dnks34

I wasn't aware SOB is fitted with a Nanni. As many of us probably know a Nanni engine is nothing unusual on the Broads. To state they cant get parts for it has got to be a weak excuse at best!

If the engine issue isn't pure fantasy then to have the boat out of action because of an engine issue simply isnt good enough. Hire boats manage to be out rain or shine, yet SOB cant be fixed? Yes it can, if it was such a valuable resource re-engine it, as that doesn't appear to be the case I can only suspect what I alluded to earlier, its not nor ever has been the right boat for the job.

Whatever the issues with the boat are (if any) they cant be beyond the capabilities of a decent marine engineer, can they?! I think all jokes aside its probably very fair to settle with the notion that SOB was not a sensible purchase when considering the constraints of its operating location, I don't see pushing that point attacking the BA but it does strengthen the FACT that they are quite good at making bad decisions. Any negativity toward them arises because of the way they operate, they cant seem to help it!

I am quite happy to put my neck on the line and say in all probability i think “waiting for engine spares” is a big fat lie and it dawned on them long ago that it wasn't any use where they were trying to use it and they are trying to quietly get shot of it drawing as little attention as possible.......

I heard they were all out of the office that day putting Contravention notices on boats.......

With 432 supposed contraventions plus those booked in the wetshed that brought about this thread i cant find exactly how many boats there are registered on the Broads at present but Im not sure that 432+ contraventions of the guidance means that the vast majority are complying......with the guidance.....

The seal looks like its had a good feed!

Taken to the letter of the byelaws the Broads Authority are yet again on a hiding to nothing. Broad Ambition is conspicuously displaying its Reg numbers, THE END!!!

Taking into consideration the pictures shown of the BA’s own craft, I sincerely hope they drop it before it gets expensive. There will be someone out there prepared to put this to the test and we all know who that will ultimately end up costing. They set themselves up for this by being so pedantic, its not like boats pass the patrol launches at 70 miles an hour is it......

Wonder if JP is familiar with the saying “come a cropper”. If not he should look it up!!

It occurred to me has Broad Ambition been sought out here, all the boats across all of the Broads and they pick up on Broad Ambition..... hmm really??! The thing is it will be a half hearted attempt at best. The Broads Authority struggle to get much right. They will show face, do 5 or 6 tickets then tick it off as job done and move on to the next method of Toll Payer persecution.....

I see it as so trivial it isn't worth wasting costly Ranger time or the admin staff that will undoubtedly go along with it. If a boat is displaying its reg visibly in the right areas then this is a total waste of time, there are probably hundreds of boats displaying their reg number not quite to the Drs liking. Why are the Broads Authority persistently on the look out for an excuse to alienate themselves from Toll Payers more and more......its just unbelievable!! Our ex boat had its stern reg visibly on the cabin step, which is exactly where it would have been staying had we got a ticket! Not many years ago there was a Northern Hire Yard running around (some) same class of hire boats on identical reg numbers, when pointing it out an “admin” error was claimed, this is the sort of thing they should be putting there energies in to. Avoidance!! Not lets annoy decent boat owners who most likely pay their toll on time every year.

From my point of view I cant see how the BA have any business entering private boatyards/marinas or other secure areas to inspect Boats for compliance in this way. They did this at the WRC when we moored there as they kept one of the patrol launches in the secure compound. Almost every time I was there to see the boat come back in a ranger (or 2) would wander round on the look out for a nick after putting the patrol boat to bed. I do support the Rangers in what they do but Im not sure I like this practice, if I was paying to keep a historic woodie In a supposedly secure building away from prying eyes I wouldn't be to happy about someone coming along and sticking a ticket on it basing it on what sounds like a matter of opinion.....its been good enough for the last 50 odd years for goodness sake.

Not very good is it......

What always makes me laugh is those that say we should just ignore them, turn the tv up, let them be young........It would be a totally different story if the nuisances were hanging around on their doorstep!!

This makes my chosen punishment of sending offenders to a middle eastern country to be dealt with harshly seem quite reasonable!!

