Twenty-five years ago, this year, a consortium of eight people rescued Cox’s Boatyard Ltd from potential liquidation by taking over the company and re negotiating the lease of the yard and marina. Now, a quarter of a century later, thanks to the dedication and skills of the manager, employees and directors, it is a thriving, successful Broads’ business, with more than 400 customers from all parts of the UK. You can read more about the company’s history by visiting www.coxsboatyard.co.uk and clicking on ‘About Us’. Here’s to the next 25 years!
Drinks – a date for your diaries is the 18th July, early evening, where we will be having a get together in the main workshop with drinks and canapes to celebrate this quarter century. We will be sending out invitations just after Easter.
As always, we have been busy throughout the winter working on several boats, two of which have required a great amount of work:
Elusive: This 34-ft Broads’ sailing cruiser, built in 1933 by Banham’s of Cambridge, has had over 300 feet of planking replaced and 60 oak ribs. The seams on the topsides are now due to have mahogany inserts fitted and the top will be epoxy varnished. Alongside our own hard work and craftsmanship, the owner has also been busy, scraping and coating the hull.
Laughing Water II: This 49-foot craft was built well over 100 years ago and was the first vessel to navigate the restored Southern Stratford Canal in 1964. We have been working on the hull, replacing the rotten planks and ribs, rebuilding the beaver tail transom and replacing a rotted section in the keel above the propeller shaft tube. The craft is due to be launched in early spring and will then be loaded onto a lorry and transported north nearer to the customer’s home to be fitted out by him. The photo below is of the bearer tail transom with clear wood sealer on and ready for painting.
Wi-fi: There was a time when people came to Cox’s to get way from everything, but the responses we received to our customer questionnaire showed that there was a growing demand for wi-fi. We have therefore had fibre optic broadband installed in the office, which allows us to provide wi-fi to the marina as a free service to our customers. Just log on with your details through your social media account and you can then use the service. If we find the speed is set too slow, we have the option of increasing it.
Launch Dates: Spring is coming, we are working towards the launch dates our customers have previously supplied, so if you are unsure about yours, or you need any other work carried out, please ask.
Dinghy Park: We have restructured the storage costs, which means that some of our regular customers’ storage rates have come down. Of course, every customer would like the spaces next to the slipway, but we have to use the size of craft to allocate spaces in order to maximize the storage space we have.
Dinghy park & Toilet/shower Block Code: The new code from 1st April 2020 and the rest of the season is 1342.
Moorings: It has come to our attention that some craft are not being moored correctly, with some being moored just with a stern and bow line. You should be mooring with at least one spring, although two is better, to stop your craft from moving around too much and touching vessels in front and behind your mooring. Or if you are unsure please ask for some advice
Car Parking: Just a reminder that during weekdays vehicles must not be parked in the working area by the travel hoist. Vehicles may be parked in this area at weekends, but please ensure that all vehicles are moved by first thing Monday morning.
This just leaves me to wish you all a great summer! Enjoy your time on the water, thank you for your continuing support and don’t hesitate to contact the office if you have any queries.
Eric Bishop, Manager, Cox’s Boatyard Ltd.