broads first hire narrowboat

[loribear]

 hi all, don't know if this is the right section to put this lol,  apparently according to my towpath paper, the first narrowboat for hire will be on the broads from chedgrave ,where it is to be based,  it is a 40ft nb called whisper, which will sleep 2 to 4 people, & is being refurbished at the moment,& the prices start from £420 for a four night midweek break,  although I wouldn't have that the broads would have been an ideal place for a flat bottomed boat, with all the rocking about that you sometimes get on the broads, just curious to know, what are your thoughts on this,  lori

[ExSurveyor]

Might be worth avoiding. The Chet on handover days, 40' of steel coming around the bends could be a challenge. 8-)

[Dan]

Cant imagine they'd be very practical/viable when it came to a location that was stern on mooring only?

 

Dan

[jeffbroadslover]

I can imagine you will have to be careful crossing Breydon.

[llanigraham]

Just up my street, being a "ditch crawler"

[Bobby]

Whilst being an excellent type of boat to bang around the canal system I really think that narrowboats are out of place on the Broads. In saying that, Potter Heigham Bridge? No problems.

Bobby.

[senator]

Can't be a good thing for the Broads, as they have not been a good thing for any navigation that is wide enough to take boats wider than 6'6.

 

There is no getting away from the fact that they take up twice the bank space for the same accommodation. 

 

Time to look again at how the tolls are calculated and move to a £'s per linear meter instead of m2 area. What is the point in charging for width anyway?

[Oddfellow]

Is this a private venture?

[650xs]

more boats ......................

 

good ole narrow boots ..................

 

great will be able to go down the north walsha canal for a visit !!!!!!

 

up the narrow boats .........................

 

does it matter what it is along as it floats and brings some more people ..............

 

i,m a supporter of all until yer pxxs me orf ................"orf me land" ............

[Matt]

Well it is only 40ft long so not as long as a lot of boats, however, I can just see it tying to moor at Reedham in the wrong hands.....

[Maxwellian]

These things are common on the Thames and Severn, both of which have strong currents. I have seen them several times going through London. I think the art is experience and preparation. So I agree that in the hands of the inexperienced Reedham could be dangerous..

[BuffaloBill]

So who is hiring it out? How many berths?

If it's a typical 40 footer, it may only sleep up to 4 people

where a 'Broads' cruiser of that length would sleep

around 6-8 people. That's a lot of side on space for so

few people if that reasoning is correct.

[loribear]

Is this a private venture?

hi freedom, it looks like it belongs to waterways holidays . lori

[Maxwellian]

Found this Article

 

http://beacon-pr-travel.co.uk/2013/11/11/waterways-holidays-announces-the-first-narrowboat-for-hire-on-the-norfolk-broads/

 

And this

 

http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/detail/maffwhisper.htm

[loribear]

These things are common on the Thames and Severn, both of which have strong currents. I have seen them several times going through London. I think the art is experience and preparation. So I agree that in the hands of the inexperienced Reedham could be dangerous..

hi max , the thing that would worry me would be the very narrow sides & how easily you can slip, & being on the broads that can be dangerous. lori

[loribear]

So who is hiring it out? How many berths?

If it's a typical 40 footer, it may only sleep up to 4 people

where a 'Broads' cruiser of that length would sleep

around 6-8 people. That's a lot of side on space for so

few people if that reasoning is correct.

hi bill, it does say 2 to 4 people , but you have to remember that they are alot narrower than a broads cruisrr. lori

[BuffaloBill]

What I was saying Lori is that it is a lot of side-on mooring

per person than a typical 'Broads' cruiser. The width

doesn't come into it.

A quick example.

'Jamaica' if sleeping 8 = 5ft per person.

Narrow boat sleeping 4 = 10ft per person .

Or:-

8 persons on 'Jamaica' = 40ft side-on mooring.

8 persons on 2 narrow boats = 80ft side-on mooring.

[Hylander]

In a wind like today they are just like a leaf on the water -  no control whatsoever.         Will avoid like the plague if I see any narrow boats.

[trambo]

I seem to recall a narrowboat for hire from Beccles in the past but it did not catch on. Canal boats are very manoeuvrable  and easy to handle, more so than the traditional Broads cruiser as long as the power is there. I think the main problems are stern mooring as she seems to have a round stern and the amount of space taken on for a side mooring. Hope the idea is not emulated as  40 foot is rather short for a canal boat, even for two people  and they really do look out of place on the Broads.

 

Fred

[jeffbroadslover]

I'm pretty sure that I saw a boat similar to this on the Wroxham webcam some months ago

[littlesprite]

There is a small narrow boat that moors just along from me (stern on) and I'm sure there are about six moored somewhere along the new cut or in that area, variety is the spice of life so bring it on.

[Oddfellow]

Waterways Holidays is a booking agency. Whilst I know the owners have holiday properties in Wroxham, a move into boat operation would be interesting; especially as they hail from Hampshire.

 

Perhaps Maffet has some input given the URL that's been posted?  I need to speak with John about other things, so perhaps I'll mention it.

[Soundings]

There are quite a few narrowboats scattered around the Broads.

[Dan]

On the plus side, if it is starting from Maffetts you would expect the relevance & quality of instruction to be first class

 

Dan

[Broads01]

It does seem an odd choice of boat. I've never really been a narrow boat fan to be honest. I think its partly the tiller thing instead of a proper wheel. Its also because even though I love steering a boat outdoors I wouldn't want to have zero weather protection like a narrow boat helmsman does. And when you can have such a choice of spacious wide boats why would you want to hire a boat so, well, narrow!

I know narrow boats have their fans so it'll be interesting to see what happens. It'll also be interesting to see it try to moor at Ranworth! Lets hope the stern on limitations don't encourage its hirers to moor side on where they shouldn't.