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Actually I have to take issue with this. I am a mechanical engineer, I have a degree to prove it. I am not a mechanic in that I don't work on cars etc. (I used to, my Dad taught me that's probably how I got interested, but now I have Richard or my sons to do it for me.) Richard is also a qualified Mechanical engineer. A trained mechanic will be able to fix the cars / machinery he's been trained to fix. In my experience present them with a problem a bit out of the ordinary and they'll be stumped. An engineer can design things or come up with answers to problems they haven't seen before. For instance Richard had just installed an engine in a boat which had a different type of engine before. A mechanic could have put back an engine that he took out, connected everything back up and got it running. It needed an engineer to look at the space round the engine, and design and produce the exhaust system, diesel pipes and cooling pipes and wiring. I'm not saying you have to have a degree to do that, but you have to be able to think problems through, rather than just follow instructions. There are lots of god engineers on this forum, and you can tell by the type of answers they give. That's why I get cross about the misuse of the term engineer, and engineers not getting the respect as a profession they deserve. I'm sue you'd get a lot of trouble if you called a "housewife" a domestic lawyer, but domestic engineer seems to be an acceptable term. I had problems with a BT "engineer" who was trying to install something for a customer of mine. Because we weren't using a BT router they couldn't do the job. They couldn't tell me how to set the parameters on the router we had as they'd only been told to plug wire a into port a etc, and if there was no port a they were stuck. That's not an engineer that's a technician. Sorry about the rant, it's one of my hobby horses. Sue

Uncle Richard said it might be a nice thing to update my planner, I imagine to give some of the newer peeps a guide to which junction is where and what not. So I have. Quite a task given the rule changes from the last time it was done, but I think I've got them all. Let me know if it plays up. It probably will. http://www.thecatwhowalksbyhimself.co.uk/bcnChallenge.php NB: Don't bother with the rest of the site too much, I set about re-vamping it in 2011 and never quite finished... The road to hell, etc.

Take the number of boats licenced on the system, subtract the number built in the last four years, divide by the number of registered examiners, then divide by 4, and that is the average number of "jobs" per examiner. It wasn't very many the last time I did the calculation. Then bear in mind that a few examiners seem to do a disproportionately large number of boats (perhaps they are cheap), leaving a much lower average for the rest. Then factor in the paperwork time, the registration fee, PI and PL insurance, certificates etc. Then bear in mind that you may be required to attend further routine CPD training sessions, sometimes two or more days, for which you supply your time free and pay for theirs, and then bear in mind you may get sued if you get it wrong, which I guess isn't comfortable even if you are insured! I wouldn't have thought it was worth the aggro, which is why I am not one!

I notice it is people who don't use one who criticise them. We used one for at least 20 years and they saved us a fortune. We had the convenience of being able to pump out at infrequent intervals. I would recommend an electric motor

Half watching a documentry about ships built on the Clyde last night. This time it was a cable laying ship that was commisioned to collect the bodies of deceased from the Titanic.. It was stated that the Titanic sunk on the 14th APRIL !!! Phil sure picks his moments doesn't he!

Well,I'm self employed, but my rate is my rate, regardless. It would get all very confusing ,for me anyway ,if I was to start assessing the income or wealth of any potential cliant before divulging my Labour rates to them.

Actually,,taking the above into account,it makes sense, I thought that one of the guys who came to my boat was a Trainee, but maybe it was very much a case of One guy to Unplug old, and Plug in Reconditioned Unit,,and One guy to tell him How, Leaving the Driver in the Van !.

If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. Red Adair There's nothing stopping YOU learning to paint and charge £15 an hour too. Or to to be an electrician and charge £35, or £50 an hour, if you turn out to be smart enough to hack it out there in the real world of self-employment. MtB

You are not paying for the condition of his boat or the type of tools he uses, you are paying for years of knowledge, qualifications and competence. That rate is a very good rate for someone who is readily available.

