The Hampton Safari History Site
A photograph of Classic Safari, a Mk2 boat that featured on the cover of an early sales brochure published by Hampton Boats Ltd.
Until now the best history of the Hampton Safari, probably the most popular small cruiser designed for the Norfolk Broads, has been found on the Shorebase site. Unfortunately, that site has not been updated since 2010. This site builds on the information found there and aims to provide the best information on the history of design and the various builders of the boat.
Using the Site
In using the site you need to be aware that Alec and his company Hampton Boats Ltd, were responsible for the design of the boat and commissioning the fabrication of the hull and superstructure shells. While nearly all the shells that Hampton Boats fitted out themselves were placed in their own hire fleet, most of the total of the 256 produced were sold on to other boatyards that then fitted them out in their own way, most commonly for their own hire fleets. The main menu option Hampton takes you to the section of the site that covers what Alec Hampton, and his Hampton Boats Ltd company did in connection with his "Safari25" design.
In contrast the Builders section of the site focuses on the work of those other boatyards. As the site grows it is expected that it will begin to cover the customisations that current owners have completed. That might include anything from how owners have tackled repairs when replacements for 50 year old parts cannot be obtained to the complete re-fit of their boat.
Helping the Site To Grow
This site is intended to work alongside the existing Hampton Safari Boat Club that does such sterling work in organising and coordinating the social side of ownership. The site says it is "not meant to be yet another web forum or general discussion group". I guess that function is fulfilled by the Facebook Group. As with all social media sites that is a platform designed to keep you returning to post your latest thoughts and not one to refer to for historic material.
You will see that this site does includes a forum. It's not there for general discussion but rather to provide a way for anyone to provide corrections and updates of the information found on the site that can monitored by others who may be able to add further detail or correct anything submitted.
Once registered on the forum, you can "subscribe" to all or any forum area in which you have an interest or expertise and receive an email immediately after any post in that area is made. The "Subscribe" link is under the "Tools" menu that displays a small "spanner" icon.
Happy boating!
Greg Chapman
About the Webmaster
Diana and I bought our MkIII Hampton Safari in December 2022. We brought it back to the Broads from the Great Ouse and after much trauma it was launched into the Ant at Wayford in September 2023.
If you want to see how I hope the site will develop you might take a look at the SeaHawk site, that I started in 2004 after buying one. I hope this site will grow in the same way. And, if you want to find out a little bit more about my boating experience take a look at my GregAfloat site.