats website is advertising Somerleyton as a start base for 2012.

[BuffaloBill]

Someone may correct me if I'm wrong, but I was led to believe that Le Boat

still own the marina based at Somerleyton.

Where the private boats that are moored there are to go is the question!

Good move by them though!

[Dan]

Yes, they do own Somerleyton, I think it opening as a hirebase has been expected for a few years so good to see it finally happen.

I hope it proves popular, good to see some new bases opening and not just places closing

Dan

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

I remember back in October 96, we hired the Aston Sapphire and stayed in that yard on our 1st night. It gives good sheltered moorings, but can be a little tricky entering when the tide`s at full flow. Still, now that they`re opening it back up as a hire base, it would make a great alternative to the main river for overnight mooring. I can also well remember the days when it was Ripplecraft and they were operating the old Broadland boats all named after birds. Broadland Swan, Grebe, plover and Lapwing are the only four i can bring to mind, but can anybody remember any more?.

[Guest]

looks like barns have two of topcrafts Alphas in there yard dont know if they have purchased them or there going up for sale on wroxham boat sales

Jonny

[BuffaloBill]

Have been down today and can confirm that they have bought 3 of them!

They are also busy building 4 new boats for next season, one of which you

could see on the webcam yesterday double moored near a fuel pump.

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Have been down today and can confirm that they have bought 3 of them!

They are also busy building 4 new boats for next season, one of which you

could see on the webcam yesterday double moored near a fuel pump.

Knowing Barnes`s reputation, they`ll probably be trying to re-fit them into sleeping up to 6. "Bums in boats" was the expression i heard about them.

[BuffaloBill]

Knowing Barnes`s reputation, they`ll probably be trying to re-fit them into

sleeping up to 6. "Bums in boats" was the expression i heard about them.

Many people are quick to slag Barnes off but they work damn hard, and that includes

Matthew, who never asks anyone to do something he can't, or won't, do himself. We moor

with them and can honestly say that we have no issues with anyone from the yard

at all. We see the day-to-day running of the yard and talk with the staff regularly

so know how things are going. There are big changes to take place soon as will become

apparent when they start, and they are investing a large amount of money in the

business in the coming months. I'm not going to divulge what, as it would'nt be

right, you'll have to wait and see. And as to "Bums in boats", isn't that what it's about?

But I doubt they'll convert them to 6 berth as they hired well enough as they are so why

would they change it? If they do, then by all means comment on it, but not before.

Sorry Neil, but had to be said.

Good to see you posting regularly again by the way!

[Broads01]

Knowing Barnes`s reputation, they`ll probably be trying to re-fit them into sleeping up to 6. "Bums in boats" was the expression i heard about them.

Not so Neil. It's on the Barnes website as per Topcraft. They've even kept the old class name http://www.barnesbrinkcraft.co.uk/our-boats/detail/42/

[loribear]

Many people are quick to slag Barnes off but they work damn hard, and that includes

Matthew, who never asks anyone to do something he can't, or won't, do himself. We moor

with them and can honestly say that we have no issues with anyone from the yard

at all. We see the day-to-day running of the yard and talk with the staff regularly

so know how things are going. There are big changes to take place soon as will become

apparent when they start, and they are investing a large amount of money in the

business in the coming months. I'm not going to divulge what, as it would'nt be

right, you'll have to wait and see. And as to "Bums in boats", isn't that what it's about?

But I doubt they'll convert them to 6 berth as they hired well enough as they are so why

would they change it? If they do, then by all means comment on it, but not before.

Sorry Neil, but had to be said.

Good to see you posting regularly again by the way!

hi buffalobill, i saw on fbook today that they are keeping the 2 berths as they are, & i had an email today from karen spooner, from barnes craft she said that they are building a NEW brinks quartet holiday cruiser, but i'm baffled as to where they are going to put them, because when you look on the webcam the yard looks full to the brim with boats. lori

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Many people are quick to slag Barnes off but they work damn hard, and that includes

Matthew, who never asks anyone to do something he can't, or won't, do himself. We moor

with them and can honestly say that we have no issues with anyone from the yard

at all. We see the day-to-day running of the yard and talk with the staff regularly

so know how things are going. There are big changes to take place soon as will become

apparent when they start, and they are investing a large amount of money in the

business in the coming months. I'm not going to divulge what, as it would'nt be

right, you'll have to wait and see. And as to "Bums in boats", isn't that what it's about?

But I doubt they'll convert them to 6 berth as they hired well enough as they are so why

would they change it? If they do, then by all means comment on it, but not before.

Sorry Neil, but had to be said.

Good to see you posting regularly again by the way!

Hi Bill, it was`nt meant as an attack, just that they tend to go for quantity of occupancy on some boats rather than quality of experience. Look at one of their big Alph 42 dual steers, 4 cabins and a dinette jammed in the salloon in front of the settee. There Aquafibre 42`s have every seat being used for sleeping etc. Many yards offer boats where the settee`s are not used for sleeping, which means the boat is less cramped, so your holiday is a more relaxing experience. Herbert Woods do the same, they bought Maffett cruisers Alpha 42 fwd drive which had a huge salloon with over 18ft of settee seating, (the same as Richardsons "Oyster Gem") took away about 7 feet of it and crammed in a double bunk cabin. The result is 2 settee`s which are much smaller and well offset to eachother which seat less people than the boat can sleep.

[BuffaloBill]

Lori, the 4 new boats for 2012 are the Quartet's. You can see one on 'Marina 4' behind

the tree in mid picture on their webcam in partial build mode.

