Farewell To Some Old Favourites

[Dan]

It looks like the following are leaving Richardsons at the end of the season... quite a lot of boats, from their more affordable end of the scale...

All Ideal 45's (The Champagnes, Acapulco, Challengers)

Blue Horizon

Clear Horizon

Jamaica

Monarch

All Aquafibre 42s (Pearl, Voyager, Superior Gem etc)

Mermaid

San Bernadette

Trinidad

Southern Gem

 

Looks to leave a bit of a gap in the market for the budget conscious pirate brigade ;)

Dan

 

[Turnoar]

If Trinidad leaves what about Tobago?

[webntweb]

Had holidays on a couple of them: White Champagne & Clear Horizon 2.

[Captain]

Wow that's potentially up to 30 boats on top of the 40-50 sold in the last couple of years or around 30% of the fleet in a relatively short space of time with the fleet likely to drop to just over 200 boats. Interesting to see all the Ideal 45s going (Ludham bridge probably doesn't help) and all the Aquafibre 42s including the more recent San Bernardette leaving no Ideal 45s for hire on the Broads and only a handful of A/F 42s of the later varieties remaining at Barnes and Pacific. Richardsons alone must have taken off 10-15% of the Broads hire fleet with only a handful of second hand replacements in short space of time. I wonder what the long term plan is as I initially thought the reductions were due to a restructure after the sad loss of Mr Richardson senior. I hope the plan involves continued investment in the hire fleet and not redirected away to land based activities both of which are seeing a high demand this year and future bookings I believe are looking good for next season.

Neil

[DAVIDH]

Mmm, surprised at that. The Ideal 45's and Aquafibre 42's are popular with the stag and hen groups, and there's little competition outside Richardsons for that market. Perhaps they could still hold on to some of them for another season at least, if the chances of holidaying abroad get worse before they get better - new variants and all that. 

[Dan]

6 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

Mmm, surprised at that. The Ideal 45's and Aquafibre 42's are popular with the stag and hen groups, and there's little competition outside Richardsons for that market. Perhaps they could still hold on to some of them for another season at least, if the chances of holidaying abroad get worse before they get better - new variants and all that. 

I agree, demand is there so it can only be they don't want to run them/a choice to move away from this

Still, I suppose it is their business and they do still have a fair number of cheaper boats left at the moment

The newer additions all seem to be small, high quality boats which are perhaps much less trouble and doing well for them, or the accountants prefer them!?!

Dan

 

[Broads01]

Oh dear, that's a heck a lot of boats going. I'm very surprised they're removing all the Ideal 45s and Aquafibre 42s in one hit. It's as if they're not interested in large parties any more, which is sad. Assuming that's the complete list then all the Bounty 37s remain and they're some of the oldest boats of the lot.

Dan, we can always rely on you to be in the know on these things. How do you manage it?

[Vaughan]

From the maintenance point of view if I had any Ideals in my fleet I would have sold them off 15 years ago, just as we did in France.  They are quite horrible things.  They may be popular for young people booze cruising but they are actually a very uncomfortable boat to spend a holiday on, especially for 10 people.  You can't even get out of the side doors, except on your hands and knees.  That saloon is more like a greenhouse, which depends for its structure entirely on the windows and their frames. After you have had a few partygoers dancing on the roof, the whole affair leaks like a sieve when it rains. And I could go on!

The AF42 is an excellent hire boat but it may be that they have got to the point where too much would have to be done to re-fit them.  So from the practical point of view I am not at all surprised.

But I thought we were supposed to be entering into boom times, with everyone staying in the UK and anything that floats will let like hot cakes next year?  Richardsons, one of the main players, obviously don't seem to think so.

Very interesting.

As my father in law used to say - trees don't grow all the way up to Heaven.

[AndyTBoater]

11 hours ago, DAVIDH said:

Mmm, surprised at that. The Ideal 45's and Aquafibre 42's are popular with the stag and hen groups, and there's little competition outside Richardsons for that market. Perhaps they could still hold on to some of them for another season at least, if the chances of holidaying abroad get worse before they get better - new variants and all that. 

I was chatting to someone at the yard who told me they were trying to move away from the big stag/hen groups who probably dont do much for the Richardson reputation. How true that is I dont know but thats what I was told.

 

[Vaughan]

31 minutes ago, AndyTBoater said:

they were trying to move away from the big stag/hen groups who probably dont do much for the Richardson reputation.

If that's true I don't blame them. I can't help feeling it is a bit rich though, coming from a company that built its less recent reputation on cheap and cheerful discount weekends for readers of The Sun.

[Vaughan]

There's an old saying :

You can't choose your customers.  Just be thankful for them.

 You will very soon miss them if they take their custom elsewhere.

[Andrewcook]

Hi all I'm wondering if Richardson's are now going on to the Midrange Boats but they may.have to invest on Three to four Berth Boats for the future as Herbert woods have done also Barnes Brinks and another yard in Wroxham and another newish yard in Horning emerald class Boats I believe.

[DAVIDH]

Certainly, reservations are closed off for 2022 for these boats. Have they appeared on anyone's brokerage sites? (They're not on Richardsons own yet). Just wondering if someone has bought them already, and maybe planning to take up the stag and hen mantle.

[Mouldy]

17 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

 . . . . Just wondering if someone has bought them already, and maybe planning to take up the stag and hen mantle.

