Hire boat reviews

[minor2011]

Thought it might be good to have a topic where members could post their reviews and thoughts on boats that they have hired. Seen some reviews of boats on the forum but thought it would be easier to have them all in one topic.

Let me start it off

Siesta Richardsons

This is a small Sedan type cruiser with berths for 3 people.

The forward cabin has a large double bed which we found rather comfortable considering we were on a boat, there was ample cupboard space but not much room for moving around. (It is a bedroom though how much space do you need?)

The living room and Galley are in the next room. the galley area we felt was very small and cramped but since we were eating out most nights this didn;t effect us much, however if you were planning on cooking during your holiday maybe this isn;t the boat for you.

The living room area comprised of an L shaped sofa with fold down table. This converts into a bed (although we didn't use it). Again this space was a little cramped but again it sufficed our needs.

The cockpit is towards the rear of the boat and is enclosed with a sliding sun roof and two chairs one for the driver and one other. Strangely this was the most spacious part of the boat. With large windows all around this provided excellent visability all round. ( well maybe not in the rain as the windscreen wipers were at best, useless)

The boat had excellent manoeverability and the controlls felt very responsive. With its rear cockpit this made stern on mooring a doddle.

I found this to be a nice little cruiser for two people and would recommend it especially to first timers however due to its cramped nature I would'nt advise it for parties of 3 even if one is a child it will still seem cramped.

Also you should note that at 8ft6 this is a very high cruiser and care needs to be taken on most bridges, but again if you want to go through potter Heigham or Wroxham bridges you shouldn't hire this boat

[Guest]

Perhaps we could have a separate section in the Board Index devoted to each hire boat ?

I'll put up another one from a few years back, not strictly a review but you get the idea.

Swan Rhapsody

This boat has a 240v generator and no inverter. If you forget to take a 12V car lead phone charger, you'll have to use your domestic 3-pin phone charger and run the genny as long as it takes to charge your phone. So after a week on the boat (3-10 April), the boat was faultless and immaculate. Mooring in the wind is interesting to say the least with the canopy up but improves if you roll up both side doors. Hardly used the bow thruster but nice to have in tight spots such as Ranworth. The Mikuni heating packed up on the Bank holiday Sunday at 5.00pm whislt at Berney Arms. Fair play to Swancraft who got there within the hour and fitted a replacment unit. And yes, there is road access but only if you're local (apparently) and have a passenger to open loads of gates. I was also castigated slightly for filling up with derv mid week after asking if it would be OK. The reply I got when they dipped the tanks at the end of the week was "we like you to use our fuel as we know the quality and we can make some money out of you". I kid you not !!! I filled up at Burgh Castle marina @ £0.93 a litre so I guess I saved myself 20p a litre on what the hire yard were charging. I worked out that the average consumption for the week was around 3.6lt/hr with the engine running at 1800-2000rpm all week (we did 40 hours cruising) and using the genny for 1 hour and the heating for around 6 hours a day. Power comes from a 43hp Beta engine, encapsulted in a sound proof box whick makes for very quiet cruising. All in all, a great boat and would certainly hire again. EDIT - if you're anything like me at 6 feet tall, the aft cabin heads are out of bounds for a shower and a #2. Even the heads in the saloon are tight but I managed to have a shower all week (just)and the heads became a wet room. The Jabsco WC bowl is electric but is the "compact" model. Read into this what you want.

[djxjonx]

The Mermaid: Richardson's, Stalham.

First thing to note is that this is as far as I know the cheapest boat for hire on the Broads, and this should be taken into consideration.

The boat is small, with one "double" bed but also has an option to turn the seating in the lounge into another bed. The double is really a large single when you consider that one side of the bed is hindered by a protruding wall construct that's low enough that I could not get myself under it! On the plus side the foam mattress was comfortable and supporting.

The Mermaid was not made for tall people! At 6ft 1" I banged my head on the entrance door frame (at the rear) and on the main frame supporting the sliding canopy several times! Apologies to anyone offended by my language during such intimate moments with the wood work.

The lounge was comfortable enough and there was plenty of cupboards and places to store stuff.

The galley was small but sufficient. We found it just a little short of work top space for preparing food.

The bathroom was pretty much a wet room, which suited us as neither my partner or I like those coffin sized showers you sometimes find in boats/houseboats.

Again, there was plenty of room for toiletries and being a big lad, appreciated the shower wet room style and my elbows didn't hit into anything!

