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Rio light 1


Mondeoman

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Hello Mondoman,

Welcome to the NBN forum from Tan & myself.

Sorry I do not know about Rio Light 1, but here is a link to the Herbert Woods site giving information on the boat.

https://www.herbertwoods.co.uk/boating-holidays/our-boats/rio-light.html

My guess is that one of our forum members will have more information.

Regards

Alan

 

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A very warm welcome aboard from me :wave Not been on that particular Boat but have hired from Herbert Woods in the past, we had a bit of a problem with a Boat we hired from them and have to say they were first class in dealing with it, even gave us an extra nights holiday, you definitely won't go wrong with your choice of Hire yard,

Grace

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Hi Mondeoman and welcome to the NBN Forum:wave

Now, with regards to Rio1 I have personally walked through that craft, but not hired it. Would I hire that boat, well no is my answer. Visability from the inside steering position is not good, a nightmare I would think, for stern on moorings if too wet to use the upper helm.

The rear half is quite a stoop to the grab rails even for smaller members of the crew not forgetting lifejackets a must wear while on deck. The seating in the saloon at the bow is a bit low getting in and out  if you are tall. The beds look a good size,in the pics, but I think are a bit on the narrow size. The boat is however, well fitted out. But its not one for me. You make your own choice as they say, I am just pointing out possible pitfalls that may spoil your holiday.

With regard to the boatyard, itself, I cannot fault the service from the minute we booked till the takeover of Gleaming Light. Happy boat hunting!:)

cheersIain.

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Likewise Mondeoman, welcome. Interestingly I post on a number of forums as Mondeoman, mostly car based. I did have to double check when I saw the name that you were not me!

Rio Light. 

Firstly, I doubt you'll regret choice of boatyard. Herbert Woods are one of the longest established yards and have a good reputation. With regards to the boat then this design divides opinion. The idea was to provide a boat with outside steering which would still pass under Broads bridges but there are some compromises, mostly with regard to the helms. I must say at this point I have not been on Rio, but have been on Barnes Brinkcraft's Brink of Day which is identical. I'll deal with the bad bits first, get them out of the way.

The lower helm suffers restricted vision, as Iain has said. You can navigate along the river reasonably safely, it's not dangerously bad or anything but the slope of the front of the boat and the fact you sit a little way back from the front screen means you only get to see along the river, there's no skyward view. The curtains get in the way but you get round that by tucking them up (we took them down in the end). The upper helm is the real issue. The wheel is very, very low down so you have to reach forward and lean down to it. It's a real back breaker. Fifteen minutes of that and I needed a day in traction to straighten the back out. I ended up putting cushions on the upper helm seat and steering with my foot. Stern mooring is not a real problem, but you have to do it from the outside helm, if it's raining just pop a mac on for a few minutes.

The plus sides for this boat are that it offers great social areas. The front seating area is excellent. I'm 5'10 and suffer claustrophobia but didn't have any issues with the lowering roofline, though you do have to stoop in and out a little. But it is a very comfortable seating area, probably the best of any boat we have hired. It would be very good with children who can sit at the table and see what's happening as you cruise along. Likewise the upper deck offers a nice social seating area, and is good for kids being reasonably well enclosed. The level of fit out was very good on Brink, and HW's Rio will be no different. 

As with any boat, it is swings and roundabouts and whether it suits you depends on your priorities. If you want a very comfortable, well appointed boat then she fits that. If ease of helming is your priority it is probably not the best. 

 

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:party:Thanks for the replys.we are coming up with 2 teenagers and a dog so we wanted a large seating areaand a couple have mentioned about the inside steering position visibility,well we r coming up in august so ill be steering from the outside helm because the weather is going to be fantastic ,right?

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