I find the exhaust note of very high end purpose built sports car to be totally inoffensive knowing that a highly qualified engineer will have spent many many man hours achieving the perfect note. On the other hand Subaru Impreza’s and souped up Fiesta’s with ego boosting exhausts offend me no end! They just sound terrible.

From looking at the picture showing the accident boat and the signs of current in the flow of water it occurred to me that something similar could happen on an outgoing tide at Great Yarmouth. In truth I have always thought the bridges mixed with tidal current have the potential to be a real danger and Im surprised that to my knowledge there has not been a serious injury at either of the Bridges other than the usual boats ending up wedged beneath them. I do often think that Great Yarmouth would benefit from some safety measures especially as its not unknown for some northern yards to discourage their hirers making passage to the south. The novice or unsuspecting could very very easily be caught out there.

I bet they all buy a set of fresh tyres monthly to...hmmm! How many of them must run about till mot time with half bald tyres, and in a place like Lowestoft they know the chances of getting caught are next to zilch as there are no police resources. If it were up to me anybody caught misusing a motor vehicle in a public place would have their licence torn up for at least a year and be made to resit the test. Loud exhausts however amusing or fun the owner might think they are on a road use motor vehicle would be banned to. They cause totally unnecessary noise pollution that can be heard reverberating across most towns in the UK nightly. We have to stop this growing habit of thinking we must accept what is actually utter stupidity as the new normal. How about we all see how quiet we can make our cars, wonder what the boy racers will do when we are forced to go electric!!!

I don't call youngsters doing burnouts and doughnuts on a public road adjacent to a residential estate a bit of fun! I was a young driver once and was taught to respect people and property from an early age, there was no way I’d have treated my car like that.....no way!

Where I live in Lowestoft this type of thing is becoming a big problem. It sounds like vehicles are racing across the town when its dark most nights of the week with loud exhausts popping and backfiring. Unfortunately for me and my neighbours these imbeciles regularly congregate at night in at-least 2 different locations within 100m of my house. The Police tell me they have powers to destroy their vehicles but are unlikely to have the resources to catch them in the act whenever i have phoned their behaviour in......... I am tempted to get myself a decent dashcam and spend a few evenings trailing round after these idiots. Its much easier for the Police to park a van up with a camera in it in a 50 limit on a dual carriageway than it is to go out and put a stop to the real dangers on the road, I have to say loud exhausts make me feel like I could see myself committing murder, I suppose the police would come out then!!!!

Had my hopes up for a moment!

Accepting there was a DEFRA grant reduction to make up what deeply bothers me is how much money was wasted on the Jenners Basin fight that many if not most boat owners / hirers would have wanted no part in. What about the other crackpot projects (acle) that occasionally come to light that again some folk want no part in and do not want to see any of BA funds frivolously wasted on. If they have got spare cash for ridiculous projects stop putting up the Tolls i cant think of a word to adequately convey my distaste for it, its just obscene. Each time this happens Toll payers pockets get dipped in to to recover the loses. I certainly want no part in that and until there is accountability I no longer want to be a Toll Payer. Its really not right.

I saw my Toll rise by over 35% from buying in 2010 to selling in 2018. Initially I did believe the Toll represented good value for money but my perception changed with the obscene hike a few years ago. I realised then that while I was giving the Broads Authority access to my wallet they could decide to take from it whatever they wish and at that point I decided the boat was a liability I no longer wanted. There is no control over Toll levels. Outcry each time they are increased (yearly) will continue but nothing will ever be done to kerb it and it will only continue to go up. Im sure I cant have been the only one who has had enough! For this reason im not sure I would ever want to own another boat on the broads, when the whim takes I will hire.

Just because other waterways do it doesn't make it fair! I recently took on Waveney District Council (and won) for them trying to make me pay council tax on a property I no longer lived in. I knew full well the period they were charging me for had been paid up by someone else. Had i just paid they would have happily gone along with being paid for the same property twice. I suspect they do this type of thing quite a lot. That Isn't exactly Toll related but my point is why should anyone pay in part or full for any type of service they haven't actually been able to receive or avail themselves of?!