This boat had curtains throughout but I suggest that blinds would work much better.

There was some seriously big holes where the sliding canopy and front window frame didn't exactly meet in a neat and flush manner. This meant that during the grey, rainy days of our holiday (6 days out of 7) it let heat out and cold in. Not ideal.

Rear vision was poor, as the doors are placed in the wrong place for the pilot to get a good look behind. I had to keep sending my partner out to check our stern!

As I stated at the beginning, the Mermaid is the cheapest boat available for hire on the Broads and that is why we chose it. For that reason we cannot seriously fault the boat and 3 days after our holiday finished, we miss the little cruiser.

On returning to Stalham we took a look around the San Marino...we're sold on it for several reasons: Good rear vision for the pilot, a decent sized bed, airy lounge, microwave oven plus our dog can have a room to herself at night!

[MBA Marine]

Rear vision was poor, as the doors are placed in the wrong place for the pilot to get a good look behind. I had to keep sending my partner out to check our stern!

Clive,

Can we get a wing mirror? :

[djxjonx]

Rear vision was poor, as the doors are placed in the wrong place for the pilot to get a good look behind. I had to keep sending my partner out to check our stern!

Clive,

Can we get a wing mirror? :

Too funny!

[donnygeoff]

djxjonx...

That is a perfect description of many boats.....

"double bed" you have to love your wife/partner

tall people, 6" 1'.... bend down

The galley was small but sufficient. We found it just a little short of work top space for preparing food. it's a boat

There was some seriously big holes .... thank God they were not in the hull

Rear vision was poor, ... just look forward

On returning to Stalham we took a look around the San Marino...we're sold on it for several reasons: Good rear vision for the pilot, a decent sized bed, airy lounge, microwave oven plus our dog can have a room to herself at night! LOOK AT PRINCESS.....Great boat, easy to handle. not expensive. and a great back bit to sit on.

Two can handle that one. me and OH did

Glad you are going to be back on the broads

[djxjonx]

djxjonx...

That is a perfect description of many boats.....

"double bed" you have to love your wife/partner

To be honest, she's a bed hog anyway so I'm used to having no space in bed!

tall people, 6" 1'.... bend down

I tried! Seems my timing is off.

The galley was small but sufficient. We found it just a little short of work top space for preparing food. it's a boat

True...

There was some seriously big holes .... thank God they were not in the hull

Indeed!

Rear vision was poor, ... just look forward

The issue is that whilst I'm a goody two shoes and stick to the speed limits, many don't and thus I like to know what's charging up my rear...so to speak. One guy swept past us so quickly our boat was thrown sideways! Further more, they looked at us as if we shouldn't be there!

On returning to Stalham we took a look around the San Marino...we're sold on it for several reasons: Good rear vision for the pilot, a decent sized bed, airy lounge, microwave oven plus our dog can have a room to herself at night! LOOK AT PRINCESS.....Great boat, easy to handle. not expensive. and a great back bit to sit on.

Two can handle that one. me and OH did

I took a look at Princess, not a bad boat at all! However, my OH insists that the next boat should have a microwave! She'll be wanting a TV with decent reception next! Thanks for pointing out Princess though, well worth considering as an alternative to San Marino, should we need one

Glad you are going to be back on the broads

Me too! Mentally I think we both bought two dozen homes each and a whole plethora of boats! Next time we will stick to the northern Broads in order to cut down on the cruising time.

[C.Ricko]

great review re Mermaid, I have to agree with Donny regarding the answers apart from that the canopy should have less gaps, I will have a look.

we have had issues with 'over height' people on these beds in the past, we will probably mark the descriptions in the future. (I am 6'3")

I am glad you had a good holiday and have seen another boat to look forward to.

.

[djxjonx]

great review re Mermaid, I have to agree with Donny regarding the answers apart from that the canopy should have less gaps, I will have a look.

we have had issues with 'over height' people on these beds in the past, we will probably mark the descriptions in the future. (I am 6'3")

I am glad you had a good holiday and have seen another boat to look forward to.

.

Thanks Clive

Am I right in thinking you're involved with Richardson's in some way?

We totally cannot wait to get on the San Marino next year!

[MBA Marine]

I believe he has a little (maybe alot) to do with Ricco's

[NeilB]

Am I right in thinking you're involved with Richardson's in some way?

