The Builders
Launch List
The Shorebase site records that 256 Safaris were produced between 1968 and 1982. These days examples are found as far from Norfolk as the Lancaster Canal, the River Avon, near Bristol, and even on the Canal du Midi in France. By combining Craig Slawson's data with information published by the Hampton Safari Boat Club a provisional Launch List has been produced indicating the yard or location at which the launch of just short of 170 Safaris took place.
We now seek assistance with confirming the accuracy of the list and would welcome any corrections or further details about individual craft. Please post your comment on the Forum.
The vast majority of the launches will have taken place at boatyards on the Norfolk Broads. It is also known that at least one yard on the Thames fitted out Safaris following the Hampton fit-out design as closely as any Broads yard. That may not be a surprise as they were building for a hire fleet as well. Any further information that we currently have is recorded on the pages linked below.
Broadland Builders
While the design of the Safari was Alec Hampton's, and it was his company, Hampton Boats Ltd, that commissioned the construction of the hull and superstructure mouldings. The vast majority of that output was fitted out by other Broadland boatyards for their hire fleets. We know this thanks to the work of the late Craig Slawson. He produced the Boats of the Norfolk Broads database, now under development by others. Read more...
R & C Bondon
Study of the Boats of the Norfolk Broads database reveals that R & C Bondon's yard at South Walsham launched two Safaris in 1972. These had the registration numbers F31 (later re-numbered 112H) and F32. They were listed as the "Dawncraft 26" type in Craig's database, perhaps reasonable as they included the main feature of the boats later built by Dawn-Craft (Wroxham), a single long side window. However, it has emerged that Paul, (of Shorebase) was unaware that R & C Bondon had launched their version three years before Dawn-Craft (Wroxham) started building their version. Read more...
Dawn-Craft (Wroxham)
Records show that Dawn-Craft (Wroxham) were fitting out standard MkII Safaris between 1975 and 1979. However, at the same time, they were also building a variant, which both the Shorebase site and the Boats of the Norfolk Broads database dubbed the "Dawncraft 26" It was thought that early models were built with the MkI moulds previously used by R & C Bondon, with the addition of a porthole aft of the long side window. The evidence suggests otherwise. Read more...
L.H. Jones
While most Safari shells were bought to be fitted out for holiday hire fleets and used Hampton's designs, there was one yard, L.H. Jones, based at St Ives on the Great Ouse, that fitted out boats exclusively for private buyers. All examples seen so far were fitted out as Picnic Boats. Such boats are designed for comfortable day cruising rather than overnight trips and may have either freestanding or fixed furniture in the saloon and, usually, a dinette mid-ships with a galley and toilet aft. Uniquely, their boats had the engine mounted transversely at the stern and used hydraulic drive to the propeller. Read more...