Cheshire cat

I thought this was going to be an announcement to the effect that you could go out on to the Severn if you fancied your chances in this wind!

It's good to see you posting again Andrew. You haven't been visible anywhere for a while. I would like to make a small correction. Most shared boats did not leave Heritage after Ownerships collapse despite the owner of the site using strong arm tactics to get his money back. The year after the collapse there were still eight shared boats on the wharf. Mike Douse, the base manager, and his team at Heritage did everything within their power to help the boats that chose to remain at Heritage and the sevice received there was second to none. We have since moved on to explore new waters but I would have no problem recommending Heritage to anyone based on the skill and high levels of service offered by the workforce.

The chandlery still exists. It has relocated along with the boat brokerage to Kings Lock. If I remember correctly it was this time last year. The shop assistant said something about reducing costs. Prior to that they were operating from both sites.

I saw the Blue and Yellow Annabelle II heading south below Whilton on the GU in November. It's unlikely to be the same boat anyway because I don't think a shared boat would fall foul of a "High Use" mooring fee. A shared boat spends so little time along side in the marina they should get a low use mooring fee!

No. There isn't a chandlery at Venetian. It was all moved to King's Lock. Don't know the circumstances but the former chandlery is now an antiques centre. Poor choice of location in my opinion. Zero passing trade and quite hard to find by road if you are deliberately going there.

There was a gut selling Phutt, phutt boats for the bath at Lincoln Christmas Market this year. At £5 a go he was doing a reasonable amount of business. His marketing material said that the largest boat to this design was 36 foot long and not suprisingly deafened everyone on board.

I think you will struggle. I live in Timperley. The big issue is that you are talking about a smokeless zone. One of my neighbours has deliveries but no idea where from. i shall ask them. I burn wood all the time and anthracite occasionally from New Mills!

I didn't intend to imply that they were making it up. I have no doubt the governing body are conversant with the rules. I doubt that most of the candidates are familiar with the rules, and even less so the electorate. Perhaps I should have reserved judgement until I see the quality of the communication that comes with the ballot paper.

It feels like it will all end in tears. I anticipate there will be a dispute about the way the votes get transferred. I don't dispute the way Dave has explained it but I do worrry about whether the adjudicator is thinking aong the same lines.

I'm not keen on Champagne but I will investigate the pukka thing from Sureflow. Thanks

Bizzard, Would this be accompanied by the pump chipping in periodically? Our PRV dumps water as the calorifier heats up but we don't have an expansion tank so I assume the PRV is just doing its job.

Is it a boat or a bread tray?

They cost less than £15 to buy. Make sure you grip the fitting attached to the tank when unscrewing the PRV otherwise you could tear the fitting from the Calorifier. You don't want to have to replace the calorifier.

I notice Sagar still have an advertisement in January's Waterways Workd. It says something about lead times.

The stick on stuff from the Chandlers isn't cheap. Cheap is buying a pot of paint. Paint the areas you want to be non stick, cover with sharp sand liberally. Leave 24 hours to dry. Sweep excess sand away and then paint again in correct colour. Works well but December isn't the right month to be doing it really.

Eloquently put!

Before you pass them on to Gamestation or whoever it might be wise to make sure they are an approved registered recycler. You wouldn't want to fall foul of the WEEE directive would you

Well, well, I arrived home to find yet another bill from our boatyard on the doormat. One of the reasons why shared boating costs a lot compared with the cost of a boat owned by an individual is the stuff that needs doing in a hurry because someone else is taking over the boat. If it's your own boat you just shrug your shoulders and say "Oh well perhaps we won't be going anywhere until I've got this fixed" There are lots of other opportunities to take the boat out. In a shared situation it is usually a case of "I need to get this fixed now because John, Fred or Sally is taking over the boat this afternoon and they've been making plans for the last x months. As a result the boatyard owner is tasked with doing a repair a lot of the time. Some owners do DIY, others don't. The bill I recieved today includes labour charged at £42.50 per hour. The job was changing a water pump and pressure release valve. It doesn't take much involvement from the boatyard owner for costs to start racking up and I'm sure that most sole owners would have tackled the job themselves. We have a 16 year old boat that has now done 17,000 hours cruising or thereabouts. Stuff wears out! Next years projected costs are Boat Insurance £240.00 River & Canal rescue 190.00 Moorings £2000 BW licence £786 Blacking and painting up to gunnels £1100 Boat safety certificate £200 Major engine service £500 Other winter checks £500 New fenders, ropes and replacement deckboards £300 Routine engine service £800 Contingency £1000 Total £7650 That bill is split 12 ways and each syndicate member is allowed 4 weeks afloat although most don't bother going out during the winter. The major engine service and other winter checks are meant to try to avoid catastrophic failures and make sure stuff like the Alde is OK The £1000 is for unforeseen expenses. I already know we are going to need some more batteries. They will have to come out of the contingency fund. The current ones will be four years old and have given good service. This year we haven't planned for any improvements but we are thinking about a complete repaint in a year or so. So, that's how the money is spent, some syndicates I'm sure do it cheaper by not having permanent moorings and doing their own oil changes. Others treat it like a hotel and engage a management company to look after their interests. I can understand the attraction of owning your own but for me the balance is tipped in favour of shared ownership for the time being. Andy

The company schemes all involve paying management fees which can be anywhere from £300 - £400 per shareholder per year. Private schemes don't have to worry about that particular cost but they do need someone to manage communications, money and suppliers of services. Compared with owning your own boat the obvious downside is you can't suddenly decide to go out for the weekend because the weather forecast is nice. If you are a landlord of a pub that particular option is unlikely to be an option even if you own your own boat. You also have to be prepared to go with majority decisions and be prepared to flex a little. If you have to work for a living and you have interests other than boats then sharing is quite a good option. I contribute around £1500 - £1800 towards the upkeep of our boat and for that I am entitled to eight weeks on board. I won't use them all because I have to work but even so compared with hiring it is a great way of getting out on the water. Andy

I know this is an old thread but just to provide further information that anyone that might need it. An LPA is going to work out cheaper if you can get one We were in asituation where LPA was not a valid option because Mum could not be persuaded of the need. July this year she was put in a home by Social Services for her own good! This caused us to need to apply to the Court of Protection for the right to become deputies. We started the ball rolling in July. That right was granted two weeks ago so quite a lengthy journey. We did not engage a solicitor but had the guidance of a family friend who is a solicitor and specialises in this area. Following his scrutiny it was necessary to change a few things on the forms so not totally straight forward. The costs are not insignificant. Solicitors fees nil Cost to apply to the court £400 Cost for doctor to confirm loss of mental capacity £40. Cost per annum for insurance bond against me running off with Mum's money £300 Cost per annum to be audited by the Office of the Public Guardian to make sure we are doing right by Mum £365 So £1100 for the first year and £665 per annum thereafter until she's not got a lot left at which point the charges are reduced. I know my application is more expensive than LPA because I have to pay for court time but just as a matter of interest do the last two items apply to an LPA?

You aren't doing your santa impression are you Liam?

You aren't really going to meet anyone in the middle though because in the case of all three tunnels you can see the other end as soon as you enter. Having said that I did go through Barton without my tunnel light working. I thought it was a blown bulb only to find I hadn't flicked the switch on the fuse box. Doh!

Yes, it's a bit of a jolt. Kind of a wake up call really.

I haven't done it recently but at one time I used to "connect myself to the mains" on a regular basis. It's not too bad but best not to grab it with both hands!

There used to be a Black Pearl moored on one of the online moorings on the Middlewich Branch. Are we getting warm yet?