Feedback on hire boats : what hire companies should know (and act on) !

[Justin Smith]

How many on Canalworld are hirers ? And how many of you hire a boat and find stuff, often small things, on them really annoying ? Sometimes you tell the hire companies staff and sometimes you can`t be arsed, but even if you do bother mentioning it you wonder whether anyone in a position to actually do anything about it ever gets to hear about it ? I think us long suffering hirers should get on here and boat hire company owners who are really bothered about their boats should read it and act on it !

 

Our biggest gripe about many hire boats is lack of shelves. Surely they`re a relatively easy and cheap thing to fit yet so many hire boats have hardly any. We`ve just hired Katie`s Drum from Silsden boats and in many ways it was a well equipped boat, but unfortunately that was pretty much outweighed by the fact there was a chronic lack of shelves. There were none in either bathroom, just a narrow ledge in one and none at all in the other ! Where do the boats` designers expect you to put your toilet bag ? Even your toothbrush and cup (or your falsies if necessary ! )...... On the toilet or on the floor one assumes ? ! ? The bedrooms only had a pair of 4" x 12" (approx) shelves which didn`t even have a lip on them. Useless. I ended up putting my stuff in the living area next door to our cabin but those in the middle and back cabin didn`t even have that (rather impractical) option. Yet there was plenty of room for shelves, particularly at the foot end of the bed where nobody is going to bang their heads on them. What gives ?

 

It`s also very annoying that nearly all hire boats have never got any hooks anywhere. OK maybe one or two in the bathroom(s) but that`s about it. Never for anything like coats and stuff. Us hirers usually end up having to hang them off curtain rails or whatever else can be pressed into service, particularly when they`re wet and need drying out....

Edited May 5, 2015 by Justin Smith

[Odana]

Our Black Prince boat in Scotland had shelves and cupboards galore. I was seriously impressed and filed various ideas away in my head for future reference.

[Naughty Cal]

The hire boats we hired on the Broads always had loads of storage space and more then enough shelving in place.

 

Can't say we ever found that to be a problem.

 

The larger one we hired had coat hooks in the bathroom (which did have a bath!) to hang wet clothing which was a good idea. Especially as we hired either end of the season so did get some rain thrown in.

[Skyraker]

My Anglo welsh hire (oracle) even had a multi fuel stove fire.

 

I was thrilled.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Skyraker

[Cruising Mike]

One thing hire firms need to be mindful of is damage limitation. The more accessories and decor they add to boats, the more likelihood of something getting broken.

I've hired for years, and i've never really found any issues apart from the occasional mechanical problems, which can happen after extensive use.

[Naughty Cal]

One thing hire firms need to be mindful of is damage limitation. The more accessories and decor they add to boats, the more likelihood of something getting broken.

I've hired for years, and i've never really found any issues apart from the occasional mechanical problems, which can happen after extensive use.

The worst mechanical problem we had was a gearbox failure between Great Yarmouth and Stracey. It dumped all of its oil into the bilges and seized up. We had to be towed in Yarmouth and the gearbox was replaced at the side of the river.

[Cruising Mike]

Once as a kid, we were unfortunate that my Uncle's boat broke down in a middle of a tunnel (can't remember which one) and we have to resort to the old fashioned way and leg the boat through.

At the other end, we moored up and went to the pub above while we waited for an engineer friend to come over and have a look.

[Dave Payne]

Vidar is an ex hire boat, we have more space than we can fill, seriously it has shelf's and cupboards galore...

 

 

Think we may have to buy more stuff than we need to fill them....

[Paul C]

A hire boat's interior storage needs to be a bit different than a private boat. Where on a private boat you can have plenty of small spaces and ornamental shelves etc, tool storage, clever little hidden places etc on a hire boat, pragmatically you're going to be bringing everything in a couple of bags, then clearing everything out again at the end of the hire period to basically, totally empty the interior for the next hirer.

[mango]

Problems with shelves and hooks don't really feature in my memories of he boats I have hired. Having to call out a boatyard four times in a week because of a lack of basic maintenance does.

 

I am generally happy with hire boats and usually try to write something on the feedback sheet or have a word with a member of staff.

[mango]

Some hire companies have arrangements to let prospective hirers look at their boats.

[Dave Payne]

All the ones we looked at before hiring had 360 tour on the sites, very handy!

[Paul C]

Some hire companies have arrangements to let prospective hirers look at their boats.

 

IMHO you'd be daft NOT to look (as in, in the flesh, visit and look at, walk in, ask questions about) the boat you're hiring. And don't look at a "sister" boat or another boat in the fleet, look at the actual boat you'd be hiring. This might mean specifically visiting a 2nd time before booking, on its handover day, if its booked out etc. Boats vary!

[cuthound]

Vidar is an ex hire boat, we have more space than we can fill, seriously it has shelf's and cupboards galore...

 

 

Think we may have to buy more stuff than we need to fill them....

Don't worry, stuff has a way of expanding to fill any storage space (and then some )

[Naughty Cal]

 

IMHO you'd be daft NOT to look (as in, in the flesh, visit and look at, walk in, ask questions about) the boat you're hiring. And don't look at a "sister" boat or another boat in the fleet, look at the actual boat you'd be hiring. This might mean specifically visiting a 2nd time before booking, on its handover day, if its booked out etc. Boats vary!

Not always viable though. We wouldn't have driven for four and a half hours to view a boat we may or may not hire.

 

We used the yards website to pick a suitable boat. Luckily they have a very thorough website.

