mayalld

Perhaps that was the motivation. Perhaps it was sheer mischief aimed at a local authority that the boater had a beef with. However, I don't think that it was a nonsense. Rather that with the end of carrying, and the lack of boats coming onto the system there was simply no cause to add boats to the register, and the process simply ceased through a lack of use, until somebody found it, and discovered that he could force a council to register his boat. Having done it, steps were taken to abolish the requirement

There was a case some years later when somebody discovered that the acts were still in force, and obliged a post-1974 authority to register their boat

They have! There are now two left on the Peak Forest Canal. One on the Lift Bridge near Portland basin, and one on one of the lift bridge on the Upper PF (the other LB has been electrified)

Actually, HMRC like to catch people, pour encourager les autres. In that respect, they are far less keen on the easy life than other agencies. Not that far from where I live, there is a quiet cul-de-sac. It is adjacent to some warden controlled housing (although the warden is now remote). The demographic is such that few of the residents have cars, and those that do park them (for reasons that will be clear) on the other side of the complex. The cul-de-sac in question has become the haunt of drug dealers. The street lights are regularly interfered with to allow them to ply their trade unseen, and the residents at that side of the complex live in fear. The police, I regret to say, have other more important things to deal with. and do not trouble the dealers. A couple of months ago, the dealers expanded their range. No longer do they just supply weed, cocaine and heroin. Oh no! They have started supplying..... (you may want to sit down for this)….. Smuggled Fags!!!! Naturally this major escalation merited a response. Within 2 days of the word getting out that people could get cheap fags from the drug dealers (who had been left unhindered for 18 months before this). HMRC and the Police swooped, and they were arrested.

Have you ever done the maths on how long it would take to eliminate the red from a boat tank? If we assume a 250 litre tank, and use as an example a leisure boater who does; 10 weekends in the early part of the year (say 15 litres per weekend) A 2 week trip in the summer (say 120 litres) Another 10 weekends in the later part of the year (again 15 litres per weekend) As a sensible chap who wants to avoid diesel bug, he fills up on returning to the marina each time, and he fills up mid-week on his 2 week cruise. At the end of year one his tank is nearly 17% red. It will take 2.5 years to get to 1% red (which is I suspect rather more than a "trace")