Forest Gump

Its interesting to note that law lords sitting on an appeal case stated that they could not make any sense of the documentation how could members of the public be expected to get the full picture .. guess we could go on and on and there may be no answers......

mr alan de enfield point - example 3 does not apply as most pontoons - finger pontoons DO NOT have sewage and water facilities alongside.....and although there may be water it is shared and there will not be any sewage facilities.. exactly

Thanks for the interest - to answer q's the moving is down to the valuation office (which ever one you wish to use) - and it is to show that the berth is not exclusively yours - the mere fact that it is stated in the contract as not being yours (non exclusive) and the marina operator can if they wish move boats (although it is not common practice) does not appease the valuation office.... The point about people liking or choosing their home berths is valid and yes people using their boats for leisure are not obliged to become involved in moving around....It is not something the marina is demanding as pointed out - it is strictly a valuation officer - for their part it is best for the marina operator if the boats can stay in situ as they would have to become involved in switching over electrical supplies to new occupiers in the case of metered electric and a refund system for tokens Composite tax - the next copied paragraph in relation to composite tax comes from the practice notes 7 of the valuation notices and if anyone wants the link or full name of the report to read ?? I will happily oblige The big downside with a composite payment made by the marina is that it is simply an increase in business rates to keep the local council happy and therefore does not necessarily grant any access to local facilities e.g. schools, library, electoral register, etc. that we would get from paying Band A direct to the council.

Just to say I have had great customer service from Sterling (based in Droitwich) so my money would be with one of theirs....

would love to hear comments on composite tax which appears to be arriving at a marina near you soon!! the tax is to cover the residential aspect of things - ie you can use the marina as an address and in theory you have a residential mooring, albeit still on a 12 month marina contract.....The Composite rate would provide some security against the council coming to move you on but as I understand does not allow you any more rights regarding using local facilities as strictly speaking you are not a "full payer" One of the issues which appears to cause the biggest irritation is to fulfill the requirement, the valuation office require you to move off your home berth either some times a year or for longer periods say every six months for six months. It is an easy process of swapping with neighbours but some moorings have been selected for their outlook, mobile phone signal or easy access. Has anyone else encountered this ? does anyone move? does anything happen if you don't? any serious thoughts on this would be welcome the gumpmaster

I watch the lads at Aqua Narrowboats fit boats out - they are top dollar - excellent - also having just bought an Amber boat - I had some work done by Martin at Evesham Marina - he is first class and I have to say the general fit out of these boats in my humble opinion is superb!!

thanks to those who replied.... the tank is deffo leaking - as to exactly why - would indeed involve taking the tank out - we did think at first the water tank filler was top blame and we also suspected the breather - but these areas have been checked. The pump is accessible and the pipe works all visible but these tanks were an extra and are fitted in from the front bulk head and wedged in place with blocks of mastic'd wood and sprayfoam....When we topped up the tank yesterday after allowing the discovered wet areas to dry - the trickle came from the port side and once a 5 minute drain on the tank via the taps the flow seemed to stop, suggesting the break is in the top weld, although we are still absorbing water with the good old fashioned nappies.......We cannot see the split - we would not be able to see the split without taking the tank out - but there is one there and we feel we should remedy it........Of course we might be suspicious that when we bought the boat - the water tanks had been drained - weird for May_- the boat had condensation issues on the tumbledown side (which we have since had remedy with new boards and thicker insulation and there is an almighty lash up on the water outlet - in that a 5mm gas pipe has been used to feed the pump - this smells of a weird fix but its irrelevant as to the possible cause - the fact remains there is some kind of failure....I have just seen a mate of mine who also has an amber boat and he didn't have the SS extra tank - his water tank is the entire bow - so I wonder if thats an option - cos if it is - that's what I think we will do!! Thanks for all the thoughts the gumpmeister

Can anyone advise.... 4 weeks with our new boat ( a 5 year old Amber boat) we have discovered a split in the water tank ?? I say a split it could be a pin hole or a break in the weld or absolutely any minute hole causing a small flow of water down the boat - the access to the tank is via an up and over letter box in the top step - so armed with torches and lights we have concluded the tank has failed....As we live aboard we feel the need to fix sooner rather than later - and whilst not diy enthusiasts we have to face the reality of doing much of the hard work ourselves... The case in point is - to get the tank out the way it went in - would involve talking away the cupboard the original owners paid extra for - removing the steps along with the pump / and lovely lights contained within said steps and worse of all the raised Amber style wood burner and the tiles which we now believe to be obsolete stock so any breaks and its a mosiac refit or all the tiles in that area have to come out.........I have thought of another option - taking out the front deck - either in a small piece and replacing or relining said tank with some form of durable plastic and that would then stop this happening again and if it did we could get in.... or removing more of the deck to either get the tank out to repair or repair in situ.....Having read many threads on these ss tanks - I wish we had the old boat and its integral tank whatever the hygiene of it all is?? I would be thrilled to hear thoughts of others on the cut.... the gumpmeister