Admit it - Who did it?

[CaptinDread]

It aint been stuck there that long, I'd say 24 hours as I'm in the area

 

I havn't even taken my boat under those bridges, most of the time I can't.

[CaptinDread]

might aswell watch Blondie : the tide is high

[Hockham Admiral]

Jasper!

 

I know we go off topic........... but this is beyond my wildest dreams!  

 

Or is it nightmares?  :rolleyes:

 

(Non-Mod hat on)

[CaptinDread]

its not that off topic, she sings about tide and stuff...

 

 

[ExMemberBobdog]

its not that off topic, she sings about tide and stuff...

 

 

Innit though!

[Oddfellow]

I am led to believe that the damage to Mustang is considerable.

 

The boat must weight 9-10 ton. With the pressure of a rising tide pushing it up onto the bridge structure, I expect there's a lot of repair to be done. That's also a lot of pressure in the opposite direction to normal on the bridge.

 

Whilst I don't know the specifics of this incident, I do know that there are conflicting reports of it. One suggests that the boat travelled through from Norwich and couldn't get out again and others suggest an overnight stay.

 

What is certain is that since Friday, we have been seeing increasing water levels at high tide with yesterday's (ironically) being the biggest. Todays, conversely, is very low.

 

I feel for Alphacraft in this, I really do.

[Poggymale]

Totally agree with the last sentence - really lovely people who own & run that yard and hope their luck improves.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Baitrunner]

I assume with the low springs they have recovered her? Or at least freed her from the bridge.

[JawsOrca]

YBW report that it was recovered on the next low tide. Once again hope she's back out soon. 

 

http://www.ybw.com/news-from-yachting-boating-world/video-cruiser-gets-stuck-under-bridge-on-norfolk-broads-11297

[unclemike]

few years ago spitfire got stuck under beccles old bridge

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I saw this on tv when moored up.

 

What i would like to know is what information people are given when they book these high level boats?. Seeing as these are not exactly rare incidents, i wonder if the hirers are being "guided" to hire these boats when in reality they should be made fully aware of what boat is best suited to their needs. I was talking to a Brooms engineer on Friday and asked how many low top boats they will have. His reply was maybe one more of the new version of the 28ft fwd dv, but anything begger will be high top. Not exactly giving people much choice are they, so when this sort of think happens, who do you blame?.

 

We ALWAYS hired boats that were originally designed to transit all the bridges, including Potter Heigham, but i would stake money on it that if if i were to ask for the advice from one of the agencies, i bet they`d recommend a high level boat, and would`nt even think to ask if we intended travelling beyond the bridges.

 

We came back under Gt Yarmouth Bridges last Thursday, and Lightning shows 6ft 9ins, and the height gauge said 7ft 3ins., so a clearnce of 6 inches. When we went under, we had about 9 inches of clearance on the road bridge, but going under the iron bridge, barely an inch.  Hd we arrived half an hour later, we would have had to wait around to get under. We wanted to take the last of the flood up to Reedham, which is exactly what we did, however, even with 6ft 9ins showing on the height gauge, we would have got under the road bridge, but would have hit the iron bridge.

 

I do wonder when we (and yes, i`ve done it myself) all criticize the hirers, but they can only go on what information they are given, so if you have wildly inaccurate bridge height gauges, and an agent that says this boat will take you all over the broads when it won`t , there`s bound to be several accidents waiting to happen.

 

We spoke to numerous people last week who said this was their first boating holiday, and nearly all of them were on high level boats, and knew nothing about bridge clearances. With this in mind, i wonder if Alpha craft are the victims of an overzealous and misinforming marketing strategy by an agent keen to take the money, or could it be that all this is happening because too many people are "booking online", and have no chance of being informed of the cruising restrictions on a particular type of boat.

[jeffbroadslover]

Speedtriple,   I agree with what you say.

 

Do you think that the lack of information from the booking agent could be because the person on the other end of the phone has little or no idea what they are taking a booking for.

 

Probably don't know that bridges exist on the broads and that the water level can go up and down.

 

When the agent was based on the broads they at least had staff who knew what the Broads were !

 

 

Jeff

[Matt]

They build boats what people want. And that appears to be "high top" ones. I for one would love to be able to shower without having to stoop down!

[Cheesey]

Or a general down on bathtub type boats.

You get the general feeling that some consider these designs as not true boats.

Indeed Richardsons have a boat that just can't cruise on the southern broads.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Just a few points,all hire boats give advice what bridges they can not pass through.I am sure this is backed up with the folder giving info on all hire boats.Also people are and should be responsible for there actions.

 

Last year at Wroxham,some yoyo thought he could get through thuebridge it was clear there was not enough space.My tip if you don't think you can't get under don't try.

 

 

Ian.

[Wussername]

The pilots at Potter and Wroxham gun the boats through to gain that extra inch.

Do you think that some holiday makers try and copy this procedure? And fail.

Depending of course on conditions, for example no wind, no tidal flow to speak off, what is wrong in inching the boat very slowly towards the bridge and "walking" it through by hand using the bridge roof.

