Fairline Sunfury Survey at Norfolk Yacht Agency - Freshwater Harbor

I was down at Freshwater Harbor this morning. This is the third service station now owned by Norfolk Yacht Agency. Their Centres are equipped with lift-out facilities, joinery machine shop and engineering workshops and they are able to carry out all types of work from routine maintenance to full renovation and fit-out projects.

These boats were the first range of the true sports cruisers developed by Fairline. Bernard Olesinski started the modern era with his designs which still are used today. This deep V planing hull craft is designed with performance in mind. The original 26 has 4 conventional cabined berths. The Sunfury has a rear cabin arrangement with large cockpit.

This heralded the design ethos of large sociable cockpits for warm sunny use often found in Europe. All models were outdriven. Powered usually by Volvo petrol/diesel engines.

Surveyors comments:

Fairline Sunfury 26 Typical Specifications

(Specifications may vary between boats)

• Length: 26ft 4ins/8.03m
• Year: 1981 - 1989
• Berths: 4
• Engine: various outdrive
• Beam: 10ft/3.06m
• Draught: 2ft 6ins/0.76m

This sale was 'As Traded In' and means these boats are sold as seen in the same way as a brokerage boat would be. These tend to be older or smaller boats, they are sold without warranty of any sort and are often priced accordingly.

Alphacraft 31 river cruiser for sale with BoatshedNorfolk.com

I was Surveying this Alphacraft 31 again today at Bells Marina in Brundall. Ive now inspected her three times since she was first built in 2008. She is a rare boat, an Alpha hull fitted out by Rod Russel Marine in South Walsham. Since 1967, Alphacraft has been designing and building river boats. In this time, almost every hirer across the Norfolk Broads has an Alpha model in their fleet- and this is still true today.

The company was founded by Langford Jillings, and remains a family run business with Langford and two sons Langford Junior and Paul.

A long established family boatyard which designs and builds all its own boats which means that the range on offer has been developed to match the needs of today’s Broads holidaymakers.   

Surveyors comments: This Alpha 31 is a great cruiser for the Norfolk Broads / inland waterways with a lot of space and well design for extended cruising.

Thinking of Buying a Boat on the Norfolk Broads and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at:  steventruss1@aol.com

Broads National Park makes debut at London show

The Broads National Park name will make its debut at the UK’s largest outdoor show in London this week.

Stunning new images of the Broads together with brochures on all that the area has to offer will be exhibited at the Telegraph Outdoor Adventure and Travel Show at Excel from Thursday February 12th to Sunday February 15th.

Hot off the press is this year’s Eating Out in the Broads guide, featuring some of the best eateries in the park, which has been sponsored by Richardson’s Boating Holidays and the Eastern Daily Press. The new Enjoy the Broads brochure will promote the range of activities on offer from boating, cycling and canoeing to fishing, walking, wildlife watching as well as places to stay.
 

The stand, sponsored by Richardson’s, will also be promoting the two-week Broads Outdoors Festival which takes place from Saturday May 2nd to Sunday May 17th.

Bruce Hanson, Tourism Officer for the Broads Authority, said: “With the coming season already showing an increase in bookings, we hope to make a promising season in Britain’s magical waterland even better. We will be in the right place at the right time to target outdoor loving people who are planning their holidays right now and to show them what fantastic experiences the Broads can offer.” 

Glastron GS279 US Sports Cruiser at Norfolk Yacht Agency

Strong sales have been reported in and around the boatyards throughout the whole duration of the winter. Ive noticed people are definitely buying more boats now, no question about it. In 2015,  Im hoping things will be back at record levels!

I had the morning at Norfolk Yacht Agency in Brundall today surveying this Glastron American built sport cruiser. This was a 2002 GS279 model.

Surveyors’ comments: Good value cruiser. Glastron is a middle of the road brand, not bad, good sound company that has been in business quite a while. Check out their site and build your own boat!

Powles 38 TSMY

I was carrying out an Insurance Survey at Brundall Bay Marina this morning on this Powles 38 TCMY. The 33 & 36 were designed by Bernard Olesinski, the 41 was John Bennett. Im not sure who designed the 38. Maybe someone reading this BLOG can help. This I guess was one of the original 38’s of which most were aft cabin which later developed into the aft cockpit Super 38. I think one of the boat mags ran an article on Powles and included details of most models. I think they ranged from the 33 upto 53.

2 x Ford Mermaid diesel engines on shafts. (185HP).

I once heard that the 37 which was based upon the Broom/Ocean 37 Hull was not the boat it was intended to be. Apparently the Ocean 37 was meant to be a Powles but the management felt it too avant-gardes so was further developed by Aquafibre and marketed by Broom. The more conventional but nice Powles 37 was then born.


Surveyors comments: The hulls on these 'old girls' are very thick, so expect to see some osmosis blistering below the waterline. (its normal!). In most instances of osmosis, the structural laminate will be barely moist, and any reduction in mechanical strength will be negligible.


Thinking of Buying a Boat on the Norfolk Broads and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at:  steventruss1@aol.com.