Broom And The White Heron

[Mouldy]

16 minutes ago, Dan said:

You never know, but seems unlikely to me.

I'm not so sure its bad... when I checked in at a hotel in Majorca recently I was asked if I wanted to pay X amount to have a room on the 6th or 7th (top) floors... this threw me a bit but after clarification same room grade, same positioning just higher up.  I politely declined but as I pondered a ridiculously high number of random things as I chilled and swam in the pool this came back to me a few times.. had the world gone a bit mad with this upselling and eaking each bit of profit out of people... the same room and view but now a premium for a higher floor... as I did the calculations and considered whether enough people said yes to fill each room on those two floors at the extra cost and what that amounbted to on the bottom line I wondered was there any integrity left, was there ever any anyway and would I do it if the business was mine... if you know me a little you'd probably know the answer anyway.

Amongst these thoughts Broom's "White Heron" class sprang to mind as I seem to recall on launch some of the premium related to a better parking space and possibly service as well (the better mattress, new this year/at the time seemed the only real credible improvement, bikes too I suppose if it is your thing) and I remember cringing to myself at the time.  

I wonder which bit actually appealed and made people pay it (hopefully the more credible bits I mention but I sometimes wonder!), but in my round about way I am also trying to say just because you can do something and people pay it doesn't mean you should do it.   Furthermore, if you do it then the world changes a bit, and once a few others follow it is hard to change it back

Dan

Have to tend to agree, Dan.  The ‘White Heron’ boats can’t be new, as Broom finished their last build about three years ago, which I believe was one of the Explorer craft.  They may have had a light refit, but they were all built to virtually a private fit out in the first place.  If you use the bikes, then great, but if they remain on the boat unused, there is little point in having them.

I think a lot of the feel good factor was the belief that because it cost more, it was better, much the same as if you buy a named brand product, it’s better than an own label from a supermarket.  Having worked in the distribution department of one of Britain’s favourite cereal manufacturers for almost ten years, I know that the own label product came off the same production line as the signature branded stock for a long time and even after they introduced a second plant to manufacture own label products, the differences were barely discernible.  The cost of stopping production to change the recipe slightly were too high against having one production line and packing into different boxes to suit the indi supermarket brand.

[SwanR]

3 hours ago, Dan said:

I wonder which bit actually appealed and made people pay it

2 hours ago, Mouldy said:

I think a lot of the feel good factor was the belief that because it cost more, it was better,

I thought it might be worth me making reply on this one because we hired White Heron back in the spring, and you will find a write up and photos on my holiday tale.

If I recall correctly the hire cost was around £100 more than a Captain. But it was worth it for us. The boats are advertised as 2022 and as you said, they were a private fit out, and we were told on handover that they vary one to another because of that. We had White Heron 1 which had bow and stern thrusters. It was well fitted out, the bed was really comfortable, the mattress was better than many we've encountered on other boats. The seat next to the helm seat could also be turned to face forward, which made a huge difference to our enjoyment of cruising as a couple. I don't know whether that's the same on the Captains.

We loved having our dedicated parking space right by our signed mooring. Easy to pop back if we needed anything during the week and ready waiting on our return. Handover was early at midday which really attracted us meaning we could get out on the river ahead of other folk, and therefore be fairly sure of getting moored at our intended first night stop. Plus it makes day one a meaningful part of the holiday, not lost to handover and a short cruise.

All in all we were really happy with the few extras it gave us and the price we paid. Many places charge for extras such as early check-in. And all fleets charge more for their newer boats. We would definitely do it again. It's the only boat we've found that we really want to hire on the southern rivers, hence it had been nine years since we had done that. We're not interested in hiring north to travel south.

Each to their own, but a definite thumbs up here.

[Bikertov]

28 minutes ago, SwanR said:

I thought it might be worth me making reply on this one because we hired White Heron back in the spring, and you will find a write up and photos on my holiday tale.

....

Each to their own, but a definite thumbs up here.

I remember and enjoyed your write up at the time.

This goes to show that a small and justifiable premium can be well worth it and not resented by the customer. 

Win-win as they say

[SwanR]

Out of interest I went back and re-read my write up. It was good to refresh my mind as to all the things we loved about the boat that might be different to even the Captains, but not having hired one I can't be sure. Here's a link for anyone curious to read the boat review and the few posts after it including the photos.

 

[Bikertov]

3 hours ago, Dan said:

I'm not so sure its bad... when I checked in at a hotel in Majorca recently I was asked if I wanted to pay X amount to have a room on the 6th or 7th (top) floors... this threw me a bit but after clarification same room grade, same positioning just higher up.  I politely declined but as I pondered a ridiculously high number of random things as I chilled and swam in the pool this came back to me a few times.. had the world gone a bit mad with this upselling and eaking each bit of profit out of people... the same room and view but now a premium for a higher floor... 

