Your favourite boat, and why?

[Hockham Admiral]

The 38's really are lovely fine weather boats but we found Evening Shadow rather drafty around the sliding roof in the colder weather. Obviously work can be done to improve this.

There was a lovely that has now been sold at NYA with an asking price of £90k. Yes 90.....

http://www.nya.co.uk/aquafibre38-2.html

 

WOW, Matt!

 

She looks as though she was built for a private owner? But they had a Hardy-built Alpha 35 a few years ago, second hand, for close on £135,000!

[Hockham Admiral]

It's when you see what it costs to build one nowadays, John, that drags the prices up.

 

Matthew Thwaites at Barnes Brinkcraft was telling me that it would be upwards of £135,000 for a basic Alpha 35 type nowadays. (Depending entirely on how you wanted her).

 

I've no doubt that Clive might wish to comment on that? (I can't remember his quote for a new 42ft to build for their fleet but it was a heck of a lot of money!).

[Matt]

There is a review of the RC45 that went into private hands in Anglia Afloat. I don't have the copy to hand but off the top of my head it was £240k but boy she does look good!

That £90k Aquafibre 38 was not up for sale for long.

[C.Ricko]

The Sheerline 'R45' is a lovely boat, the price in Anglia afloat was including VAT..

the Pearl was traded in but it was a very nice example with lots of newly installed bells and whistles.

 

as for the cost of a new boat, it all depends to what quality you want to fit one out, we use all birch plywood and have lots of bends in bulkheads, we  hide as many fixings as possible such as in head linings and have no wood below floor level we also do not carpet the hull or inside wardrobes, all this adds on the cost but we also produce virtually everything in house which brings other costs down.

Our boats are built to last a long time so although they may be expensive to build they should stay nice for a long time.

[Hockham Admiral]

Thanks, Clive for such a prompt reply. You must be getting ready for the weekend? 

[Matt]

The Sheerline 'R45' is a lovely boat, the price in Anglia afloat was including VAT...

But I would have to pay the VAT!

Lovely boat though but a 100hp engine?!

[loribear]

Hi Lori, Do you mean Astons, or the two boats, because they are still about.

hi paul , sorry , i meant the astons yard, it used to be one of our favourite yards, lori

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[Matt]

She's quite a big boat, and it's nice to have something in reserve. It also stops all that tedious mucking about with thrusters.

I guess so!

To be honest when you compare the price to something like the Broom 35 sedan you get a lot if boat for your money.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I`m not sure whether i can say have "a favourite", but i do have lots of "prefered" designs.

 

Definitelly on the list are the Aquafibre Lowliner 38 dual steer, the perfect boat for a family holiday on the Broads, being able to go anywhere subject to suitable tides

 

The Aquafibre DC30, an excellent go anywhere on the Broads design, and superb for a couple, and i`ve always liked the look and shape of them, and in particular, the wooden top version that Maffett cruisers had (their original Kingfisher)

 

The Hampton Safari 25 mk 1+2, again an excellent go anywhere design, but small enough to get into small tight spaces

 

The Westward (or Westwood?) 38 centre cockpit variant, a spacious go anywhere 4-6 berth layout.

 

 

There are so may, it`s hard to think of them all, but i`l post up some more when i`ve thought about them.

[littlesprite]

^{I've been thinking long and hard on this one and just can't decide on any boat design, all boats have good and bad bits and these can change depended on what use your looking to give.}

 

^{I guess I like  sitting on the fence "as long as it floats"}

[trambo]

^{I've been thinking long and hard on this one and just can't decide on any boat design, all boats have good and bad bits and these can change depended on what use your looking to give.}

 

 

 Well, I have too agree. No boat I've hired has ever hit all the buttons. I suppose the nearest still in hire would be Silver Solano, simply for the standard of fitting out and the rear engine for quietness. However it will not go under Potter. So good but not perfect. Also, only hired her in summer so what is she like for draughts out of season? So as you say, "As long as it floats!"

 

Fred

[C.Ricko]

it has to be the Ocean 30 as an all round great boat but  I also have a soft spot for the Elysian 34 although not for the internal fit outs..

[trambo]

it has to be the Ocean 30 as an all round great boat but  I also have a soft spot for the Elysian 34 although not for the internal fit outs..

Having hired Tideway when at Hearts I have to agree. 

