LODDON MARINE SERVICES

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Based in the old Aston and Princess yard buildings in Loddon. I`ve seen them on faceache, and wonder if they`re a new set up, or just the existing members of Princess cruisers who`ve taken over the operation?. I think it`s run buy a chap called Rory Freeman, anybody have any better info?.

[Matt]

https://loddonmarineservices.wordpress.com/2016/01/13/loddon-marine-services-about-us/

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Matt,

I have just included Loddon Marine Services into our information pages.

Regards

Alan

[webntweb]

Remember mooring in that basin in 1966 and catching some nice roach.

Had a pump out there about 2 years ago. The equipment was antiquated and took ages to pump out, but it emptied fine.

I presume it's new owners now, so probably updated equipment.

Interesting to see on the website they have holiday moorings - could be very useful in peak season.

Roy

[LizG]

Also remember mooring there on the day after England won the World cup. We had no radio on board..., 

[Labrador]

On 16/01/2016 at 3:50 PM, webntweb said:

Remember mooring in that basin in 1966 and catching some nice roach.

Had a pump out there about 2 years ago. The equipment was antiquated and took ages to pump out, but it emptied fine.

I presume it's new owners now, so probably updated equipment.

Interesting to see on the website they have holiday moorings - could be very useful in peak season.

Roy

I too remember mooring there in the early 60's, only difference was, the roach caught me when I fell in!!

[BuffaloBill]

I took this which I believe was Loddon basin in 1964.

Dawn Huntress from Dawncraft Wroxham. On the bow

is my sister and in the saloon is my mother and father

and a mate I used to work with, Dave.

[LondonRascal]

Only until recently I had ever heard of this former yard, so nice to see a photo of when it was going with the old Shell fuel pump too.

What cute fenders Dawn Huntress had though.

 

[LizG]

There's a Janet Anne in the background as well - reg number is just about visible?

[webntweb]

Is that a Glistening Light? Looks a bit long to be a Highlight.

[webntweb]

Here's another one Robin. Constellation 2 in Sept 66.

Roy

[trambo]

Definitely a Highlight but I would date the photograph later, around 1966/7 as the Elysian 34s only started to appear on the Broads then. Notice the Elysian is not sporting a house flag but I think if it had one it would have been the Jenners flag that the whole group flew. Princess Cruisers ( which I think was the first boatyard established after the post-war dredging of the Chet) became the Aston base in 1968. Up till then they had been in what is Bill Maxted's yard. Lovely photograph of                    Constellation II.

[BroadScot]

I wonder when Jim Prior the MP became involved at Astons? I saw him at the yard a couple of times.

 Iain

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I did post on here some old photo`s of my first holiday on the Broads, in the Aston Yard. They had all the old Seamaster 28s lined up in front of the shop and office, and there were a few of the old Cairn and Lion class too. I`l try and dig back through the pages sometime, and post on here.  It was in June 1970 by the way, and i had my 12th birthday on Aston Orion, which i thnk was a year old. The Mars class was in its first season, and beside the office, were all the new hull and superstructure moulds for the Thames class. I remember the hull and deck, with the fwd window panels were together, but the rest of the superstructure, side, coachroof etc were all in individual panel form, so i assume they were all screwed and glassed toger on assembly?. Theyard back then had a spit of land going out across the basin , which meant there was a much smaller entrance into the basin. Now it`s all pontoon moorings.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

It would really be something if they tidy the yard right up, and even look into running a small, but immaculate fleet like Astons had.

[BuffaloBill]

16 hours ago, trambo said:

definitely a Highlight but I would date the photograph later, around 1966/7 as the Elysian 34s only started to appear on the Broads then. Notice the Elysian is not sporting a house flag but I think if it had one it would have been the Jenners flag that the whole group flew.

If you are refering to Dawn Huntress Trambo, why would it

be flying a Jenners flag when we hired it from Dawncraft?

As for the year, Iv'e just looked up the photo and on the

back it was written by my father as 1965 and Loddon

basin but that could have been Princess Cruisers I suppose.

 

[BuffaloBill]

I also just found this pennant of Dawncraft too.

[JanetAnne]

22 hours ago, BuffaloBill said:

I took this which I believe was Loddon basin in 1964.

Dawn Huntress from Dawncraft Wroxham. On the bow

is my sister and in the saloon is my mother and father

and a mate I used to work with, Dave.

Oh that is definitely one of me in the background! Anyone make the number out? If its B586 I will break out my secret quality street stash..

[BuffaloBill]

JA, here's another shot taken at the same time but now someone else has moored beside us!

I notice from this shot, the trees next to the pump so I'm assuming that this is on the public staithe rather than in Princess Cruisers yard. 

Iv'e scanned this in HD to try and give a better photo of 'JanetAnne' if it is her.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Bill,

The number on the boat in the first picture is very difficult to read but from what I can see this appears to start with B4 rather than B5.

Regards

Alan

[BuffaloBill]

Hi Alan. Are we talking about Huntress or 'JA'?

Edited to add that Iv'e scanned the first photo again in as high a resolution as possible but can't improve it enough to read the number!

[ranworthbreeze]

2 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

Hi Alan. Are we talking about Huntress or 'JA'?

Hi Bill,

JA.

Regards

Alan

[BuffaloBill]

Ok. Iv'e now added the re-scanned photo and it would 'appear' to have the name 'Highlight' which is just about visible over the cabin of Huntress.

Iv'e looked through a lot more photo's but can't find any more of Loddon from that holiday.

[ranworthbreeze]

Here are a few pictures of Loddon basin by Francis Firth.

http://www.francisfrith.com/loddon/loddon-basin-c1965_l369016

Regards

Alan

[trambo]

Hi Bill, Nice photographs.

The reason I said she would be flying the Jenners flag is that the three Huntress classes, Dawn (Dawncraft), Gay (Jenners) and Sea (A. G. Ward) were part of Jenners rapid expansion in the mid sixties. Boats from any of their yards flew their house flag and not the home bases. This was even though Blakes Brochures of the time showed the Dawncraft flag as plain red with the white lettering DAWN-CRAFT. The pennant you scanned was that of O. A. King which became Dawncraft in the mid fifties and was reverted to when the yard was sold and marketed by Hoseasons.

In the sixties I was more than a bit of a boat nerd and kept exercise books full of jottings. I noticed in one of these that i remarked that the Dawncraft boats seemed to be in a much better condition than the rest of the Jenners fleets.

The boat that moors alongside when you are topping up with water is Ferry Commandeer from the Ferry Boatyard at Horning and was that yards last wooden built class of boats. the first dating to 1966.

Best regards

Fred

p.s. Every time I typed Dawncraft, wonderful spellcheck changed it to Downdraft