Marina or online

[denboy]

Maybe thats where we differ. We do use them. The pub is excellent with a very varied menu, not tried the chinese yet, but the health club is also excellent. The showers are fantastic (heated floors are great) toilets second to none, shop stocks everything you could need. The boat yard is handy as well. They will do any repairs through the week so you dont miss any weekend boating time. The staff are helpful and friendly and have really helped us out during our first months of owning the boat.

How much is the marina paying you for the sales pitch

[Roger Gunkel]

Phylis has a small boat with a large engine, which she uses for enjoyment and escape from living on an estate, work and noisy neighbours. She wants 24 hour security for her boat, a health club and good quality facilities to help her relax. I can't imagine anything further away from the person whose home is on a narrowboat on the canalside and enjoys a simplistic tranquil lifestyle. I don't see how either extreme would need to justify their choice if it is what makes them happy. Discussing it however is always an interesting insight into someone else's point of view.

 

My purely personal opinion, is that anybody who has never lived on a boat as their only home for a reasonable length of time, cannot fully understand the requirements and differences that such a lifestyle entails.

 

Having previosly lived in a large detached country house for over 20 years, I have now lived on my 57ft wide beam for over 4 years as my only home. Although I have all the comforts of a land based home, there are routines and requirements that are totally different, that have now become perfectly normal to me and second nature, in a way that I didn't see when I first moved onboard. I also know perfectly well the difference that I feel when I go to my other fun boat on the Broads and the different requirements when I stay for an extended time.

 

We all make choices based on our personal preferences, situation etc, none of which need to be justified to anybody else, but all of which I find endlessly facinating. I do feel that some people need others to support and agree with their choices because of their own doubts and insecurities. I eat meat, my wife doesn't and we both support the choice of the other. As somebody else said "Vive la difference".

 

My own mooring by the way is alongside a river bank outside a marina, with security and all services, My fun boat is tied to a jetty in the reeds with no facilities whatsoever.

 

Roger

[Naughty Cal]

That's very reasonable. How much would it be for a 70' narrowboat?

 

Richard

 

Depends how long you want the mooring for. 12 monthly contracts are £130 per metre.

 

How much is the marina paying you for the sales pitch

 

No i pay them for the priveledge.

 

It all depends how you use the boat.

 

We go after work on a friday evening. Arrive about 7ish by which time it is dark so no cruising. What shall we do go to the pub for tea sounds good.

 

Next morning after breakfast and showering if its fine we will go out in the boat if not do a few little jobs then go to the health club. Another evening in the pub no doubt follows.

 

Winter weather doesnt really lend itself to boating especially with all the ice we have had recently. Looking forward to some summer weather and longer days so we can get some proper cruising done and spend less time (and money) in the pub.

[Naughty Cal]

I like my marina:

 

And you said Burton Waters was bleak?

[grahoom]

And you said Burton Waters was bleak?

 

Nope, I said Burton Waters was bleak. Carl said it was regimented and sterile.

Edited December 11, 2008 by grahoom

[Naughty Cal]

Nope, I said Burton Waters was bleak. Carl said it was regimented and sterile.

 

But the above isnt bleak?

Edited December 11, 2008 by Phylis

[grahoom]

But the above isnt bleak?

 

Yes it is bleak, but in the sense that the highlands of scotland can be seen as bleak (in the descriptive sense) I was using the term bleak more in the sense of soulless etc.

 

Personally I prefer the look of where Carls Boat is moored to a modern developed marina.

 

bleak

1   /blik/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [bleek] Show IPA Pronunciation

–adjective, -er, -est.

1. bare, desolate, and often windswept: a bleak plain.

2. cold and piercing; raw: a bleak wind.

3. without hope or encouragement; depressing; dreary: a bleak future.

 

So number 3 for your marina, number 1 for carls marina

Edited December 11, 2008 by grahoom

[Purple Fairie]

Maybe thats where we differ. We do use them. The pub is excellent with a very varied menu, not tried the chinese yet, but the health club is also excellent. The showers are fantastic (heated floors are great) toilets second to none, shop stocks everything you could need. The boat yard is handy as well. They will do any repairs through the week so you dont miss any weekend boating time. The staff are helpful and friendly and have really helped us out during our first months of owning the boat.

