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Durley and Hurst Boatbuilders

hillbilly

By hillbilly
in General Boating

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Dutch Collaborator

Dutch

Posted
Posted
Hi, has anyone out there got a boat by Dursley and Hurst, boatfitters? Considering getting one as price is good but need to know more about the quality etc. Do you have one and are you happy with everything?

My 50ft is a Dursley & Hurst fit out and to be honest is very poor in both workmanship and materials,bad fitting doors and poor finishing throughout.

Mick

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Feather boater Gongoozler

Feather boater

Posted
Posted
Hi, has anyone out there got a boat by Dursley and Hurst, boatfitters? Considering getting one as price is good but need to know more about the quality etc. Do you have one and are you happy with everything?

 

Hello there...

 

Just read your question about Dursley & Hurst boatbuilders.

 

We are second time customers of Dursley & Hurst our first boat was built 18 months ago. When cruising the system it became obvious that boats built by the original company owners are really quite poor compared to ours made by Tony and Wayne who I think took over the company at the start of 2006. There is simply no comparison in what was built before this date to what is been being produced now. We have recently ordered our second boat from them so we feel we are in an ideal position to comment on their quality and after sales etc...Furthermore on a personal note they really are genuinely nice people to work with. They provide sound practical advice giving un-biased pros and cons to all our quirky requirements.

 

Our original boat was put up for sale due to the layout not being suitable for exteded cruising, problems that would not have been avoided if we had listened to Tony and Wayne at the time of design. The 18 month old boat was sold last month for £75k (not bad for a boat that cost us £62k).

Any wonder we've ordered another one from them !

 

Not sure if you've actually been to see them or just spoke on the phone...certainly worth a vist.

 

Kate

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Dutch Collaborator

Dutch

Posted
Posted (edited)
Hello there...

 

Just read your question about Dursley & Hurst boatbuilders.

 

We are second time customers of Dursley & Hurst our first boat was built 18 months ago. When cruising the system it became obvious that boats built by the original company owners are really quite poor compared to ours made by Tony and Wayne who I think took over the company at the start of 2006. There is simply no comparison in what was built before this date to what is been being produced now. We have recently ordered our second boat from them so we feel we are in an ideal position to comment on their quality and after sales etc...Furthermore on a personal note they really are genuinely nice people to work with. They provide sound practical advice giving un-biased pros and cons to all our quirky requirements.

 

Our original boat was put up for sale due to the layout not being suitable for exteded cruising, problems that would not have been avoided if we had listened to Tony and Wayne at the time of design. The 18 month old boat was sold last month for £75k (not bad for a boat that cost us £62k).

Any wonder we've ordered another one from them !

 

Not sure if you've actually been to see them or just spoke on the phone...certainly worth a vist.

 

Kate

Well Tony and Wayne must of been having a bad day when the did mine it is very poor indeed

Edited by Dutch
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  • 3 weeks later...
dmart Gongoozler

dmart

Posted
Posted
Hi, has anyone out there got a boat by Dursley and Hurst, boatfitters? Considering getting one as price is good but need to know more about the quality etc. Do you have one and are you happy with everything?

 

Hi,

 

In reply to your query regarding Dursley & Hurst and having read the further comments, I would suggest, if you live near enough, to go and see them and have a look at the quality of their work. I have found them very helpful and always willing to answer any of my questions, by phone, email, or in person.

This is my second boat from them now and I'am very satisfied with it.

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Dutch Collaborator

Dutch

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

In reply to your query regarding Dursley & Hurst and having read the further comments, I would suggest, if you live near enough, to go and see them and have a look at the quality of their work. I have found them very helpful and always willing to answer any of my questions, by phone, email, or in person.

This is my second boat from them now and I'am very satisfied with it.

 

[/quote

:lol::lol::lol:

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Gary Peacock Veteran

Gary Peacock

Posted
Posted (edited)

It does often cross my mind how many folk actually do know what they have purchased.

 

Is the hull a great one or bloody awful?