If you find you are in any doubt simply reverse out.

With a fixed cabin roof you best stay put.

[jeffbroadslover]

Hi Ian,

 

I agree that most boatyards do mention if a boat will NOT go through Wroxham, Potter and sometimes Beccles.

 

I cannot ever remember seeing in any brochure that a boat will not go through the two bridges at Thorpe.

 

 

Jeff

[Oddfellow]

There is a clear indicator of height on each hire boat as required by the licensing terms and we are audited on our handover procedure each year to ensure that we comply. 

 

Each boat in my fleet represents an income stream that we cannot do without and I suspect that this must be the same for every other yard. We're very careful with our instructions to customers on bridges. 

[Wussername]

There is a clear indicator of height on each hire boat as required by the licensing terms and we are audited on our handover procedure each year to ensure that we comply. 

 

Do all boatyards have to comply with an audit with regard to handover procedure? Who carries out the audit and what form does it take?

I am aware Andy that your company has a very high standard of handover which I suspect is not only of benefit to your customers but to your company as well in reducing down time due to repairs.

[MauriceMynah]

Thank you Andy for bringing back a little sanity to the discussion.

Who was most likely to be in error,

The boat yard, for not giving proper instructions to this particular holiday maker, or,

The hirer, perhaps thinking he knew better than the yard.?

 

People these days think that firstly they know better and second that when it's proved that they don't, it's always someone else's fault.

[Oddfellow]

The Broads Authority is the licensing authority for boat hire operations on the Broads and it is the BA that monitors and audits all licensed operators. 

 

The system is rather fallible, if I am honest, but one of the absolute key points on an audit is checking that the air draft is listed by the helm position. 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

One thing that people don`t seem to pick up on is the point i obviously did`nt put across properly. The amount of first time hirers we talked to had no idea about tides and bridges. That comes down to the fact they have obviously NOT either been given, or have failed for whatever reason to understand any information regarding bridge heights, be it verbal or written.

 

Several of us on this forum have probablly read posts in the past regarding handovers and trial runs, and some people have reported either a stupidly short handover, and sometimes WITHOUT a trial run. It`s been posted in black and white on THIS forum before, so my comments above are more than valid.

 

We all know the yards stipulate their handovers are very thorough, but the fact has been proven, that sometimes, they are`nt as thorough as they prophess.

 

How many first time hirers are even aware that there are low bridges, or bridges where acess is restricted due to tidal differences, and i mean customers asking the hirefleets, not the fleets giving information. i bet you can count the number on the fingers of one hand?. It would be good to hear from Andy (Freedom) or Clive (Richardsons) of how many first time hirers actually ask about bridges when they first enquire and book a boat, i wonder what the answer will be?. 

 

I`d like to point out, that last sentance is in NO way meant as a criticism to Andy or Clive, just an honest question.

[Wonderwall]

Anytime I have hired a boat, they always enquirie how often I have done so before. So the hire companies are looking for a degree of honesty here, and I'm sure they can quite accurately gauge your level of competence and knowledge from the handover.

Also the clearance is always marked next to the wheel, and all bridges give you a height check well in advance . There is also a lot of info in the skippers manual. Apart from babysitting you for a week is their really much more they can do? Some people are just ignorant/thick and beyond any advice.

[kfurbank]

All the hire boats I have seen have the height in feet and inches some where close to the helm that is required to pass under. As Andy has stated that is a requirement of the licensing authority. All the bridges have a height gauge on approach, sometimes two. The only other thing that is needed is a brain cell to work out whether the boat you are on, by looking at the information in front of you, will pass the bridge by looking at the gauge in front of you. Hardly rocket science, the rest is all semantics. Even a bad handover cannot excuse anyone for not looking where they are going and working out whether they will fit. Most people drive and roads have all manner of height restrictions and occasionally width restrictions. I'm not saying on one hits these, but very rarely and if they do, it can only be their fault.

 

So do I have sympathy for Alphacraft? Well it all depends on whether they use the dreaded CDW or a deposit system, because IMHO the CDW is the reason for most of the nonsense that takes place on The Broads.

[Baitrunner]

I wonder how long a full and concise handover regarding tides, mooring, bridge heights etc would take ? Maybe it should be compulsory to have a skipper ticket?
All this would not be good for the hire companies.
When you hire a car then assume you know that your doing cause you have a licence. They don't quiz or test you.
You can still do all this and the Pratt who didn't listen or knows it all will still hit a bridge. I know someone like that (luckily they didn't hit a bridge).
Part of the fun as we all know is the preparation, looking at tide times, bridge heights and distance to our next mooring spot.
Some people think its all a laugh and think how hard can it be?
You could lock it down and maybe kill the hire companies or we can just hope that some people might learn from their mishaps, no one gets hurt and the boats aren't damaged too badly.
I sincerely sympathise with the hire companies. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
I have posted on here that I have tried to help 2 such foolhardy skippers who still chose NOT to accept any advice!

Edited June 8, 2015 by BroadScot
NOT added Mark ;-)