Broads Future

[kpnut]

2 hours ago, dom said:

£4 in and of itself isn't a lot of money - but it's the cumulative effect for both private and hire boaters which is the issue. £4 for water, £30 for a pumpout, £10-15 per night to moor. Add that lot up over a week or two and it can be a significant sum on top of the cost of an already costly holiday.

I met someone in Horning this afternoon in a very smart Broom boat. He lives in Southampton and is here with wife and teenage son. 
He said he’d come four times before, the last time 15 years ago and he feels it has changed for the worse. Fewer moorings altogether, more charging for moorings beyond what he felt was reasonable to store up a fund for maintenance, and far less friendly. They’d just had lunch out at £16.50 a head for something that was nothing to write home about with poor service. 
He said he won’t bother to come back again as the shine had been taken off it. 

He did like the bikes that Broom had provided so they could go and explore the lanes though. 

[marshman]

All manner of separate events impact our "feel good" factor - the points just mention earlier have very little impact on the holiday business as a whole, believe me! I know for a fact that sales of motor homes and caravans have fallen off the cliff edge too, so just don't feel sorry for the boat yard operators!

And Vaughan, as you know Easter moves around quite a bit! Next year it is at the end of April and between now and 2050 it only falls 5 times in March and the rest throughout April

[rightsaidfred]

4 hours ago, dom said:

Not strictly true. There are people who rely upon access to a water supply year round, and facilities are limited during winter months. During extreme conditions, people do tend to get left with a very limited choice, if any.

I appreciate the capital investment issue - so let's say £4 represents a £2 surcharge for equipment. If a conservative 8 people use it:

8 x £2 = £16/day. £16 x 7 = £112/week. £112 x 28 weeks peak season = £3136 income.

£400 for a meter, a very generous £1k to install = £1400 expenditure.

£3136 - £1400 = £1736 profit, just in peak season, just in the first year and assuming only 8 users per day. I'd suggest a lot more people use it, others use it all year round, and the water used isn't anything like 1000 litres per user. Year two, the majority of the income will be profit, save for a small contingency for maintenance. We're also making profit of £1 per fill on the water itself.

£4 in and of itself isn't a lot of money - but it's the cumulative effect for both private and hire boaters which is the issue. £4 for water, £30 for a pumpout, £10-15 per night to moor. Add that lot up over a week or two and it can be a significant sum on top of the cost of an already costly holiday.

If you drive an Audi or BMW and hire a 40ft+ boat with 4 berths for 4 middle income adults, you probably won't care. But the hire industry relies upon the working class young family with kids, not only for immediate income, but also to introduce the next generation to hiring.

Unfortunately "only £10 to moor", "only a few quid for water" and "£30 for a pumpout isn't so bad for an unpleasant job" does seem to be creating a death by a thousand cuts for boating.

While I agree a boating  holiday seems an expensive luxury to some I am not sure the actual hire cost to average income has changed  that much since we hired in the 80s and 90s, back to the original post Ludham is a commercial business and likeany another you use its service or not, most hires are short stay so water and pump outs should not be an issue, I can make both last for a week.

Fred

[dom]

3 hours ago, kpnut said:

He did like the bikes that Broom had provided so they could go and explore the lanes though. 

It'd be good to see more thought given to this type of thing with hire boats. If we're going to have huge boats which sleep relatively few people, could we devote less space to oversize cabins and bathrooms and instead incorporate a "garage" for full size bikes or kayaks?

[Roy]

4 hours ago, dom said:

Beccles mooring fees are now £20 side on, £15 stern on.

Oulton Broad stern on with power £16, side on, up to £30.

The surcharge for power at Oulton is £4.50 - £5.00. I'd question the legality of this, as it's obviously selling electricity on at a vastly inflated rate.

It's not that difficult to come up with a route where a family on a larger boat could incur £112 in mooring fees in a single week.

 

4 hours ago, dom said:

Beccles mooring fees are now £20 side on, £15 stern on.

Oulton Broad stern on with power £16, side on, up to £30.

The surcharge for power at Oulton is £4.50 - £5.00. I'd question the legality of this, as it's obviously selling electricity on at a vastly inflated rate.

It's not that difficult to come up with a route where a family on a larger boat could incur £112 in mooring fees in a single week.

I think places are starting to take advantage with these prices it bumps up the cost of a holiday as mentioned earlier I believe there’s a whole demographic of people that are not able to afford a broads holiday now that demographic are the average family with young children which is a knock on affect and will affect the broads for years to come as that family is a generation of children that won’t experience the broads and that won’t bring their children/families for a holiday on the broads. The way I see it the hire industry will be / is in decline and that will affect the private boat owners buy putting up more costs. 
☹️

[Andrewcook]

How much can the Hiring and Private Boater's be able to continue on the Most tranquil of the Norfolk Broads as Boating is getting Dearer going back in to the Old Days with Few Boats then what happens to the future of the Norfolk Broads god Knows for our next Generation.

[kpnut]

2 hours ago, dom said:

instead incorporate a "garage" for full size bikes or kayaks?

I wouldn’t say the current Brooms bikes are full-size. The family did look to be working hard, peddling 10 to the dozen to make much forward progress. But enjoying themselves and that’s the main thing. 

[YnysMon]

I’m not surprised the Beccles fees have gone up. The yacht station has been noticeably less busy since the Silverline fleet decamped up north to Richardson’s.