So What Is Going On At Herbert Woods

[Oddfellow]

49 minutes ago, FlyingFortress said:

 

Townsend Thorenson were charged with corporate manslaughter over the Herald incident and I do fear for the outcome of the NBD death at GTY a couple of years ago.

 

 

 

It was not and NBD Boat. 

[RS2021]

12 minutes ago, FlyingFortress said:

OK so I must admit I am pretty hacked off with myself. I wrote a long reply and then suffered from fat finger syndrome and lost it. So please bear with me if I am brief and maybe a bit irritated.

In the 'old days' we'd be having this conversation in a pub 'putting the world to rights'. At this point someone would would pipe up with 'whose round is it', the conversation would pause while someone went to the bar and by the time they got back the conversation would have moved on. Are Norwich playing tonight?... Oh well at least I've got a full glass now.

 

 

[Vaughan]

I have nothing to add to what I have already posted, thank you.

Good night folks.

 

[rightsaidfred]

1 hour ago, Oddfellow said:

Very cynical, Fred. Let me assure you that there's bugger-all profit to be had from fuel.





 

 

No then how come a couple of hire yards with a large turn over of fuel have in the past charged their customers between 30 and 50% more than the likes of Boulters for diesel on top of everything else.

I fully understand it's not  simple running a hire fleet and problems will and do occur but when you spend enough time on the river it soon becomes obvious which yards are constantly on call outs and those that it is rare and I have taken into count the number of boats different yards have.

In all the years we hired I never had to call a yard out for batteries or run an engine for the heating, but I was choosy which yards I  hired from.

Fred

[OldBerkshireBoy]

5 minutes ago, RS2021 said:

In the 'old days' we'd be having this conversation in a pub 'putting the world to rights'. At this point someone would would pipe up with 'whose round is it', the conversation would pause while someone went to the bar and by the time they got back the conversation would have moved on. Are Norwich playing tonight?... Oh well at least I've got a full glass now.

 

 

I`ll have a pint of bitter with you, thanks 

Then we could talk about Murphys Law, the one that says if it will go wrong it will go wrong at the worst possible moment.

[ZimbiIV]

I do not know what is going on at Woods!

What I do know is this is the usual inane forum diversivication from topic that happens every year before Easter!!

You are all stir crazy.

Boat time or bed time for this topic.

paup

[Chelsea14Ian]

Think this post should now end before it gets completely bogged down.

[floydraser]

The Moderators are working nights again folks, let's see if we can give them an easier ride....

I managed to read a post by FF before it was removed, which Vaughan responded to. I found the technical parts of it very interesting and informative; I actually learned something today! It's clear FF posses a lot of knowledge and experience of merchant shipping.

It's also clear to me that Vaughan also has vast knowledge and experience which I and many others have benefited from over the years. I would even go so far as to say that Vaughan has probably posted more useful information on here than anyone?? No offence to anyone else intended. 

I repeat my advice about posting: type it, read it, LEAVE IT, read it again, post/delete it. The "LEAVE IT" stage is where you get over whatever it was that wound you up in the first place! 

[JanetAnne]

Well there have been a number of Herbert Woods boats in at Oulton Broad over the last couple of days and all have looked pretty smart. They have all started, stopped, heated, bow thrusted and been well behaved. And no sign of the service van!

In fact the only problem at all on a Woods boat was the poor chap who, having pulled his mudweight up and tidied it up on the deck, then tripped and fell off the bow of the boat. I guess the water is still pretty cold coz he was somewhat keen to get out again. No harm done and his phone was waterproof (perhaps an omen) which was a bonus. It does make you realise how easily these things can happen though.

 

[OldBerkshireBoy]

1 hour ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Think this post should now end before it gets completely bogged down.

No! Let it run. The mods as we have seen have the button to pull any post that step over the line as I do on another forum. 

[Speleologist]

Having read, or at least skimmed, through this thread I am even more appreciative that, on the rare occasions that I get to the Broads there is not a battery in sight. I'm happy sticking with Hunter's Yard.

[YnysMon]

2 minutes ago, Speleologist said:

Having read, or at least skimmed, through this thread I am even more appreciative that, on the rare occasions that I get to the Broads there is not a battery in sight. I'm happy sticking with Hunter's Yard.

Have you been on their boats recently, one that’s had a Torqueedo installed? They have batteries!

[Speleologist]

12 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

Have you been on their boats recently, one that’s had a Torqueedo installed? They have batteries!

I'm aware of that. I'll be avoiding those ones. Thjere's nothing wrong with a quant pole.

[Meantime]

32 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

Have you been on their boats recently, one that’s had a Torqueedo installed? They have batteries!

I believe they market it as an electric quant. There are now seven boats fitted with them.

Hmmm! Note to self, wonder if I can get a toll reduction by telling the BA I only have a diesel quant fitted. 

[YnysMon]

I must say that we were very glad of the Torqeedo last time we were came back through Meadow Dyke after a trip to Horsey. Sailing back through that Dyke is no joke when the wind is against you, and trying to quant against a strong wind nigh on impossible.