 

Is the fit out done using good materials by skilled people or materials bought at B&Q (Sorry B&Q!) by a couple of guys who used to fit built in wardrobes?

 

Most certainly regardless it would receive rave reviews in the waterways rags with extra dollops of praise directly proportional to advertising budget already spent or promised to be spent by the builder.

 

From my experiences what owners see is very often through rose tinted glasses I have seen many cheap boats with hulls and fit out that are of a quality that is good for what was paid but what is scary is the number of not so cheap boats from builders with large advertising budgets and sometimes fairly renowned names whose latest boat is bloody terrible!

 

The problem is that without you have a good grasp of what you are looking at or know a bit about what was involved in building the thing then trying to work out if it's a diamond or in need of the services of the proverbial "Turd polisher" is not easy is it?

Edited by Gary Peacock
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dor Veteran II

dor

Posted
Posted
Hhhhmmm. Critise a boatbuider on this forum and a couple of new members materialise out of no where and jump to the defense!!

 

Mr Durley and Mr Hurst?

 

Doesn't really do them any favours does it?

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  • 1 year later...
morganeer Gongoozler

morganeer

Posted
Posted

I have just found this thread on Dursley and Hurst and find some of the comments contrary to my family's experience. It's all about expectations; no good wanting a Rolls Royce finish when you're paying for a Model T.

We bought a D&H boat in 2004 for 2 main reasons;

i) it was cheaper than most and ii) the company owners were honest enough to say "if you want fancy joinery, don't come to us".

At that time the average price for most budget builders was around £1000/foot; D&H were offering £800/foot. You were delivered a "standard" boat on a with very limited changes 7 weeks after the John White shell was delivered; this helped keep the price down. OK, the woodwork was basic and unpretentious - we hardly expected anything different - but the boat itself was fine; unfortunately 6 years on the layout no longer suited the way we used the boat. So, it was either refurbish or buy new.

Visiting Tony and Wayne - who took over running the business 3 or 4 years ago - we were impressed with their attitude, the improved quality and the variation in design that could be accommodated for just over £1050/foot. So we opted for a new boat and sold the old one within a few weeks and without a problem. Given that we were content not to have a rigid delivery date the whole process has been a happy and exciting project. We have been around the canals for 25 years and have firm ideas of what we want; Wayne and Tony have incorporated our wishes and added their own ideas. We will be afloat again next week.

 

They must be doing something right - in these straightened times when many more up market builders have ceased trading, D&H can boast an 18 month order book.

 

Incidentally, we are no relation to anyone at D&H - just satisfied customers second time round

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Tiggers Community Regular

Tiggers

Posted
Posted

Although I have no experience with the company (mainly because I work for another boat builders!) I cannot comment on the quality, all I can say is that the best thing to do is go and visit them and have a look at their work yourself. Morganeer is very right too, in this business, you really do get what you pay for, and if you go for a boat around the £60k mark, of course the quality is not going to be up to the same spec as say an RW Davis, Braidbar or (*cough*) William Piper (*cough*).

 

If you go visit, and you like what you see, then go for it. Just make sure you see as many people as possible. :)

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mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

VERY curious thread - 2 first time posters, with positive comments about said boat building firm?! I'd be persuaded by comments by posters with dozens of posts behind them - but this stretches even my cynicism!

 

:D

Whats up with you bloody southerners ? cant you call a spade a spade? what you all mean is that the two bullshit newbie posters are quite likely the very same Tony and Wayne or mates of theirs, now please say what you mean ;)

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Guest

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Posted
Posted

Why suddenly re-start a 2 year old thread?

 

Why not? it's an interesting point in the current climate.

 

I remember a builder at Crick last year who made a similar comment to me along the lines of 'we're not time served joiners' but see what you think. They had a full order book then and the same builder was there this year and they still do again.

 

The boats were fine - they looked perfectly acceptable to my untrained eye and I would be happy to own one of their boats, and you wouldn't need to sell a vital organ to buy one. They clearly have found a niche in the current climate.

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