What a lovely tale of healing! ❤️ So nice to hear that Freemans are so much more than just a boat! We love the Upper Thames and can absolutely see how this helped 👍🏻

Thank you so much! 🥰

I’m so sorry that I missed this comment! That’s such a heart warming message, and I’m so happy that my attempts at making videos have had such a lovely impact with your mother-in-law. Marji Bee must have made so many wonderful memories for her. It was so nice to pick up a folder of information about her history when we bought her, but this message makes it that little more personal! 🥰 Suffice to say she has remained in caring hands and we are loving getting away on her whenever we can. I’d love to know of any memories or trips that Marji Bee took on the Nene, or if you had any photos? I’m all for building and maintaining history to be passed on in the future. Please thank your Mother-in-Law for looking after her so well!

That’s so wonderful to hear, and thank you for seeing that we are doing our best to keep her in good shape! We have a great support network of super knowledgable Freeman owners here on the upper Thames who are there when we need help too! Happy for you to email me any photos of MB or photos of any “Marji Bee” memorabilia. (mrwillrayner@gmail.com) It might make a really nice segment in a video to dive into a bit of her history and champion the power of the internet! Hopefully seeing her cruising around in my videos is bringing back fond memories. She’s doing her very best to make some wonderful memories for us right now! 😊😊

Thank you for your kind comments. I totally agree that Freeman is a classic marque and beautiful too. Mr Freeman had a good day at the office when he designed them! 😊

Thank you very much!

Thank you and will do! Filming content while the Thames has been in flood since October has been impossible, but we’ll be properly back in the spring for sure! 👍🏻 Hopefully our making of memories on Marji Bee has helped with your reminiscing!

Thank you for your kind words and for subscribing! 👍🏻 Hopefully you’ll enjoy our adventures and content ideas for 2024! 😊

They are great boats for sure. We love them. 6’4” means I do bump my head now and again, but it does mean I get out of doing the washing up! 😂😂

Thank you for the feedback. It makes the effort worth it! Good luck with the search if you do move forward with looking to buy one. My only piece of advice is to do so with your eyes wide open if it is your first boat and understand all of the costs first (mooring, possible winter storage, licences, maintenance, insurance etc). We worked all of that out and set up a "boat account" into which we stick a set amount each month to cover everything. The money is then always there to pay when you need to!

@@riverthamesboating Will, many thanks. The budget is important. Can I be indiscreet enough to ask how much you budget each month? The gent at Sheridan Moulsford suggested ‘at least £3,000 to £3500 a year’ which sounded steep. Regards R.

@@richardnelson7929 We’re on the Upper Thames, so costs are a little more reasonable. We put aside £200 a month, with an expectation that we’ll burn through two and a half grand. If it’s less then we’re happy, but at worst it won’t be much more. We kept Marji Bee at Sheridan Marine over last winter and it was very expensive, but we wanted a proper service from them that know before we started our boat owning journey. Probably Lower Thames tax! 😉

At my height I may have had enough of banging my bonce inside to still have her in 15 years, but you may still be right! 😂 You are spot on though that if we do ever move on, it’s going to have to be another (bigger) Freeman, I think we’re hooked on the marque already!

Dont worry, you probably will shrink a bit as you get older. I took my old custom built Mercian bike off its hooks in the shed, It had been a good few years in there with moving and other things. I could barely get my leg over it!!. The wife cheesed me off by saying I'd shrunk. So off to the door frame and a subtle mark was made. I had indeed shrunk, 2 inches, which explained the longer than average trouser legs I was blaming the manufacturers on. Its and age thing, and If I had the price of two of those frames I could probably have the bulk of a respectable Freeman 23. Although what's shrunk, has for me widened my girth. Maybe a nice Freeman 33....🤔. By the way , have the hounds ever tried to abandon ship mid river or are they as reluctant to experience water like mine? @@riverthamesboating

Yes, Twiggy is very cosy and probably less headroom than Marji Bee, and yeas the WC is flippin’ tiny! 6’4” knees don’t fit in there! 😬🤐 Thanks for the kind words too. Much appreciated! 😊

Thank you! We heartily agree and love her to bits! 👍🏻

Thanks 👍

We’ll definitely be passing through Abingdon a few times this coming year so will hopefully see you. And also if you head up Lechlade way! Do search for my video on the Freeman Owners Mid Thames meet at Abingdon. You should consider joining us all there this August! (Although it will be a lot easier for you to get there than for us! 😂)

I have already watched that video. Really excellent. Yes, if we are not away we will join up with you all for sure. I have a few more of your videos to watch. Our boat is called Galatea IV. We haven't driven her yet but she appears to be a lovely well kept Freeman 23. We are keeping fingers crossed. I am looking forward to "nesting" so to speak. Adding a few new bits and pieces. Very exciting. Just now praying the river comes off red boards by Easter. Looking forward to meeting you both. Lynn

Thames Freeman Owners are a real community. Welcome aboard! Yes, nesting and making her you own is a lovely process. We’re still doing it with Marji Bee! We’ll keep an eye out for you for sure! 😊

Thank you. Will do! There’s going to be another video dropping soon, hopefully this evening, so keep an eye out! 😊

Thank you so much! 👍🏻 Exactly the sort of feedback I was hoping for after such a change of approach, but definitely not expecting! 😊

Thanks for the supporting comments. Much appreciated. Freemans are not expensive. We paid £9k for Marji Bee which is a typical price for a 23 at the moment. The thing that a lot of potential owners don’t consider though are the ongoing costs. Mooring, licences, winter storage, maintenance etc, which can easily add up. You’d need to do your research so there’s no resentment about shelling out all the time! We went on with our eyes wide open and are loving it! I still get the dream boats on my feed too. The “Aquaholic” channel provides that!

Glad you like them, and thank you!

Awwww. Thank you Annie! 😊 It was a big step to take but it looks like I pulled it off! 😬 Always love seeing DP out and about and will do for sure next week. I may even do a video of the meet! 🤔

Thank you 🙏🏻 We think she is a cracker! Storage has been a bit of a saga this winter. There is another video that explains that we should have been craned, but didn’t! We did last winter tho. So 2 years on one antifoul should be ok!

Thank you!

Wow! Not sure I’d get away with a power plant like that on the Upper Thames, we barely ever get near 5mph! 😂

Thank you! No, we don't have a swim ladder. My better half does have a paddleboard that we take around with us but have found that the drop over the transom to the water is not that far so it is easy to sit on the back and step on. Neither of us have actually been swimming so not sure we'd need one, although I do regularly get in and wade around cutting reeds back at our home mooring when it's warm enough. I find a scramble back up the riverbank does the trick!

@@riverthamesboating That makes sense. You likely don't anchor much on the Thames. On my favorite boats we owned we pumped our own water and heated it ourselves. We ran two batteries but your approach makes sense too.

Ha Ha! I thought about he "Aquaholic wave" to the mirror on my tour just like Nick does! I think he's safe for now though! (I still watch those and dream!) Thanks so much for the feedback. Comments like that make stepping in front of the camera worthwhile!

Absolutely! (Well, Marmite anyway!) :)