Jump to content

Geoff

Member
  • Posts

    113
  • Joined

Everything posted by Geoff

  1. Used to be moored at Catherine-de-Barnes (Grand Union North of Knowle Locks) but spends a lot of time moored at Lapworth
  2. Hmmmm..... 3 weeks ago a number of boats were broken into where I moor (Knowle) and a number of "Boaty Things" stolen. I know Tres and where she moors so I wonder if thats a co - incidence Will keep a lookout Geoff
  3. I bought some a couple of months ago, yes it is a 4.5l can I had a good hunt round the motoring section and gave up - seem to remember it was in a most obscure place. Had to ask for it Geoff
  4. Try this Alan http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?acti...p;isSearch=true
  5. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  6. BOAT LICENCES FEES 2010 Through licence and mooring fees, boaters contribute nearly £1 for every £5 spent by BW on maintaining and repairing the waterways. They form a very important element within BW’s annual budget. In a consultation in late 2007 we explained the need for significant increases in licence fees to meet funding requirements, and in 2008 and 2009, increases of just over 8% were applied. The funding position is no less easy at present, but in the light of the difficult economic climate we have decided not to increase the net of VAT fee levels for the financial year beginning April 2010. However we do have some proposals (see below) for changes that will affect the prompt payment discount. We are seeking views from boaters and boating organisations on these before the end of February 2010. There will also be a new nominal charge for payments made by credit card. This is also explained below. VAT change BW’s boat licence fees are subject to VAT, so the return of the 17.5% rate from January will mean an effective 2.5% increase in the billed amount. Payments by credit card Fees levied by credit card companies are significantly higher than for debit cards. To encourage customers to switch to debit card or direct debit payment methods, a fixed charge of £7.50 is to be applied to all bills settled by credit card from 1st April 2010. (The average total charge to BW is approximately £11). Gold Licences There will be no change to the net of VAT price of the shared BW-EA Gold licence. Short term licences The fees for short term licences will also remain unchanged (apart from VAT). Because these licences are now available on line, we plan to withdraw the 30 day Waterway Explorer licence. This was introduced in 2003 in response to demand from boaters based on other navigations seeking to be able to make more ‘spontaneous’ visits to BW waters. The ready availability of one day licences by internet and the relatively low volume of annual sales (c. 300) leads us to believe that withdrawing this licence will not cause great inconvenience to customers. It means that we will be able to further improve our enforcement process – currently the user-dating feature of Explorer day tickets means that we are unable to validate easily the licence status of boats observed with Explorer licences. Payment discounts When we last consulted on licence fees in 2007, respondents emphasised the need for us to improve our revenue collection performance. We have made substantial progress on this, reducing evasion from 10.4 % in November 2007 to 4.3% in August 091 . The introduction of the new late payment charge in April 2009 has resulted in major improvements in payment timings and with stronger processes in place, we believe it’s no longer necessary to offer such a large incentive to encourage prompt payment. Further efficiency savings are on the way with the extension of licence sales and renewals by internet. Online renewal has been possible for long term licences since 2005, but limited depending on the status of the boat safety certificate and the type of payment used for the previous licence. From January 2010 the constraints on online renewal will be removed so that any private long term licence will be renewable online. And from August 2010 new applications will be possible online. These changes have the potential to reduce BW’s costs by some £200k per year, providing that there is strong uptake by customers. Taking prompt payment and online purchase together, we want to gradually reduce the total discount available from 10% and divide it into two separate incentives. We are suggesting the following: Date of change Prompt payment discount Online purchase discount August 2010 5% and 3% April 2011 3% and 3% April 2012 3% or 5% The online purchase discount would only be available for applications up to four weeks after the expiry date of the previous licence. Other licence discounts are not affected. Boat licence fees for Scotland. There will be no change to the standard boat licence in Scotland (other than VAT as outlined above). Small changes are being considered to short term and transit fees. These will be the subject of a separate announcement before the end of November. Feedback If you would like to comment on the proposals changing the prompt payment discount, please send these to licencediscounts@britishwaterways.co.uk or by post to British Waterways Prompt Payment Consultation, 64 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1DF before 28 February 2010. Simon Salem Marketing Director 17th November 2009 Notes 1 This is an indicative rate based on the normal monthly check. The rate found in the November 2008 national boat check was 6.8% An incentive to renew the boat licence promptly was introduced in 1990, 19 years ago as an efficiency measure: