Hi Barry,
waterville wrote
1. Does anyone know of reasonable priced moorings around these areas? (I know it's an oxymoron, but I'm hoping to draw on the experience of you Broads sailors!)
I'm afraid I'm very out of touch with Broads mooring prices. For the last few years I have had a barter arrangement with the
Pleasure Boat Inn at Hickling, which means I haven't been paying directly for my mooring. I fear I will be unpleasantly surprised when I next need to pay a fee.
Having said that, their moorings always were significantly cheaper than anything else I found on the northern rivers when I bought my boat in 2004, (at least 30% cheaper than those around Horning and Wroxham) and for me Hickling beats the Wroxham and Horning areas by a mile. Given the prevailing winds most of the time I just hoist sails in the Pleasure Boat Dyke and sail out onto the Broad. The scenery is idyllic and the waters clear of the vast majority of hire boats, and you still have the challenge of sailing narrow channels if you want that. There are so many trees on the upper reaches of the Bure and so much wash from all the traffic that for most of the season you have up to an hour's motoring before it's even worth considering hoisting sails.
By Easter, when I bought my boat vacant moorings were almost impossible to find at any price anywhere on the northern rivers. Some of those with vacancies had fixed length plots and the only choice was to pay for a full 35ft mooring. Watch out for quotes that don't include VAT!
2. What is the best/easiest place to launch a Seahawk into these waters?
My two preferred slipways are at Martham Boatbuilding and Development and Wayford Marine Services. Both are wide, deep and long, and designed for large cruisers, so you don't find the wheels of your trailer suddenly disappearing over the end of the concrete ramp, but you do need to book. Of course, both of these are beyond low bridges, should you get a mooring in your preferred location.
There's a video of a Pedro launch on the site at
Swallowtail Boats at Womack Water, that should also be considered, and is the right side of the bridges for you. There are many smaller slipways but these are often only really suitable for canoes and dinghies. I'd be tempted to call a number of the hire boat yards in Wroxham or Horning, who might have decent sized slipways and are often helpful in suggesting neighbours who have something suitable.
I don't have masses of experience, and I don't have a tabernacle, so I don't want to be going anywhere which involves negotiating bridges.
I understand your worry, but for a once in a season launch I wouldn't be put off by a single bridge. Your boat is going to arrive at the slip with its mast down and you could always motor to your mooring before thinking about stepping the mast. Providing you've practised raising your mast at home, and you've not detached your shrouds, it will be pretty simple to raise it once at your mooring. True, it's slightly riskier stepping a mast while a boat is in the water, but a SeaHawk mast is light and easily manoeuvred by a single person. It should not present any major problem if you have a second person aboard to get the securing bolt inserted and secured.
Locked
