Barnes Brinkcraft Reviews 44

Took my staff there to celebrate a great summer. The weekend was enjoyable until we returned the boat. Refused to return our security deposit citing damage which was wear and tear on their 45 year old boat. Our group were all in our 40s/50s and couldn’t have treated their boat any better. We also cleaned it at the end far better than the fairly “greasy” condition we received it. Spoke to their “director” but he refused to discuss so will now have to go to small claims court to get our money back. Apparently Barnes Brinkcraft have a reputation for this after reading other reviews. Go with any other smaller provider and save yourself a lot of hassle. It’s a shame cowboys like this are still allowed to operate, taking deposits from honest people. Very disappointed.

I have been boating for over 20 yrs on the broads and have been regular with barnes brinkcraft they have always been helpful and friendly and now our children use them to with their kids. Thank you.

Wont be hiring from barnes again as they dont deserve our money.the attitude of the manager is arrogant and self centred.He doesnt care about his customers concerns and he shouldn't be talking about people in the open when having a go at them behind their back. Boat was sub standard but manager wasn't bothered. We will be booking elsewhere from now on.

Boat Merrymore 2
I have been going on the broads renting holiday cruisers for the past 25 years renting from approx 12 different boat yards, the big yards that still exist and the smaller family companies some that are now out of business and some that are still trading well.
My experience till this year is that those were all caring, friendly, helpful, honourable and professional and did their utmost to make the boating experience a success, chose whatever boat you rented or what time of year you went. Help and advice always being freely available.
For the sake of the other holiday makers and the reputation of the broads in general I feel I must put forward my recent holiday experience with Barnes Brinkcraft of Wroxham from 4/8/18 to 11/8/18 to inform and make customers and potential customers aware of what I experienced by renting from this successful family run company
I arrived at the boat yard we waited till around 2.30 pm but that was not an issue as we left my mobile number and went into Wroxham , we were called around 2.30 pm to be told the boat was ready we returned and the boat Merrymore 2 the engine was already running. We loaded on our gear food kids dog etc
Within a short period a young guy ,17/18 showed up asked if we were ok, and ready to go ? we replied yes he asked if we had any boating experience I said yes , he said good then if you are ok I will get on, my wife asked about wifi and he said better to use your phone as they don’t work to well on the boats! I asked him about the daily checks that needed to be carried out he said ‘ we don’t ask you to do any now, just drive it and enjoy your holiday! He asked me to sign acceptance for the boat ( although not stated this is a contract and reading it later it is one sided and covers the items they should tell you, inform you or make you aware of but did not and by signing but not reading it you are agreeing you have had a full demo test drive and everything has been fully explained) I was particularly concerned relating to not being informed of the fuel level , water level of the state of the twin toilet tanks and use of the bow thruster
At this stage to be fair the boat appeared to be in good order clean, nice clean linen and a complimentary bottle of Carver ( we later found the television did not work as it could not receive a signal , but we did not report this) mechanically the boat worked well and operated correctly, the sliding canopy was secured on one side with a random 6 inch bolt and due to being maladjusted the rear windows did not fully close and a large gap of at least one inch was around the bottom edge of the canopy on both sides . We had a hot week so this was not a problem apart from 2 nights. as when windy it was cold and if hired in spring or autumn it would be too cold to sleep in due to the drafts blowing though! And considerably lower the temp throughout the boat
We travelled from Wroxham to Womack Staithe for the sat night then left early Sunday across Breydon water and stayed the night on Oulton Broad. On Monday morning we left early and travelled to Loddon for mon night. On arrival we moored up for the afternoon to relax and I had a look around the boat and read the acceptance I had signed . (I have this original copy with my note about the canopy problem) I read the clause that stated that;-
‘the fuel should be checked daily with the dipstick provided and if less than ¼ full should be reported or all costs involved, including recovery, will be the hirers responsibility’
