broads first hire narrowboat

[Soundings]

Can't see the point of NBs on the Broads as it is a wide beam waterway. On the C&RT waterways they are the thing to have if you want access to the entire system. Mind you a NB will get under Potter! They are also, imo, warmer than your average GRP Broads boat...provided you are not helming.

[650xs]

 ive been left some money in a will so I,m off to book this boot and prove I can handle her crash her and take as many orf you ole buggers with me .as the ole saying goes ...I,ll go down with me ship .....

 

 

up the steelies.............

 

up the canals..........

 

up ba ......

 

up the ole boatyards tooo........

 

come on give it a goo.........

[senator]

650XS, Why?

 

there are many boats that are not purpose designed for the Broads on the system but each and everyone has a reason.

 

The Broads is connected to the sea in two places so the boats designed for sea but with the capability of running on the Broads have justification.

 

Broads Cruisers are specifically designed to make the most of the system, especially those that can fit under potter, and they offer the comfort of 12' beam without the requirement to use twice as much bankside space for every mooring they make, they can also moor stern to where required.

 

What does a narrow boat do that a Broads cruiser can't?

 

I can understand a private owner bringing their boat to the system for a year or two, They have probably spent years getting the boat to meet their own requirements and who wouldn't want to visit the Broads at least once in their boating life. But why would a hire company put a boat that quite clearly is not designed for its intended cruising ground on the Broads.

 

Seem to remember another company trying that with a 38' 500hp Sports cruiser that was not allowed off the Northern Broads and look where that ended.

 

If you are going to hire out a boat in a restricted cruising area it should be suitable for that and not automatically expose its occupants to the venom of other users by using up all the moorings for no people.

 

The only people I can see benefiting if these things start to colonise the Broads will be the people selling moorings by the foot. other Broads businesses will acctually loose out do to fewer boats being able to moor in a given spot.

[650xs]

each to ther own i say all the meeryer ........................

 

large or small bring them all we welcome all

 

waffis stinkies and those silly boats that don,t fitt too

 

any boat any how any time 

 

whcih boat is correct, which one is a runngern????????...........

 

 

good comments mr birnimham man, each too make an remark and the more reponse and views the better i say 

 

 

why yuo say....... i say why not ........................

 

 

bring a canoe or a 80 foot dutch brge to live on it brings a client,hopefull trade and some more pepes to the area too  thats why i reckon .....................north or south ..............

 

 

thers an old sayin any buisness is good buisness................

 

just my ole thourghts 

 

i,m waitin for me bad points too........

 

 

remember i comment for a rise and a result .........................

 

 

up the boat yards ..........................and the narrow boats tooo.......................

[llanigraham]

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.

Rubbish!!

They are heavier than a plastic boat so don't get blown around so easily, plus seem to have much less sticking in the air than many cruisers.

[windmill]

I don't see a problem with narrow boats , there are one or two around Beccles and they all seem to be very well controlled , unlike some of the huge fly-bridge monsters that would be more at home cruising the Med .

I haven't seen any comments on some of the Dutch barges that are seen quite often surely they are also steel and are very well behaved.

I'm also old enough to remember the coasters heading up to Norwich through Reedham in the sixties now they really were something to dodge.

[trambo]

As a lover of canals and narrow boats I still feel they just do not look right on the Broads. On saying that I can also see the attraction to the private buyer as they are much cheaper for the equivalent standard of fit out  and (at least I find) more pleasant to live aboard. However as a hire boat i am sure it will not catch on. Besides the difficulty with mooring, the total absence of weather protection must be a big drawback. Will wet weather gear, like the canal hire yards do be provide? Also on a canal, if it really gets too much you can (in most cases) just moor. This luxury is not available to Broads users, especially on the Southern Broads where she is based. Also accidents do happen and steel narrowboats and fibreglass boats are not a good mix. How many owners of fibreglass canal boats will enter a lock with a steel narrowboat?

[senator]

Ok, now starting to understand the logic.

Looks are irrelevant and totally a personal view so no objection there.

Wide beam barges I can totally see the attraction of.

Narrow beam steel is designed to bounce of locks, banksides or any thing else it hits with just the occasional scratch to the paint.

The yard can now accept the hirers word that they weren't involved in the reported collision and get on with the next hire.

Flat bottomed so should be comfortable on the mud over Breydon while they wait for the water to come back

Yes starting to make sense now.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

My own opinion is i would`nt hire it, but i do know that Waterways holidays get  quite a few requests for narrow boats on the broads every year by regular canal visitors who want to try the Broads on the type of boat they have experience with, so if a fleet owner is told this, then it`s understandable to see why they`ve done it.

 

As for narrow boats being on the broads, are`nt many of you forgetting the number of "Normans, Dawncraft, Viking" and numerous other narrow beamed cruisers that have been gracing the broads for more years than many sea going craft have?. I`ve also seen quite a few narrow boats on the broads, though most have been on the more sheltered northern rivers. Also, i seem to remember years ago, either Martham ferry boats, or Martham boat company tried this, but i`m not sure of how successful it was, so Lori`s original title of this thread is not strictly correct.

 

As for the comment about the number of berths per boat length, it seems some on here have short memories, or are just voicing their dislike of narrow boats, because if you care to remember not many years ago, Alpha craft had one of the 42ft forward drives fitted for only 2, WITHOUT any extra sleeping on settees, and not forgetting Kingline for their 42ft Alphas being fitted for 4, again without the extra settee berths, and does`nt Richardsons have an RC45 fitted to sleep 4, but with an etra settee double berth?.

 

As for the stern on mooring comment, I`ve seen many boats, some belonging to forum members, being moored side on at stern on moorings, yet if a narrow boat (yes, they WOULD probably need some form of gangplank) did moor sern on, they`d only be taking up just over half the mooring space required for 95% of modern broads designs, even for 2 people, such as the Alpha 29 centre cockpit, or Bounty 30?.

 

The comment was made above about narrow boats on other wide beam waterways, let`s not forget (as mentioned) the Thame, and Severn, but what about the Fenland rivers, or the river Trent, need i mention more?.

 

As for being made of steel, well what about the old Lady Carron or Breydon Monarch class of boats that were operated by Breydon marine in the 70s and 80s, not to mention a few others from Oulton Broad and Wroxham?, would anybody complain if they saw any one of them coming the other way, or are they acceptable because they are wide beam?.

 

 

As i said at the beginning of this post, it`s not MY cup of tea, but if it brings new visitors to the broads, it can only be a good thing.

 

Live and let live and all that?.

 

Regards to all ......................... Neil.

[andyhesford]

I was surprised how many narrow boats are on the broads we counted somewhere betweene 10 and 15 we evan talked to a couple who had there own built to there own standard mainly a bit wider for the broads because as some of  you have said they are designed for canals