Noooooooo!!!!

[vanessan]

42 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

Certainly, reservations are closed off for 2022 for these boats. Have they appeared on anyone's brokerage sites? (They're not on Richardsons own yet). Just wondering if someone has bought them already, and maybe planning to take up the stag and hen mantle.

 

23 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

Noooooooo!!!!

Ditto!

[andyg]

I'm not so sure all the boats Dan has mentioned are new to the market. Pretty sure monarch, Jamaica, Trinidad, most of the old horizons were up for sale last season, they definitely were at the beginning of this year. Maybe just making the fleet more manageable,like Vaughan I really don't like any of the ideal boats but they would make good liveaboads I guess. Now Clive is not at Stalham anymore,we won't know what's happening to the fleet I guess. Some of the boats mention don't let very well. The challengers, Jamaicas, blue horizon and Trinidads always seemed to be available outside school holidays before covid struck. 

[RS2021]

As well as great demand for UK holidays, there is also great demand to purchase second hand boats, caravans campervans etc. which is inflating prices. Most people think that in a couple of years or so there will be a glut back on the market depressing prices as their owners start to go abroad again. Maybe the business plan is to cash in on inflated prices for older boats now and then in a couple of years buy slightly newer second hand boats at reduced prices. 

Also Richardson's had a good reputation for refurbishing and maintaining their older boats. Do they still have the capability to do this now the boat building side has left with Clive, or was it a separate team?

[Meantime]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I cannot actually see any of those boats for sale anywhere?

On the basis that the government are talking about scrapping PCR tests for double vaccinated people returning from Green and Amber list countries, and lets face it the weather in the UK this Summer has been abysmal, is it more likely that Richardsons are trying to condense bookings for next year onto their premium boats and those that generally always book well, and will once they have had a chance to gauge how bookings are going look to add more if there is the demand. Worst case they save the tolls on a few boats and make the remaining boats more profitable, best case someone walks in and wants to buy a boat and Richardsons don't have to shuffle advance bookings around to free the boat up. 

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, Meantime said:

On the basis that the government are talking about scrapping PCR tests for double vaccinated people returning from Green and Amber list countries, and lets face it the weather in the UK this Summer has been abysmal, is it more likely that Richardsons are trying to condense bookings for next year onto their premium boats and those that generally always book well, and will once they have had a chance to gauge how bookings are going look to add more if there is the demand. Worst case they save the tolls on a few boats and make the remaining boats more profitable, best case someone walks in and wants to buy a boat and Richardsons don't have to shuffle advance bookings around to free the boat up. 

I should think that makes sense.   I would not be placing any bets on anything for next year, at this rate!  So maybe better to "hedge" your bets and store a few boats in the nettles round the back of the sheds for a bit.  Won't be the first time Richardsons have done that, in their history!

[Andrewcook]

Hi all as I've notice Clive is not at Richardson's Boat yard now as he's has got his own yard in Horning so who's running Richardson's Boat yard now? And still complete what they've have set out to do with Newer Fleet for the future this is my only assumption.

[andyg]

31 minutes ago, Andrewcook said:

Hi all as I've notice Clive is not at Richardson's Boat yard now as he's has got his own yard in Horning so who's running Richardson's Boat yard now? And still complete what they've have set out to do with Newer Fleet for the future this is my only assumption.

Someone with Italian connections, going by the new boats names 😉 I assume it clives brother Paul. 

[Dan]

4 hours ago, andyg said:

I'm not so sure all the boats Dan has mentioned are new to the market. Pretty sure monarch, Jamaica, Trinidad, most of the old horizons were up for sale last season, they definitely were at the beginning of this year. ....

They did sell one Monarch, Jamaica & Trinidad end of last season, and now the other one within the class is going to

Monarch was quite dated, but Jamaica was a relatively modern, nice boat and would let strongly also, so I was suprised they decided to sell (either but ultimately both of them) these at the current time.

Trinidad... the AF32's are certainly not the first to let, but again not that old/in good shape and will have had a good season in the current climate so they are clearly making decisions not just on demand or £'s.

Perhaps another mooring basin will be free'd up and the profile of stock is being changed

Dan

[Dan]

3 hours ago, andyg said:

I'm not so sure all the boats Dan has mentioned are new to the market. Pretty sure monarch, Jamaica, Trinidad, most of the old horizons were up for sale last season, they definitely were at the beginning of this year. .....

They did sell one Monarch, Jamaica & Trinidad end of last season, and now the other one within the class is going to

Monarch was quite dated, but Jamaica was a relatively modern, nice boat and would let strongly also, so I was suprised they decided to sell (either but ultimately both of them) these at the current time.

Trinidad... the AF32's are certainly not the first to let, but again not that old/in good shape and will have had a good season in the current climate so they are clearly making decisions not just on demand or £'s.

Perhaps another mooring basin will be free'd up and the profile of stock is being changed

Dan

[KevinB]

When we were there in July one of the guys in the yard mentioned they were getting rid of 30 boats this winter, including all the Ideal 45’s. 
He said they were aiming for an entirely Elite fleet, going to price a lot of their long term existing customers out of the market that’s for sure…but going by the bookings for their new boats at the moment it must make business sense 

[RS2021]

10 hours ago, KevinB said:

but going by the bookings for their new boats at the moment it must make business sense 

If it makes business sense to build and operate new boats why close down your boat building operation?