Spotters

[matty40s]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

The reg plates on one of my boats are missing and CRT sent me a polite letter telling me to put the number on. They enclosed, for my convenience, the most ghastly pair of plates printed up using some sort of desktop publisher and encapsulated in that horrid clear plastic film you do in a machine on the desk. 

 

I threw them away and emailed asking if they would make me a pair of proper pressed ally plates. I never heard back. 

You ungrateful sod you...😀

[magnetman]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

The reg plates on one of my boats are missing 

Maybe someone else has taken them and used them on their own boat. 

 

Have you checked your sightings record

 

Ooops data protection ! no can do. 

[MtB]

1 minute ago, matty40s said:

You ungrateful sod you...😀

 

I was more than happy to pay for them, but they gave me the cold cabin side....

[Mike Todd]

14 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

I believe Farndon is another.

I believe Burton Waters was an well. 

 

Easy pickings I suspect!

Pickings for whom?

[IanD]

14 hours ago, MartynG said:

I have never had an index number plate in the sense of a metal plate .

I bought my first boat  in 2008.

My first boat had to be freshly registered with BW as it had previously not been on inland waters. BW supplied vinyl sticker index numbers. My present boat was registered but had no index plates or stickers. I  printed the index on paper and display it in a window on both sides of the boat.

 

The index number is also on the self printed paper license of course. 

Stickers with index numbers can be ordered online from private sources 

 

 

Nowadays you don't get plates if you just pay for a CRT license, but you do get them if you pay £20 to pre-register the boat to get a registration number so you can paint it on the boat...

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

3 hours ago, IanD said:

 

Nowadays you don't get plates if you just pay for a CRT license, but you do get them if you pay £20 to pre-register the boat to get a registration number so you can paint it on the boat...

So if you just register a new build (not pre-register?) do you get the plates(stick-on vinyl) without paying the £20?

Edited September 13, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[IanD]

11 minutes ago, BoatinglifeupNorth said:

So if you just register a new build (not pre-register?) do you get the plates(stick-on vinyl) without paying the £20?

I don't know whether you get vinyl or nothing, I only know what you get if you pre-register like I did.

 

But you can't register (and pay the license fee) until the boat is completed and signed off (4-year BSS exemption) by the builder, which is usually well after any signwriting is done.

 

So if you pre-register you end up with metal plates you don't need (because the number is painted on), but if you don't you can't get them even if you want them... 😞

Edited September 13, 2023 by IanD

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

1 hour ago, IanD said:

I don't know whether you get vinyl or nothing, I only know what you get if you pre-register like I did.

 

But you can't register (and pay the license fee) until the boat is completed and signed off (4-year BSS exemption) by the builder, which is usually well after any signwriting is done.

 

So if you pre-register you end up with metal plates you don't need (because the number is painted on), but if you don't you can't get them even if you want them... 😞

You can just get the sign writing done after the boat is signed off also. I think the £20 was for the metal plates otherwise you get the vinyl stick-ons.

 With Pre-registering is there a time period that the boat must be completed and in the water and with pre-registering do you pre-pay for the licence but it’s only processed when the boat is on the water and license required? As you’ll also need insurance details?

Edited September 13, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[Mike Todd]

1 hour ago, IanD said:

I don't know whether you get vinyl or nothing, I only know what you get if you pre-register like I did.

 

But you can't register (and pay the license fee) until the boat is completed and signed off (4-year BSS exemption) by the builder, which is usually well after any signwriting is done.

 

So if you pre-register you end up with metal plates you don't need (because the number is painted on), but if you don't you can't get them even if you want them... 😞

Over six years ago now but that is what happened to us. My recollection is that you cannot get a license for an unregistered boat so have to do that first. (In any case we wanted our sign writer to paint the number at the same time as the name)

1 hour ago, BoatinglifeupNorth said:

You can just get the sign writing done after the boat is signed off also. I think the £20 was for the metal plates otherwise you get the vinyl stick-ons.

 With Pre-registering is there a time period that the boat must be completed and in the water and with pre-registering do you pay for the licence but it’s only processed when the boat is on the water and license required? As you’ll also need insurance details?

Two separate transactions, in our case (in 2017)

[magnetman]

I find it bizarre that BW then the CRT would have gone to the effort of making up awkward to forge plates but not require them to be displayed. 

 

It defeats the whole object. 

 

 

 

 

There is a basic weakness here which includes the fact that boat names can be duplicated. 

 

On the Thames if the name Kingfisher or Carpe Diem &c already exists one must accept a number after it or an alternative name. This makes boats individually identifiable. Thames registrations also have a unique number but there is no need to display this. 

 

On the cut by having no requirement to have numbered names and no need to display the unique index number plates it is far too easy for people to do minor scams.

 

 

[Arthur Marshall]

5 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I find it bizarre that BW then the CRT would have gone to the effort of making up awkward to forge plates but not require them to be displayed. 

 

It defeats the whole object. 

 

 

I assumed they used a machine like you used to get at railway stations, that would print your name on a metal strip, except bigger. It's only thin embossed metal.

[Mike Todd]

9 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I find it bizarre that BW then the CRT would have gone to the effort of making up awkward to forge plates but not require them to be displayed. 

 

It defeats the whole object. 

 

 

 

 

There is a basic weakness here which includes the fact that boat names can be duplicated. 

 

On the Thames if the name Kingfisher or Carpe Diem &c already exists one must accept a number after it or an alternative name. This makes boats individually identifiable. Thames registrations also have a unique number but there is no need to display this. 

