1st December 2007
Welcome to our first newsletter. As is usual for first newsletters we have been spoilt for choice for things to tell you. We are going to three shows over the summer and you can find out all the details of when, where and with what boat in the next section. Our summer offers will run from 1 April to 30 September and we hope you find them interesting. The new equipment explained in sections 4 and 5 have been designed to help reduce some of the stress associated with owning a boat.
Please let us know what you think of this new way of staying in touch with you and keeping you updated. Your feedback is very valuable to us. If you know of someone else who you think would find it interesting forward it to them or get them to email us or log onto our website and email enquiries. If you want to unsubscribe just email me back with your request and I will take you off the list.
We hope you have a pleasant read…
Next Launch Parties – “Firefly” and “Hippocampus” These two are going to be launched in May please call us if you would like to come along.
Crick Boat Show, Crick, Northamptonshire
Saturday 26 to Monday 28 of May
We were voted favourite boat last year, so we are nervous about how well we are going to do this year. We are taking a 52 foot trad stern narrowboat called Hippocampus (greek for “Waterhorse”) commissioned by Ian Channon. In spite of being only 52 foot long it has the same galley, saloon and fixed double bed that the larger boats have as well as a full-size roll-top bath. It has been designed as a liveaboard with a Cotswold cottage theme and Victorian chrome throughout. It has our solid oak kitchen that we fit now as standard as well as a solid oak floor. Other interesting features are the C.A.P. management system (a programmed brain that takes the strain of managing the heating and power systems on your boat – see section 4) and our new remote control, which has a 3 button keyfob for security alarm and lighting (see also section 4). For more information see the website www.crickboatshow.co.uk
Saul Canal Festival – “Folk on the Water”
June 30 to July 1
We will be here to enjoy the festivities as usual and this year we are hoping to take the Lavinia Mary. for more information about the festival see the website www.junctionevents.org.uk
“Papillon Kimberly” is a 70 foot cruiser-stern narrowboat. The layout from stem to stern is: bedroom with four-poster bed and ensuite toilet shower and laundry; office with a pull-down double bed; bathroom with a corner jacuzzi bath and second envirolet loo; galley with aga; saloon with two sofas that combine to make a double bed; 10 foot cruiser stern under awning for B-B-Qs and enjoying those long, warm summer evenings that we long for. For more information about the show see the website www.waterwaysorg.uk/events/IWANationalFestival07
Owners Opinion Day on the water in Gloucestershire
Saturday October 20th
Before and after the show season we like to have a barbeque and meet up with current and prospective Simpsons boat owners. We expect we will have 4 or 5 boats for you to compare. You will be able to chat to the owners, take a trip out on the water and enjoy some refreshments with us. And you are always welcome to have a tour of our workshops and work in progress in the boat shed as well if you like.
First 10 customers of the season get a solid oak floor fitted free of charge (usually a £2,000 extra)
This stands for Climate and Power management system and has been written and developed by Simpsons to take some of the stress out of boat ownership. The purpose of this system is to automate your power and heating systems for you. It will turn on your heating if the temperature drops below a preset level, it will switch on your engine automatically (as long as it is in neutral and not after 8pm!) if the battery power drops below a preset level or if the draw is too much for the batteries or inverter alone to cope with. So say you leave the lights or the oven on by mistake and go out for the day, will you come back to flat batteries? No, because the C.a.P system will have turned the engine on automatically to keep the batteries charged up for you. Or you have been out or away from your boat for some time will it be cold when you get in? Again no, because your C.a.P system has switched the heating systems on so that you enter a warm boat.
This is all inconspicuously housed in a 6×3 inch box in the electrics cupboard and if you already own a boat and would be interested in having this system please call us and we can supply and install it for you.
Not a new idea for car owners, but how nice would it be if when you have spent a relaxing evening at the pub you walk down the dark, unlit towpath and switch on the exterior lights (and/or interior lights) on your boat so that you can clearly see where it is and where the bank is that separates you from it.
The keyfob we have used has 3 buttons, which can be set to control what you want them to, but we recommend the red one for an alarm system, the triangular one for bow or navigation lights and the oval one for stern or gunwhale lighting. The hub for this is again a small unobtrusive box with a small rubber aerial that we have fitted in the electrics cupboard
You may also be interested in some new phosphorescent strip lighting that we have recently used in conjunction with the keyfob control. We have fitted the quarter or half inch strips inside the handrails on the roof or along the top of the gunwhales. You switch them on using the keyfob when you need to see where your boat is or to help you navigate through a long dark tunnel. It is supplied by Earlsman Lighting and we can give you the details or supply and fit it on your existing boat.
We unfortunately do not have any news about this at the moment as we are still wading through the planning process, but we may have some news by the time you see us at the shows so feel free to ask.
We built this boat for our own use to develop the C.a.P management system and the keyfob controls explained above as well as other new equipment like underfloor heating. It is very nicely finished using maple and cherry and has a very high equipment spec including 3kw inverter, 7.5kva generator and over 1,000 watts of battery power. If you would like a boat immediately this is worth looking at.
We are very interested in your views on the news we have brought to you and hope that you have found it interesting. You are always welcome to call us, email us or drop in to see us at work. Our trading hours are 0830-1630 Monday to Friday and by appointment only at weekends.