dnks34

No worries Jonzo im sure it was around or therabouts 8 minutes! I agree self service is not the sort of thing everyone will want to get involved in if your on your hols but when we moored at the WRC self service was actually quite handy. We did suggest a few times that the time be increased to 10minutes due to the cost but it was never given consideration, especially as any user had to supply their own blue stuff, you will not believe that once they even removed the hose you would use to give the tank a quick rinse.....there was a lot of complaints about that one, a bit daft we thought.

Have they reduced the time on the self service one at the WRC as im sure you used to get 8 minutes. We were able to do 2 tanks if we were quick!

In my opinion the name of the new venture is of no concern. If the Broads Boating Company were a broadcasting or production company then the British Broadcasting Corporation might have something to complain about but clearly the 2 organisitions couldnt be more different! Very shrewd really as has been said anyone googling is likely to use "broads" and "boating" in any search they make so they should be clearly visible to potential custom. As has been suggested a lot of yards are named after current or previous owners (or both) and those have become names that are well known and associated with Broads Boating going back years. Im not sure it really matters what you call yourself as long as you get yourself out there and are reputed to be good at what you do. I for one wish Ryan every sucess with his new venture.

oops!

or Vodafone.........just how they get any customers I do not know!

Iains moderating skills were an asset to this forum and he will be sorely missed. My thoughts are with his family RIP Iain

I did say initial outlay aside!

Ouch! Initial outlay aside for 2 weeks hire on that it costs more than it costs us to keep our own boat moored, tolled, insured even including a luxury maintenance budget for the year!

The only thing that puts me off the smaller vessels is the amount of movement when climbing on/off or moving around inside & sitting etc. We once owned a 10ft by 27ft and it did sway quite a lot, with a wider boat its not so noticeable.

Alan if theres a B&M store nearby they do Finish Powerball Tablets in boxes of 10 for 99p a box, they have been selling them at that price for over 3 years! We normally use B&M for all cleaning products, washing powder/softner even crisps, cereals, coffee toletries etc. Its the same brands as the supermarkets sell only cheaper!

FW Hall & Son in Norwich made our 2 pushpit rails for our 12ft width ex hire boat back in 2011. They did an excellent job of it and if memory serves correctly they came in at around £700 for the pair. The rails are in two seperate L shapes with a chain across the middle type design so its quite a lot of stainless and we were happy with the price. They brought the rails to the boat for a pre fit then took them away again for more precise bending/shaping etc to make sure the fit to the boat was perfect. Google will bring up their website/contact details. We have had no problems with them whatsoever and 5 years later they are still looking good as new.

Recently Vodafone were offering an unlimited fibre broadband and home phone package for £25 a month with no line rental charges (which could be a game changer if the other names start loosing business to them). Wow thats a good deal I thought. However, Vodafone customer service is known to be so shockingly atrocious (and i have experienced it myself) that I would not want their broadband (or any other product) if it were free! They ruined my credit file last year (no fault of my own). At one point they even took it upon themselves to ignore the decision of the ombudsman (in my favour) delaying removing late payment markers from my credit file even further. I was getting threatening letters weekly for money i didnt owe. In the end and after 2 trips to the Ombudsman I did get it rectified. After that fiasco i would never trust them again. We are with BT for home phone and fibre broadband and each year at renewal I find the best deal from whichever provider it is at the time and then go to BT with the details of it and say I will leave for the better deal if they cant offer a similar package. They have always made an effort to give me a better deal and ita probably around 7 years since i had internet from anyone else, the security suite is good also. The only thing I would say about BT is the home hub for us anyway wasnt up to much, Quite unreliable, so much that I bought my own wifi router in the end and ive not had an issue since.

Looks like ours is going to be around £60 more. Boats are usually measured in feet so why work it out in square meterage. 0 To my mind they are bound to increase the same again for the following year and who is going to stop them now they have done it this time. If this is the Toll money needed for the Authority to do the Job required then so be it but we can all guess there are savings to be made. If the NHS can no longer offer IVF in this region citing the NHS must live within its means then im sure theres areas the Broads Authority should be doing the same.

I agree JM we dont really know (certainly not I anyway) the ins and outs of it all. I can only form my opinions on what i read or hear but like you I also think it appears very coincidental with recent events.

It strikes me and excuse me if i am stating what to most might be the glaringly obvious but the brief of any new brooms at the Authority is clearly going to be driven by JP, his views will be thier views or like Trudi they will move on, either by choice or otherwise (most probably). But then thats dictatorships for you!