 

On the cut by having no requirement to have numbered names and no need to display the unique index number plates it is far too easy for people to do minor scams.

 

 

But there is (a) still a requirement to display a licence, even if not fully enforced, and (b) faking a licence is as much an offence as faking a number

[magnetman]

Yes it is pressed but apparently difficult to forge these possibly because it has the BW/CRT logo. 

 

Obviously one can get a fake passport and guns so its not that tricky but in general it is more difficult to display a fake real index number plate than to just paint the number on the side of the boat. 

 

I can't help thinking that when these came in there was a requirement to display them on both sides of the boat at all times. 

2 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

But there is (a) still a requirement to display a licence, even if not fully enforced, and (b) faking a licence is as much an offence as faking a number

 

True. 

 

The display of the licence itself seems to be a bit old fashioned and I seem to recall the CRT have even said it doesn't matter. Just some inconsequential byelaw infringement I suspect. 

 

What needs to be done is require original index number plates to be displayed on both sides of boat for the spotter to see backed up by a fine. 

 

Won't happen but it is a green light for mild scammers. 

 

 

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

1 hour ago, Mike Todd said:

Over six years ago now but that is what happened to us. My recollection is that you cannot get a license for an unregistered boat so have to do that first. (In any case we wanted our sign writer to paint the number at the same time as the name)

Two separate transactions, in our case (in 2017)

So your just registering a boat with CaRT and declaring it’s off water and once on water you licence it, just couldn’t remember how I did mine, sure registering and licensing was all done together and the name had been on for weeks, still no number painted on though, just two of those tin plates in the windows, how common😂

Edited September 13, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[Momac]

2 hours ago, magnetman said:

I find it bizarre that BW then the CRT would have gone to the effort of making up awkward to forge plates but not require them to be displayed. 

 

Then they should issue them to every boat, which they do not .

 

My first boat which I registered with BW  in 2008 I received vinyl sticker plates , which I did display.

 

But my present boat which was  already registered  came with no plates. C&RT declined to issue me with plates . 

I have never been challenged on home printed plates displayed in windows . 

2 hours ago, magnetman said:

 

 

The display of the licence itself seems to be a bit old fashioned and I seem to recall the CRT have even said it doesn't matter. Just some inconsequential byelaw infringement I suspect.

 

 

I think there  was  U turn on that . Its a legal requirement apparently .

But what the penalty for not displaying ? I suspect there is none.

[magnetman]

I think at one stage all boats with BW licences were issued with pressed plates but for some reason at some stage this changed. 

 

I idly wondered if the 1995 Act superceded other Acts and the requirement to display the plate itself was lost accidentally. 

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

On 12/09/2023 at 16:52, MtB said:

 

Yes I know, I was agreeing with you. The official CRT plates should be mandatory, not just displaying the painted on number. Far more difficult to forge. 

Is it a big problem or is this something else the CWF are trying fix that doesn't need it.

[LadyG]

On 12/09/2023 at 20:05, MtB said:

The reg plates on one of my boats are missing and CRT sent me a polite letter telling me to put the number on. They enclosed, for my convenience, the most ghastly pair of plates printed up using some sort of desktop publisher and encapsulated in that horrid clear plastic film you do in a machine on the desk. 

 

I threw them away and emailed asking if they would make me a pair of proper pressed ally plates. I never heard back. 

I once had two aluminium plates, then I had one, they don't float.

The signwriter did a nice job, sort of italics. His white on my black

[MtB]

3 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Is it a big problem or is this something else the CWF are trying fix that doesn't need it.

 

I don't know. But we already have one poster here reporting unexplained and impossible sightings on his sightings tab, available for just a day before CRT took the tab away again.

 

I wonder if CRT giving us a Sightings tab and allowing all boaters to see their sightings records resulted in a storm of phone calls complaining about false sightings, sightings which can only explained by cloning. 

 

Just a guess though. Can you think of any other reasons for CRT taking away the Sightings tab so quickly?

 

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

4 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

I don't know. But we already have one poster here reporting unexplained and impossible sightings on his sightings tab, available for just a day before CRT took the tab away again.

 

I wonder if CRT giving us a Sightings tab and allowing all boaters to see their sightings records resulted in a storm of phone calls complaining about false sightings, sightings which can only explained by cloning. 

 

Just a guess though. Can you think of any other reasons for CRT taking away the Sightings tab so quickly?

 

 

 

 

All the people contacting them saying I have been to X Y & Z why hasn't it been recorded 

Edited September 14, 2023 by ditchcrawler
Spilling

[Alan de Enfield]

14 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Just a guess though. Can you think of any other reasons for CRT taking away the Sightings tab so quickly?

 

 

Damien allow it to escape 12 months before C&RT were going to announce it - after all he does have 'prior' when he slipped up about the DEFRA  grant redution months before it was officially announced.

[Creaking Gate]

10 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Damien allow it to escape 12 months before C&RT were going to announce it - after all he does have 'prior' when he slipped up about the DEFRA  grant redution months before it was officially announced.

There is no way he would have known that before or even been privy to it.  It was highly likely the grant would reduce; look at the current financial climate. No one really thought it would increase or even stay the same; did they?  Surely not. That would be nonsensical at best, deluded at worst. 

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, Creaking Gate said:

There is no way he would have known that before or even been privy to it.  It was highly likely the grant would reduce; look at the current financial climate. No one really thought it would increase or even stay the same; did they?  Surely not. That would be nonsensical at best, deluded at worst. 

 

But he did know, and stated in public that C&RT were in the process of appealing the decision (the decision which had not been announced)