cuthound
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Posts posted by cuthound
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14 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
I believe that one of the big differences 'today' is that share boats owned/run by companies are now classed as 'commercial' boats and require the Commercial safety certificate, and, a 'commercial' boat licence, whereas "owner run/managed" boats are still classed as 'private recreational boats'.
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..
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1 hour ago, cosy101 said:
I suppose that is subjective to improvements? Or simply same boat but greater secondhand demand?
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
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1 minute ago, cosy101 said:
That is reassuring to hear. Regarding the share value, did it reflect the boat value or did you just write that off so to speak? Maybe that's why some shares are as low as £300
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.
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15 hours ago, davem399 said:
I sold my share earlier this year in the boat I had a share in since new. I would suggest that a share at the right price will sell easily. Mine sold within a week. One factor to consider is timing of selling a share. One of our owners put his share up for sale a couple of years ago midsummer just after using his allocation of weeks, so wasn’t that attractive to potential buyers who might have to wait many months before getting afloat. I sold in the spring this year with two summer weeks left of my allocation.
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.
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59 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:
I’ve been seeing what appear to be brand new (or close to brand new) CRT vans around,the blue ones with the wavey pattern on
not sparing anymore there are they?
does me nut in watching someone drive out for teatime milk and biscuits in a smart van when the infrastructure’s falling apart,
give the marketing/office workers some spanners and send them out for a proper day’s work
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.
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35 minutes ago, TheShipsCat said:
Has anyone ever seen a water tank gauge on a hire boat? Experiencing water anxiety.
No, but you could roughly gauge the level by poking a long thin bit of wood into the fill point.
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3 minutes ago, WotEver said:
Connect just one wire to a charging battery and check the other one with your multimeter - if it's at charging voltage you've found the correct one.
Welcome back @WotEver. You input has been missed.
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No, it annoys me too as I have to edit the posts to add spaces between them, otherwise they look too cluttered.
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Kraken?
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7 minutes ago, MtB said:
It's worse than that. I LIKE working the locks and pay a handsome fee to have a reason to.
Have you thought about volunteering? You could do it for free then...
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I had a share in shareboats for over 20 years before buying a boat of my own.
No one tired of being at the same base for a year, because you can go in at least two different directions, and also visit different pubs, villages and towns on different journeys.
A couple of time when I or others wanted to explore further we would arrange "remote handovers" with the crew either before or after.
I have now been at my end of garden mooring with my own boat for 10 years and haven't got bored with always starting and ending my trips with the same sections of canal.
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3 hours ago, Victor Vectis said:
Leaving aside the actual incident.....
Whoever came up with the phrase 'deep dive investigation' should be prosecuted for crimes against the English language.
Sadly it was in common use by senior mangers at least 20 years ago. I often used to come across it when playing "bullsh*t bingo"
2 hours ago, Peanut said:If one of the helpers was found to be an accredited VLK then CRT could, on appeal at least, be held liable for the injured party, even though the VLK was off duty. That may have been in CRT's mind when terminating the VLK's involvement.
Normally, an employer is liable for the actions of their employees, but in this case the volunteer was acting on his own account while off duty, and any claim would have to be decided by a judge. There is case law for this, it would be expensive, and cause reputational damage, either way.
Indeed, the legal phrase for an employee undertaking unauthorised activities is being "on a frolic of his own".
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38 minutes ago, blackrose said:
I tend to agree. I was never in favour of universal winter fuel payments to rich pensioners, some of whom are landlords and own multiple properties. I never understood why relatively poorer younger people were subsidising richer older people? It was just another example of taxpayer's money being wasted on a universal benefit which should have been targeted at the poor pensioners who really need it - ideally with higher winter fuel payments.
The counter argument was always that it would be more expensive to means test the winter fuel payment than to maintain its universality. However the Chancellor has blown that argument out of the water with the (admittedly small) £1.3 - £1.5 billion/year that it's saving the Treasury.
I don't actually know if she's got the means testing and cut-off point right - it's possible that WFPs are being cut from too many pensioners, some of whom are less affluent and should still be receiving it, but in principal I agree with the policy of not subsidising the rich by taxing the poor.
I agree, however I am surprised at the political storm it has caused.
A simpler, cost effective solution, which wouldn't have saved as much, would have been to limit the WFA to pensioners paying 20% tax or less.
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Most likely cause is the plug top fuse having blown. They do occasionally fail with age
When I working in the critical power industry all fuses were routinely changed every 5 years to avoid fuses failing unexpectedly.
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2 hours ago, Jerra said:
Just my own personal position, but when the first boat had turned round there I would have moved.
I certainly wouldn't have been there when the third boat tried.
