Weekend in Padstow 2007

[steverow]

Sat on the boat on Sunday afternoon with our freinds, and came up with this horrific calculation!

Assuming the worst comes to the worst and red diesel to leisure mariners ends in 2007.
This is the scenario:

Swansea to Padstow a favourite weekend/long weekend jaunt for people in South Wales, My boat, semi displacement uses about 8 gals per hour at the most economical about 12knots. Padstow is about six hours at that speed.
So 48 galls..lets say 50 for round figures.

Assuming in 2007 the diesel is about the same as a car about £4 per gallon That makes £200 and the return leg another £200.
So in fuel cost alone £400 pounds for a couple of days.
The current cost of this trip would be just over £100 return..very do-able every now and again.
I could drive there and back in a 3 litre 4wd for about £65.
The wife and I could have a decent holiday in the Med for £400 on a quick getway.

My Pontoon neighbour with a 60ft boat is not likely to see too much change out of £1000 for the same trip.

This is seriously beginning to worry me, because I simply wont be able to afford to go any real distance at all.

Might as well flog the boat and buy a holiday home in Spain or something....

Be Afraid, Be Very Very Afraid.

Steve.





<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Talbot]

convert to raggie/forums/images/icons/smile.gif I dont use that much diesel in a whole season!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Yup, I think you've put your finger on the major effect of the loss of red diesel. People will simply use their boat less. Having spent last season in the Med and paying about 60p/l for diesel made me think about how far we would go for weekends. Often it was too easy a decision to just potter to the nearest bay for lunch rather than do any serious cruising which is a pity


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[pissativlypossed]

No argument with your logic, but i do not hold out any hope of a satisfactory outcome. This country with this goverment is in a dire situation, we have a third world health service, legal system and education service. Do you belive that for 1 minute Brown will miss out on the opportunity to impose another tax on us "rich" boaters using the excuse that the extra revenue will go to shore up these ailling services. Try using the economic argument that the leisure boating industry generates an income that employs people who pay taxes and then spend that money in the comunities where they live and the people who run our country will laugh behind there big Whitehall desks, safe in the knowledge that come what may they are protected from reality by thier index linked pensions. The only way to get these people to see reason is to frighten them into the fear of losing the cushy number they occupy by voting them out of office. We should all lobby our MP's in the hope that if enough people do they will ay least take some notice.

<hr width=100% size=1>"Open Another Bottle"

 

[gjgm]

and I thought all that space given over to sunpads on Med boats, was because of the sun. But no, I see its because no one can afford to do anything but sunbathe while stationary !!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Absolutely right. My boat consumed more alcohol then diesel last season

<hr width=100% size=1>