Norfolk Broads Direct have launched a new luxury boat range. Nigel Freason in the workshop. PHOTO: ANTONY KELLY

It is the time of year when rivers are empty, but this winter boatsheds are a hive of activity with millions of pounds being invested in luxury cruisers for the new season. Broads correspondent Stephen Pullinger reports on a new mood of optimism.

To send a link to this page to a friend, simply enter their email address below.

The message will include the name and email address you gave us when you signed up.

Email address

  Send link

To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in.

Before cheap package holidays overwhelmed our tourism industry with the destructiveness of Japanese knotweed more than 2,500 hire boats plied the Norfolk and Suffolk waterways.

But the 1980s heyday of Broads holidays brought with it the less welcome traits of mass tourism – crowded rivers, water pollution and the growth of booze-fuelled, noisy stag and hen parties.

The fact that amid all this mayhem the Broads lost, for some, its reputation as ‘the breathing space for the cure of souls’ certainly contributed to its steady but inexorable decline as a holiday destination.

However, after shrinking with the seeming inevitability of polar ice caps, the Broads hire boat fleet is growing once again, with 30 more craft on the water last summer than the year before.

And as business leaders have striven to update the jaded image, rebranding the Broads as Britain’s Magical Waterland, hire boat firms have worked hard on giving their fleets an equally radical makeover.

Norfolk Broads Direct in Wroxham is leading the way promoting the Green Boat Mark for hire fleets and ushering in an increasingly eco-friendly style of boating with the launch of the Broads’ first cruiser to have a hybrid diesel/electric engine.

And in yards throughout the Broads, a new generation of luxury boats is being built – even boasting such features as whirlpool baths.

The pinnacle of luxury is represented by Wroxham’s Posh Boats, a company taken over this winter by Horning Ferry Marina, its Sealine S38 seven-berth sports cruiser hiring well last summer despite a costing more than £3,000 a week.

Paul Greasley, boss of Norfolk Broads Direct and chairman of the Broads Hire Boat Federation, acknowledged the new mood of optimism reflected in its own £3.5m investment project.

“We sold off the Herbert Woods marina in 2010 and are reinvesting all the money in this site.”

As well as increasing its hire fleet from 43 to 60 boats, it had bought up neighbouring land formerly belonging to the old Moore’s boatyard, rebuilding sheds and improving moorings.

Mr Greasley said it had taken on five extra staff as it had doubled its boat-building programme from four to eight a year. It had also embarked on a major refurbishment scheme this winter to upgrade older stock.

He said: “One big yard investing encourages the others and they are all investing this winter.”

A fantastic staycation summer in 2009 followed by two reasonably good seasons in 2010 and 2011 had spurred on the investment.

Mr Greasley said they had always focused on the quality end of the market since buying the business in 2003 and demand for new, luxury boats was continuing to increase.

“Our fleet is already 40pc booked for next season and it is the new boats that book first. Every new boat brings new innovations. Sometimes customers book two years in advance to get the boat they want during the week they want,” he said.

Co-director Barbara Greasley, who has promoted the Green Boat Mark, is proud that Norfolk Broads Direct is the first Broads company to achieve the accreditation.

She said it was inevitable that boats would follow cars in an eco-friendly direction and the Broads’ biggest operator, Richardson’s based at Stalham, was now “very interested” in the Green Boat Mark scheme.

“Most boats can achieve a bronze accreditation by changing practices, for example by using phosphate-free cleaning products,” she said.

The green appeal of the Broads –symbolised by the return of water lillies and the otter – was an important factor in its resurgence as a holiday destination.

“The goal of the Broads Authority is to be able to promote the Broads as the greenest boating destination in Europe,” she said.

As chairman of Broads Tourism, Mrs Greasley underlined the importance of rebranding in the Broads revival – the logo Britain’s Magical Waterland being used in the coming season’s Hoseasons brochure for the first time.

