Sovereign Light Info

[maccavvy]

Anyone hired this beauty before , any hints or tips on the boat and what we maybe short of and should bring  or places it will and won't go. Air draught is quoted at 7ft10.   I take it potter heigham and wroxham bridges are out of bounds. .

We had a silver mirage last which was quoted at 7ft 2. But had lots of room at ludham bridge when the signs said it was high tide and flooding said it was approx 7ft 6.

 

Any help or advice appreciated 

 

[dom]

1 hour ago, maccavvy said:

Air draught is quoted at 7ft10.   I take it potter heigham and wroxham bridges are out of bounds.

By quite a long margin unfortunately. Even in ideal conditions Wroxham is only 7ft 3in. Potter's way lower around 6ft 6in.

You'd struggle with Ludham at times in current conditions, but hopefully you mean next season, so all should be back to normal by then.

 

[CeePee1952]

Hi. We hired Sovereign Light back in Sep 21 and were very impressed with it. We had exceptionally brilliant weather for the whole week and only helmed from the upper helm position which provides excellent views all around. If I remember correctly, the lower helm position has a small plaque that states that air draft is 7' 11" and the upper helm position has one that states 8'!! We stayed on the northern broads for the whole week and had no problem with Ludham bridge.  I posted a blog in the Holiday tales section of this forum under "The 4 W's Afloat Sep 21" - have a glance at it - it might give you a bit more of an insight on the boat. We go back to HW twice a year and all things being equal, have never had a problem with them. Yes, there might be a few niggles with the boat towards the end of the season if you hire sort of Sep/Oct but all in all, you'll not regret it.  The skippers manual that is on board (and indeed on HW website) will tell you which bridges Sovereign Light will not pass under but there is plenty of places to go and we certainly had a full week of going places! If you can time your cruising to coincide with the correct tidal flow (albeit hardly noticeable) you will have a good fuel economy and we had a substantial refund off our fuel deposit!. The bow and stern thrusters work off the hydraulics and are worth their weight in gold in tight mooring situations.  The galley is good and we cooked a few main meals on board as well as eating out.  Do bear in mind that she is a 44 foot boat and so her handling characteristics will be slightly different to Silver Mirage (which incidentally we also hired back in the day when she was part of Silverlines fleet!). As to what to take on board with you depends on your personal expectations and requirements. She is well equipped but we tend to take some of our own kitchen utensils etc with us. Non stick frying pan, various silicone utensils including silicone tipped tongs, our own tea towels, dish cloths/sponges, bottle opener/corkscrew - the list can be endless!!

We are back with HW in June next year on Supreme Light (just the two of us), which we have hired before and also again in late September on Platinum Light with a few family members.  I'm sure you will not be disappointed with Sovereign Light when you take your holiday!

Chris

[maccavvy]

6 hours ago, dom said:

By quite a long margin unfortunately. Even in ideal conditions Wroxham is only 7ft 3in. Potter's way lower around 6ft 6in.

You'd struggle with Ludham at times in current conditions, but hopefully you mean next season, so all should be back to normal by then.

 

Yes booked for next October .

[maccavvy]

23 minutes ago, CeePee1952 said:

Hi. We hired Sovereign Light back in Sep 21 and were very impressed with it. We had exceptionally brilliant weather for the whole week and only helmed from the upper helm position which provides excellent views all around. If I remember correctly, the lower helm position has a small plaque that states that air draft is 7' 11" and the upper helm position has one that states 8'!! We stayed on the northern broads for the whole week and had no problem with Ludham bridge.  I posted a blog in the Holiday tales section of this forum under "The 4 W's Afloat Sep 21" - have a glance at it - it might give you a bit more of an insight on the boat. We go back to HW twice a year and all things being equal, have never had a problem with them. Yes, there might be a few niggles with the boat towards the end of the season if you hire sort of Sep/Oct but all in all, you'll not regret it.  The skippers manual that is on board (and indeed on HW website) will tell you which bridges Sovereign Light will not pass under but there is plenty of places to go and we certainly had a full week of going places! If you can time your cruising to coincide with the correct tidal flow (albeit hardly noticeable) you will have a good fuel economy and we had a substantial refund off our fuel deposit!. The bow and stern thrusters work off the hydraulics and are worth their weight in gold in tight mooring situations.  The galley is good and we cooked a few main meals on board as well as eating out.  Do bear in mind that she is a 44 foot boat and so her handling characteristics will be slightly different to Silver Mirage (which incidentally we also hired back in the day when she was part of Silverlines fleet!). As to what to take on board with you depends on your personal expectations and requirements. She is well equipped but we tend to take some of our own kitchen utensils etc with us. Non stick frying pan, various silicone utensils including silicone tipped tongs, our own tea towels, dish cloths/sponges, bottle opener/corkscrew - the list can be endless!!

We are back with HW in June next year on Supreme Light (just the two of us), which we have hired before and also again in late September on Platinum Light with a few family members.  I'm sure you will not be disappointed with Sovereign Light when you take your holiday!

Chris

Thanks I'll take a look at your previous post 

[Gracie]

I was just about to say I don't know this boat in particular but I know a man who does until I saw Chris has already posted. His posts on his holiday threads are very good and informative, you won't go far wrong reading them  x