Hello from the Norfolk Broads!!

[Pastseeker]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and just in need of your advice.

Ok let me start with that i live in Norfolk and new to boating even though im near to the broads.

I'm considering a widebeam boat with the live aboard lifestyle. I really don't like the grp or the style of the boats here and love the look of canal boats. So the advice I'm seeking is how well would a wide beam canal boat cope with the tidal currents associated with the broads?..

Thanks

Jim

Edited April 13, 2018 by Pastseeker

[rasputin]

i'd be surprised if any boat on the norfolk broads had problems with the tidal current

 

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, rasputin said:

i'd be surprised if any boat on the norfolk broads had problems with the tidal current

 

Get down in Gt Yarmouth and you need to know what you are doing

[Phil Ambrose]

4 minutes ago, rasputin said:

i'd be surprised if any boat on the norfolk broads had problems with the tidal current

 

Tides .can run out at 6knots easy 

Phil 

[ditchcrawler]

14 minutes ago, Pastseeker said:

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and just in need of your advice.

Ok let me start with that i live in Norfolk and new to boating even though im near to the broads.

I'm considering a widebeam boat with the live aboard lifestyle. I really don't like the grp or the style of the boats here and love the look of canal boats. So the advice I'm seeking is how well would a wide beam canal boat cope with the tidal currents associated with the broads?..

Thanks

Jim

I would do a bit more homework on living on the Broads before you decide what sort and size of boat you want. Thinking moorings and cruising with a big lump of steel.

[rasputin]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Get down in Gt Yarmouth and you need to know what you are doing

yes but...you don't need to do that do you, and if you did you would make sure you had the tide with you

 

[Phil Ambrose]

D.C. is correct, we lived aboard on the Broads for 10 years so do have a little knowledge

Phil 

[rasputin]

1 minute ago, Phil Ambrose said:

D.C. is correct, we lived aboard on the Broads for 10 years so do have a little knowledge

Phil 

and i know nothing lol

[Phil Ambrose]

2 minutes ago, rasputin said:

yes but...you don't need to do that do you, and if you did you would make sure you had the tide with you

 

If you had the tide with you you would have to be travelling in excess of 6 knots to have any steerage.

Phil 

[rasputin]

1 minute ago, Phil Ambrose said:

If you had the tide with you you would have to be travelling in excess of 6 knots to have any steerage.

Phil 

"yes but you don't need to do that"

no need to worry about the tides on most of the broads, but good to have a knowledge of them

but, I would go for a grp boat

[AllanD]

You may find it difficult to find moorings as grp owners don't always like large steel boats near them.

[Phil Ambrose]

Pastseeker, be aware that the Broads Authority have restrictions on length   also it is very difficult to CC as there are not the facilities that are found on canals.

A widebeam steel boat would need to be trucked to the Broads as there are very few narrow boats on there.

Even finding a marina that accepts live aboard are hard to find 

Phil 

[Pastseeker]

Thanks for your input I'm aware of the tides, and been looking at mooring, tolls ect.. and have consided theses costs. The question asked is would a narrow boat be hard to control on such conditions.. 

 

Thanks

Jim

[Pastseeker]

1 minute ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Pastseeker, be aware that the Broads Authority have restrictions on length   also it is very difficult to CC as there are not the facilities that are found on canals.

A widebeam steel boat would need to be trucked to the Broads as there are very few narrow boats on there.

Even finding a marina that accepts live aboard are hard to find 

Phil 

Thanks Phill,  I'm also aware of this Privite rented moorings and a selected few marinas will allow live aboard. They do come up for sale sometimes as well. 

9 minutes ago, AllanD said:

You may find it difficult to find moorings as grp owners don't always like large steel boats near them.

Same applies to grp there's a bit of snobry but I'm ok with that.

[Phil Ambrose]

Hi Jim,  provided you have enough experience and your boat has some grunt you should be able to cope OK.

Personally I would go for a 12ft GRP with a length of 40ft to 50ft, a much better boat more suited to the Broads. You can have everything in a GRP that you can have on a steel widebeam plus all year cruising is much more comfortable in a boat  rather than standing on the stern in driving rain or snow.

