Thank you very much for such an in-depth review on what does look like an incredible craft indeed. It would be interesting in the future to take it on the southern broads and into the tidal waterways.
excellent blog.What you do is appreciated by 1000s . Information you provide is excellent ;some years ago the boat yards did a form on how your holiday went ,reporting on ,pubs,mooring costs ,distance from moorings etc ,bit like trip advisor .As the remarks in the forms ;were transferred in a book ,for all boaters to see.You have filled this gap ,as this no longer is carried out. If when in Potter Heigham ,try the Falgate pub ;left out of Herbert Woods (opposite direction to bridge) . Provided the land lady ,who has been there for years is still there. Bit up in the air,excellent food and very frienly. Pete & Linda,plus TJ our dog .keep up the excellent blogs on the broads
Was lovely meeting you, even if for a short time. Once again sorry about my dog, he has been attacked before and now doesn't like other dogs coming g up to him. Contessa was a lovely boat by the way, had 3 roomy cabins. A large saloon and a very well kitted galley, engine, although abit oil thirsty was flawless and powerful and overall a brilliant boat
I'm so proud of you, keep it up and we are all looking forward to see more of your videos in March 2015. Hope i would be able to join you again on Board.
It is because of YOU, and your in-depth Vblogs and reviews that i have my third holiday booked aboard Rhapsody 3 late this Sep... I don't know what (if any) difference between 1, 2 and 3 is, but i doubt much... Robin... Thank you so very much for these in-depth reviews, answering so many questions that websites just don't tell us... You really give us a feel for the craft before we arrive to holiday on them, plus your continued help with comments on Facebook pages and groups, i doubt you have any idea just how much this helps holidaymakers when choosing a craft to hire, mate its been said before and I'll say it myself now... If i ever win the lottery I'll buy you a boat! (Cheap toy boat from Argos) haha If your free end of Sep, your more than welcome to spend time abroad with us on holiday, thank you for so much detail... Such a big help Paul
the BROADSMAN boats from Richardson's have the same thrusters as we had Broadsman last year as you well know, and what i found with the thruster switch on the boat is if you forget to turn off your thrusters after use (like i kept forgetting) then a warning alarm starts to sound after a few minutes to ley you know you know you haven't turned your bow & stern thrusters off, i found them very useful at getting in to tight stern on moorings and getting off banks when the breeze keeps you on them
I thought they were all hydraulic on Broadsman boats and not electric, so you can operate them without battery drain or overheating the motor. I’m surprised therefore they is a ‘warning beep’ to remind you to turn them off.
Was on the Fair Prince at the start of October for a week and loved that boat, but if this is the future of boating London Rascal then the future is very bright indeed. I had seen this boat while I was on the holiday but had no idea just how astounding it was. I sincerely hope that other boatyards give serious consideration to adding vessels such as this to their fleet.
russell thomson Other new boats out there are lovely too - but what you tend to find is they follow the same 'rules' so take away the actual look inside and get down to what is on offer - it won't be an electric cooker, not a great deal of boats have a boiler for the got water and heating and so on - so what I like about Rhapsody is while the boat is just another Alpha mold - they have risen the bar so to speak with what you get inside, now of course you pay more for these luxuries it will be up to hirers to decide if that is worth the extra and ultimately what will make these boats work or fail.
I agree completely. I saw many of the same mould of boats and while it was a nice looking craft it was the fit, finish and more importantly the technology that impressed me so much. Yes it is expensive but all new technology is. As hires we can only hope that other boatyards start to follow suite by building their own versions thus bringing the cost to build and hire them down. Only time will tell, but after seeing the Rhapsody i really hope that this is the start of a new direction for boating. This is why i subscribe to your channel, we all get such a great look at what is avail on the Broads. Keep up the great work.Thanks for sharing this with us Captain Rascal :)
Robin, as in the past, u are doing a great job in the new hybrid electric. u are a experienced Capt. I know your mum is having fun, an being with her son, an is very proud of u Robin. here in n.w.OHIO, we are now getting into some warmer wx, have fun an be safe Robin.an thank u for all of the fine films. RON,WB8NMK n.w. ohio USA... April 17-2015
pemalor How I work is - get the video files, edit make the final video and upload to You Tube then delete all the video files and final video, thus I can't make a compilation without first downloading the video back down from You Tube. And honestly there are not many bloopers these days, I do most in a take or I may get tongue tied over something but it not really worthy to share. I'll see what I can do next year. At this junction I have no idea if 2015 will feature as many videos as this year on grounds of money but who knows...