Whilst I totally get what you are saying, we all often pay more for fundamentally the same thing

Go to a theatre or football match for instance - you get charged more for a better seat position but watching the same event from usually an identical physical seat

It's the same principle 

[Mouldy]

From your photos, Jean the boat you were on had the registration 1499Y and would have been one of the last built at Broom:

http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=42097&BoatHistory=67549
 

The seats are, I believe, common on the Captain, with a backrest that moves from the back to the front of the cushion to allow you to sit facing in either direction.  There is a similar arrangement on the seat at the stern.

I think the 2022 timeline was when Broom introduced the White Heron concept and took a couple of  Captains from the fleet and added the White Heron name with a couple of upgrades.  It coincided with the re adoption of the bird as Broom’s logo as well as the new name for the pub.

We didn’t ever hire a ‘premium’ boat.  The nearest would have been Muscadet from Russell Marine at South Walsham.  It was a year old when we hired her and it was a treat to be aboard.  It was built to near private standard and was one of the first hire cruisers to be fitted with a bow thruster.  She finished her hiring days at Herbert Woods after Russell stopped  hiring and was sold off earlier this year, sadly showing far too many battle scars to tempt me into buying her.

[Captain]

Hi Jean, 

The midday takeover and parking next to the boat are nice to have as an option.  Just to clarify the boats were originally Captain 10 and 11. I believe one was the last Captain built the other may have been brought back from France although that may be wrong. Both were built cc 2019 and renamed White Heron I assume they were given a new mattress and upgraded in 2022 although atleast one may have had stern thrusters by then anyway 

Neil 

[Roy]

4 hours ago, SwanR said:

I thought it might be worth me making reply on this one because we hired White Heron back in the spring, and you will find a write up and photos on my holiday tale.

If I recall correctly the hire cost was around £100 more than a Captain. But it was worth it for us. The boats are advertised as 2022 and as you said, they were a private fit out, and we were told on handover that they vary one to another because of that. We had White Heron 1 which had bow and stern thrusters. It was well fitted out, the bed was really comfortable, the mattress was better than many we've encountered on other boats. The seat next to the helm seat could also be turned to face forward, which made a huge difference to our enjoyment of cruising as a couple. I don't know whether that's the same on the Captains.

We loved having our dedicated parking space right by our signed mooring. Easy to pop back if we needed anything during the week and ready waiting on our return. Handover was early at midday which really attracted us meaning we could get out on the river ahead of other folk, and therefore be fairly sure of getting moored at our intended first night stop. Plus it makes day one a meaningful part of the holiday, not lost to handover and a short cruise.

All in all we were really happy with the few extras it gave us and the price we paid. Many places charge for extras such as early check-in. And all fleets charge more for their newer boats. We would definitely do it again. It's the only boat we've found that we really want to hire on the southern rivers, hence it had been nine years since we had done that. We're not interested in hiring north to travel south.

Each to their own, but a definite thumbs up here.

I’d say the early hand over and start to your holiday is well worth the extra £100 for that let alone as it guarantees an early start no kicking your heels waiting to go which can be tedious on the first day. 

 

[kpnut]

6 hours ago, Mouldy said:

The seats are, I believe, common on the Captain, with a backrest that moves from the back to the front of the cushion to allow you to sit facing in either direction.  There is a similar arrangement on the seat at the stern.

That’s such a simple but totally effective idea for sensible versatility. 

[Captain]

Hi 

I see Brooms are now also available to book through Clive's agents for Hpc Waterways Holidays as well as direct. This appears to include White Heron for 2025. Some conflicting detail in that 2025 and 2024 pricing is showing as fuel included with a £45 security waiver. Based on Clive's comments suggests some tweaking is needed to bring it into line with the direct site which may include the withdrawal of the White Heron concept but still showing at the moment. Just thought I would mention and I suspect any inconsistencies are due to the short notice nature of the arrangement and will be rectified.

Neil 

 

[C.Ricko]

Hi, 

White Heron boats will be renamed 'Wayfarer' and will be run from Horning, they are effectively Captains.. 

Bikes will be available to hire.. 

Skyway will be moving to Brundall.. 

Fuel will not be included  so you only pay for what you use, not the possibiity of extra..

boats are all generally ready by 2pm. 

apart from the parking spaces which we tend to shuffle there is no need to charge the extra and the booking records show that not many people were prepared to pay the extra. 

As you may see we have made all the prices more realistic. hopefully you will notice difference. 