As for room, They are selling off several of their older boats if you look on Norfolk Boat

Sales and I believe all the ex Moores craft are destined to go too.

Neil. Sorry if I read your post the wrong way, but lots of people have a go at Barnes

about their bums-on-boats but I know for a fact that lots of people want just that, crowding

everyone on to as small a boat as they can get away with to save on hire fees. It is only for

a week after all is said and done. (Usually) It saves having to hire 2 boats or a larger one,

which makes finding a mooring for the night easier, especially a side-on mooring.

In fact a VERY good friend of mine is hiring in just that way from Ferry Marina in June 2012.

quality of experience

The same can be said of pretty much every yard on the broads! It saves the punter money per person!

[BuffaloBill]

I see that Barnes have put one of the topliners up for sale!;-

http://www.norfolkboatsales.co.uk/boat/used/73/ £29,950

Maybe trying to put some coffers back in the bank to help with the purchace

of that fleet? Will be interesting to see how the sale goes.

[Dolphin]

Very interesting to see that the two large centre cockpit Topcrafts which were sold to WRC and had appeared on their website along with Pearl Emblem and I think Jade Emblem, have now disappeared from there and reappeared on Ferry Marina's site. Obviously the plans to hire out of WRC aren't going ahead after all!

How embarassing when there's just been an article in the Jan/Feb Anglia Afloat about it!

Whoops

[Dan]

Very interesting to see that the two large centre cockpit Topcrafts which were sold to WRC and had appeared on their website along with Pearl Emblem and I think Jade Emblem, have now disappeared from there and reappeared on Ferry Marina's site. Obviously the plans to hire out of WRC aren't going ahead after all!

How embarassing when there's just been an article in the Jan/Feb Anglia Afloat about it!

Whoops

Yeah... an interesting one. They disappeared off the WRC website a while ago so I've been keeping an eye on the Ferry one!

The Connoisseur 42 is there as Bright Emblem, and the ex Aston 40 there as Pearl Emblem but I cannot see the ex Topcraft Aquafibre 42 (ex Lady of the Lake) or the forward steer Alpha (that in 2011 was Rose Emblem), though this evening I cant load their website at all so maybe it's in progress.

It's not the first (or second) time Len's advertised a hirefleet & startpoint only to have a change of plan and run them from elsewhere, which I always find a bit suprising (and a bit unprofessional if I'm honest) given the chap involved.

Look forward to seeing where they all will run from, and it would be interesting to know the reason why/change of plan - especially if its the honest one!

Dan

[Dolphin]

The other topcraft is there Dan, Sparkling Emblem in the 8+ section. Can't see Rose though. You're right it is unprofessional. When did you notice that section of the WRC website disappear? I couldn't find a couple of weeks before Christmas but didn't know if that was because they were doing maintenance. Can't have been that long between Anglia Afloat going to print and Len Funnel/James Kinght pulling the plug on the idea?

I would love to know why too.

[afishcallededdie]

Hi all

You are correct, I've done an about-fish, the proposed hire fleet at WRC will be running from Ferry Marina in 2012. For information:

Rose Emblem - returned as Rose Emblem

Lady of the Lake - Sparkling Emblem

Princess Royal - Bright Emblem

Why? Apparently the bosses looked at our target customer profile, and the type/duration of holiday which they would want to have when starting from WRC, and decided that a different (probably smaller) type of boat would be more appropriate.

So off to Ferry Marina with them, whilst we will keep things under review down south.

Never fear, developments continue at WRC - the pool is open all winter and there are some big improvements coming to the campsite - including flatter, marked-out pitches, all of them with electric. And a nice new wash up area. And I saw a lot of solar panels going up in November, too.

Eddie x

[Dan]

...Why? Apparently the bosses looked at our target customer profile, and the type/duration of holiday which they would want to have when starting from WRC, and decided that a different (probably smaller) type of boat would be more appropriate.

So off to Ferry Marina with them, whilst we will keep things under review down south.....

for the info Eddie... you really are a well informed fish.

The only mystery now is why your bosses planned it all out, announced it, added it to websites and then made that decision rather than considering that point as one of the initial or earlier stage points!

Still.. the important thing is they run as holiday boats from somewhere, and I'm sure Horning will see them do a good 2012 season - good news for your bosses and the holidaymaker

Look forward to seeing them on the water

Dan

[Broads01]

Boo! Hiss! The south Broads miss out again. There aren't too many hire boats, just the distribution is skewed way too much towards the North Broads. Smaller boats at WRC? What a load of nonsense. Why is the Waveney and the South more suited to smaller parties? There is no logic at all in that to me. Agree with Dan that to announce th WRC fleet and then swicth to Horning afterwards is just plain silly. Sorry Eddie, your bosses are going to have to work hard to gain some credibility back.

[VetChugger]

T.I.C of course ..... well mostly .....

Nothing at all to do with maintaining space to continue being able to "Dick Turpin" visiting boats then?

Trevor

www.normanboats.co.uk

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Boo! Hiss! The south Broads miss out again. There aren't too many hire boats, just the distribution is skewed way too much towards the North Broads. Smaller boats at WRC? What a load of nonsense. Why is the Waveney and the South more suited to smaller parties? There is no logic at all in that to me. Agree with Dan that to announce th WRC fleet and then swicth to Horning afterwards is just plain silly. Sorry Eddie, your bosses are going to have to work hard to gain some credibility back.

WELL SAID SIMON . Typical of British buisness, ignore the needs of the the many to benefit the needs of the bosses .