 

http://www.barnesbrinkcraft.co.uk/our-boats/

 

On our last visit to the Broads on NC we saw both boats we had hired previously still out on hire. Breakaway 2 and Joy 1 (Was Joy 2 when we hired it but has since been renumbered)

[Justin Smith]

I have to say I`m somewhat surprised that most people on here have considered their hire boats had plenty of shelves and hooks. Both my wife and me find most hire boats to be poor in this regard particularly in the bedrooms and bathroom(s). Last year we hired Alpha Phantom on The Broads and this was part of my review for it at the time :

 

In fact there`s very little room in the bedrooms full stop.................... there`s no storage space at all in the rear bathroom (not even a shelf for your toothbrush ! ).

 

As I said Katie`s Drum (Silsden boats) was also very poor in this regard. In fact as we were unloading our boat I got talking to another group who`d had a similar boat and they too thought the provision of shelving was poor, particularly having none at all in the toilets. We agreed that was unforgiveable.

 

Is it that other hirers haven`t had a boat with no storage space in the bathrooms or that they have but don`t consider it a problem ? ! ? If it`s the latter where did you leave your toothbrush and stuff, and where did you put it when using the bathroom before going to bed !

Edited May 6, 2015 by Justin Smith

[Naughty Cal]

I have to say I`m somewhat surprised that most people on here have considered their hire boats had plenty of shelves and hooks. Both my wife and me find most hire boats to be poor in this regard particularly in the bedrooms and bathroom(s). Last year we hired Alpha Phantom on The Broads and this was part of my review for it at the time :

 

In fact there`s very little room in the bedrooms full stop.................... there`s no storage space at all in the rear bathroom (not even a shelf for your toothbrush ! ).

 

As I said Katie`s Drum (Silsden boats) was also very poor in this regard. In fact as we were unloading our boat I got talking to another group who`d had a similar boat and they too thought the provision of shelving was poor, particularly having none at all in the toilets. We agreed that was unforgiveable.

 

Is it that other hirers haven`t had a boat with no storage space in the bathrooms or that they have but don`t consider it a problem ? ! ? If it`s the latter where did you leave your toothbrush and stuff, and where did you put it when using the bathroom before going to bed !

We put our toothbrushes on the shelf in the bathroom.

 

http://www.barnesbrinkcraft.co.uk/our-boats/detail/23/

 

And there was loads of storage in the bedroom and galley.

[Justin Smith]

 

IMHO you'd be daft NOT to look (as in, in the flesh, visit and look at, walk in, ask questions about) the boat you're hiring. And don't look at a "sister" boat or another boat in the fleet, look at the actual boat you'd be hiring. This might mean specifically visiting a 2nd time before booking, on its handover day, if its booked out etc. Boats vary!

 

The problem is there are often few enough boats with the layout we want so we may not be in a position to avoid hiring a boat if it hasn`t got any shelves in the bedrooms and bathrooms.

[Justin Smith]

We put our toothbrushes on the shelf in the bathroom.

 

http://www.barnesbrinkcraft.co.uk/our-boats/detail/23/

 

And there was loads of storage in the bedroom and galley.

 

So you`re saying there was shelving in the bathroom, which is obviously good, and, in fact, plenty of shelves (not just drawers under the beds ! ) in the bedrooms, which is good +.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Justin Smith

[Justin Smith]

On the subject of Alpha Phantom, it reminds me of one other poor show with some hire boats :

 

There are no shower curtains in the showers (thus, practically speaking, the shower isn`t really usable in the front cabin en-suite.

 

Question, why would anyone hire out a boat with no shower curtains ? When I asked the boatyard they said it was "because it was wet room", but that just means that everything including the loo and the floor gets wet. Useless.

 

Just to prove I`m not just negative, I didn`t think everything on Alpha Phantom was poor though as the first part of my review said ! :

 

A "Curate`s Egg" of a cruiser. The sitting room/day cabin of this boat is one of the best on any boat we`ve hired. It`s large, spacious, light and with good visibility out of the windows. Because the dining table isn`t a dinette the seats are shaped and therefore actually comfortable. The table is large too, though it wouldn`t fit 6 round it without some freestanding chairs. The dual steering position is a great boon, inside for when it`s wet, outside (high up for good views, nice to see but also for easier maneuvering) for when it`s dry. The bow thruster means even a relative novice will find handling this large boat is fairly easy.

[mango]

We put our toothbrushes on the shelf in the bathroom.

 

http://www.barnesbrinkcraft.co.uk/our-boats/detail/23/

 

And there was loads of storage in the bedroom and galley.

Ah - A bathtub that has a bathtub.

[Cruising Mike]

If no ample bathroom shelves are provided, i would just put my toothbrush and toothpaste on the side of the sink or at the back of the sink between the taps. Much like i do anywhere else i go.

 

I struggle to understand the importance. 90% of your time as a hirer is spent outside of the boat

[Naughty Cal]

Ah - A bathtub that has a bathtub.

 

It was a very spacious boat, very comfortable for a two week hire.

 

They have done away with the bath on the newer version though. Shame as it came in handy for hanging wet clothing.

 

http://www.barnesbrinkcraft.co.uk/our-boats/detail/28/

 

They are selling off the Joy class and replacing them with the Sonnet. They still bring daft money as well, over £50k for a 1990's hire boat

[mango]

 

It was a very spacious boat, very comfortable for a two week hire.

 

They have done away with the bath on the newer version though. Shame as it came in handy for hanging wet clothing.

 

http://www.barnesbrinkcraft.co.uk/our-boats/detail/28/

 

They are selling off the Joy class and replacing them with the Sonnet. They still bring daft money as well, over £50k for a 1990's hire boat

Just envious of all the space.

[Justin Smith]

Ah - A bathtub that has a bathtub.

 

Very good.