I wasn't mocking from afar, I was mocking from only 6 miles away. Having been a tenant of several houses before buying four years ago, I can echo what others have said about notice periods. After any fixed period of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, which is the norm nowadays, often 6 months but set by agreement at the start of the tenancy, if another fixed period is not agreed, the tenancy continues until either the landlord gives two months notice or the tenant one month. That's not unfair to the landlord, because the tenant has more to do as a result of notice being given; the tenant has to find a new place to avoid becoming homeless and has to get packed, while the landlord just has to find a tenant or have a void period. The real problem is that the system is easily manipulated by bad landlords AND bad tenants, better protection is needed for both. If a tenant doesn't leave and cease to pay rent, the landlord can only start proceedings when the two months expire, and it will then be a few months more before the bailiffs can go in. By which time the landlord's lost a few months' rent and all too often has some deliberate damage to repair. The tenant won't get a reference but probably still finds another landlord to exploit. Conversely, some landlords will tell lies to get a tenant in, harass a tenant to get them out, and pull all sorts of tricks to try to keep deposit money. If a landlord is in mortgage arrears and gets repossessed, this can become a big problem for the tenant, especially if the lender doesn't know the property has been let. Most estate agents are incompetent and patronising beyond belief towards tenants too. I had one half my age telling me I wouldn't be able to afford the rent on the house I wanted when I knew that I easily would. It was hard to resist the temptation to tell her that I'd never had a debt in my life other than a previous mortgage which must have begun while she was still in nappies, and that as the holder of an Oxford maths degree I could be expected to be capable of managing my budget. I put it much more politely and got the house. Not before her colleague who showed me round had set off the ear-splitting burglar alarm his manager had neglected to tell him about.

Indeed and I look forward to watching what does happen.... Also is the 'Dispute at Pillings' the fastest growing thread we've ever had? It's certainly the fastest I've known. Regards, Lockie.

You would have more chance of success if you wanted to be fully self sufficient if you could buy a piece of land somewhere in Europe where the climate is more favourable. In Britain you are limited to when you can plant and harvest and solar is a non starter over winter.Ideally some land with a borehole for water, wood for fuel, good soil for growing veg and space to keep chickens and livestock. More importantly in a hotter climate you could grow vines and become self sufficient for plonk as well.Parts of rural Spain or Portugal would be the first place I would look. In Spain and Portugal Madrona is a common wild plant that is alcoholic before fermentation,bung it straight in a still, job done, drink yourself blind for free while topping up the tan.

Nein - Fraulein Boot

I'm with Bee on this. The article concentrated on one individual who may have contravened the terms of her lease. I am more concerned for the three 'chosen at random'. Even if the new site owner needed to comply with regulations restricting the number of berths at Cadogan Pier I am sure that, after evicting the four defaulters, they could negotiate a 'stay' with the authority or even increase the number of berths. As Nigel Moore often emphasises, boats on CRT waters 'with no home mooring' have more rights (with some restrictions) than those with moorings. There is no right to moor to a bank anywhere unless you own the land. A few years ago the legal rights of 'mobile home' owners were improved and some of the regulation was applied to marinas and moorings. The main difference is that a boat can easily be moved to another location and sold at market value; A 'mobile home' (unlike a boat, not actually mobile): Costs as much or more than a boat, Has no value without a site, Site owners demand by contract:First right to sell and chose the buyer, 20% or more sellers fee, Evict any 'home' more than 20 years old. Rent a flat in the private sector and you will have a 6 month assured tenancy. Offer 5 years in advance (say £30,000) and it will be refused. Get a Housing Association (Council) property (unlikely) and you can no longer pass it on to resident children. Boat dwellers have more security than anyone in rented property. Ms Pittam has lived her dream for six years. If she had invested in a small house or flat and suffered the daily commuting to the City she could have lived her dream from early retirement into her dotage - but not in London.

O'dear - more London boaters made homeless. With the apparent migration (of all boats under about £25k) heading Southwards, "someone" is going to have to do "something" soon. It will be anarchy and chaos. Is it down to the Government or local Councils ? - as we continuously hear that "C&RT is not a hosuing authority"

Hi ya, i have no dealings with this CRT which is I take it is the organization in charge in some way of the waterways that most use, However,just to put a point on what you said above, it could be argued, it's also not our job to decide who is living compliant within the law,as far as say Burglary,Theft,Road tax evasion, or assault to others ect ect is concerned, that's a job for the police,,but it's good social practice to help the police DO there job sometimes, isn't it ?. That would Definitely divide the group's,, I don't know if it help or hinders the Them & us types arguments.