[zacthedog]

well the hire boat i disliked the most was crystal emblem 2 from pennents back in the day, and yes she is the boat we now own, best hire boat would be the broom from richos two years ago, will not pass under many bridges, but for size and moveability the siesta was great. My earnest collins is the love of my life but favorite would have to be one of the classic woodies.

[loribear]

hi all ive just seen my favourite boat at oulton broads , outside the wherry hotel, & it's still in the same blue colour too here it is at this end of the line, lori

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[Broads01]

Great thread. All this talk of Aquafibre 38s has reminded me how good they are! I haven't hired one since 1999 and it's about time I did.

 

It's a fascinating question, the one of which boat to choose. I love the variety of boating designs and although I've been hiring on the Broads since the 1980's and twice a year for the last few years I've never hired the same boat twice! Forward drives, centre cockpits, dual steers, aft cockpits, sedans I love 'em all. They all have multiple pros and cons and no one boat can be brilliant at everything.

 

The boat that sticks in my memory is the AF dual steer of which I've hired  different versions. They are a triumph of design in my mind - fantastic exterior driving position and great use of 32 foot of length, especially the 'double deck' of aft cabin and upper driving position. Then again you can't get under the low bridges in which case you'd want....

[petersjoy]

hi all ive just seen my favourite boat at oulton broads , outside the wherry hotel, & it's still in the same blue colour too : uploadfromtaptalk1375731836955.jpg here it is at this end of the line, lori

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Looks like Aston Vanguard, now Song of Freedom from Freedom Boats.

[loribear]

Looks like Aston Vanguard, now Song of Freedom from Freedom Boats.

hi paul , thanks for info, it's nice to see that they've kept the same colour, but i'm surprised they've not changed it to make it more their own, by the way paul, which one did you buy ? & what made you go for green for it's colour ? . lori :D

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[petersjoy]

hi paul , thanks for info, it's nice to see that they've kept the same colour, but i'm surprised they've not changed it to make it more their own, by the way paul, which one did you buy ? & what made you go for green for it's colour ? . lori :D

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Hi Lori, Ours was originally Aston Florida, First private owners renamed her Sally Gee, then she was bought by Peter and Joy who renamed her Peter's joy and i assume they had her painted green.

We then bought her and i liked both the colour and the name for some reason.

 

Paul Peters

[ExSurveyor]

My favourite was my first boat, then my second, then my third. My norfolk boat is a Topcraft topliner, pig ugly but just right for how we use her. We hired her the last year the yard was open and spotted it up for sale last year, at least we had a one week test drive before buying. Thought about swapping my Medway based Calypso for a second topliner but that plan got squashed by swmbo.

[zacthedog]

think one thing is clear, that most of you can't choose one single boat! So boat designers you have had 100s of years but still have to find that winning design.

[Moondance]

We've only hired bathtubs so far, mainly for the fact theyre practical for our use, but I do find the steering a bit hit & miss when youre happily cruising around bends in the river & suddenly realise the stern is about to whack into an oncoming boat!! We've had a couple where the saloon is lovely and roomy, and has a separate fixed dining table you don't have to put away after every meal, (pearl horizon, & Ruby gem) and I love the large windows, great for sitting in & watching the river life/sunsets etc, we still haven't found one though with a decent sized bed where one of us isn't either half under the bulkhead, or has to climb over the other to get out in the night. Think I judge them a lot on how well I sleep too & think Ruby gem so far has been my favourite,(we pulled out the saloon berth & kept it as a large sofa/daybed) I know its hard to find the 'perfect' boat though- we just accept that it wont tick all the boxes!!! Saying that, we're hiring Glistening Horizon in a few weeks so will be good to see what that's like (hope the steering is easier though!)

[sprintst]

Our first hire boat was Fair Regal (Fair Entrepreneur 35) centre cockpit with a sliding roof, ... we really liked that,  it started us off on our boat owning for the next 15 years.  Since then we've had an ex- Harvey Eastwood "sports" Alpha 29, a vintage Broom Viking speedboat, a brand new Viking 20, a Calypso 28 and now we seem to have come full circle with a Sheerline 950 CC.  

 

All boats are your favourite on the day you buy them , ..... and become your favourites again through the rose tinted mists of time 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I think the Bourne 40 was a lovely boat to cruise, as they had a great motion through the water, and handled a dream. I`ve been on 2, both Astons, the first being Aston Orion when new in 1970, then the Jupiter after they removed the aft double cabin and replaced it with a hexagonal table and chairs. Strange thing to do, as it made a 4 berth with 4 singles in 3 cabins. Still a nice boat to handle though.