[Smoggy]

If my batteries are fully charged and in good condition my twin quants can get me up to 21 knots, not bad for a manually propelled vessel.

[Oddfellow]

11 hours ago, rightsaidfred said:

No then how come a couple of hire yards with a large turn over of fuel have in the past charged their customers between 30 and 50% more than the likes of Boulters for diesel on top of everything else.

I fully understand it's not  simple running a hire fleet and problems will and do occur but when you spend enough time on the river it soon becomes obvious which yards are constantly on call outs and those that it is rare and I have taken into count the number of boats different yards have.

In all the years we hired I never had to call a yard out for batteries or run an engine for the heating, but I was choosy which yards I  hired from.

Fred

Because, Fred, Boulters use low fuel prices as a LOSS LEADER to get other work. Boulters is a WORKING yard and chatting to customers when filling up is part of its sales process.

Also, when a yard has 100 - 250 boats, it stands to reason you will see more of their engineers on the banks. Some yards don't have liveried vans either.....

[Vaughan]

I thank Floydraser for his kind remarks.  I am sure I don't deserve them!

I have been looking for a paper I once did about batteries, for Crown Blue Line, which I may post later for interest.  Meantime I have come across this, which was my annual report for the board, on breakdowns in 2003.  I had other jobs in CBL but my own base was at St Gilles, in the Camargue.  At that time the base had over 50 boats and we were also handling one way cruises from the base at Port Cassafières, in the Midi.

I hope it is of general interest to the subject of the thread and may answer some of FF's questions.

 

 

 

 

[Oddfellow]

37 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

I thank Floydraser for his kind remarks.  I am sure I don't deserve them!

I have been looking for a paper I once did about batteries, for Crown Blue Line, which I may post later for interest.  Meantime I have come across this, which was my annual report for the board, on breakdowns in 2003.  I had other jobs in CBL but my own base was at St Gilles, in the Camargue.  At that time the base had over 50 boats and we were also handling one way cruises from the base at Port Cassafières, in the Midi.

I hope it is of general interest to the subject of the thread and may answer some of FF's questions.

 

 

 

 

Ah, the dreaded "finger trouble" Just look at the high number of customers not doing what they should. I will guarantee this number remains high throughout fleets today. 

It's worth remembering this when people try to count the "breakdowns" of any given yard by the frequency of seeing their vans at moorings. I guarantee that the bigger the fleet, the greater the percentage of "finger trouble" call outs and for many reasons, not just the sheer number of boats, but the number of customers, the reduced amount of time possible on a hand over and so much more. 

[Vaughan]

I naturally ask myself how much of the finger trouble could have been prevented by a better trial run.  But then it also depends on how much of the trial run the customers actually listen to.

Perhaps it also shows why I have aways believed that the trial run is the most important part of a hire fleet operation.

[gancanny]

10 hours ago, JanetAnne said:

In fact the only problem at all on a Woods boat was the poor chap who, having pulled his mudweight up and tidied it up on the deck, then tripped and fell off the bow of the boat. I guess the water is still pretty cold coz he was somewhat keen to get out again. No harm done and his phone was waterproof (perhaps an omen) which was a bonus. It does make you realise how easily these things can happen though.

we should not really laugh at these situations but i did,   

[Oddfellow]

10 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

I naturally ask myself how much of the finger trouble could have been prevented by a better trial run.  But then it also depends on how much of the trial run the customers actually listen to.

Perhaps it also shows why I have aways believed that the trial run is the most important part of a hire fleet operation.

I considered it the most important. I put a lot of work into the skippers handbooks and our trial runs were probably the most comprehensive of any yard at the time. I also got a lot of positive comments on my video handovers which are still available on YouTube today. 

Finger trouble exists in all of us. I am an accomplished photographer, but I make simple, stupid mistakes most days. Mistakes that I know not to make, until I make them. You can train a great deal into someone, but you cannot impart a career's worth of boat handling or operating  skills into a handover. 

 

[rightsaidfred]

1 hour ago, Oddfellow said:

Because, Fred, Boulters use low fuel prices as a LOSS LEADER to get other work. Boulters is a WORKING yard and chatting to customers when filling up is part of its sales process.

Also, when a yard has 100 - 250 boats, it stands to reason you will see more of their engineers on the banks. Some yards don't have liveried vans either.....

I understand Boulters business model, that dosnt explain why from personal knowledge some years ago a large well known yard with bigger purchasing power than Boulters who were charging 85p a litre at the time charged their hire customers £1.31 ltr and their berth holders £1.15 ltr

Fred

[Bytheriver]

Back in the 1980s I hired from a yard on the Thames ( even then it was a ex Broads Bathtub ) I was charged White Diesel price despite it clearly being Red

[Vaughan]

Don't let's forget that the diesel price charged for a hire boat has always included other consumables - such as gas and lub. oil.