+paulanderson79 Only it does have a a Diesel engine - 50hp too but it has one job to provide power to charge the batteries or provide power to drive the electric motor so this is a true Hybrid.
Ahah - OK - thank you. That's actually a much better and purer arrangement than the dual drive efforts we see in hybrid cars. With the engine running an alternator at a single set speed this 50bhp is going to be very efficiently derived. Much like diesel railway traction arrangements. Plus the engine and generator can be located well away from passengers thus reducing noise. Good post - best wishes, P.
Hi Robin Yet another great vlog. Have you tried one of these camera mount clamps. Stick it on the roof rail pull/push pit side rail ect then angle it... Could would better than a mini tripod or suction pad. JONNY
Jonny Jones Thanks for the tip - already have such, but they simply resonate with the boat too much and cause CMOS wobble - I therefore have stuck to a few suction mount tripods as they can go on glass or the smooth sides of the hull and capture some good shots and seem to be less prone to shaking - although my Blog camera gets upset with its optical stabilization as you no doubt see at points in this video where the imagine suddenly shifts up then down.
A great blog as usual and very informative. The family and I had a the 44' Sun Emblem from Ferry Marina in September. First time ever on a proper cruiser and that took a couple of days to get used to especially when the wind was blowing and I am trying to stern moor at Ranworth. How much fuel did you use on the Rhapsody in the end as I think that would help boat designers to decide if this type of fit out is worth it.
Stephen Levett Fuel use was about £110.00 worth over the shortbreak - not bad for a 44ft boat I think. But then some may say different. Generally speaking these boats tend to have larger engines, on hydraulic drives which always use more fuel as they drive a hydraulic pump to turn the propeller and torque and power is never transmitted as well through liquid as it is through a physical gearbox. They ask for a higher £200.00 deposit though and of course if you go along nice and slow your use less amps, which means less time the generator runs and less fuel it uses. Because future builds will have 16amp power connectors (not 32amp) although take twice as long to charge, it would mean you could use many of the power points on the Broads - and so if picked the moorings well might end up using very little fuel indeed.
Robin on this boat theres a lot of empty deck space behind the fly deck helm so why couldn't BB have put a BBQ up there just to use up some empty space, and on a nice day moored up people could have a BBQ onboard rather than having a BBQ on the river banks
Jonny Jones Probably, but remember you could have the most stable mounts and greatest cameras but not much good when it comes to me having to helm, the boat and also 'man the camera' - it is easy to grab the camera, hit record talk to the camera - another say when I was doing the three camera segment to turn the boat then come into moor and do that all single handed. I don't want to get things too complicated, although slowly slowly it is getting that way.
How much fuel did the boat actually use during your hire period, what I'm getting at is from a fuel point of view is the hybrid more economical with the fuel than a standard diesel powered boat or not because if it uses the same amount or more you've got to really ask well what's the point of the hybrid, I appreciate that the big bonus is the near silent cruising but the point really is to save fuel and reduce co2 emissions
have you ever hired any of the swan boats as ive hired the swan roamer as swan radiance wasn't available as that's the boat I wanted and I was wondering if you had ever hired one of these boats what are they like inside and to handle
No, all the boats I have hired are those you find here on the Channel. Swan Craft are no more - their boats now dols to private buyers or the remainder to Richardson's - at a far more attractive hire price than when in the hands of Swan Craft I might add. As you seem a keen boater previously having hired, why not join the free and friendly Norfolk Broads Network Forum? Lots of banter and topics over at forum.norfolkbroadsnetwork.com/
Long since closed - formally Alphacraft of Brundall. Now I’m not sure who has the mould tools - this particular boat was fitted out by Barnes Brinkcraft who would have bought the bare bones mould in.
Cant get over how quiet the boat is, looks an absolute beauty! Another fantastic blog and very very good in depth review
if i ever win the Euro lottery i'm going to buy this guy his own cruiser...love you're blogs...cheers
Thank you very much for such an in-depth review on what does look like an incredible craft indeed. It would be interesting in the future to take it on the southern broads and into the tidal waterways.
airofan She has already been to Loddon - so has experienced some of the currents one gets down there.
excellent blog.What you do is appreciated by 1000s . Information you provide is excellent ;some years ago the boat yards did a form on how your holiday went ,reporting on ,pubs,mooring costs ,distance from moorings etc ,bit like trip advisor .As the remarks in the forms ;were transferred in a book ,for all boaters to see.You have filled this gap ,as this no longer is carried out.
If when in Potter Heigham ,try the Falgate pub ;left out of Herbert Woods (opposite direction to bridge) .
Provided the land lady ,who has been there for years is still there. Bit up in the air,excellent food and very frienly.
Pete & Linda,plus TJ our dog .keep up the excellent blogs on the broads
Super Blog as usual really enjoy watching roll on March have a great Xmas Robin see you in 2015 all the best.
Stunning, Incredible and going to book it for 2016. Thank you Robin.
Thank you for the best videos from the broads, and can not wait to see the new ones in 2015.
Thanks again Robin
Was lovely meeting you, even if for a short time. Once again sorry about my dog, he has been attacked before and now doesn't like other dogs coming g up to him. Contessa was a lovely boat by the way, had 3 roomy cabins. A large saloon and a very well kitted galley, engine, although abit oil thirsty was flawless and powerful and overall a brilliant boat
I'm so proud of you, keep it up and we are all looking forward to see more of your videos in March 2015. Hope i would be able to join you again on Board.
Shielamae Vasquez Thanks hun :)
Yet another great blog from the Rascal, wow what a great boat, the future is now! hope to see you in March be on look out for SEA TREK.
Martyn
It is because of YOU, and your in-depth Vblogs and reviews that i have my third holiday booked aboard Rhapsody 3 late this Sep... I don't know what (if any) difference between 1, 2 and 3 is, but i doubt much... Robin... Thank you so very much for these in-depth reviews, answering so many questions that websites just don't tell us... You really give us a feel for the craft before we arrive to holiday on them, plus your continued help with comments on Facebook pages and groups, i doubt you have any idea just how much this helps holidaymakers when choosing a craft to hire, mate its been said before and I'll say it myself now... If i ever win the lottery I'll buy you a boat! (Cheap toy boat from Argos) haha
If your free end of Sep, your more than welcome to spend time abroad with us on holiday, thank you for so much detail... Such a big help
Paul
the BROADSMAN boats from Richardson's have the same thrusters as we had Broadsman last year as you well know, and what i found with the thruster switch on the boat is if you forget to turn off your thrusters after use (like i kept forgetting) then a warning alarm starts to sound after a few minutes to ley you know you know you haven't turned your bow & stern thrusters off, i found them very useful at getting in to tight stern on moorings and getting off banks when the breeze keeps you on them
I thought they were all hydraulic on Broadsman boats and not electric, so you can operate them without battery drain or overheating the motor. I’m surprised therefore they is a ‘warning beep’ to remind you to turn them off.
Ahh yes I see your point plus it's your holiday 😃 wanting to make a Holiday stress free as possible
Was on the Fair Prince at the start of October for a week and loved that boat, but if this is the future of boating London Rascal then the future is very bright indeed. I had seen this boat while I was on the holiday but had no idea just how astounding it was. I sincerely hope that other boatyards give serious consideration to adding vessels such as this to their fleet.
russell thomson Other new boats out there are lovely too - but what you tend to find is they follow the same 'rules' so take away the actual look inside and get down to what is on offer - it won't be an electric cooker, not a great deal of boats have a boiler for the got water and heating and so on - so what I like about Rhapsody is while the boat is just another Alpha mold - they have risen the bar so to speak with what you get inside, now of course you pay more for these luxuries it will be up to hirers to decide if that is worth the extra and ultimately what will make these boats work or fail.
I agree completely. I saw many of the same mould of boats and while it was a nice looking craft it was the fit, finish and more importantly the technology that impressed me so much. Yes it is expensive but all new technology is. As hires we can only hope that other boatyards start to follow suite by building their own versions thus bringing the cost to build and hire them down. Only time will tell, but after seeing the Rhapsody i really hope that this is the start of a new direction for boating. This is why i subscribe to your channel, we all get such a great look at what is avail on the Broads. Keep up the great work.Thanks for sharing this with us Captain Rascal :)
Robin,
as in the past, u are doing a great job in the new hybrid electric. u are a experienced Capt. I know your mum is having fun, an being with her son, an is very proud of u Robin.
here in n.w.OHIO, we are now getting into some warmer wx,
have fun an be safe Robin.an thank u for all of the fine films.
RON,WB8NMK n.w. ohio USA... April 17-2015
good video, nice boat!