Phil 

[Pastseeker]

12 minutes ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Pastseeker, be aware that the Broads Authority have restrictions on length   also it is very difficult to CC as there are not the facilities that are found on canals.

A widebeam steel boat would need to be trucked to the Broads as there are very few narrow boats on there.

Even finding a marina that accepts live aboard are hard to find 

Phil 

I'm not planing on anything larger than the cruisers already on the broads, reason for wide beam is space and stability. 

3 minutes ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Hi Jim,  provided you have enough experience and your boat has some grunt you should be able to cope OK.

Personally I would go for a 12ft GRP with a length of 40ft to 50ft, a much better boat more suited to the Broads. You can have everything in a GRP that you can have on a steel widebeam plus all year cruising is much more comfortable in a boat  rather than standing on the stern in driving rain or snow.

Phil 

The problem is there no grp in the same style as canal boat or what I can find?.. 

[Phil Ambrose]

2 minutes ago, Pastseeker said:

I'm not planing on anything larger than the cruisers already on the broads, reason for wide beam is space and stability. 

Most GRP boats are 12ft beam and very stable

Phil 

[Pastseeker]

1 minute ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Most GRP boats are 12ft beam and very stable

Phil 

Thanks Phill, I really looked into this and I would say 98% boats are GRP and styled like something that Barbie and Ken would own. Just not me I'm afraid. 

[ditchcrawler]

24 minutes ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Hi Jim,  provided you have enough experience and your boat has some grunt you should be able to cope OK.

Personally I would go for a 12ft GRP with a length of 40ft to 50ft, a much better boat more suited to the Broads. You can have everything in a GRP that you can have on a steel widebeam plus all year cruising is much more comfortable in a boat  rather than standing on the stern in driving rain or snow.

Phil 

As a Narrowboat owner I would agree with that

 

[Traveller]

I lived on the Broads until a few months ago. I also gave up cruising the Broads as there is only about 130 miles of navigable waterway, assuming you can get under all the bridges. Residential moorings are few and fare between and facilities are very limited, that includes casual moorings and residential moorings. In the summer the Broads are crowded (over-crowded at times) and finding a mooring can be very difficult. They are a fine place to sail and an ok place to holiday cruise if you like that sort of thing. For residential purposes they are not good, continuous cruising would not work imo - there are not enough places to go or facilities to take advantage of. But its your shout of course.

[Tony Brooks]

9 hours ago, Pastseeker said:

I'm not planing on anything larger than the cruisers already on the broads, reason for wide beam is space and stability. 

The problem is there no grp in the same style as canal boat or what I can find?.. 

Apart from not having to stand out in the wind and and to steer I don't see much difference between the Caribbean & Bounty Buccaneer style GRP boats and the wide beam so called narrow boats. Some Caribbeans even had water filled keels that would make them even more stable. I suspect this was accidental rather than by design).

[Phil Ambrose]

18 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Apart from not having to stand out in the wind and and to steer I don't see much difference between the Caribbean & Bounty Buccaneer style GRP boats and the wide beam so called narrow boats. Some Caribbeans even had water filled keels that would make them even more stable. I suspect this was accidental rather than by design).

Tony is perfectly correct, the boat we lived on for 10 years was indeed a Broads Tub, a Caribbean 40' x 12' and as steady as a rock . Plenty of room for all the kit that  goes with living aboard, washing machine, tumble dryer, full size under counter 12v fridge, ditto freezer. Heating from 3 sources , Makuni, Propex and 8kw Glembring drip feed diesel heater. 500w of solar too.

The boat had a forward well deck which I  fully glazed in with doors either side, windscreen wipers and screen demisters and in the winter we would cruise comfortably in the warmth and dry of our boat while the rain was slashing down  .

Phil 

Edited April 14, 2018 by Phil Ambrose

[bizzard]

Broads boat opposite me.  No broads on it though.

[carlt]

13 hours ago, AllanD said:

You may find it difficult to find moorings as grp owners don't always like large steel boats near them.

Is the opinion of other boat owners relevant to where you wish to moor?

Is it not up to the owner of the mooring who moors there?

[Tony Brooks]

46 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Broads boat opposite me.  No broads on it though.

The only thing I would say about that type is that sliding cockpit roofs are difficult to make totally draft proof so not so good for winter live-aboarding. I know some have sealed them up.