She said: “People are coming together and using the branding –Waveney River Centre is even using the branding on its sweets.”

As part of the new branding initiative, the Broads Quality Charter was encouraging pubs and eating establishments to raise their game.

Businesses signing up for £116 were subject to a secret visit and assessment and received invaluable feedback. If they passed they were added to the www.enjoythebroads.com website and a Broads eating-out guide.

Sam Lowe, yard manager at Barnes Brinkcraft in Wroxham, confirmed the new air of optimism after the company enjoyed its best season on record in 2010 and an almost equally good one in 2011.

He said the Broads’ general shift upmarket – “people’s lifestyles and expectations have meant we have had to increase the standard of the product” – was shown by the style of the boats it was building this winter.

Four five-star Brinks Quartet craft, representing an investment of about £600,000, were targeting the market of two couples wanting to holiday together in luxury.

“Each cabin has an en-suite with temperature-controlled showers and fittings like an electric ceramic hob are what you would want in your own home,” he said.

Mr Lowe, 35, said a lot of key weeks were already booked for its premier boats, but the company remained cautious about how good next season would be given the euro crisis.

The rebranding exercise was doing the area “a world of good” and its new brochure reflected this by selling the destination as much as the boats.

James Knight, a director of Horning Ferry Marina and sister company Waveney River Centre, said the introduction of its new Elite Fleet reflected both the Broads’ resurgence and its emergence as a more upmarket destination.

He said: “Company chairman Len Funnell was keen to get back into Broads hire boating in 2009, having ‘retired’ in 2003, and has so far invested almost £3m on the project, which includes a new riverside boatshed and a fleet of over 30 boats including 15 brand new models.

“The exceptional level of bookings reinforces the company’s view that there’s a new generation of customer keen to experience Broads boating, and that they’re looking for high quality and plenty of space.

“The cruisers are built in Norfolk and are designed to eliminate bank-eroding wash at cruising speeds – as well as featuring modern fuel-efficient engines, solar panels and LED lighting.”

Creature comforts included interior sprung mattresses, domestic size galley appliances and LCD TVs.

Mr Knight said the company’s purchase of Posh Boats reflected the increasing demand for quality – even at a price.

Greg Munford, chief executive of Richardson’s, said it was investing £850,000 in the development and construction of new cruisers for 2012 and a further £500,000 to upgrade existing boats.

“In October 2009 we set up a new-build division to facilitate the production of an all-new design of Broads cruiser designed by John Moxham. John’s brief was to break the mould with the design and to ensure a low-wash hull so as to minimise the impact on the environment,” he explained.

The first boat, the Broadsman, launched in the summer, has a range of hi-tech and luxurious fittings including three en-suite cabins, satellite Freeview TV, reversing camera, bow and stern thrusters, TV in front cabin, Xbox 360 games console and solar panels to conserve battery power.

Mr Munford said: “A second Broadsman has already been launched and we also have two new designs of boat being launched next year.”

Broads Authority chief executive John Packman said: “There are 31 more motor cruisers for hire on the Broads this year than in 2010 which reflects the popularity of the area as a holiday destination.

“That, in turn, must be down to the quality of the visitor experience on offer. We believe the work the Broads Authority has done in partnership with Broads Tourism has helped to achieve this.

“Giving the Broads a new identity as Britain’s Magical Waterland and encouraging businesses to market themselves with a unified message has got everyone working together and has undoubtedly raised the profile of the Broads. We also launched the new tourism website – www.enjoythebroad.com – in May which is packed with information for potential visitors. It attracted more than 500 visits a day during the peak holiday season.”

He said the authority had introduced the Broads Quality Charter to grade the best eating establishments and had also supported the Green Tourism Business Scheme and the Green Mark for hire boats.

“The fact that Visit England this summer chose the Broads as one of only four Pathfinder destinations in the UK alongside the Peak District, Manchester and Bath is a great accolade that shows all those efforts have been noted.”