Dominic M

I would also add that I am grateful for the input. It is like having a focus group whose ideas I am pleased to read and am very happy to take on board. Not least because the observations about the functioning of the new website are by and large absolutely right. Thank you.

I suspect you are using Firefox as your browser. For some reason it behaves differently with elements of pdf files to Chrome, Safari, Opera and IE. However, I am very grateful that you pointed out this to me and I have, as you say, "fixed it". It is tempting to replace the boring wordy stuff with some snappy jokes but I fear I might reap the wrath of the boat owner if I do so. :-)

The best laid plans as Shakespeare put it... Changing a website is never going to please everyone, and when it doesn't work properly it is going to please no one at all. I've been tinkering with this new build for a couple of months or more, and it all worked perfectly on a testing site. However, in switching from the test domain to the main domain name (rugbyboats.co.uk) the new host somehow managed to install a part-built old back up of the test site. After much to-ing and fro-ing over several days the proper version was reinstalled, but with some broken image links, which is why placeholders appeared instead. I was away in France when this happened, so I had to get somewhere where I could access the back end of the site and fix them. In all, it was about 4 days before everything was back to normal. Apart from the annoying intrusion into a holiday, it would have made no difference if I had been trying to put it right from the office. I know some people preferred the lay out of the old site, but the fact is that technology has moved on, and it was not so good on handheld devices. With the rolling out of 4G in the UK, some 40% of internet browsing is now conducted on smart phones, and if you don't build a website that is fast enough and easy to read to cater for that market, you are limiting the business which is no good for the customers or, ultimately, the health of the company. I liked the old site too - I built that as well, after all. When I launched that back in 2010 I got several angry emails complaining about the previous version it replaced! However, I like the new site (obviously) and I think it is clean and quick and presents the boats well. Anyway, thank you for the concern, and to those who contacted me directly to tell me of the problem, and happy New Year.

Right then, I was wondering if amongst all this wonderful free publicity you could put up links to all the photos and the video too Seriously, I was led to believe that this was one of the last to be completed at Glascote, and it is. The very last: apparently not, according to an email I received overnight from Martyn Webster, Steve H's former business partner. Hudson boats were not cheap new and a lot of extras are on this. It is as good as new as the owners had it built and then have been unable to use it for personal reasons. It is, as they say about a certain brand of Belgian beer, reassuringly expensive. It certainly is at a discount from the brand new price, and some might suggest that as there will not be anymore built, perhaps they now have an added value. Time and the market will provide the answer to that one. Whether you like Hudson boats or not, the stupid bow and the stick on rivets as some here sneer, the fact is that the guy built up a very successful business producing a boat that many aspired to and were prepared to pay good money for. He never let a customer down financially, unlike one or two other boat builders who have a history of serial bankruptcy and receivership. It was not sold by Whilton by the way, but it was on brokerage there for a while. My apologies for the confusion over the engine hours. The brochure is correct, the website text not corrected owing to human error and advancing senility on my part. Dominic (500,000 hours)

It's not Lily Maud. That is here at Stowe Hill and has been for a few weeks, and I have a big fat bunch of keys to go with it! Apparently there is also an index number on the bunch of keys that have been found and that comes up as a Springer called Sweeney, so probably that is the boat but with a name change. Thank you canalchef for raising the matter, but I suspect they have only been recently left there and the boat is probably still in the vicinity.

Not a lot of people know that, Mark.

Thank you, Alan. Terry: the seller of Alfie, through Rugby Boats brokerage, kept the boat on the River Nene. So it would have been licensed with the Environment Agency, Anglian Region. It would not have been on CRT (formerly BW)'s index of licensed craft as a currently registered vessel therefore. At the moment it is at Stowe Hill, as you know, and on a set of trade plates that we have provided whilst it is in our possession. I'll call you when I get in later and explain what happens once you have taken ownership of the boat. If you choose to remain on CRT waters then you may get a new licence, and if you wish to pay for an annual licence up front, you will get the 10% prompt payment discount providing you apply within a fortnight of taking ownership. I hope this may be of use to others, as it is an issue that has arisen before, particularly in a area like mine where there are two separate navigation authorities in close proximity.

Terry, for God's sake ring me if you are concerned about this stuff. I know the answers. I'm a broker. It's my job.

Photoshopped! Who said that? I can tell you it was another red and green 'un and then we let Banksie moor here for a couple of days.......

Whatever anyone thinks of SM Hudson boats, and the fact that people can be so passionate about them speaks volumes, he was an icon in the canal boat building world, everyone knew his name, and he developed a style that is so distinctive you know if one is coming towards from half a mile away. His successful business model also fed other businesses too - not least people like me who often end up brokering some of them in the used boat market, right down to every canal side business that supplied the owners of the boats he built with everything from diesel, coal to beer and food. I salute anyone who can run a successful small business - they are the backbone of this island’s economy. We need people like Steve. And he loved Harley Davidsons as well. Good bloke! RIP.

Here you go. I sold Richard's last boat for him - Wizard. That was a beauty too, 62ft tug on a Mel Davis shell. For those who not aware, he has been building boats for many years. I recently came across and sold one from 1991 when he traded as RS Narrowboats, so he's no Johnny-come-lately. https://www.flickr.com/photos/92591557@N02/14546210450/in/photostream/

And a decent titfer an' all.

"Should A Broker Declare That A Boat IS Overplated?" Of course a broker should make this clear if they know about it. Given that there is a survey they must. ABNB changed hands not long ago and is now owned by a prominent surveyor. The BMF Code states: Members shall provide Clients with bespoke accurate and reliable information being mindful of their requirements when making any recommendation; such information shall include but not be limited to price, specification and time of delivery of their products. Furthermore, Members shall not dishonestly misrepresent nor misdescribe their products or services. You might debate whether failing to declare a known hull condition is covered by this regulation, but morally I certainly think it is. Putting myself in the customer's shoes, if I had made the effort to travel to someone's office to be then handed a survey revealing that the hull had had major works carried out, I think I might query why I hadn't been made aware of this before making a decision to spend time and money on the journey.

More like 75% have Eberspacher/Webasto/Mikuni diesel ch systems, Paul. Certainly in the £35k upwards used market. What about a bowthruster? Can we have a couple of pages of fiery ranting over those as well?