nearly tempted

Re: Licence fee\'s

No objection to narrowboats generally, but what really get my goat are the rentaboaters... overladen, overspeed, overwake, oversexed and without scruple, knowledge or care.
Narrowboaters, on the other hand - agree with many - there's good and bad, like all generalisations!
Yes they take up moorings, often less than efficiently, but I'm not sure I can remember having a request to raft up rejected...

H

<hr width=100% size=1>Life balance? :-)
 
Re: Licence fee\'s

Which leads us to another debate. Why have 20% of Thames based boats moved to seaside moorings pushing their marina rates up? I would humbly suggest to you that the much hated BSS was instrumental.

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Re: Licence fee\'s

Funnily enough I have never experienced anything but good things with rental boats. There again I have never experienced any friction with Raggies indeed the opposite. However! I can't say the same about Rowers /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

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Re: Licence fee\'s

Blimey, Byron, you must have had a bad weekend!!
You left out pascifists, the greens and other do gooders.

I was trying to think of a polite way to add to your comments about narrow boats, but failed.
The rentaboats? I assume this refers to hireboats.
a. As these number rather less than 100, where previously it was closer to 1,000 I do not regard it as an issue. Anyway, this is often where future boat owners come from.
b. If we had more of them may be it would deter the sardine cans (damn. I wasn't going to say that).

Talking to a lockeeper this weekend and find that Envag gave the visiting narrow boats (to the IWA Rally at Beale Park) a 1 month pass for the price of 15 days. Not as bad as I had heard on the "as usual" totally unreliable grapevine.
Spoke to a number of narrow boaters (who had not attended the rally) and despite my previous thoughts they only had 1 head and not all even wore sandals!!

On the subject of moorings and narrow boats, I am certainly amongst the 1st to complain about the space that narrow boats take up, many of which are well over 50 feet.
2 possible solutions to this:
1. Envag sort out the whole moorings thing. There are pathetically few and those there are so shallow, narrow boats are about all you would get in.
2. A premium on the licence for all boats over 45 feet long, wide or narrow.
As for mooring alongside them?
Well, I don't particularly want the sde of my tupperware boat covered in bitumastic paint from my fenders rubbing on their hull. The only access ashore is via their rear deck (foredeck usually full of cockpit) and the gate in my rails is, logically, in the centre of the boat, so not much chance of getting the dog ashore.

God, Byron you've infected me now.
Perhaps next year I'll get one of these Gold Licences and and head for 1st lock at Brentford (?) at 25 knots and see if I can get 13.5 feet beam in. If I fail at least it will block off the lock for a while and stop any more ......... narrow boats from coming out.

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Re: Licence fee\'s

When my brother lived on the Thames at Cookham it was the motor cruisers driven by outboards that got to me. All doing 4 knots with the little motor absolutely flat out they'd crawl along past the lawn and disturbed the peace for miles, inboards don't do that whether tin, wood, or other.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
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Re: Licence fee\'s

I heard it was you who had the bad weekend coming second to a Newbie and one with only a single screw too. I s'pose Blakey let you down /forums/images/icons/wink.gif. Whoa! I didn't have a pop at Hire Boaters, I said I only had good experiences with them.

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Re: Licence fee\'s

Regrettably can't blame John, he was on the other boat. It was the prat driving.

Won 3 of the tests and came last in the 4th. It was meant to be done in silence. Trouble is i'm so used to bullshitting that I forgot. The poor crew were jumping up and down trying to attract my attention. I thought it was strange they both wanted the loo at the same time!!

I'm sure that Dutch Belle did very well, and my heartiest congratulations, but I did not see them.
I was appalled at my performance and only slightly encouraged when I saw how badly everyone else seemed to be doing.
Good weekend though, and thanks to all who were involved.
(ATYC Rally for those wondering what we are talking about)

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Re: Licence fee\'s

Never mind Mike. At least you can take comfort from the fact that you didn't have a bowthruster!! (you didn't did you?) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>A hangover is just the Wrath of Grapes</font color=blue>
 
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