 

[ExSurveyor]

Had a pumpout today and a very thorough job it was too. Definitely worth the bit extra.

[Broads01]

Thanks for the update, Clive. It makes sense to move the White Herons to Brundall as I don't think you have any sedans there. Skyway going the other way makes sense also as not fitting under Ludham means it has more cruising range south. I'd be very happy to volunteer unpaid to move the boats for you at the end of the season 😀.

[Happy]

17 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Thanks for the update, Clive. It makes sense to move the White Herons to Brundall as I don't think you have any sedans there. Skyway going the other way makes sense also as not fitting under Ludham means it has more cruising range south. I'd be very happy to volunteer unpaid to move the boats for you at the end of the season 😀.

Me too 

[Davydine]

Can I add my name to the list of volunteers for helping to move boats at the end of the season!

Joking aside, thanks for the update Clive, it's really great to hear the plans for the two yards.

[BrundallNavy]

3 hours ago, ExSurveyor said:

Had a pumpout today and a very thorough job it was too. Definitely worth the bit extra.

We had a pump out and got fuel at the beginning of August, apart from a 30 minuite wait due to staff shortages was served by a very polite lad who did a great job of the pump out. 

[SwanR]

Well I may be the absolute minority here but am very disappointed that the White Herons are being moved to Horning. I think they will struggle to get under Ludham Bridge. We’ve had many happy holidays on the northern rivers but are done with hiring that side for now. With so few boats on the south it was such a joy to find White Heron, newer than the Captains and completely suited us. 

Ah well … at least we got one return holiday on the southern side. 

[Broads01]

1 hour ago, SwanR said:

I think they will struggle to get under Ludham Bridge.

I'd be surprised if that was the case, Jean, given similar stock at Stalham but hopefully Clive can clarify.

[SwanR]

29 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

I'd be surprised if that was the case, Jean, given similar stock at Stalham but hopefully Clive can clarify.

Stated airdraft was 9 foot 2 if I recall correctly. There’s an electric sunroof and a top that was definitely higher than other boats we saw about. I missed low tide and needed Somerleyton bridge to swing to get through. The bridge operator thought I might have just got through with about 9 feet on the height gauge but I wasn’t chancing it. Either way that’s a lot more than has been reported at Ludham Bridge on many occasions this year. 

[Captain]

Hi Jean,

I too love the Southern Rivers. Last week I had a week of peace and quiet away from the hordes and masses on the Northern rivers in August travelling to Geldeston, Beccles, Langley and Rockland. Almost too quiet in places to be honest. Even had a kingfisher fishing from the bow of our boat at Pyes Mill. The resident heron stood next to our boat waiting for us to move and reclaim his fishing spot.  Anyway if you like that and are and are interested in that type of boat Captain 1-9 are very similar to the White Herons which were no 10 and 11 in class after all. Yes they are older however depending on which number you hire I believe they will date from 2012/3 to 2017/8 vs 2018/9 for the White Heron so splitting hairs and from what I have seen they don't skimp on the maintenance. So please don't let that put you off as there are very few differences. The varying aspect seating and island bed remain for example. I don't have shares in Brooms however we must keep hiring down South at Brooms and Pacific who I hired with otherwise we may end up losing the opportunity in the future.

Neil 

[RS2021]

8 hours ago, SwanR said:

Stated airdraft was 9 foot 2 if I recall correctly

The Broom WebSite lists them as 8'5"

[SwanR]

21 minutes ago, RS2021 said:

The Broom WebSite lists them as 8'5"

It does but the plate on the boat differed completely and was what we were told to go by. I did have a conversation about this with them when we took the boat back. We definitely didn’t have 6-8 inches of room to spare when going through Somerleyton showing at around 9 foot. One of their points was that on a rough day such as we had, the water is not flat calm and the boat bounces around. Maybe that degree of tolerance won’t be as likely to be needed on the Ant. 

[Mouldy]

Just seen on The White Heron’s FB page that their kitchens will be closed until further notice.  No other reason has been given, but there is also an advert elsewhere on there for a chef and bar staff.

[C.Ricko]

4 hours ago, Mouldy said:

Just seen on The White Heron’s FB page that their kitchens will be closed until further notice.  No other reason has been given, but there is also an advert elsewhere on there for a chef and bar staff.

its open for light lunches and evenings (not tonight) plus Sunday lunch. 

[ExSurveyor]

Update from The White Heron's FB page.

🍁 Update 🍁

Our kitchen will be back up and running tomorrow!

Lunchtime we will be serving fresh baguettes and in the evening you can enjoy a selection of main meals.  

And don't worry, our Sunday lunch will run as normal!  

Thank you all for being so patient and understanding.