1965 vs 2011

[oldgit]

Were things cheaper years ago?, two pages are from the 1965 edition of
Inland Waterways Publication

.
7 day visitor pass is now £ 35.00 pounds and includes Allington Lock.
Weekly wage in 1965 appeared to be about £12.00.
Weekly wage 2010 £500.
Looks to me that the cost of the services provided are 50% cheaper now ?
We now have landing stages at all the locks both above and below,showers,water points,bogs and pumpout.
Plus pile moorings all along the navigation and some decent mooring at Yalding and Tonbridge.

Wonder what prices were like on the Thames in 1965 compared to now.

 

[boatone]

If you really want to indulge in nostalgia....

The Thames Conservancy Act 1932 is a real gem for information as to how things used to be.

In 1932 you needed to pay both lock tolls and a registration fee. Lock tolls were per through and return trip and for a 30-40 foot launch were 4 shillings per lock. You could alternatively purchase annual 'right of passage' through all locks for £12-10s-0d. Unpowered craft paid £3 but could also purchase passage for 5 or 11 consecutive locks for £1 or £2 pa respectively.

Registration charge for a 30-40 foot steam launch was £4-0s-0d but if you were foolish enough to have a petrol motor launch that was £6-0s-0d

What is also interesting is that in 1932 local authorities were required to contribute specified funds to the Thames Conservancy - Berkshire County Council, for instance, was required to pay £840 and Reading Corporation £2,350. Even little Cookham had to cough up £75 - equivalent of £3,750 today !
Total income from contributory authorities was £6,340 or the equivalent of over £300k in todays money. Haven't yet found out when they were relieved of this burden !

 

[oldgit]

Wonder if it was when everything watery was flogged off in 1980s to the people who already actually owned it................sorry when it was "privatised " ?

 

[Chris_d]

The Thames Conservancy Act 1932 is a real gem for information as to how things used to be.

In 1932 you needed to pay both lock tolls and a registration fee. Lock tolls were per through and return trip and for a 30-40 foot launch were 4 shillings per lock. You could alternatively purchase annual 'right of passage' through all locks for £12-10s-0d. Unpowered craft paid £3 but could also purchase passage for 5 or 11 consecutive locks for £1 or £2 pa respectively.

Registration charge for a 30-40 foot steam launch was £4-0s-0d but if you were foolish enough to have a petrol motor launch that was £6-0s-0d

What is also interesting is that in 1932 local authorities were required to contribute specified funds to the Thames Conservancy - Berkshire County Council, for instance, was required to pay £840 and Reading Corporation £2,350. Even little Cookham had to cough up £75 - equivalent of £3,750 today !
Total income from contributory authorities was £6,340 or the equivalent of over £300k in todays money. Haven't yet found out when they were relieved of this burden !

Thats interesting so if you paid registration £6 and right of passage £12 thats about £900 in todays money using your 75-3750 conversion, my 32ft costs £497 this year but presumably the charges were thinking of mainly commercial boats back then, currently commercial are 1.8 times = £895, thats remarkably similar unless my maths is off.

 

[boatone]

presumably the charges were thinking of mainly commercial boats back then,

Commercial passenger craft were listed separately but similarly priced depending on length. I have yet to discover when the 1.8 multiplier was introduced.

However, your basic sums are not far out and we appear to be getting a relatively better deal today.

 

[Cymrogwyllt]

In 2009, £2 0s 0d from 1965 is worth:

£28.80 using the retail price index

£60.10 using average earnings

source

http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/

 

[oldgit]

"source"


Googling average working wage 1965 and 2010

 

[Cymrogwyllt]

Bookmark

 

[oldgit]

Just for comparison,have an original boat show brouchure given to the first owner of my boat and written on it in biro is the price for the boat in 1972.
The boat on the water was 18,500 pounds which accoding to that comparison site is about £180.000 in todays money
Doubt you can buy a new 36ft twin engine flybridge for £180k more like double that !

 

[No Regrets]

But the modern 36' flybridge is a helluva lot better!

 

[boatone]

I suppose the $64,000 question is whether or not todays boaters would be prepared to pay the current day equivalent of 1932 registration and lock fee charges to help finance the river to the standard we would like ?

 

[oldgit]

C,mon then ......

Oooo goody a virtual forum punch up

"But the modern 36' flybridge is a helluva lot better! "


Err..... how do you work that out then ?

 

[No Regrets]

Well look at the performance, technology and so on. Notwithstanding a 1965 flybridge boat was unlikely to have had a flybridge (Did they make one as such?)

 

[oldgit]

Well look at the performance, technology and so on. Notwithstanding a 1965 flybridge boat was unlikely to have had a flybridge (Did they make one as such?)

Well moving the goalposts a teeny bit,well quite a lot actually,during the 1960s The Pegasus 35 and the the Triana Tantarella had top speeds of over 30knots and just few years later came stuff like this.Not bad considering it was 30 years ago.

Doubt that 2 x 180hp would get you 30 knots on any of todays boats ?

 

[No Regrets]

It was 1980, not 1965, and it cost £80k!!

Now try it with a Freeman or Broom 35...

 

[Ramage]

And how much fuel does it use at 30 knots?

 

[oldgit]

It was 1980, not 1965, and it cost £80k!!

Now try it with a Freeman or Broom 35"


Or a better example perhaps the Moonraker 36 introduced in 1969/70
When the Moonraker 36 was first exhibited, at the second Southampton Boat Show in 1970, it cost just £8950, with no tax to pay.
That was for the standard aft- cabin boat with twin 98hpGM resets. In 1973, with a flybndge and twin 175hp Perkins T6.354s the price was £19.000.

 

[534l4rk]

It was 1980, not 1965, and it cost £80k!!




Or a better example perhaps the Moonraker 36 introduced in 1969/70 QUOTE]

I recall fitting electronics including radar to Moonraker 36 in 1969/70 with Vic Bell. I thought the basic boat then was £7.6K but I may bhe remembering wrongly. Another flybridge of that era of similar size, speed and price range was the Jack Powles

 

[Nauti Fox]

Boat test and prices from 1973.

http://www.moonraker.dk/danish/Bibliotek/Reklamer/19730914MBY.pdf

 

[oldgit]

Boat test and prices from 1973.

http://www.moonraker.dk/danish/Bibliotek/Reklamer/19730914MBY.pdf

Its the 10p per gallon Sob