So what your saying Marshman if I understand your last post correctly is we need less like Trudi and more like JP (as he does a great impression of someone who knows nothing). Well, Im certainly glad your not in charge. I dont know Trudi personally but what I read and hear I also fear she will be a massive loss to the Authority.

I think what I have issue with most of all is the stench of corruption eminating from every piece of media we hear or read about whatever the Broads Authority is doing at the time. They always seem to go against popular opinion and never make the blaringly obvious or sensible choice. If not corruption then a Dictatorship. I thought we had learned in the past how dangerous that sort of regime is, yet it is carrying on, seemingly unchallenged. I would feel more confident that a Toll increase was necessary and justified if the BA had historically done everything in their power to put my toll money to proper use taking every reasonable step to make sure they were not hemorrahging money from within in a frivolous and wasteful manner. I dont know John Packman personally but what I read and hear I do not like one bit. In my own personal opinion he needs to be removed. The Authority is in serious need of reform and those of you who think theres nothing we could or should do......lets see if you feel same the next time the Toll goes up...and the next time, and the next time...........

Just because the Authority will raise Tolls it doesnt mean that those of us adversely affected actually have to stump up the extra cash. I am in two, well 3 minds, do i take her out of the water for the season so a toll is not due send a toll payment of the 2016/17 amount plus inflation and then let them persue for the rest (at more cost) put the boat up for sale before the Broads Authority destroy any future sale price even further. Those of us against the level of toll increase need to do something. We roll over this year what will the next seasons increase be.

MM, how many civil servants across the country are being overpaid from public money? Pay should reflect duties and responsibility, some people are getting away with being on an incredibley "good screw" and I am not only referring to the BA. Who does decide his salary? I thought the BA are answerable to nobody. When they are potentially having to ask me for a toll increase of possibly up to £70 It is obscene. Name me another organisation could get away with such a price hike without public uproar. The only difference is this isnt council tax or a tv licence its for a Toll on a boat seen as a luxury item that we must all have endless pots of cash to fund. Im not bashing JP personally but I do question his agenda

The idea only came to mind as it occured to me that for whatever reason the Broads Authority and the local councils dont seem to work well together, I would say it appears they seek to work against eachother what with the rubbish disposal fiasco etc. Surely local tourism and boating is in the interests of the local economy therefore why do they seek to cut back on all the essential services that should be part and parcel of it. There is to much penny pinching, organisations driven to make savings down to a sheet of toilet roll but the people at the top are getting paid ever more. But I can agree in reality it would be a complicated way of running things with the probability of even more visionaries adding to the wanton destruction.

What I would like to know is what is it they actually work on in this workshop and how much exactly is it going to cost us?!

Bobdog who carries more responsibility, the headmaster of the school producing the country's future or the man seemingly in charge of buggering up everything he touches?! Besides I know a comprehensive Headteacher and believe me, JP is much better off!

I do often wonder if it could improve things in the long term for the Broads Authority to be scrapped altogether and the responsibility falling to the various local councils in the Norfolk/Suffolk area. Rightly or wrongly I look upon the BA as another local authority "council" so why have more than one operating in the same overall area.

The amount JP is getting paid in my mind is almost obscene. Like many council chief execs, some of them are paid way way over the top and how is it justifiable from public money. Just my two penneth for what its worth. Our letter of complaint has allready been submitted. I wish there was more we could do but untill that man is somehow removed from the top of the empire hes built up then in my mind the Broads Industry is in serious danger. They ought to be putting their own financial affairs in order and making any savings they are able before they resort to hiking toll prices for private owners In such a way, and completely via the back door as usual. Do they ever get Audited? I sincerely hope that this is final straw and somehow his days are numbered. The more I read the more it smacks of a person intent on feathering ones own nest and it cant carry on. I am fully prepared to either remove my boat from the water for 12months or just pay this years toll amount plus inflation next march and then let them chase for the rest. A stand needs to be made and we all need to stick together and do it.

Sounds clever but i dont think I would fall for it. Im not convinced it would be that simple to set up a contract in someone elses name, for starters you would need a lot more info than just a name address and phone number to fool BT or any other phone company into accepting an order. I treat everything that comes to me as a scam to protect myself but it is tragic how many people do get fooled when an ounce of common sense would probably save them! Question everything folks! Dont even trust yourself!!