Alan de Enfield

~There is (should be) small holes in the channel on the outside of the boat - these very easily get blocked with a tiny bit of grit, or moss. Give them poke with a bit of wire and hopefully it will start draining away immediately

I bet they don't !

Do you ever cruise or use your engine / alternator to charge the batteries ?

I'm not sure there will be many boats, GRP or otherwise that will be able to meet all of the OPs intended usage ".............but we think children and adults with challenges would love this safe unique situation to hide from the world for a while and watch and learn about otters, or sit and do simple weaving, painting, sing, cook, .............." I'd suggest that a portacabin / site office raised off the ground on legs or blocks would be more suitable I would think that there will be safety certificate requirements to meet/obtain if there is gas or electricity 'piped in' and it is being used by "3rd parties" - particularly those with 'challenges'.

I use (and I'd assumed he was using similar) clear braided reinforced tubing.

If re-inforced hose has kinked you've installed it incorrectly - you need to increase the radius of the bend where it has kinked.

The Cat only has small Volvo 3 cylinder, 29hp engines - the Cruiser is the thirsty one - two 6-litre, 6 clyinder engines downrated to 110hp each and uses around 10 litres and hour at 8 knots. The real thirsty one was the Fairline with twin 200hp Volvo 6-cylinder engines - managed to achieve 1.25 miles per gallon at 25 knots.

Don't forget the chain & perch !

Yes I am, but I wonder how many potential new boaters are ? It is always useful to 'show/explain your workings'.

The 0.16 factor is to convert cubic metres to tons (Tuns). I do not see (in the original formula you posted) any reference, or method of getting from cubic metres to tons (tuns)

I do not disagree with you - it is sharp practice as a minumum - however the industry does not have a very good history of 'ethics'. I think this specific manufacturer was not aware of the law regarding VAT and boats as he/they also said VAT is not appliable if the boat is used for residential - this is also incorrect. There are two specific legal criteria for a qualifying ship. The first is that the boat has not been ‘designed or adapted’ for recreation or pleasure. The fact that your boat is designed as a live-aboard and not as a ‘pleasure craft’ means that it fulfills the first condition even if you are not intending to live aboard permanently or at all.

Just to avoid inaccuracies, a qualifying boat is NOT 'VAT Free' it is "Zero Rated". Aparently the sales contract was written such that it stated "in our opinion (the builder) this boat is Zero rated for VAT, however, if this is subsequently found to be incorrect, then the seller assumes all liability for any outstanding VAT" Caveat Emptor !

I think you missed the important 0.16 multiplication factor in your example The HMRC formula for calculating gross tonnage for vessels of less than 24m in length is as follows. L (m) x B (m) x D (m) x 0.16 (see below for definitions of L,B & D) HMRC then go on to specifically define the D measurement for canal boats and this is measured from under the top of what we know as the gunwale to the base plate. As an interesting example, take ‘Panache’ the widebeam boat of a huge 69’ long (L) x 11″ beam (B) with a height of 46” (D). Let’s work out the calculation by first converting the imperial measurements to metric so we have: 21.03m x 3.35m x 1.16m = 81.35 x 0.16 = 13.01 gross tons… Not a qualifying vessel. So here’s the interesting part in order to get a boat even of this size to qualify the standard (D) measurement would need another 190mm adding giving a (D) measurement of 1.35m. See the revised calculation below: (21.03m x 3.35m x 1.35) = 95.10 multiplied by 0.16 = 15.21 gross tons, a qualifying ship. A word of warning… It is vital as a ‘Purchaser’ you read all the contractual documentation regarding the purchase of any vessels and in particular VAT free vessels. There’s been a case highlighted to us where a boat had been sold as ‘VAT free’ unfortunately on incorrect grounds which post sale lead to the HMRC correctly chasing the seller for the VAT which should have been charged. In this particular case the contract of sale placed the responsibility to satisfy any such VAT claim on the purchaser so they had to stump up.

Did you not write .....................