Anyone have a Norman Conquest boat?
Discussion
Hi all - for a while I've been toying with getting a small river cruiser for weekends out and about, and have come across the Norman Conquest 20 foot cruiser, which looks like it will suit exactly what I want from a boat.
Main reasons for liking this are it should be small enough for me to keep at home, on a trailer, and tow to either the Thames or the river Wey, both of which are 15 minutes or so from home, therefore saving on mooring costs. It also has 2 separate cabins, which would be pefrect for taking out friends / family as well.
Does anyone have one, and if so, what are your experiences of it, or something similar? Do you do all the maintenance on it yourself? They look fairly straightforward, and I would imagine that I would be able to pick one up for a couple of thousand, although this may require some internal work to be done, which isn't a problem. Also, there don't seem to be any second hand trailers anywhere that are suitable - new ones start at around £1800, which seems a huge amount of money!!!
Main reasons for liking this are it should be small enough for me to keep at home, on a trailer, and tow to either the Thames or the river Wey, both of which are 15 minutes or so from home, therefore saving on mooring costs. It also has 2 separate cabins, which would be pefrect for taking out friends / family as well.
Does anyone have one, and if so, what are your experiences of it, or something similar? Do you do all the maintenance on it yourself? They look fairly straightforward, and I would imagine that I would be able to pick one up for a couple of thousand, although this may require some internal work to be done, which isn't a problem. Also, there don't seem to be any second hand trailers anywhere that are suitable - new ones start at around £1800, which seems a huge amount of money!!!
OK the Norman Conquest is an old GRP boat 60/70s design. Quite a few years ago I had a Dolphin 20 in plywood & looked at the Norman plus Fairlie 20/various Shetlands/Vikings & others.
Yes it will be trailable @ 20ft but you won't want to do it too often TBH I did it in the spring & then back in the Autumn but used a mooring through the summer. So mine lived on the drive over winter & I was able to work on which was good. Mine was on the Thames at Wargrave. Don't under estimate mooring, licencing & insurance costs it can be considerable.
Mine had an Evinrude 25HP 2 stroke sport twin which I serviced every winter & that was it. The downside of outboards is they have very poor battery charging which meant no lights on board, torches & rechargables took care of that. Although a 4 stroke will use less fuel for river use it is insignificant, a weekend away used to use 2 x 10L tanks & leave some over.
We had gas cooking which worked very well & also a gas fridge. If you are staying on rivers you'll have to follow the stupidity which is the Boat Safety Scheme. This needs renewing every 3 years or so & is a condition of a river licence.
Get a copy of Boat Mart or similar & have a look through that. If you need to know more then shout.
Yes it will be trailable @ 20ft but you won't want to do it too often TBH I did it in the spring & then back in the Autumn but used a mooring through the summer. So mine lived on the drive over winter & I was able to work on which was good. Mine was on the Thames at Wargrave. Don't under estimate mooring, licencing & insurance costs it can be considerable.
Mine had an Evinrude 25HP 2 stroke sport twin which I serviced every winter & that was it. The downside of outboards is they have very poor battery charging which meant no lights on board, torches & rechargables took care of that. Although a 4 stroke will use less fuel for river use it is insignificant, a weekend away used to use 2 x 10L tanks & leave some over.
We had gas cooking which worked very well & also a gas fridge. If you are staying on rivers you'll have to follow the stupidity which is the Boat Safety Scheme. This needs renewing every 3 years or so & is a condition of a river licence.
Get a copy of Boat Mart or similar & have a look through that. If you need to know more then shout.
Edited by tr7v8 on Tuesday 25th January 17:10
Simpo Two said:
I can't help you with Normans but if you were considering a Freeman (plenty about at 22') they have their own useful forum - plenty of back-up, parts and advice. 'FreemanHeads' if you like!
