A short video tour of the Barnes Brinkcraft Melody 2 boat on the Norfolk Broads. Short Review: We had a lovely week exploring the upper rivers of the Norfolk Broads on this amazing boat. The boat was presented to us fuelled, watered, on time and in immaculate condition. Overall the boat was easy to handle, comfortable and quiet when going along when compared with some of the older boats as the engine was in the back. A big bonus was having a maintenance free engine, we were told that we didn't have to check the oil, weed filter or coolant levels for the week we had it. The driving positions were also very good with comfortable seating. The bedrooms were spacious and comfortable with reasonable bedding for the time of year and the en-suite toilets and showers were great. Although the rear toilet was a little difficult to use as a man as the steps going up to the top deck encroached on standing height. The boat had a 240v system that could run from either an inverter, shore power or a generator off the engine which powered all of the onboard equipment. This was ideal for the shore power electric hook ups, when you could get near one! However, we found it best to cook whilst we were going along to enjoy the peace and quiet when we moored up as the cooker and hob required the engine running to use. We took with us a little counter top gas stove to boil the kettle early in the morning to save starting the engine, this was a great help. Overall I would definitely hire this boat again from the Barnes Brinkcraft Boatyard, however I would take with me the extra equipment below to make life afloat more comfortable. Thank you for reading and feel free to ask me any questions. Recommendations: * Shore power extension lead (one supplied is too short) ~30 meters of extra cable would be ample. * Counter Top Gas Stove (can only be used with windows open). * You must remember to get the shore power cards from the Wroxham Tourist Information Centre before you set off as there are not that many places to buy them on the river. We used about £1.50 of electric per 24 hours when we had access to it. Boat Specifications: Model: Alpha Mk2 Engine: 63HP Diesel Berths: 6 + 2 (2 singles & 3 doubles in 3 cabins) Heads: 3 en-suite Length: 44ft (13.41m) Beam: 12ft (3.66m) Height: 8ft 6in (2.6m) Features: - * Dual Steering * Bow-thruster * Electric anchor winch * Microwave * Digital Flatscreen TV with DVD Player * Dishwasher * Outside Seating * 240v Power from Generator (runs off main engine), Invertor & Shore Power * Onboard Water Gauge * Electric Oven * Electric Hob + Kettle Links: Boatyard: tinyurl.com/k69ro57 Blakes: tinyurl.com/mev64xl

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