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Can I visit the boat to check it's OK?


PaulD

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15 hours ago, Ray T said:

Don't know what planet you're on. We keep our boat in a marina and the instructions are, only visit if essential, with marina operators consent and  no overnight stays until told otherwise.

I don't want to risk getting ejected from the marina by not following their guidance, thank you.

 

 

Yes, you are quite correct, of course, but OP is not in your marina. 

BTW, a guy here is scraping the paint off his roof today, and polluting the canal, do I call the police or the Environment Agency, the boat club or the CRT.

PS if he swears at me again, it'll be the police. The only reason for not reporting him is that he will think it's me, and being a very aggressive person, will probably take his revenge. Given the number of locals walking the towpath, I think he'll be reported by a local anyway, the trail of evidence is very obvious. 

 

 

Edited by LadyG
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15 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Yes, you are quite correct, of course, but OP is not in your marina. 

BTW, a guy here is scraping the paint off his roof today, and polluting the canal, do I call the police or the Environment Agency, the boat club or the CRT.

PS if he swears at me again, it'll be the police. The only reason for not reporting him is that he will think it's me, and being a very aggressive person, will probably take his revenge. Given the number of locals walking the towpath, I think he'll be reported by a local anyway, the trail of evidence is very obvious. 

 

 

A tricky decision to report to CRT or not.

Had similar when an adjacent boat was being scraped.Several square yards of paint flakes and my boat at the time was canal water cooled,being concerned about inlet blockage,I had a polite word,but answered with "it will soon float away"

You might offer to follow him around his boat with a dustpan and brush,and if (when) he refuses hope that someone else reports the pollution.

As a lone woman,you need to be careful.

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9 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

A tricky decision to report to CRT or not.

Had similar when an adjacent boat was being scraped.Several square yards of paint flakes and my boat at the time was canal water cooled,being concerned about inlet blockage,I had a polite word,but answered with "it will soon float away"

You might offer to follow him around his boat with a dustpan and brush,and if (when) he refuses hope that someone else reports the pollution.

As a lone woman,you need to be careful.

Indeed, I do 'rely on the police' to intervene on my behalf, I have such a plethora of weapons on board and over a lifetime, have accumulated a number of 'self defence' tactics, from surprisingly lethal to quick incapacity, but they all require me to be pretty quick, violence is not something a boater is likely to try, they go for verbal assault. 

 

Edited by LadyG
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12 hours ago, MarkH2159 said:

Hence the 'problem with the boat' idea.

 

Having travelled the country for legitimate reasons on several occasions this past month I can safely say that, despite the apparent paranoia, there is little chance of the Police being involved.

Even knowing that they can and probably have tracked my vehicle with ANPR cameras, I still have no worries about being stopped and asked.

The most important thing is to follow the distancing rules and not engage with anyone unless absolutely necessary.

Travelling legitimately to check on a boat for a reasonable period of time is not going to raise any issues.

On the other hand if there is a real issue with the boat and something serious happens, it has to be considered worth it.

 

Agree with the little chance of the Police getting involved.  The stories about people getting pulled over and grilled are whipped up by the media and used to get compliance.  I've travelled legitimately throughout all lockdowns for work, food shopping and childcare issues and never seen anymore people getting stopped by the Police than you'd normally expect to see.  

 

I think if in doubt, put a bag of tools in the car and if stopped bambozle the officers with some boat talk about exploding composting toilets, thefts, sinkings, fraying ropes etc and they soon leave you to it.

 

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I'm having some work done on my boat tomorrow.  I'm currently staying on land at the moment about 3 miles away from where my boat is moored.

 

The guy coming to do the work is acting legally because travelling for work is allowed.  However, he will need someone to let him in.  So I'll have to go there.  If I walk there, then it's exercise and also allowed.  But can I drive the 3 miles there?  I suppose it's a grey area, but one in which using a bit of old fashioned common sense helps.

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7 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I'm having some work done on my boat tomorrow.  I'm currently staying on land at the moment about 3 miles away from where my boat is moored.

 

The guy coming to do the work is acting legally because travelling for work is allowed.  However, he will need someone to let him in.  So I'll have to go there.  If I walk there, then it's exercise and also allowed.  But can I drive the 3 miles there?  I suppose it's a grey area, but one in which using a bit of old fashioned common sense helps.

Common sense would suggest that a quick visit to the boat is far less risky than going to Asda. But it might add £200 to your bill if PC Plod comes along at the wrong time.

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22 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I'm having some work done on my boat tomorrow.  I'm currently staying on land at the moment about 3 miles away from where my boat is moored.

 

The guy coming to do the work is acting legally because travelling for work is allowed.  However, he will need someone to let him in.  So I'll have to go there.  If I walk there, then it's exercise and also allowed.  But can I drive the 3 miles there?  I suppose it's a grey area, but one in which using a bit of old fashioned common sense helps.

 

You can travel 'local' to exercise. I drive up to 2 or 3 miles some days to do that. Just combine the two.