I decided to do this, after trying several times the meter long dipstick showed about one and a half inches or 4 cm of fuel As I was planning to travel back across Braydon water with my wife , 2 grand kids and my dog the next day I decided to call the boat yard .(At 4.15 pm Monday) I was put through to the breakdown guy who seemed helpful to start with asking me to check for leaks by lifting the engine covers and checking the sump of the boat for diesel or leaks around the engine. The engine appeared in good order and was dry with no leaks, Once I told him this he attitude changed completely ! he stated if there are no leaks its your problem you must have used all the fuel, you had better get it filled up! With this clearly aggressive response I asked to speak to the manager, he put me through straight away to a guy who said his name was Mathew and he was the owner, he confirmed he agreed with his employee and we must have been thrashing the engine at full revs to burn up all the fuel! I tried to explain we had not done that and asked if they had forgotten to fill the boat fuel tank, he responded that this could not happen !. I returned by saying ;if there are no leaks and I cannot have used approx180 ltrs in 20 hours of travelling ( I thought this was roughly the amount as previous friendly boatyard staff, on previous holidays had said this was the approx tank capacity,) then it could be a possibility that it had not be filled up? Mathew then said’ well you are now calling me a liar! this is your problem you had better find a boat yard and fill it up . I asked him to send out an engineer with 5 gallon of fuel (about 20mins travel at 4.30pm ) and check the fuel level issue, he refused and told me to call him after I had filled up on Tuesday morning as it was not their problem.
My phone was on speaker for this call so everyone was gobsmacked by this adolescent outburst! And my grandchildren, particularly granddaughter was distressed
I filled the tank at a local boatyard at 9.30 am on Tuesday 7/8 it held 42 litres and cost me £51 the boatyard was very helpful friendly and concerned and was a genuine family run business with customer service at the forefront He informed me the dipstick supplied would never measure the fuel in the tank due to the filler pipe being long with a bend at the bottom!
I did as asked called for Mathew who was not there and busy this guy said ‘he was second in command’ I briefly told him I had put 42 litres into Merrymore 2 and asked him to pass it onto Mathew, then I told him I was going to get on and try to enjoy my holiday now!
The boat ran well for the rest of the week we decided not to report the television fault we might have been accused of misuse of that too!
I returned to the boatyard on Friday evening at 4pm.
At 8am on sat 11/8 the boat was left clean and tidy and I watched a young guy who was friendly fill up the diesel tank with the fuel meter at zero before the filling he put in 17 ltrs and enquired if we had used the boat much as little fuel had been used? I said yes there had been a problem and I had filled up the boat. I was refunded £84 from my original £100 fuel deposit
I was in the boatyard Friday evening/sat morning and talked 3 times to the office and sales desk staff none asked re my problem and Mathew (the owner?) did not even contact me despite his accusation I was calling him a liar ( I was not! but I was disagreeing with what he was saying!)
On the Sat I took over the boat the hour meter reading on 4/8/18 at 3.00pm was 16552/7
When filled at Lodden on tues 7/8 at 9.30 am the hour meter reading was 16570/3 (18 running hours)
On sat 11/8 morning at boatyard refuel at 8.15 am the hour meter reading was 16589/7 (20 running hours)
So according to those facts I used 42 ltrs in the first 2 day (18 running hours)and 17 ltrs in the last 5 days (20 running hours)
So you must ask yourself was the tank full on sat 4/8????
It is also worth noting that this boatyard not unreasonably like the others charges for car parking what is unusual is the signs around the buildings stated all cars parked at owners risk Originally my car and small camping trailer was left parked at the side of my boat this was at the request of another of the yard owners who asked me to park it there, at the office I was asked to leave my keys as you do at most boatyards in case of emergencies . I later discovered on return in the week to Wroxham, my car was separated from my camping trailer the trailer being put around the back near the rubbish containers my car was moved along with approx 30 other cars and block parked on another dock, close parked and 7 cars would have to be moved to get mine out, at 8.00am on sat a employer went around with all the car keys and put them outside on each windscreen then 5/6 other staff came and all started moving the cars back to other parking bays around the property..
I was not told they would be moving and storing my car and trailer elsewhere
Are they going to use the signs ‘at owners risk’ for coverfor any damage that happens?
Are they insured for any damage that might happen during the 5/6 cars moving together on a tight dock area with water on 3 sides?
Do all the guys that move the cars have a driving licence?
My opinions on this boatyard are that the boats are generally in good order but any problem that are difficult particularly in mid season will be left despite being reported
They advertise as a caring family company they are not! They are interested in pound notes and keeping the boats on hire and minimising customer problems by their hard, back covering handover form that is made, given the busy rushed circumstances, hard to read and understand its implications, and the passing of responsibility and that you are agreeing with statements of actions and information they have not done or communicated.
How can I check the fuel level with a dipstick that wont go to the bottom of the tank?
We love the broads and the people we have met on the boats, at the restaurants and boatyards over the years. This is the first time I have felt let down and it is made worse by the fact on the surface this boatyard runs itself as a concerned customer focused business and appears so till you look into how they have developed the operation behind a very good customer facing front.
And I truly believe that people, particularly the first timers should not be subject to the worry and added responsibi