Belmore TC - The Review

[LondonRascal]

A new series of Captain’s Blogs are on the way, but to begin we start with the video tour and review of Brinks Belmore TC hired from Barnes Brinkcraft in Wroxham.

Based on a Princess 30 she certainly has a striking look – a lovely outside space being a sedan style boat which is also very safe being completely enclosed and with a locking stern door.  You need to be careful with bridges because of the high air draft this boat has – the plaque says 8ft 10” and the freeboards are high but that is a result of the fact she was designed for sea not river use predominantly.

Three berths that can be left made up is a bonus in a boat of this size, a good thermostatically controlled heater and large hot water tank make things comfy in the evenings the heads are very compact particularly the shower tray but the ‘set and forget’ thermostatically control shower is a boon so no more guessing how much cold to add to the hot water to get the right temperature.

Not the newest of boats but being kept well both externally and internally with improves over time being made with new flooring, worktops and now bow thrusters too.

Here is the video review:

 

[riyadhcrew]

Thank god for that Robin. Blood pressure is going down again and a brilliant review, as usual. Looking forward to your blog. Many thanks again for taking the time to entertain us.

[BroadScot]

Hi Eric,

 

How true, rumours were abound he had disappeared, until seen by the greater spotted Broads Tourist NBN Forum Member. I am sure ALL members await with baited breath and tin opener screwdrivers, for his latest Blog rendition!

 

 

Iain.

[LondonRascal]

- pleased you enjoyed the review, the first day of the blog be posted later and things really get going after day one - lots of episodes this time, 10 of them!

[JawsOrca]

Brilliant Robin!   Despite not being a Hirer anymore I stil enjoy these! it's nice to be nosy she looks good, not quite sure i like the second cabin, it seems to have taken a bit of space away but as you say I understand the idea. You are a pro at these, do you like cars? I understand a certain company is looking for presenters for a car show  

 

[LondonRascal]

Thanks Alan,

 

Used to love cars – now it is all about the boats. 

 

The biggest problem with the reviews is the preparation time – polish surfaces, clean windows, remove all trace of my things from an area then put all back and clear the next area as I go about the review.

 

Tthey take about 3 hours from preparation to finish for about half an hour of footage but the results I am pleased with.  Never scripted all done on the fly

[JawsOrca]

I must say the boats always look very clean when you do these reviews and it must be a bit of the pain doing at the end but I bet the yards must love hiring to you when you bring them back so clean! 

 

Keep them coming and thanks for doing them! 

 

Hopefully catch you one day.. Although I must try not make a fool of myself when you are recording lol! 

 

[Viking23]

I have followed most of these films, and I and my boat have appeared as extras on at least two of them lol... All background and soft focus lol. Thank goodness, as I was doing boat maintenance in both of them.

I'm not sure I like the opening part of the above review, looks like you are doing it through a bird hide with all the old wood framing, hey but each to his own, there is certainly an artistic side to you, and it didn't spoil the pleasure of the boat review in any way.

What I don't understand is why all your wardrobes are empty, then I read what you did prior to the video.

You are welcome to video our boat... provided you empty all the cupboards, surfaces and give them a scrub lol...

Next time I see you about, I will introduce myself to you.

[LondonRascal]

Thanks Vikign23.  I like to try new things, and have paid a few pounds for the opening sequence  with the photos and captions to start things off in a nice slow pace - the reviews are all about the boat and separate to the Blogs which are about the trip and experiences so I present the review as cleaning as possible (hence all the empty cupboards) - to be honest I was going to strip the bed but could not face making it up again to sleep on as was my final night on the boat so that is why it was left made up.

 

Always good to meet people along the river be them members of this forum or just people who happen upon my videos on You Tube.

[Dan]

.....Always good to meet people along the river be them members of this forum or just people who happen upon my videos on You Tube.

Yes, it was good to meet you in the Maltsters last October

 

Dan

[Broads01]

Robin I've been looking forward to your review and finally managed to watch it all through this evening. It was excellent thank you. Your attention to detail and the time you take flies in the face of the current tv cut everything to death way of doing things, but for those of us in our world it works fine. The best compliment I can pay you is you've convinced me Belmore TC isn't for me (enclosed steering, limited saloon space, overly compact galley & wash room) and the only reason I know that for sure is because I've watched your film.

 

It was good to meet you at Reedham and I hope we shall happen to be on the Broads during the same week in the future.

[BryanW]

Hi Robin

 

Something I would be interested in, being 6' and fairly large, is the size and orientation of the beds.  I noticed that in your review of Barnes' hybrid boat that the beds are only accessible on one side (as usual) but their boat layout shows walk round beds.  It's a pity that the yards, in their description, don't specify the bed sizes.

[LondonRascal]

The thing is, like you often find with static Caravans, beds on boats are not always the same as beds at home – a single being narrower and short than one you may expect to have in your home, much the same as a double.

 

This is why they are ‘berths’ not ‘beds’ and things like ‘cosy cabins’ mean very cramped – As ever a boat is always a compromise and if you have a full size double the loss of space elsewhere can be significant. 

 

Belmore’s berths are typical single, not so bad on length but a little narrow. You would do well to avoid boats where the end of the berth went under the side deck of the boat as these are often shorter and of course your feet have nowhere to hang off the end of the bed.