I think he visits the yard quite a lot but no one seems to know what he actually does !!

[donnygeoff]

I think he visits the yard quite a lot but no one seems to know what he actually does !!

Doesn't he go to the yard to restore his boat, can't think of anything else....

[MBA Marine]

Doesn't he go to the yard to restore his boat, can't think of anything else....

I thought he was there to photograph new build projects and post progress on here.

[chipmorton]

ive met him a few times

i think he is a drifter

[andyfish]

Clive washes the boats, don't you Clive

Andy

[djxjonx]

Loving all the banter!

C'mon Clive, chip up my friend!

[minor2011]

As promised here is my review of gliding light 1 from Herbert woods

She is a dual helm 35 ft 6 berth cruiser built by fair craft loynes.

There are 3 cabins, a double berth at the stern which is a good size and felt very roomy it is an en-suite shower/toilet , which is a cramped space & the location of the toilet against the bulkhead & partially under the gunwales does make sitting on the toilet a little uncomfortable. The bed is of ample size although the side by the bulkhead has slightly less legroom due to the design of the rear of the boat. The double bedroom midships is a much smaller room & is directly under the upper helm position so it does have reduced headroom over the bed, having said this my mother slept in this room & felt very comfortable in there. The bow cabin is 2 singles which can be made into a double, it is the second biggest room although the height of the beds was such that my mothe didn't feel comfortable climbing on & off so she used the mid cabin.

There is a second shower/toilet just behind the forward cabin off the lounge area that is slightly bigger than the rear en-suite.

The lounge area is very spacious and very comfortable with a fold out table that can be stowed completely out of the way in a compartment behind the lower helm position, this gives more space when not needed for dining etc.

The kitchen is along the starboard side of the boat & stretches from behind the lower helm to the rear bedroom so there is ample work surfaces. There is no microwave but if you want one just ask Herbert woods who will be more than happy to supply one.

The upper helm position has adequate seating area for four people with a flat area behind which could accommodate two sunbathers.

Both upper & lower helm positions provide good views for navigating though the lower position does mist up quite badly in adverse weather, both helms have the same feel when driving so you don't have to adapt a different style of driving when changing between the two helms. I found the upper helm provided much better vies when stern on mooring ( as you would expect.

Now the bad bits. As I mentioned the screens do mist up badly in adverse weather which makes visibility very tricky from the lower helm (at the time you are most likely to use it).

The stern of the boat is very very low (just above the water line) which can make getting on & off tricky for the less well abled when stern on moored especially when the quay heading is quite high. This did cause some troubles for my mother & if she comes with us again means we wouldn't hire her ( for this reason only )

Lastly the engine is very noisy and showing signs of her age, very smokey across breydon & in the mornings & also breathing heavy.

This appears to only be a problem on gliding light 1 as the sister craft & the ray of light sister boats didn't sound anywhere near as loud and didn't smoke at all.

Hope this review is helpful for anyone wishing to hire her.

I also found Herbert woods to be a very good company ver polite & very friendly, they seem to be doing very well & we were informed that this week EVERY boat is out on hire. So well done Herbert woods

[Hemel_Dave]

REVIEW OF SWAN LIGHT FROM HERBERT WOODS

We hired Swan Light for a 4 night break 29 May-2 June.

Swan Light is a 6 berth boat in 3 cabins(no beds to make up).

The forward cabin is very large with a walk round double bed and a good size toilet shower room and its own cd/radio.

The mid cabin can be made up as 2 singles or 1 double the beds are also very low to the floor the beds reach under the high level helm this cabin is also very dark as it only has a very small window(about 6 inches) it shares a large jack and jill toilet shower room which also has a sitz bath.

The aft cabin has a double berth with the engine under and shares the toilet shower room with the mid cabin all cabins have good storage.

The living area has 2 large wrap round sofas with more than enough seating for six it has a flat screen tv with built in dvd player and another cd/radio.

The galley is well layed out with plenty of work surfaces it has a full size cooker,microwave and fridge which could of been a little bigger.

The driving position gave good all round views and the canopy is winch operated it also has a window wiper for wet weather.

All cabins and living area are carpeted the boat also has a generator.

The engine noise was ok if didn't go to hard on the throttle and kept the cabin door closed.

We travelled from potter heigham to stokesby windmill to wroxham to stalham and back to potter heigham and used £35 of diesel which we thought was pretty good for a 42 foot boat.