It all depends, of course, and on many factors. The longer the boat, the faster it naturally travels. The more stable the boat, the more comfortable it is to paddle for a long time. This is a Venture Easky 15LV, and scores well in both those categories. Then there is practice, technique, fitness and stamina - which are probably more important (and you cant buy off the shelf). This trip took about four hours, and would count as a fairly long outing for pretty near continuous paddling. Around 10 miles in a day is a reasonable start, which could then be gradually increased, up to 15 or (for a very energetic and tiring day) 20 miles.

No, Leander hasn't been in the Martham Boats' fleet for a few years now. Mostly it was filmed from a Silver Jubilee, with some on-board shots from Palace and (I think) Twilight.

Thank you for your reply. I actually own Leander having bought her from Martham Boats. Some of the shots looked very much like they were taken from Leander. Obviously they weren't! Thanks again for your reply.

Lucky? - Not really. I've never touched the bridge with a cruiser; with yachts, on the other hand, I have lost the odd bit of varnish off the mast!

You beat me to it! It seems it's the tradition around there as every boat seems to be dangling them.

Myhill Sisley you have to keep them deployed to protect the boat against the skippers of the hire motor boats who do not understand colregs / right of way or are able to control their boats adequately. It is quite common to be sailing along and be nudged by a motorboat without warning.

Andrew Smith sums it up well. There are different 'traditions' in different places, and just because when I go sailing on the sea I always remove and stow my fenders, that does not make it 'right' in every other location. On the Broads, boating is considered a 'contact sport', and fenders are a necessary part of that - it would be foolish not to keep them deployed.

@@broadscruise2346 lovely video but I must disagree regarding contact sport, I have restored a number of these classic yachts over the years for myself and work in a boatyard. People should be made aware how much it costs to build and restore, new builds in excess of 100k, restorations eye watering. In the 50 years I’ve been sailing on the Broads a number of times my boats have been hit by inexperienced hirers who don’t seem to be aware or the costs involved, and display a casual, not my problem attitude. Jacindar has been beautifully built by Martham Developments and she certainly sails very well, although the Farrington 30 hull is more responsive without the fenders dragging in the water.

Me too!!

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The Easky 15LV is great to paddle, it has two 'inverted keels' (i.e. grooves) along the bottom which really hep with tracking, plus a skeg which can be lowered (if needed - not usually unless there is a strong cross-wind). It's strongest point is that it's a fantastic hybrid boat, good for sea, lakes and flat rivers & canals. You can paddle all day fairly comfortably, such as in the Three Lakes Challenge, including 26 miles of Lock Awe. Good stability, sits very flat and feels secure. Once you get it near its secondary 'falling over' point it can go quite quickly (but that's never happened accidentally, even in some pretty rough sea conditions).

@@broadscruise2346 Thanks!

They are beginners and quite rightly take precautions when so many motoring beginners are around. Removing the fenders (as many as 20 , fewer on half-deckers) would take up much time and taking them on board is almost impossible due to the short length of line.

I take it you're used to sailing the vast oceans and have no idea how much work load there is sailing a yacht down a narrow river. You are either tacking or gybing every 30 seconds or less, trying to avoid branches of low hanging trees or erratic boaters on motor cruisers who haven't got a clue. It's both safer to leave the fenders out and easier to move around the gunnels without worrying about tripping over fenders.