Indeed. I always make a point of touching boats moored in winding holes. Then if the owner complains I point out that it wouldn't have happened if he wasn't moored in a winding hole.
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4 hours ago, haggis said:
Although this terrible accident happened a few years ago it is a timely reminder to be careful where you stand when steering a boat
Absolutely, and although the risk is greatest when reversing, it can also happen when going forward.
Back in the early 90's I was steering our first shareboat along the Coventry canal near Pooley when it ran over something submerged. The front rose and fell, followed by the rear, so I suspect it was a submerged 205 litre drum. Fortunately I was steering from within the hatches, because as the stern of the boat fell, the tiller was wrenched violently sideways and out of my hands.
Had I been standing next to the tiller, like you see so many people doing, I could easily have been pushed into the water.
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2 hours ago, haggis said:
Yes it is colchimax. This being Sunday we didn't think we would get a pharmacy open but we will be in Lymm in the morning and will get the pills there.
Although the doctor said it was gout I am not so sure as iain says that the duvet didn't hurt during the night and his foot is not really sore.. he will get a blood test at our own docs in a few weeks. Unfortunately the NHS records don't cross borders and the doc couldn't see the record of the previous incident.
The problem with doing blood tests for gout is that you typically have high uric acid levels for a day or two before and during a gout attack. By the time you have arranged an appointment with the doctor and he has arranged a blood test the uric acid levels have usually returned to normal.
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57 minutes ago, dmr said:
If it is gout then it will likely return, and its not at all funny. I get an attack once every couple of years. Get some good (prescription) anti-inflamatories in stock and if you can recognise the symptoms very early a single pill will likely stop it in its tracks.
I used to get gout one or twice a year for no apparent reason. My the doctor told me to take twice the recommended dose of ibuprofen because of "the side effects of the prescription medicine".
When we moved to our current home 10 years ago I went to register with the local practice. The doctor noted I had had several blood tests to try to identify gout and asked me how often I got the attacks. I told him once or twice a year. He asked why I wasn't on medication for it, so I told him what my previous doctor had said
He said it was rubbish, most people don't get side effects and prescribed me a daily dose of allopurinol. I haven't had a gout attack since and he was right, I have had zero side effects
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13 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:
I recently replaced our big orange donut (gets in the way, sick of it falling over etc.) with a throw line, or so i thought.
I was told in very stern terms that this had NOT been agreed to, so we now have both on board
By whom?
I've had mine on board for 8 years and it has passed 2 BSC inspections by 2 different examiners.
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I replaced my life ring with a throwing line like this.
Easier to stow on board, with a bit of practice more accurate to throw, and unlikely to render the man overboard unconscious if you accidentally hit him with it.
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I've seen people DIY painting the topsides of their boat under the motorway bridge near Barby on the North Oxford Canal.
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14 hours ago, blackrose said:
I'm not sure how relevant the hull material is when it comes to the potential for hull penetrations to leak? Plenty of steel boats have leaky stern glands after all and most are designed to drip a bit. That only needs to get worse without being noticed either while the boat is underway or moored up and then a working bilge pump may save a lot of grief.
Indeed, when my Vetus Cutlass bearing suddenly failed, it was only the automatic bilge pump kicking in during the early hours that alerted me. If I hadn't have been on board the boat would have sunk.
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7 hours ago, blackrose said:
I heard that as well as helium leaks in it's propulsion system the Boeing Starliner also had some problems with its bow thruster. Perhaps those astronauts should have checked for a snapped shearpin or worn brushes before they let it fly back empty. They're obviously not very experienced if they can't move it without the bow thruster.
I came across a boat yesterday who used his bow thruster to navigate past me as went in opposite directions. Unbelievable. Did feel like asking him if his tiller has packed up...😂
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8 minutes ago, NarrowboatTor said:
Tis fun reading some of the thoughts on this.
Been CCing since April but suddenly have to moor up for a while (Calcutt marina if anyone is about) been on the cut for over five years, I like taking my time.
I was always told if your wake breaks on the bank slow down, ask if paddles can be opened fully when helping another boater in a lock, if someone catches you up let them pass as they're obviously in a hurry (I do, what does it matter?), slow down before you pass another boat not as you get level with them, knocks will happen no matter how careful you are, people can be ignorant just let it pass.
I've met a few that barrel straight towards you with no reaction from them apart from a shrug as they bounce off, it happens.
And finally, a text message doesn't generally convey feeling, chagrin or the fun of a comment made face to face 🤣
The world has become an angry place, I choose not to get bitter over it, I light a fire, open a bottle of cabalié and put me feet up.
Sound philosophy.
Syndicates
in New to Boating?
Posted
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.