 

 

 

Edited by The Happy Nomad
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17 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I'm having some work done on my boat tomorrow.  I'm currently staying on land at the moment about 3 miles away from where my boat is moored.

 

The guy coming to do the work is acting legally because travelling for work is allowed.  However, he will need someone to let him in.  So I'll have to go there.  If I walk there, then it's exercise and also allowed.  But can I drive the 3 miles there?  I suppose it's a grey area, but one in which using a bit of old fashioned common sense helps.

A bit late now, but you could have posted the boat keys to him. We did this when Nigel Carton did our safety inspection last summer.

 

Ain't hindsight wonderful?

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31 minutes ago, Athy said:

A bit late now, but you could have posted the boat keys to him. We did this when Nigel Carton did our safety inspection last summer.

 

Ain't hindsight wonderful?

No.  I don't know this person so there's no way I'm sending him my key or letting him on my boat without me there.

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I've just been to the boat, pumped out the bilge, ran the engine for a bit to make sure it still went bang and back home. About ten miles each way, no indication that anyone apart from the farmer was in the slightest bit interested.

The police don't want hundreds of people congregating in your local beauty spot, apart from that they've hopefully got better things to do than hassle people having a coffee on the towpath. There is more and more evidence that transmission is almost always indoors, and very little outside, however hard the joggers are panting or how close you are to someone for about five seconds. You just have to be sensible.

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The British Marine website says the following:

 

Government advice for recreational boating and maintenance

British Marine have had it confirmed by the UK Government that boating is a form of exercise and therefore is an accepted excuse to leave home in England. There are several important caveats to this, primarily that members of the public cannot travel out of their local area to reach their vessel and that all exercise must be done in line with government guidance i.e. can only be done with members of 1 household/bubble or one other and social distancing is maintained. Members of the public are urged to check with the local navigation authority, harbour authorities and the Marinas for local rules before travelling to their vessels.

Maintaining second homes, caravans, boats and other assets is not generally a reasonable excuse for leaving home. However, people may leave home to secure their second home, caravan or boat in order to avoid it posing a risk of harm/injury to themselves or others.

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20 minutes ago, JamesFrance said:

The British Marine website says the following:

 

Government advice for recreational boating and maintenance

British Marine have had it confirmed by the UK Government that boating is a form of exercise and therefore is an accepted excuse to leave home in England. There are several important caveats to this, primarily that members of the public cannot travel out of their local area to reach their vessel and that all exercise must be done in line with government guidance i.e. can only be done with members of 1 household/bubble or one other and social distancing is maintained. Members of the public are urged to check with the local navigation authority, harbour authorities and the Marinas for local rules before travelling to their vessels.

Maintaining second homes, caravans, boats and other assets is not generally a reasonable excuse for leaving home. However, people may leave home to secure their second home, caravan or boat in order to avoid it posing a risk of harm/injury to themselves or others.

 

 

I know that is what the BMF are saying but if you follow the link on the BMF website to their source of information it takes you a .Gov website that was last updated 7th Jan

The BMF 'small print' says :

 

The information on this webpage is provided as general guidance. Although British Marine tries to ensure that all of the information is accurate and up to date, this cannot be guaranteed owing to the very fast moving situation. Members should review the Government’s full guidance themselves by following the links in this webpage and should keep up to date with the Government’s latest announcements. The information on this webpage should not be construed as constituting professional advice and we would always advise that members consider seeking appropriate professional advice before taking or refraining from taking any action.

 

 

Government advice for recreational boating and maintenance

British Marine have had it confirmed by the UK Government that boating is a form of exercise and therefore is an accepted excuse to leave home in England. There are several important caveats to this, primarily that members of the public cannot travel out of their local area to reach their vessel and that all exercise must be done in line with government guidance i.e. can only be done with members of 1 household/bubble or one other and social distancing is maintained. Members of the public are urged to check with the local navigation authority, harbour authorities and the Marinas for local rules before travelling to their vessels.

Maintaining second homes, caravans, boats and other assets is not generally a reasonable excuse for leaving home. However, people may leave home to secure their second home, caravan or boat in order to avoid it posing a risk of harm/injury to themselves or others.

This guidance is taken directly from the gov.uk site found here

 

When you 'click' it takes you here :

 

 

      • maintaining second homes, caravans, boats and other assets is not generally a reasonable excuse for leaving home. However, people may leave home to secure their second home, caravan or boat in order to avoid it posing a risk of harm/injury to themselves or others.
  • Overnight stays and holidays away from primary residences will not be allowed - including holidays in the UK and abroad. This includes staying in a second home, caravan or boat, or people staying with anyone they do not live with or are not in a support bubble with. There are specific exceptions, for example if people need to stay away from home (including in a second home) for work or education purposes.

 

This guidance was issued on 7 January 2021 and updated 10th February.

 

 

Do we actually know if the BMF have updated their understanding of the new 'rules' since yesterday ?

