Alan de Enfield

And what are those constraints ? Apart from lack of willingness and worrying about 'upsetting' some part of society. One example of where I believe they got it wrong .................... British Waterways Act 1983 .....Notwithstanding anything in the Act of 1971 or the Act of 1974 or in any other enactment relating to the Board or their inland waterways, the Board may register pleasure boats and houseboats under the Act of 1971 for such periods and on payment of such charges as they may from time to time determine: Provided that the charge payable for the registration of a pleasure boat shall not at any time exceed 60 per centum of the amount which would be payable to the Board for the licensing of such vessel on any inland waterway other than a river waterway referred to in Schedule 1 to the Act of 1971 as that Schedule has effect in accordance with any order made by the Secretary of State under section 4 of that Act. In discussions with Nigel Moore he wrote : I have argued back and forwards on this in my own mind, but currently conclude that CaRT can legally do whatever they wish in respect of licence categories and charges, subject only to that percentage discount for PBC’s. The only [purely implicit] further restriction on the creation of yet more categories would be the restriction on charging more for such categories than for the ‘standard’ licence. Easily subverted, as Alan has suggested, by making the ‘standard’ licence category sufficiently costly, with discounts tailored to suit the managerial aspirations.

And what are those constraints ? Apart from lack of willingness and worrying about 'upsetting' some part of society.

I say again - go away and read what powers C&RT actually have - then come back and explain why they cannot issue fines for 'everyday rule breaking'. The EA seem to have no problem in enforcing By-laws and getting rule breakers fined.

Yes I have. O' yes there are, maybe you should try reading some of the Acts before making such statements. The fact that C&RT, and BW before them, have decided not to take action does not mean that they do not have the powers to do so. One should also realise that once found guilty the offence is 're-commited' every day that the offence is not 'corrected' so the Bye-law fine increases by £100 per day, it doesn't take long for it to become a substantial sum. Something written by Nigel Moore (RIP) In response to a question as to why C&RT do not use the byelaws : It was HH Judge Denyer QC in the judgment against George Ward of 20 December 2012 on the Bristol County Court :- “Other than the removal of the boat the only sanction provided for in the legislation in respect of a contravention of the Rules by a person such as the Claimant is that of a derisory fine. I think it has now reached the sum of £50. If they are not entitled to take these steps i.e. removal of the boat from the river they are in truth substantially powerless to enforce the obligations of those who use the waterways. I do not regard the ability to take debt recovery proceedings as being a sufficient alternative remedy. Aside from anything else they would face problems of enforcement. No doubt if they did obtain a money judgment the judgment debtor would seek to or could seek to pay at some derisory sum per week or per month.” He overlooked, of course, the fact that the same would apply to any County Court judgment as to costs etc, and also that the seizure of the boat even if leading to a sale could never be used to pay off the debt, because the relevant statute specifically bars that. They can only (legally) retain from the profits of a boat sale, the costs of seizing, storing and selling it. However it may be that this judge (and others) was misled into believing that BW could use possession of the seized boat as a lien on monies owed to them. This was pre-Ravenscroft after all. He was mistaken as to the level of fine which is £100 (plus, of course, costs, and nowadays ‘victim surcharges’). He was also off the mark about “problems of enforcement”. Having obtained a court order for fines and costs and charges, the collection could be left to court bailiffs, or payment could be sought for from central funds as respects costs at least. The judge also seems to be confusing pursuit of money judgments with prosecutions (pursuit of merely a money claim being a third option NOT, as the 1983 Act provides, preclusive of parallel criminal action. If the convicted boater proved evasive and in breach of a court order, then a warrant for their arrest could be issued, and once caught they could be sent to prison for contempt of court. There is nothing “derisory” about such implications as attached to the prosecution process. If this judge was correct, then the EA could be considered “powerless to enforce the obligations of those who use” - their – waterways” – and clearly, that is very far from the truth.

C&RT already have the legal power to charge differentiated pricing of the licences - it is specifically listed in the 1983 Act (they also have the powers to charge for anything outside of 'navigation' - including 'improved moorings' (rings, armco, bollards, grass cut along the edge etc etc), waste bins, toilets, & water But C&RT has said that 16 miles on the G&S is not sufficient and the decision was upheld by the Ombudsman on appeal. Maybe if C&RT actually used the powers they already have, (Various Acts of Parliament and the Bye Laws) the situation could be very different to where they find themselves today.

There are some 10x as many leisure boats that do not require a BSS than there are those that do - I wonder how they survive without bursting into flames or sinking ?

So the bilge pump is only checked once every 4 years !

Even if it is out of the water. you will still need a crane or mobile hoist to lift it off the ground and up to a height where a truck can reverse under it. I'd budget for between £500 and £1000 to do this, and of course you'll need a crane at the ther end. We had our boat moved 210 miles (it was a 36 foot length widebeam tho) and it was £2500 + crane/hoist at each end.

Remember "Dr Bob" ? He was an ardent composting supporter but was quite happy to say on the forum that he used the marina's 'compost dump' but, when out cruising it was a 'hedge bottom'.

It is generally accepted that many/most folks will not admit to making a mistake in purchasing something that hasn't worked as they hoped (Fear of Failure) This is probably shown by the very few who openly admit 'bagging and binning' or 'emptying in the hedge bottom', very few CCers seem to have the ability (or will) to store their 'output' on board for 12-36 months to get proper composting.

That's magic - I was reading your post re the canal closures and "poooof" it was gone and replaced by the above. I take it that being a mod means that when you edit posts it doesn't show up as being edited.

And that is why the zealots think that when they get 100% positive response to their suvey that it truly refelects the boaters views of composting toilets.

Or the fact that Joe public is terrified to spend what savings they have and live in fear of the next Government policy announcement The average price a home is being listed for fell £6,589 month-on-month in November, according to property portal Rightmove. The website said the 1.8 per cent dip was the biggest monthly reduction at this time of year since 2012, and took the average price tag on a home coming to market across Britain to £364,833. Experts have said speculation of potential property taxes at this month’s Budget have caused some households to pause their buying plans, particularly at the top end of the market. Rightmove’s figures show that more than a third (34 per cent) of homes available for sale have had an asking price reduction, with the average size of price reduction being 7 per cent. Both figures are the highest since February 2024, Rightmove said.

Electrolux specifically stated in their manual that the 'normal' 3-way fridge used in boats was not to be used and, that for boat installations, you had to contact them for the 'special marine' fridge. for the boat-approved version.

But what if the BSS follow the trends (as previously) and say "only appliances approved for boat use can be fitted"