Do All Hiring Boats Underneath Cleaned

[Andrewcook]

I've notice on the Web Cam between Herbert Woods and Barnes Brinks  Yard don't hardly take there Boats out of the water for underneath Clean and inspection during the Winter.

[NeilB]

They do, but unless your glued to the webcam 8 hours a day you probably missed it.  I think Herbert Woods only lift 50% of their fleet each year, not sure about Barnes.

Some yards don't seem to take much pride in exterior cleanliness these days, while a few others manage to keep their boats pristine right through to October.

[andyg]

I think with the limited shed space barnes have it would be a virtual impossibility to lift all 80 odd boats. I think Woods have shed space for 24 boats including the shed at the back of the office. I have to agree with Neil about boat exteriors there's definitely been a decline in a lot of fleets appearances over the last few years. Long before covid came along as well. Glad to see the beam of light class at Woods have been in the sheds. I saw number 1 sitting outside the ferry inn Horning last April. It look absolutely dreadful.

[Graham47]

Herbert Woods have been jet washing quite a few boats today with the aid of the red mobile crane.

[Davydine]

I am hoping Woods have cleaned the bottom of Astral light ready for our booking! Our friends have booked Beam of Light, so glad to hear that has had a wash and brush up. We have hired from Woods a few times now and they don't do much to clean the outside.

Does anyone remember Brooms in the 80's? There used to be a paper tag on the wheel that used to get initialed as each job was completed. It always felt as though Mrs Broom would be there giving the boats the once over before they went out on hire.

[Roy]

1 hour ago, Davydine said:

I am hoping Woods have cleaned the bottom of Astral light ready for our booking! Our friends have booked Beam of Light, so glad to hear that has had a wash and brush up. We have hired from Woods a few times now and they don't do much to clean the outside.

Does anyone remember Brooms in the 80's? There used to be a paper tag on the wheel that used to get initialed as each job was completed. It always felt as though Mrs Broom would be there giving the boats the once over before they went out on hire.

Yes you are quite right mrs Broom was very hands on every detail was checked by her quite often. 

Once a boat we had was fitted out after a fire on board by brooms and the work was running behind. 

The evening of our departure to go on holiday had myself and Mrs broom hanging curtains till nearly midnight she said to me we said the boat will be ready today and today it will be ready. By the end of the day she had done a 18 hr day. 

[NeilB]

Mrs Broom was fantastic, only had a couple of meetings there but were served home made cake and sandwiches with the crusts removed for lunch.  All made by Mrs Broom!

 

 

[Andrewcook]

Hi I've just trying to watch Herbert Woods this morning as the Web Cam it's not working is because they do want us to seeing their Boats get a Spring Jet Wash on the Sides and Underneath while it is out of the Water lol

[Smoggy]

If the underside of a hire boat was not cleaned or antifouled for several years it's unlikely you'd notice any difference Andrew, river fouling doesn't tend to affect fuel use or speed much (if at all) and broads boat speeds, I guess it's good for them to pick up any damage and fix sooner rather than later but if no water is getting in there's probably not much to worry about.

If you noticed the difference as a hirer you would not worry as you'd be too busy trying to get out from under the boat and out of the river.

A bit of fouling also stops the swimmers and paddleboarders sticking to the underside too.

[andyg]

I was told antifouling on broads cruisers was mainly cosmetic, I've no idea if that's correct or not. But I do like the stripe just above the antifouling that some boats have looks very smart, as for paddleboarders and swimers I find barbed wire is just as affective and far more robust and durable....

[oldgregg]

I think in reality hire boats don't tend to get badly fouled. They will spend half their time pootling round the North, but then every other week they'll be getting blasted across Breydon at maximum warp which will help remove some of the gunk.

There will be muck on them and cleaning the sterngear is always important, but some Broads boats don't come out for two or three years and it's not a massive problem.

[Smoggy]

Mine does southern rivers and sea and I'm not planning on taking it out again until 2025 when the next survey is due unless I have problems or hit something, it got new anodes and a coat of anti foul before Christmas when it was out having insurance work done so should be fine.

Going between salt and fresh helps as most growth can't live in both.

[Bluebell]

Now I get Chiltern Lady lifted, and anti-fouled every three years. Used to do it every two, but was advised by the yard (!) that it was overkill…😎

[Broads01]

Something Bridgecraft are very good at is having each of their boats in to the shed over winter. They not only clean the hulls but patch up all the bumps, scrapes and holes the boats pick up during the season. They have a comparatively small fleet of course but they also have a small number of staff so I get the impression winter is a busy time.

[Oddfellow]

13 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Something Bridgecraft are very good at is having each of their boats in to the shed over winter. They not only clean the hulls but patch up all the bumps, scrapes and holes the boats pick up during the season. They have a comparatively small fleet of course but they also have a small number of staff so I get the impression winter is a busy time.

Winter is a busy time for all yards, big or small. You know about how Bridgecraft does its winter work because it updates us on Facebook regularly. If you've ever been at Richardson's in winter you will know that both of those enormous hangars are stuffed to the gills with boats being repaired and spruced up for the next season. Bridgecraft is very efficient at its winter work and powers through craft with repairs and updates and it shows in the fleet every year. 

 

[andyg]

2 hours ago, Oddfellow said:

Winter is a busy time for all yards, big or small. You know about how Bridgecraft does its winter work because it updates us on Facebook regularly. If you've ever been at Richardson's in winter you will know that both of those enormous hangars are stuffed to the gills with boats being repaired and spruced up for the next season. Bridgecraft is very efficient at its winter work and powers through craft with repairs and updates and it shows in the fleet every year. 

 

I believe Clive posted some YouTube vids under the the name cheesy chive lol..showing winter maintenance at Stalham, very very busy but very efficient. Bigfoot is certainly a very handy piece of kit. Wasn't the shed by reception turned over to the acle fleet every winter ??. 

[Oddfellow]

16 hours ago, andyg said:

I believe Clive posted some YouTube vids under the the name cheesy chive lol..showing winter maintenance at Stalham, very very busy but very efficient. Bigfoot is certainly a very handy piece of kit. Wasn't the shed by reception turned over to the acle fleet every winter ??. 

I believe you're right. The Pondarosa was Stalham fleet and the one by the road was Acle. 

[andyg]

43 minutes ago, Oddfellow said:

I believe you're right. The Pondarosa was Stalham fleet and the one by the road was Acle. 

I've just watched a video tour of the wetshed, I didn't realise it was so big. Some familiar boats in there. Not sure how old the video is  but it's not that old. The shed looks like it could do with some TLC.. at least some new cladding wouldn't go a miss. 

[BroadAmbition]

AndyG - We have had issues a little while back with an individual paddling / rowing / Elec outboard into the wetshed (Not a berth Holder) doing a video then posting the same up on a FB group - after much mucking about we successfully got the video taken down

The shed does indeed need a fair amount of TLC and has done for a while now.  It hasn't got any cladding either - Never has had any to my knowledge

Griff

[Graham47]

23 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:

AndyG - We have had issues a little while back with an individual paddling / rowing / Elec outboard into the wetshed (Not a berth Holder) doing a video then posting the same up on a FB group - after much mucking about we successfully got the video taken down

The shed does indeed need a fair amount of TLC and has done for a while now.  It hasn't got any cladding either - Never has had any to my knowledge

Griff

I also saw the video yesterday. It lasted 27 minutes and toured all the Richardson mooring basins and the wet shed where your boat was moored. I think it was a recent video as the mooring basins were completely full of Richardsons boats, indicating it was taken out of season.

 

[BroadAmbition]

Can you send me a link to the video please?

TIA

Griff

[ChrisB]

On 19/01/2022 at 09:40, Smoggy said:

Mine does southern rivers and sea and I'm not planning on taking it out again until 2025 when the next survey is due unless I have problems or hit something, it got new anodes and a coat of anti foul before Christmas when it was out having insurance work done so should be fine.

Going between salt and fresh helps as most growth can't live in both.

Having been a past resident at Ridge Wharf Marina, where I berthed for over a decade I would agree that the mix of fresh/saline does help keep fouling under control.   The downside is it can  and often does increase and accelerate osmosis in GRP hulls. The whole of the River Frome moorings up to Wareham were a real osmosis hotspot. 

I puchased two new boats whilst there, a Centaur and a Berwick and had both painted in two pack, from new, at an InterSpray Centre prior to antifouling and launch.

Today, it is easier to protect your gelcoat with the application of Gelshield. Although needing 5 coats the product is fast drying down to 5C so application is actually not as onerous as it would appear.

Poole Harbour was always a very High Fouling area but back in those days when our family was young and our craft could sometimes be moored for fairly long periods due to bad weather, the leisure boating community on a worldwide scale had not been made aware of the dreadful effects of Tributyltin (TBT) and for forty years all boat owners had clean bottoms! At the end of the season when our boats were lifted onto the hard, a pressure wash had them looking almost as good as when launched in the Spring.

[kpnut]

Griff

The video of the wet shed is still on the said persons YouTube site. Won't name the site unless you want me to as I don't want to encourage further views. 

[kpnut]

If you are taking up the issue with him perhaps you could get the other ones, launched from right next to my boat by Nigel's she'd and going round the private mooring basins taken off too. Paul is aware.

[Smoggy]

Why do people think posting stuff from private property (I include inside pubs in that) about other peoples lives without permission and posting online for all the world to see is ok? It's something that makes my blood boil.

Last summer I got back to work after a holiday to find out someone was coming round to do a promotional video to be posted on youtube, I hadn't been asked so once the guy with the camera came into my little workshop he got it pointed out very abruptly where the camera would be lodged if he video'd me without my say so, I let him get two short bits from wrists down and stood at the back of one group still pic and no more.

One guy that had just started didn't feel in a position to say no and a couple of months later got a strange message from someone he didn't know (or wish to) on faceache as face recognition had picked out his page from the vid, he ignored it and they went away but it don't always happen like that does it, it did reinforce my feelings on the matter and I think my guvnor got the idea that I wasn't happy about it.

If you see them in there again scuttle the git! (gently and politely of course)