 

As long as you have a cruiser and need overpriced clothing. They have nothing that a narrowboat needs, the last time we went in they didn't even have any toilet blue. We do make use of the diesel pump when we're passing but that's only because it's easy, it is very expensive though. We turned in there one day to find a huge cruiser heading towards us way too fast and hooting his horn expecting us to stop. Then shouting abuse at the '****ing narrowboat' because we couldn't stop immediatly. We even asked there last year about taking our boat out of the water for re-blacking and the price they were charging was 6 times more than we paid at West Stockwith, plus they couldn't manage a 60' boat, so that was that idea out of the window. From what we've seen the marina has a lot of cruisers that are far too big for the Fossdyke and go far too fast, even the fitter in the boat yard agrees with that and was telling us that he spends most of his time replacing props that have been damaged by the draft being too deep for the river. The pub we found was nice but again it was very expensive and the food was not as good as the White Horse pub at Dunston.

 

You did ask!

[paddy r]

As long as you have a cruiser and need overpriced clothing. They have nothing that a narrowboat needs, the last time we went in they didn't even have any toilet blue. We do make use of the diesel pump when we're passing but that's only because it's easy, it is very expensive though. We turned in there one day to find a huge cruiser heading towards us way too fast and hooting his horn expecting us to stop. Then shouting abuse at the '****ing narrowboat' because we couldn't stop immediatly. We even asked there last year about taking our boat out of the water for re-blacking and the price they were charging was 6 times more than we paid at West Stockwith, plus they couldn't manage a 60' boat, so that was that idea out of the window. From what we've seen the marina has a lot of cruisers that are far too big for the Fossdyke and go far too fast, even the fitter in the boat yard agrees with that and was telling us that he spends most of his time replacing props that have been damaged by the draft being too deep for the river. The pub we found was nice but again it was very expensive and the food was not as good as the White Horse pub at Dunston.

You did ask!

 

 

V Good food at the white Horse,and beer

[Naughty Cal]

As long as you have a cruiser and need overpriced clothing. They have nothing that a narrowboat needs, the last time we went in they didn't even have any toilet blue. We do make use of the diesel pump when we're passing but that's only because it's easy, it is very expensive though. We turned in there one day to find a huge cruiser heading towards us way too fast and hooting his horn expecting us to stop. Then shouting abuse at the '****ing narrowboat' because we couldn't stop immediatly. We even asked there last year about taking our boat out of the water for re-blacking and the price they were charging was 6 times more than we paid at West Stockwith, plus they couldn't manage a 60' boat, so that was that idea out of the window. From what we've seen the marina has a lot of cruisers that are far too big for the Fossdyke and go far too fast, even the fitter in the boat yard agrees with that and was telling us that he spends most of his time replacing props that have been damaged by the draft being too deep for the river. The pub we found was nice but again it was very expensive and the food was not as good as the White Horse pub at Dunston.

 

You did ask!

 

I did.

 

You blow your horn to come in or out of the gate. Its to make sure no one is coming the other way as its a blind corner.

 

Some of the cruisers are large but thats the owners look out and there are narrowboats in there as well.

 

Depends what food you like. We didnt like what we had at the White Horse. The pub was nice but didnt really like the grub.

[Purple Fairie]

I did.

 

You blow your horn to come in or out of the gate. Its to make sure no one is coming the other way as its a blind corner.

 

Some of the cruisers are large but thats the owners look out and there are narrowboats in there as well.

 

Depends what food you like. We didnt like what we had at the White Horse. The pub was nice but didnt really like the grub.

 

I'm aware of that. But we were half way through the gates on tickover aware of the fact there may be oncoming traffic and we had blown the horn. He was obviously going too fast!

[Naughty Cal]

I'm aware of that. But we were half way through the gates on tickover aware of the fact there may be oncoming traffic and we had blown the horn. He was obviously going too fast!

 

Well on that i cant comment i wasnt there. Not everybody in Burton Waters is a twat.

[carlt]

And you said Burton Waters was bleak?

When the tide's in you've got the water, greenery and 37 acres of countryside.

 

When the tide's out you've got Oystercatchers, Curlews, Dunlins, Egrets, Red Kites, Sandpipers etc, etc. and 37 acres of countryside.

 

If you prefer to be the centrepiece of a modern housing development then yes, you'd probably describe my mooring as bleak.

 

 

Well on that i cant comment i wasnt there. Not everybody in Burton Waters is a twat.

No some of them wait until they're on the river before acting like one and going 26mph.

