All Weather River Cruiser

At home on the Norfolk Broads

The Dawn-Craft Safari

Currently, the only photographs that have been obtained that show how Dawn‑Craft fitted out their "standard" MkII boats come from a surveyor's report made in 2011. How typical this example is, is not yet known. Photographs from other owners of this builder's boats will be gratefully received.

The registration number of this example indicates she returned to the Broads in about 2005, but we don't know when she was built and whether she is an early or late example of a MkII built by Dawn‑Craft. Externally, two features stand out as potential indicators of a likely build date. Except in the saloon, horizontally sliding windows to the cabins are not the norm and it is interesting that they were fitted in this boat when, it appears that, vertically sliding windows were fitted to all examples of their long side window Safari Variants. The lack of aft cabin window also suggests she may be an early example, as later boats from any builder tend to include them.

Internally, we see a number of differences to the fit-out suggested by Hampton. There is a flat floor without the recommended 4" step. This means that there is a larger than normal area of sloping floor by the helmsman's chair, but this example appears to have a larger area of slope than is typical for other builders that fitted a flat floor.

You'll also notice the fixed Helmsman's chair with fold-down backrest. The evidence seen so far suggests that Dawn‑Craft fitted this type of chair in both their "standard" Safaris as well as their Variant boats.

Another obvious change from standard is the lack of half height bulkhead that acts as a backrest for those sitting on the cushion over the engine. Many builders also use the bulkhead to support shelving serving the galley area.

Last of the big changes is the position of the toilet door. Most builders had it set much further aft. In three berth boats this allowed for a basin to be fitted forward of the door. In four berth boats there would be space for a wardrobe as well. There is a hint in the photo that there is a second door aft of the first. That suggests that this boat may have a separate shower compartment, in an arrangement similar to that seen in in Moore's Hire Fleet.

Moving the toilet door forward means that the arrangement for access to the engine is also very different to that of most builders. It appears that the BMC engine does not need the same space, as Perkins 4.108 does, for the gearbox and reduction gear. It is this that allows the toilet door to be moved forward to occupy the space where the wardrobe or basin usually is. The result is that the usual removable cover and galley shelf, aft of the bulkhead/backrest found in most boats does not exist.

It's difficult to tell from the photograph, but it could be that the two right-angle brackets seen to port around the engine cowling may indicate a repair, reinforcement or suggest that panel beneath is removable for better engine access.

Can you confirm some of the speculation on this page? Did these boats have a separate shower? If you have good quality images of a "standard" Dawn‑Craft Safari, one that started life in the Barnes-Brinkcraft hire fleet, please contribute the missing detail. Upload your photos to the Forum together with any other clarifications and corrections you can offer.