prompt renewal helps BW’s cash flow and reduces the demand on enforcement resource. It has proved to be effective, and historically, three quarters of boaters have been taking advantage of the discount. In April 2009 we introduced a charge of £150 for late renewal of a licence (more than 1 month overdue) and this has had the effect of accelerating renewals considerably. Internet renewal has been possible for long term licences since 2005, but limited depending on the status of the boat safety certificate and the type of payment used for the previous licence. Nevertheless, some £2m in licence sales were made online in the year to April 2009, amounting to 13% of eligible renewals. This percentage doubled during the six months from April 09, prompted primarily we believe by greater promotion of the facility to our generally highly internet-oriented customers (85% have internet access). From January 2010 the constraints on online renewal will be removed so that any long term licence will be renewable online. This has the potential to reduce BW’s costs by some £200k per year.
  7. Announcement by BW http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/media/do...nnouncement.pdf
  8. A barely run in Lister SR2 35 years old and 100 million hours!! (Approx )
  9. Thanks Leo, at least thats a bit of good news. Any idea what sort of amount?
  10. Its not just adding bio fuel, the suphur in the diesel is to be lowered to 10ppm in line with road fuel. Not a problem with newer engines but there are warnings about the injectors/ fuel pump etc on older engines. I've got a Lister SR2 any advice from the engine Gurus appreciated Geoff
  11. Agreed, thats as I understand it, but found this on the Waterscape website so has a fixed limit now been imposed? http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/can...ing-and-driving
  12. Anybody seen this on the NBW Website http://www.narrowboatworld.com/index.php?o...h&Itemid=38 I know there was a consultation going on about bringing in "drink Boat" limits - has this come into effect?
  13. Forgot to add - Tesco sell them
  14. Thanks for the replies guys The Bite Zappers do work (looks a bit scary if you press the trigger when not on your skin - nice spark ! ) but quite effective. also the "after bites can be worth their weight in gold. Off to the shops for some Avon Skin so Soft, Crocodile and some Vitamin B tablets. Or maybe a full length diving suit
  15. and most importantly if you have a Paloma/Morco etc water heater drain that
  16. The little darlings seem to love me, and I frequently end up looking like a dog with fleas!, but recently have had a couple of bites that have turned nasty needing a trip to the Doctors and antibiotics. Anybody else is suffering from more insect bites (or should that be suffering more from insect bites) than usual ? I ‘ve tried different lotions and sprays and although some seem better that others any suggestions appreciated. Doctor suggested antihistamines as a possible preventative and Vitamin B tablets by someone else, but knowing somebody out there may have another solution……….. Cheers Geoff
  17. Certainly have. Stopwatch going !!
  18. Just been having a few minutes browsing whilst at w**k Went to the Waterscape Site and had a look at Safe Boating http://www.waterscape.com/features-and-art...es/safe-boating Using their own words Cill accidents usually occur when boaters enter a downhill lock and let the boat drift too close to the bottom gate. In front of each bottom gate is a cill submerged below the water, which can jut out by up to 5ft. If the back of your boat comes to rest on the cill as the chamber empties, the boat will tilt forward dangerously and you’ll no longer be floating freely. You and the boat could be in serious danger. Something we should be aware of ?? Or possibly they don't know the difference between top & botton Geoff
  19. If I do get that way August time I'll pop in and see you - I'm still on the Railway having spent 35 years in the Signalling grades Geoff
  20. Hi All I'm trying to decide on where to go for this years trip and fancy the Llangollen Canal. I've been having a look at the Boaters Guides on Waterscape and it says Quote "Trevor to Llangollen: From Trevor to Llangollen the canal is very shallow, accentuating the flow down-stream. It is not recommended for boats drawing more then 21 inches. It is also, in places very narrow." As my boat draws about 2ft 3in (27in") do anybody know if its really too shallow for me to get through? Cheers Geoff
  21. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  22. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  23. There is a valve on them that cuts off the gas supply if the water pressure gets too low, sounds like its that playing up if nothing else has changed.
  24. I was in the basin over the weekend and there is another "well thought out" problem. To access the lock from the basin area you need a BW key to move the builders fencing surrounding the site. No problem so far except, boats leaving the canal toward the river tend to leave a crew member to close the lock and then walk round to the Park to rejoin the boat, as BSP says its not easy to rejoin the boat from the hardly existant landing stage by the lock. Problem : Most boats are chugging onto the river with their keys in the ignition so poor old crewy is marooned inside the worksite until some boater in the basin with a key lets them out !! Brilliant Geoff
  25. Try Dave Thomas at Braunston Cheapest by far when I had mine done (and did a good job) Geoff
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.