Edited December 11, 2008 by carlt

[dor]

In the scheme of things our mooring is cheap at £900 for the year.

 

That did seem cheap, but I was thinking 'narrowboat'

 

12 monthly contracts are £130 per metre

 

Ahh, not so cheap.

[Naughty Cal]

When the tide's in you've got the water, greenery and 37 acres of countryside.

 

When the tide's out you've got Oystercatchers, Curlews, Dunlins, Egrets, Red Kites, Sandpipers etc, etc. and 37 acres of countryside.

 

If you prefer to be the centrepiece of a modern housing development then yes, you'd probably describe my mooring as bleak.

 

 

 

No some of them wait until they're on the river before acting like one and going 26mph.

 

We do get plenty of wildlife within the complex. If you look at the website closely you will see it has plenty of open spaces and is surrounded by open countryside.

 

It may also suprise you that the marina has a waiting list in operation so cant be as bad as you make out.

[carlt]

It may also suprise you that the marina has a waiting list in operation so cant be as bad as you make out.

I understand John Major won an election once, what's your point?

 

We do get plenty of wildlife within the complex. If you look at the website closely you will see it has plenty of open spaces and is surrounded by open countryside.

Surrounded by all those houses it must be very scared whilst trying to get back out.

[Naughty Cal]

I understand John Major won an election once, what's your point?

 

 

Surrounded by all those houses it must be very scared whilst trying to get back out.

 

No you have it all wrong. The majority of the wildlife chooses to live there. The geese have taken residence recently.

 

Not all wildlife is adverse to civilisation.

[carlt]

The geese have taken residence recently.

 

Not all wildlife is adverse to civilisation.

And not all animals are wild.

 

The vast majority of resident geese, in this country, are semi-domesticated escapees.

[AlanH]

The vast majority of resident geese, in this country, are semi-domesticated escapees.

Not sure that this apllies to Canada geese which are fast becoming the vast majority.

[carlt]

Not sure that this apllies to Canada geese which are fast becoming the vast majority.

They are not Indigenous nor wild.

 

Introduced in the 17th century by (iirc) one of the King Charleses, but I can't think which one. For a royal waterfowl collection in one of the London Parks.

 

The only common(ish) resident is the Greylag and I would doubt it is living in any marina (over-developed or not).

 

If any of the other resident species are there then I'll eat my boat.

[AlanH]

They are not Indigenous nor wild.

 

Introduced in the 17th century by (iirc) one of the King Charleses, but I can't think which one. For a royal waterfowl collection in one of the London Parks.

I don't think that after three hundred years they can be called semi domesticated escapees. Are mink wild? However I'm not getting into semantics.

I'd agree with you in that if I lived aboard I'd moor online or CC but even though I use the boat most weekends etc. I'd prefer the security of a marina for when I'm away from it. A secure online mooring like Dave's is just as good as a marina.

[carlt]

I don't think that after three hundred years they can be called semi domesticated escapees. Are mink wild? However I'm not getting into semantics.

I'd agree with you in that if I lived aboard I'd moor online or CC but even though I use the boat most weekends etc. I'd prefer the security of a marina for when I'm away from it. A secure online mooring like Dave's is just as good as a marina.

Go and ask a Canada Goose if they are semi-domesticated.

 

If you can get close enough to touch one then the answer would be yes.

 

They are culled as non-indigenous vermin, even by the RSPB, so they can hardly be described as wildlife.

 

Mink aren't wild, either. They are escapees or deliberate releases.

[AlanH]

Go and ask a Canada Goose if they are semi-domesticated.

 

If you can get close enough to touch one then the answer would be yes.

 

They are culled as non-indigenous vermin, even by the RSPB, so they can hardly be described as wildlife.

 

Mink aren't wild, either. They are escapees or deliberate releases.

I tried that once and I couldn't touch one so the answer is no.

Go try touching a mink to see if it is tame or wild.

[Naughty Cal]

I can tell you now they dont like you going anywhere near them never mind trying to touch them.

[carlt]

I tried that once and I couldn't touch one so the answer is no.

Go try touching a mink to see if it is tame or wild.

I would not use the likelihood of being bitten by an animal as an indicator of whether it is wildlife or not.

 

Canada Geese are happy to live in the presence of people and are considered pests.

 

I paraphrase Phyllis's earlier post. If you're happy to have goose sh!t all over your pontoons then go and enjoy the wildlife at Bourton Waters.