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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21 hours ago, PaulD said:

My boat is on the canal towpath side. I can walk past it as exercise but if I go on board can I be fined £200 ??

 

What are the marina's saying? Would the CRT guidance from the first lock down convince PC Plod?

 

I must share a bottle with Lady G one day! 

 

 

Do a few press ups on the roof :cheers:

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6 minutes ago, JamesFrance said:

 

 

I know that is what I cut & pasted, scroll down to 'click here for source' and you get the Government guidleines dated 7th Jan updated 10th Feb

 

 

 

Government advice for recreational boating and maintenance

British Marine have had it confirmed by the UK Government that boating is a form of exercise and therefore is an accepted excuse to leave home in England. There are several important caveats to this, primarily that members of the public cannot travel out of their local area to reach their vessel and that all exercise must be done in line with government guidance i.e. can only be done with members of 1 household/bubble or one other and social distancing is maintained. Members of the public are urged to check with the local navigation authority, harbour authorities and the Marinas for local rules before travelling to their vessels.

Maintaining second homes, caravans, boats and other assets is not generally a reasonable excuse for leaving home. However, people may leave home to secure their second home, caravan or boat in order to avoid it posing a risk of harm/injury to themselves or others.

 

This guidance is taken directly from the gov.uk site found here

 

This is where it takes you :

 

Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)

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43 minutes ago, JamesFrance said:

The British Marine website says the following:

 

 

 

I'm not having a 'go' at you, I'm just not sure that BMF have updated their advice since yesterdays announcement.

Their advice is the same as it was, and appears to be based on a Government webpage dated 10th Feb

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21 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

I'm not having a 'go' at you, I'm just not sure that BMF have updated their advice since yesterdays announcement.

Their advice is the same as it was, and appears to be based on a Government webpage dated 10th Feb

So it still applies until it is changed and seems to allow a visit for exercise, my marina is 3 miles from home and will allow me to visit because it is in my local area.

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19 hours ago, Midnight said:

I'm booked into dry dock for two weeks from 20th March. I'm 85 miles away and nervous about being fined. I could say it's essential maintenance but would need to stay aboard for the duration. Need to see the detail of today's announcement or cancel my booking. Any suggestions?

Could you be fined each day?

It's quite tricky, most people go out of their way to avoid this sort of 'conflict', I suggest you speak to boatyard about postponing the job, and / or ask the CRT for their opinion, I seem to remember another boater got a very ambiguous reply regarding a similar movement.

Having something  positive in writing is always a good idea :)

Edited by LadyG
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6 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

I'm having some work done on my boat tomorrow.  I'm currently staying on land at the moment about 3 miles away from where my boat is moored.

 

The guy coming to do the work is acting legally because travelling for work is allowed.  However, he will need someone to let him in.  So I'll have to go there.  If I walk there, then it's exercise and also allowed.  But can I drive the 3 miles there?  I suppose it's a grey area, but one in which using a bit of old fashioned common sense helps.

You can drive from home to a reasonable place to exercise. So I can't see any problem in you driving to somewhere near the mooring, then taking a walk or run that takes you right past the boat. No-one is going to stop you if you happen to pause right alongside the boat to chat to a chap waiting there. Nor are are they going to stop you if you should happen to unlock the boat doors. Just do it!

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The police are supposed to "advise" you if they think your trip is inessential. So,  in the unlikely event of being stopped, tell them politely why you are out and about. If they say they think it's against the law, tell them you disagree but will accept their advice,  apologise nicely and turn round and go home. Most (not all, but most) coppers don't really want trouble, or unnecessary paperwork, and we've seen many times already that they understand the rules as little as the rest of us.

Then go to the boat the next day.

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20 hours ago, Midnight said:

I'm booked into dry dock for two weeks from 20th March. I'm 85 miles away and nervous about being fined. I could say it's essential maintenance but would need to stay aboard for the duration. Need to see the detail of today's announcement or cancel my booking. Any suggestions?

 

We have not stopped working throughout all 3 lockdowns, boats need essential maintenance and repairs. Some boats we have been sent keys for and fetched in a Covid safe way with agreements from marinas.

Some boats we have had to postpone due to owners nor being able to bring boats, or get them out of their marinas, or jiggle bookings around so slots are not left empty. Most customers have managed to bring their boats since last June. 

One thing we have not let happen is liveaboards staying on board whilst they are in the dock...mobile home, go to family friend, or move booking to a later time.

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It is probably academic but with the marina manager's consent I went to the boat today, first time in 10 weeks,  to change the manual bilge pump for an automatic one.

When I made the arrangement I had no idea how long restrictions were to remain in place and how long I would have to leave the boat unattended.

 

I did this as when I contacted our insurance regarding not attending the boat they were very vague as to whether I was covered in current circumstances if in extremis,  the boat sank. I do not want them to have an excuse for denying a claim.

All I got was "We will treat each claim on its own merits."

 

I only saw one police car, a unmarked Jaguar iPace came hurtling past with blues and two's on.

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