Yup forgot the Freeman, still very sought after & expensive relatively.The marina we were moored at in the mid-80s was originally a Freeman dealer, Val Wyatt & that is where our boat came from.
tr7v8 said:
Yup forgot the Freeman, still very sought after & expensive relatively.
The marina we were moored at in the mid-80s was originally a Freeman dealer, Val Wyatt & that is where our boat came from.
Can you run to £5K? There's 23 on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...The marina we were moored at in the mid-80s was originally a Freeman dealer, Val Wyatt & that is where our boat came from.
- but it does look slightly shabby I agree.
Some more ideas at www.jonesboatyard.co.uk/boat-sales/boats-for-sale-...
(I didn't buy from Jones but they are very good, honest people to deal with). The good news about buying a 30-year old boat is that it's not going to depreciate!
Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 25th January 19:11
Simpo Two said:
tr7v8 said:
Simpo did you have to post the Jones website 
Do you remember Carringtons and Banhams? 30+ years ago my father had a Freeman on that river; now I have one 
Even after 30 years it's astonishing how much is the same, even the people.
did the survey on the Dolphin & he was spot on!There used to be a Freeman specialist on the Thames, Moulesworth?? <sp>
What Freeman do you have?
tr7v8 said:
Don't remember them but Peter Freebody did the survey on the Dolphin & he was spot on! There used to be a Freeman specialist on the Thames, Moulesworth?? <sp>
What Freeman do you have?
That sounds like Sheridan Marine www.sheridanmarine.com/boatyard . They're the Freeman experts and still sell most of the parts; you can just ring them up and they know every detail. (Sadly they don't know how to use apostrophes which for a posh bunch rather lets them down www.sheridanmarine.com/freemancruisers ) did the survey on the Dolphin & he was spot on! There used to be a Freeman specialist on the Thames, Moulesworth?? <sp>What Freeman do you have?
Mine's a 23. This was a nice spot for a quiet weekday escape:
Ely and the famous Cutter:
Sheridan marine that's them! That is a 23 Mk2 isn't it? I know Ely very well as I used to live around 26 miles from there in Upwell. We also hired a boat from Earith & had a holiday along all that area. Went to Prickwillow & all stops including the outskirts of Cambridge. A mate of mine is now Lock Keeper at Denver sluice.
We must apologise to the OP for invading his thread!
22Mk1 (lower front cabin)
22Mk2 (level front cabin and step in catwalk)
23 (level front cabin and level catwalk - in fact the hull is quite different)
I only got the boat last August and it came out for the winter in October (not my choice but it was then or nothing and as I'd bought it without a survey I wanted to see the underneath!). So I haven't had loads of chances to use it but did a weekend away, mooring on the Wissey near Hilgay. I just love the way I can nip up the A14 when I need a break and 75 mins later be casting off away from the madding crowd. Ely and back is a nice day out - I took some friends there and they got nailed £18 for three teas and cakes! The tributaries are great; it's a slight pity most of the main Great Ouse is so dull.
tr7v8 said:
That is a 23 Mk2 isn't it? I know Ely very well as I used to live around 26 miles from there in Upwell. We also hired a boat from Earith & had a holiday along all that area. Went to Prickwillow & all stops including the outskirts of Cambridge. A mate of mine is now Lock Keeper at Denver sluice.
Actually there's no such thing as a 23 Mk2. The smaller 'classic' models are:22Mk1 (lower front cabin)
22Mk2 (level front cabin and step in catwalk)
23 (level front cabin and level catwalk - in fact the hull is quite different)
I only got the boat last August and it came out for the winter in October (not my choice but it was then or nothing and as I'd bought it without a survey I wanted to see the underneath!). So I haven't had loads of chances to use it but did a weekend away, mooring on the Wissey near Hilgay. I just love the way I can nip up the A14 when I need a break and 75 mins later be casting off away from the madding crowd. Ely and back is a nice day out - I took some friends there and they got nailed £18 for three teas and cakes! The tributaries are great; it's a slight pity most of the main Great Ouse is so dull.
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