Our story
Fun facts, figures & history
Class
V Passenger Vessel
Length
62 ft
Beam
15.5 ft
Displacement
32 tonnes
Draught
3.5 ft
Capacity
110 (70 in saloons)
The boat
The Rutland Belle boasts a galley and head (bar and toilet for landlubbers) and a 250kg SWL hydraulic lift for wheelchairs or passengers unable to use the steps. Minimum crew is the Skipper — a licensed Boatmaster — and a crewman.
In 2020 the boat underwent an extensive refit, moving the wheelhouse forward into a more elevated position and freeing up more upper-deck space.
As a British Merchantman, the Rutland Belle flies the Red Ensign when in passage.
How it began
In the early 1980s Trevor and Joan Broadhead were running a hire-boat and trip-boat business (Charnwood Marine Ltd) on the River Soar near Leicester. Spotting an Anglian Water article in the Leicester Mercury inviting tenders to run a trip-boat on Rutland Water, they proposed a new, purpose-built vessel.
Despite strong competition their proposal was accepted. The Rutland Belle was built at Ollerton, near Newark, and launched in early November 1985.
Engine enthusiasts: the Belle is powered by a 1947 Gardner 5LW engine, originally from a generator set said to have supplied auxiliary power to the Royal Train.
Taken from All Aboard The Rutland Belle with kind permission of the author, Gerald Rennett — a guide to the boat and the places it cruises past, including the Ospreys, Empingham Model Village, Normanton Park, the Hambletons and Burley-on-the-Hill. Available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle.