Boat sunk, by Stag Party?

[Bewildered]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-45644814

boat supposedly sunk by stag party going past to fast?

[Cas446]

There is no doubt that the day boats do go quick round here and there are quite a number of stag and hen hire boats about, but it's a popular canal and people use it. Looking at the photo it looks like it is the wooden boat that effectively sits in a huge plastic bag with a bilge pump on the go. It is amazing that it survived this long. I feel sorry for the guy and there is a much wider social issue here.

[Athy]

It is heartening to note that his friends have already raised £7,000 towards (I assume) repair or replacement of his boat.

[Murflynn]

which reminds me of my only experience of travelling that stretch a few years ago, where I had to pass miles of permanently moored up boats, many of them with nettles growing from their fenders, and some surrounded by a barricade of floating tyres, and with roofs piled up with scrap metal; the whole area having the general appearance of a neglected refugee camp.  There were several grumpy men who insisted that any disturbance to the water surface in 'their' patch of the NAVIGATION canal meant I was travelling much too fast.

 

I hate the western part of the K&A. 

[Jo_]

Hire Boat Company's 3rd Party Insurance. If the police are investigating and there were witnesses ...............

[Victor Vectis]

More here:

https://nbareandare.com/2018/09/25/when-hire-boaters-make-life-worse-by-water/

[Jo_]

The compassionate and factual account includes the bit where the hire company themselves brought the boats back, apologising and saying they had turned the hirers off the boats. That is surely an admission of liability and the insurance that is part of the hire agreement is there for damage caused by hirers, isn't it?

[Naughty Cal]

Whilst it is sad that this guys home has sunk surely it is also his responsibility to ensure that his boat is in a state of repair that it can withstand boats passing him when moored up.

 

The hirers may have been passing too quickly but that in itself is not going to cause a boat to sink!

[BWM]

It is certainly a shame that a gang of hooray Henrys has cost someone their home, and it looks like he has received considerable support from friends but I'd imagine any insurance claim would be a non starter. It is hard to imagine any insurer covering such a vessel and a claim off the hire company would surely be based on the value of the derelict boat. 

[roland elsdon]

Bit of class hatred and assumption going on here

[Arthur Marshall]

9 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

Bit of class hatred and assumption going on here

Not really.  There's more here than meets the wotsit: https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/10631998.Disabled_Wiltshire_man_faces_losing_narrowboat_home/

 

So he's already sold one boat because he was going to be turfed off for not having a license or Safety Cert, and according to other info the sunk boat wasn't licensed either.  Doesn't stop it being a shame, but the shame is really that people are now so desperate for a roof over their heads they have to try to live in these conditions in the first place.

 

[Athy]

I read that the chap lives on disability benefit as he is partially sighted following an industrial accident. Is it not true that the dole office pay a boat's licence fees in such circumstances, or the mooring fees, or both? I have seen information on this subject but can't remember the details.

[Mike Hurley]

I thought the K&A was heavily patrolled so how has it been there so long if was illegal?

Wonder how much of the crowd funding money will go towards BSS,License and insurance, i think we can guess that answer going by his history.

Far too many people there that think they are a bit special and the world owes them a living.

If you cant/wont live there legally then move off.

[jds_1981]

4 minutes ago, Mike Hurley said:

I thought the K&A was heavily patrolled so how has it been there so long if was illegal?

Wonder how much of the crowd funding money will go towards BSS,License and insurance, i think we can guess that answer going by his history.

Far too many people there that think they are a bit special and the world owes them a living.

If you cant/wont live there legally then move off.

CaRT is very slow moving. 

I've never seen a well maintained boat sunk outside of a lock. Have seen plenty of sink boats that looked like contenders for sinking though.

[Phil Ambrose]

30 minutes ago, Athy said:

I read that the chap lives on disability benefit as he is partially sighted following an industrial accident. Is it not true that the dole office pay a boat's licence fees in such circumstances, or the mooring fees, or both? I have seen information on this subject but can't remember the details.

Dole office don't pay for licence etc but the local council will pay housing benefit which can cover licence and mooring fees. This is means tested and has to be applied for, not too many hoops to jump through so is easily achieved. 

Phil 

[Athy]

3 minutes ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Dole office don't pay for licence etc but the local council will pay housing benefit which can cover licence and mooring fees. This is means tested and has to be applied for, not too many hoops to jump through so is easily achieved. 

Phil 

Thanks for clarifying the situation.

[PD1964]

53 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Not really.  There's more here than meets the wotsit: https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/10631998.Disabled_Wiltshire_man_faces_losing_narrowboat_home/

 

So he's already sold one boat because he was going to be turfed off for not having a license or Safety Cert, and according to other info the sunk boat wasn't licensed either.  Doesn't stop it being a shame, but the shame is really that people are now so desperate for a roof over their heads they have to try to live in these conditions in the first place.

 

 

2 hours ago, Athy said:

It is heartening to note that his friends have already raised £7,000 towards (I assume) repair or replacement of his boat.

Not bad getting £7000 from friends, as according to the above article he only paid £3830 for his two boats originally. Just another permanent moorer taking the p@ss out of the system, obviously his boat should not of been on the canal due to it's condition and being un-licensed,

  Sorry little sympathy, As why should the majority of boaters pay for a license, observe the rules, maintain their boats to the required standard so there safe on the water and people like this do not and expect the same service from CaRT?

Edited September 26, 2018 by PD1964

[Cas446]

The scene this morning. I have a picture somewhere before it sunk and it was in no fit state to move. The boat had not moved for many years and used to be covered in abusive language informing CRT 'to go away'. It probably won't move off the bottom for many years now. It's a shame as a few years back there used to be a nice coffee boat that used to moor nearby for the summer. This stretch of canal is slowly getting worse with home made boats appearing - rafts with a shed. CRT regularly apply enforcement notices but to be fair the short stay moorings are normally clear so I think there is an 'understanding'.

 

[PD1964]

No sympathy whatsoever for people like this, just making our canals a mess, CaRT need to get these type of boaters off the system ASAP.

[dmr]

There are of course two sides to every story.

The K&A really does have a Big problem with a stag boats, and for some the taunting and abusing of the locals is part of the fun. I have personally witnessed a stag boat spotting a rather nice historic dutch barge and shouting to each other "that one looks expensive, lets ram it", and they did, very hard.

The sunk boat belongs to a man who has been a thorn in the side of CaRT for many years. The boat  is an old wooden boat in very poor condition and has been for many years, it has huge holes in the sides and it only floats because it is permanently wrapped in a huge plastic bag. It sounds like it was not hit by the hire boat but maybe sank because the hire boat went past too fast.

The Stag boats and hire companies that actively encourage them (even buying in the crates of lager ready for them in at least on case) are out of control and need to be regulated but using this sinking as an example is risky as if the full story emerges it may actually give ammunition to the hire companies as the boat was not fit to be on the canal.

I still think the hire company should buy this bloke a new boat, an ex hire boat might do, though he does appear to prefer historic boats.

 

...............Dave

 

[Athy]

6 minutes ago, Cas446 said:

 it was in no fit state to move. The boat had not moved for many years

Yet the newspaper article says that he travelled around from Devizes to Dundas (about 20 miles I think). Perhaps not recently, though?

[Cas446]

2 minutes ago, Athy said:

Yet the newspaper article says that he travelled around from Devizes to Dundas (about 20 miles I think). Perhaps not recently, though?

That boat has not moved in years!! 

[Sea Dog]

15 minutes ago, Cas446 said:

The scene this morning. I have a picture somewhere before it sunk and it was in no fit state to move. 

 

 

Doesn't look much worse than the one in front even now though, does it. 

[TheBiscuits]

Just now, Sea Dog said:

Doesn't look much worse than the one in front even now though, does it. 

I assumed that was the same chap's other boat.

[Naughty Cal]

10 minutes ago, Athy said:

Yet the newspaper article says that he travelled around from Devizes to Dundas (about 20 miles I think). Perhaps not recently, though?

No doubt he, or one of his "friends", has told them that in an attempt to cover up his lack of movement. 

 

Funny how the range is 20 miles. The same as CRT accept!