cuthound

Perhaps time to resurrect the Grand Contour Canal, which would minimise the amount of pumping needed to transfer water. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Contour_Canal

Good old fashioned inflation, with energy prices and food prices particularly affecting businesses.

Indeed, shared ownership is the cheapest way to get a month or so on a boat every year. That is why I had shares in boats until I retired. Only then did it become financially viable for me to own whole a boat of my own.

This is the result of the cost of living crisis forcing everyone's costs up, hence the high entrance chargea, whilst reducing the disposable income of Joe Public.

Indeed, it is unique and difficult to see everything properly on a single visit.

The Coventry has been busier this year than in any of the 10 years I have lived by it. Most charities these day offer lotteries to attract contributions. CRT offer a different kind of lottery, one where it is a gamble on your chosen route remaining open before you complete your trip...

Is the blue bag to repair a broken yellow bag?

Yes, but we are discussing syndicated commercial operations not boats jointly owned by unmarried couples. Both of my shareboats were operated by Ownerships, a commercial company, which failed in 2010. Initially they were classified as commercial but @haggis appealed to the Ombudsman because the boats were owned 100% by the shareholders and her appeal was upheld.

No, wrong way round. Initially they were all classed as "commercial" boats and required commercial BSS certificates and licences. This was challenged by @haggis for shareboats where the company didn't retain a part holding, such as the Ownerships scheme and the Ombudsman upheld this. Only shareboats where the company retains part ownership (for example 4% for the Challenger scheme) have to pay the commercial rates and meet the higher BSS standard..

Market forces. Back in the 90's and early 2000's shared ownership was a boom industry and shareboats couldn't be built fast enough to meet demand. In 1990 there were a handful of shareboats by 2010 Ownerships (the biggest shareboat operator) alone had over 100 boats, so meeting the demand

IIRC I paid about £4000 for my first share in 1992 and sold the share for £3750 in 2001, even though the boat needed a new engine. However in those days shared ownership was in great demand so the shares held their value very well. The share in the second boat cost about £6500 new and I sold it for £3250 in 2013. It had just had a new engine fitted which cost each shareholder about £500 IIRC. I then spent a long time looking for a suitable secondhand boat to buy, and eventually bought one in May 2014. The first share multiplied by 12 was more than the boats value, the second probably reflected the boats value, but be aware secondhand boat prices have risen dramatically (an unusual situation) since 2013, although they are beginning to soften now. For example I had my boat valued earlier this year and it is worth around 45% more than the amount I paid for it in 2014.

Completely agree Dave. I had shareboats from 1992-2001 and 2002- 2013. Both were bought new. Both times I offered my share for sale at the beginning of the year so that any potential buyer could have the holidays I had pre-booked. Both times I asked a price slightly lower than other shares were being offered for (£100- £200 less or thereabouts). Both times the share sold within 2 weeks of it being offered for sale. If you sell at the beginning of the year, so that the buyer can have his first holiday relatively soon after, and you ask a reasonable price, then in my experience the share will quickly sell. To be honest both times I was pleased to get any money back, as the initial purchase price of the share had been "saved" many times over compared to hiring.

Most companies lease their vehicles, usually for 3-5 years. Although it costs more in the long run, it makes financial planning easier as it is a fixed monthly payment, rather than lumpy expenditure of buying, depreciating and repairing.

No, but you could roughly gauge the level by poking a long thin bit of wood into the fill point.