Summercraft latest news

[ranworthbreeze]

Posted Today, 02:50 PM

I contacted Summercraft and received this reply from Sue Bell. We can now stop worrying about Summercraft in 2016......all is well.

Hello Ian,

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. The reason we are not up and running for 2016 at the moment is that we are making some changes i.e. offering more short breaks etc.and that is taking time to sort out.

Please post this for me if its no trouble to you.

Kind regards

Sue Bell

[BryanW]

Summercraft now appear for 2016 on the Hoseasons site.

[NorfolkNog]

We've seen loads of Summercraft boats out this week. Very smart looking boats.

[Guest]

Summercraft are one of the best yards on the Broads - not only well turned out boats, but also friendly and look after their customers very well. I just wish they would change that colour scheme!

[kadensa]

On 5/16/2015 at 11:41 AM, Spider said:

Summercraft are one of the best yards on the Broads - not only well turned out boats, but also friendly and look after their customers very well. I just wish they would change that colour scheme!

Perhaps, if you fit their ideal customer profile - this on their website looks to be not only discriminatory, but illegal

' We regret that we are unable to accept bookings from all male or all female parties'. 

 

 

[JennyMorgan]

Kadensa, I for one fully support Summercraft's stance on this one, I really do wish that other yards had the courage to follow their example. Illegal, are you sure? Would be if it were all male but not all female, in this case both sexes are being treated equally. Like Spider I too agree about their well turned out boats and I don't blame them one iota for wishing to protect their investment

[VetChugger]

But what about gay or lesbian couples Mr W??

[Vaughan]

3 hours ago, kadensa said:

this on their website looks to be not only discriminatory, but illegal

Oh dear, Kadensa, surely the Broads is not now going "P.C."? No-one is being threatened or discriminated against. This condition of hire has been in place for donkeys' years. Anyone with any long term knowledge of the hire boat industry only has to look back through their old Blakes and Hoseasons catalogues, ever since the 1970s, to see this. Might I remind you that campsites and hotel chains are now advertising (on TV) adult only holidays, for those who want a bit of peace from screaming kids? Is that discrimination, or customers being offered freedom of choice?

Surely Summercraft's intention is obvious? This is what is called "horses for courses". They offer (and have always offered) the highest quality in a hire boat. Believe me, they are hard to beat! But they can't maintain that standard for their discerning customer base if they are going to allow their beautiful craft to be degraded (or trashed) by lads' outings or hen parties. There are plenty of other boats on the Broads which are better adapted to this, and I have never heard of "the lads" having any difficulty in hiring a suitable boat, whenever they want one. Also at a lower cost than that advertised by Summercraft.

I suppose an analogy would be the difference between flying business class, or "cattle class".

[Vaughan]

3 hours ago, VetChugger said:

But what about gay or lesbian couples Mr W??

I realise that you posted this in a light-hearted manner but you are, of course, right in making that distinction.

In my experience, these people always leave the boat in far better condition, at the end of their holiday, than the "average" customer.

You can never tell, at the end of the day, what your customers are going to be like, or what kind of destruction they are going to wreak on your boat. On the Thames I once had a customer who arrived in a brand new Range Rover, with his family, for an 8 berth boat. When he came back I found, although he did not tell me, that his Mastiff dogs, which he had left on board while they were in pubs, had eaten their way through the doors of all the cabins that they had been closed behind. I was the one who had to somehow re-present that boat, in good order, for the next customers who arrived that same afternoon. The "dog man" actually threatened to sue me, by letter afterwards, because I had not refunded his fuel deposit.

It is therefore not surprising that a quality boatyard will seek to limit the "collateral damage" by imposing restrictions on the boat's availability, which are, after all, advertised before the "point of sale".

[trambo]

40 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

 

In my experience, these people always leave the boat in far better condition, at the end of their holiday, than the "average" customer.

 

Yes I do!

The wording used on the Summercraft web site is that used in the past by Hoseasons for a lot of their boatyards and has now been altered. It probably is now illegal but even when used it was only a matter of contacting the boatyard to explain the situation and I was never refused and yes I have seen an all male party on a  Summercraft boat.

I do wish Summercraft well, their standard of presentation is outstanding.

Fred

[JennyMorgan]

4 hours ago, VetChugger said:

But what about gay or lesbian couples Mr W??

I would suggest that gay or lesbian couples phone and ask. I suspect that most of us know full well the intention of Summercraft's condition of hire and I'm confident that a reasonable and courteous approach would be respected, as it should be, by the yard in question. I am quite sure that discrimination is neither the issue nor the intention and any attempt to turn it into one is surely unwelcome.

[Maxwellian]

It is always best to give any yard a call and discuss any issues or enquiries. We have always found the yards we have hired from very helpful including Summercraft.

Edited July 23, 2016 by BroadScot
Unmuppeted the hard yard Ian :-)

[Maxwellian]

Sorry that should have been Yard not Hard. What a Muppet.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Absoluetly spot on to the above. 

My brother and i hired from Summercraft about 15-16 years back on one of their Alpha 32s called "Geisha Girl 2", and i phoned and booked direct with the yard. I had NO problems whatsoever, and as it was the last week of the season, they even asked if we could bring it back "late" meaning Sunday or Monday, with the emphasis on the Monday, as it would give them more time to start laying up other boats in their fleet. Even at the very end of the season, the Geisha Girl class were some of the oldest in their fleet, but were better presented than other boats from other much bigger yards at the begining of the season. 

A superb yard, with superb boats, and i could`nt give a toss about their "no all male female" advertising, because as said by others, if it`s a gaye couple, they would`nt hesitate in accomodating their needs for a boat.

I would also totally agree with others comments that it`s quite obvious that this policy is aimed at stag / hen parties, young single sex groups out on a "booze cruise" etc etc, it aint rocket science?.

 

[BroadScot]

I used Summercraft in the days of Dick and Gwen Sabberton running it, the boats were a dream to handle, reliable, and very well turned out even as Neil says in late season. 

I was spoiled then, as I used Alan Johnson, in the Summer as starting from Acle was ideal for the fortnight, but, used Summercraft, Easter and October.

A boatyard I have always considered to be one of the best for smartly turned out boats. IMHO.

Iain

 

[Dan]

The wording is "..parties"

This implies more than two people & I always assumed was carefully chosen to not exclude same sex couples

Dan

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

19 hours ago, Dan said:

The wording is "..parties"

This implies more than two people & I always assumed was carefully chosen to not exclude same sex couples

Dan

A very good point Dan.

[JawsOrca]

Just for anyone reading.. there is no need to call before booking if you are a same sex couple, there are laws there which makes it illegal to refuse accommodation to same sex couples so therefore there is no need to call ahead. All yards obviously see every different type of visitor day in day out so you will receive no discrimination.. The broads and lovely and everyone's very cool!

(Probably if you are 2 couples sharing then you may want to call them "tell them" but I believe the same laws apply).