IanD

The problem with tolls is they're expensive to collect and enforce; this works fine when you have millions of movements per day like on French motorways, it simply wouldn't make financial sense on the canals with maybe a thousand times fewer, the cost of collection would almost certainly be higher than the tolls collected.

Folding up is easy, that's what they're designed to do to prevent hanging up on a cill. Folding down is more difficult (springs etc) and they're not designed this way, presumably because it would cost more, and getting the stern caught under something is much rarer, especially for less experienced hire boaters who seem to account for most cillings...

Exactly -- all this is basically trying to turn the hull into an air conditioner. As anyone with AC in a car will know, condensate dribbles out onto the road underneath them. OK for AC with a water drain, not so good for the inside of a steel hull... 😞

They've been beaten to death many times because they're not the real reason for CARTs financial problems, they're scapegoats -- it allows people to blame CART instead of the government. Outsourcing and lack of skilled personnel -- absolutely, it's the same problem as in so many other infrastructure areas (rail, buses, water...), thinking that privatisation and "the markets" will magically solve everything... 😞

The term doesn't just refer to physical bits of design...

How do you think CRT could have spent (not enough) money more wisely? Please don't say fewer blue signs and lower executive pay, those have been beaten to death many times...

What you're talking about are skiamorphs... 🙂

You mean the bits of blue-and-white wet string that are being used for who knows what? 😉 I hope you're very happy together 🙂