Aquafibre Opal 28 for survey at Norfolk Yacht Agency

Today i was Surveying this Aquafibre Opal 28 at Norfolk Yacht Agency. She was one of their stock boats. NYA stock vessels are pre inspected by their Service Centre and then prepared for sale.  In most cases their preparation will include a polish, antifoul and engine service where necessary. After handover, the engines and gearboxes are warranted against major faults for 3 months.

Aquafibre were a prolific manufacturer of boat shells - these were then outfitted by a variety of boatyards, including Brooms of Brundall. Unfortunately Aquafibre ceased trading in 2009, marking the end of an era in Norfolk boat building. Aquafibre have been producing Broadland craft since the late 1960s, evolving from designs by Bourne Mouldings, although prior to the wholly fibreglass boats, they were producing Elysian hulls with hand built wooden superstructures. You will often also notice Aquafibre craft badged with different names depending on the outfitter. You will notice firstly the earlier designs only have a length figure, whilst the later designs have 'class' names, and secondly the majority of the designs were produced in two sizes.

Bounty 40 Motor Cruiser

I had the morning at Sutton Staithe Boatyard today Surveying this Bounty 40ft Motor Cruiser. New in 1990, a well laid out 40ft x 12ft centre cockpit, with up to eight berths. Most were built to the standard layout. This included an aft cabin that could be set out as two singles or a double, a twin cabin, bathroom and galley opposite. The raised saloon has a large settee which converts to a large double at night. The forward cabin featured a double with en-suite. The central canopy slides down to make them ideal for all weathers.

As with most models the engine is located aft, on hydraulic drive to minimise noise or needing the cabin layout to accommodate it.

Most recently the model has been produced as the “Silverline 40”, by Silverline Marine of Brundall in spacious 4 berth or original layout design.

Dragon Fly in the sheds for her paint job at Sutton Staithe Boatyard, beautiful.... 

Rinker Fiesta Vee 342 for Survey at Norfolk Yacht Agency

Today's assignment was at Norfolk Yacht Agency in Brundall surveying this Rinker American Sports Cruiser. Rinker Boat Company is one of the oldest names in the US marine industry. They introduced their "Fiesta Vee" line of sport cruisers over 20 years ago in 1986 with the Fiesta Vee 250. This Fiesta Vee 342 continued the company's tradition of offering affordable boats with spacious interiors and an impressive array of standard equipment.

This model was introduced in 1998 as the 330 Fiesta Vee. Slight changes to interior arrangements resulted in a name change, to the 340 Fiesta Vee for the 2000 and 2001 model years. After retooling the deck mold, she became the Fiesta Vee 342 from 2002-2005. In 2006 Rinker dropped their signature "Fiesta Vee" from all their models and she became simply the 342 EC - EC indicating express cruiser. The model was discontinued at the end of the 2006 model year.

The 12-foot beam allows for a spacious and open interior with a few twists on more traditional arrangements. 

Surveyors comments: The hull of the 342 Fiesta Vee is constructed of a combination of chopped strand fibers, hand-laid woven roving fiberglass cloth and polyester resin. Structural member are fiberglass encapsulated wood. For interior components, Rinker uses a single piece fiberglass cabin liner which is set into the hull and secured using adhesive sealants. The decks are fiberglass composites with balsa core and the hull and deck are joined in a shoebox fashion with adhesive sealants and stainless steel screws. The method and quality of construction are typical of other manufacturers of production boats in this size and price range and the 342 Fiesta Vee can be expected to stand up well to normal service. That said, she may not fare as well as more robustly built boats in extreme use or abuse.

Bourne Cruiser for sale

Bourne 35 for sale in Acle. Asking 16k. The Bourne 35 was designed by R.M. 'Rip' Martinsin the early 1960's and built by a Nottingham firm called Bourne Plastics, after the work was turned down by Halmatic. The original order was for twelve hulls, six for R.Moores and six for Herbert Woods, the first hull being delivered in 1962. He then set up the name 'Griffin Craft' to market the hulls. Originally known as the Griffin 35, it soon became known as the Bourne 35^[1].

Aquafibre also moulded the 35ft hull, originally designed by Rip Martins which became the basis of the Aquafibre 35, and a number of old Bourne 35s have been renovated by replacing the wooden superstructure with a modern Aquafibre 35 design.

This example had been used as a live aboard for the last number of years and is ready to go. Email me at steventruss1@aol.com for more info...

Freeman 26 for Survey

I had a trip down to Loddon on the South Broads at Jonathon Greenways yard this morning to Survey this Freeman 26.

Using the same hull as the Freeman 25, the Freeman 26's superstructure was developed from the Freeman 22 Mk2. You can see the return of the step in the deck and the larger cabin windows. The Freeman 26 offers larger accommodation and together with the Freeman 22 Mk2 formed the back bone of what was generally known as the Freeman range.

These craft are essentially a stretched version of the smaller 22 and 23 model. Over 300 were built between 1965 and 1973.
A shallow V hull with long keel allows for easy, slow speed handling. 

Surveyors comments: Its well documented that many of the older Freeman models get some Osmosis. (blistering in the gelcoat below the waterline). Experience has shown that early treatment of osmotic boats tends to be less successful than treatment of vessels with more advanced problems. While this may seem to contradict normal precautionary practice, it has been found that breakdown reactions in GRP laminates take some time to reach their conclusion; and if treatment is carried out prematurely it is much more difficult to remove reactive or hygroscopic compounds from the laminate, with the result that a recurrence of osmosis is much more likely to occur. The overriding factor must always be the integrity and safety of the hull. Osmosis in its early stages is very much a chemical condition, which usually has very little effect on the hull strength.