Another brilliant blog, thanks Robin. Any chance of a best of 2014 or out takes/bloopers video ?
pemalor How I work is - get the video files, edit make the final video and upload to You Tube then delete all the video files and final video, thus I can't make a compilation without first downloading the video back down from You Tube. And honestly there are not many bloopers these days, I do most in a take or I may get tongue tied over something but it not really worthy to share. I'll see what I can do next year. At this junction I have no idea if 2015 will feature as many videos as this year on grounds of money but who knows...
lovely boat I want one
Hybrid with no internal combustion engine isn't a hybrid. It's a full electric craft!! Gorgeous boat!
+paulanderson79 Only it does have a a Diesel engine - 50hp too but it has one job to provide power to charge the batteries or provide power to drive the electric motor so this is a true Hybrid.
Ahah - OK - thank you. That's actually a much better and purer arrangement than the dual drive efforts we see in hybrid cars. With the engine running an alternator at a single set speed this 50bhp is going to be very efficiently derived. Much like diesel railway traction arrangements. Plus the engine and generator can be located well away from passengers thus reducing noise. Good post - best wishes, P.
Hi Robin
Yet another great vlog. Have you tried one of these camera mount clamps. Stick it on the roof rail pull/push pit side rail ect then angle it... Could would better than a mini tripod or suction pad.
JONNY
Jonny Jones Thanks for the tip - already have such, but they simply resonate with the boat too much and cause CMOS wobble - I therefore have stuck to a few suction mount tripods as they can go on glass or the smooth sides of the hull and capture some good shots and seem to be less prone to shaking - although my Blog camera gets upset with its optical stabilization as you no doubt see at points in this video where the imagine suddenly shifts up then down.
A great blog as usual and very informative. The family and I had a the 44' Sun Emblem from Ferry Marina in September. First time ever on a proper cruiser and that took a couple of days to get used to especially when the wind was blowing and I am trying to stern moor at Ranworth. How much fuel did you use on the Rhapsody in the end as I think that would help boat designers to decide if this type of fit out is worth it.
Stephen Levett Fuel use was about £110.00 worth over the shortbreak - not bad for a 44ft boat I think. But then some may say different. Generally speaking these boats tend to have larger engines, on hydraulic drives which always use more fuel as they drive a hydraulic pump to turn the propeller and torque and power is never transmitted as well through liquid as it is through a physical gearbox. They ask for a higher £200.00 deposit though and of course if you go along nice and slow your use less amps, which means less time the generator runs and less fuel it uses. Because future builds will have 16amp power connectors (not 32amp) although take twice as long to charge, it would mean you could use many of the power points on the Broads - and so if picked the moorings well might end up using very little fuel indeed.
So do you twist the top of the forward and reverse controller to increase or decrease the throttle??
enjoyed your blogs,i love anything to do with the Broads.a shame it's getting too expensive for the normal person to enjoy
Robin on this boat theres a lot of empty deck space behind the fly deck helm so why couldn't BB have put a BBQ up there just to use up some empty space, and on a nice day moored up people could have a BBQ onboard rather than having a BBQ on the river banks
Yer you do notice it if your looking for it but I just look forward to the vlogs 😃 is there any such item you can use which doesn't absorbe vibration?
Jonny Jones Probably, but remember you could have the most stable mounts and greatest cameras but not much good when it comes to me having to helm, the boat and also 'man the camera' - it is easy to grab the camera, hit record talk to the camera - another say when I was doing the three camera segment to turn the boat then come into moor and do that all single handed. I don't want to get things too complicated, although slowly slowly it is getting that way.
How much fuel did the boat actually use during your hire period, what I'm getting at is from a fuel point of view is the hybrid more economical with the fuel than a standard diesel powered boat or not because if it uses the same amount or more you've got to really ask well what's the point of the hybrid, I appreciate that the big bonus is the near silent cruising but the point really is to save fuel and reduce co2 emissions
can this boat get on to the southern broads ?
have you ever hired any of the swan boats as ive hired the swan roamer as swan radiance wasn't available as that's the boat I wanted and I was wondering if you had ever hired one of these boats what are they like inside and to handle
No, all the boats I have hired are those you find here on the Channel. Swan Craft are no more - their boats now dols to private buyers or the remainder to Richardson's - at a far more attractive hire price than when in the hands of Swan Craft I might add. As you seem a keen boater previously having hired, why not join the free and friendly Norfolk Broads Network Forum? Lots of banter and topics over at forum.norfolkbroadsnetwork.com/
Who manufactures these boats..... website address please.
Long since closed - formally Alphacraft of Brundall. Now I’m not sure who has the mould tools - this particular boat was fitted out by Barnes Brinkcraft who would have bought the bare bones mould in.