Vaughan

From Blakes brochure of 1975, on the line just above the signature on the booking form : and further agree that this booking is made in accordance with the conditions stated on page 99 - (which is the next page). I imagine a booking made today will still contain a similar sentence, somewhere or another.

It always used to be (and I presume still is) that when you make a booking you are deemed to understand the conditions of hire. In the old days of brochures, they were printed on the inside back page, right next to the booking form.

I have looked up Barnes conditions of hire, which seem to be recently re-written, but they don't seem to be clear on the matter of who is responsible for the boat, or who can be given personal details. Richardsons' conditions are more specific. There is a separate Group Privacy Policy, which says : Disclosure of your personal information. We may disclose your details to any of the following recipients : 6/. Any law enforcement or regulatory body which may have any reasonable requirement to access your personal information. In the general conditions, they specify that the hirer is the "party Leader" and that no minor may control your boat without the supervision of an experienced adult. Rule 27 is Data protection policy, which says : The Information may also be provided to . . . . . . , public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as required by law. There is also Rule 18 : Obeying the waterway rules. You must obey the Navigation Authoriy's Bylaws. It then says especially navigation after sunset and speeding "must not inconvenience or endanger other users". I guess it still comes down to whether the BA actually have the right to personal details, for the non payment of a mooring charge.

Tube heaters are all very nice but we don't use them on hire fleets. Imagine the electricity bill! I would say the main thing is ventilation. If the boat is well ventilated, you won't get damp. If you have hopper windows, leave them open. Open all cabin and cupboard doors and pull all drawers half open. If possible, stand mattessses on end, in case of leaks around the window seals. If your domestic water piping is plastic it should not be a problem but otherwise, find a connection at the lowest part of the pipework - which is often the water pump - open it and drain the system. Some also drain the calorifier tank but as it is already insulated, this should not be a problem. Don't forget, before you finally stop the engine, to run antifreeze through the raw water cooling system. If you change the impeller every spring, no problem but otherwise, take the impeller out of the pump for the winter and if it is in good condition, you can re-use it. I usually leave it on the dashboard, to show that the engine is winterised.

Her name would not have been Cilla, or Hazel, by any chance?

Just to be a bit pedantic, everyone was struggling commercially in the late 70s and early 80s and the Broads tourist industry has never been the same since. I was there and I have got the tee shirt. A co-operative of boatyard owners, such as Blakes, cannot be "bought out" as it had no real assets of its own and its members' shares had no monetary value. Hoseasons was, and is, simply a travel agent, charging a flat rate commission. It is most refreshing to see someone here who appreciates what an organisation such as Blakes was all about. The member boatyards always knew and maintained that the Norfolk Broads were our "stock in trade". If the Broads were not a beautiful (indeed magical) place to come and enjoy an adventure holiday, there would be no point in trying to sell boating holidays! And so every effort was always made to try and maintain them as such. Nowadays, we are left to rely on the BA and the EA and (God forbid) the RSPB to do what the River Commissioners and the boatyards made such a good job of. So, by recent showing, are they up to the task?

There would be no moorings without access to the broad. But I seem to think that is the thrust of Don's suggestion. In this sense, is there a difference between a "member" and a "toll payer"? Not forgetting that "in my day" there was no requirement for a river toll on Wroxham Broad as it is private. All the same the NBYC (and not the landowner) have always maintained the broad open and welcome to other river traffic.

Of course it has! That is why we can still cruise on Malthouse Broad. If Not for Blakes, the landowner would have maintained the Broad closed, as it had been during the War. Ranworth Inner Broad remained closed, simply because it did not contain a public staithe, so no right of navigation could be proved by Blakes. So how come the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club have maintained a lease on Wroxham Broad, from the Trafford estate, for what must be over a hundred years now? I am told that the Snowflake Sailing Club will also be joining them there this coming winter.

I noticed that the man doing the video was handed back his own plug before the post was covered over and also appeared to be offered a refund on what was left on his card. So if anyone had been tampering it didn't appear to be him!

The plugs and superstructure fittings used for shore power on boats are the European standard and are the same as used on caravans and camper vans. I have an adaptor, with a normal mains plug, if I want to plug the camper in at home. I am not aware of a BA rule that says what you can plug in to their posts but in the event of a fire or other damage to the boat, you may have trouble with the insurance if your fittings are not up to European standard.

I see Strumpshaw pump hasn't fallen over yet.

That may be true of some and there will always be one or two black sheep. * All the same I know from the horse's mouth (Roger Wood) that all those in Jenners Basin were paying him an agreed affordable rent ; had been for 10 years and there were no arrears. I believe the rate at that time was £10 a foot p.a. * Oh dear, am I allowed to say that?

Thank you for that hint (which somehow got past the censor) and I have now had the chance to watch the full video thoroughly, a couple of times. I am sure that moderation would not permit me to give an opinion on it, except that there is no "speculation" in saying I am now quite convinced in my own mind, what has been going on here. The question remains : Is the arbitrary closing down of electric posts and thus excluding them from all boats who moor overnight, the best way to deal with what is evidently the "real" problem? In my view, no, otherwise they might as well close them all off. So much for "running engines on moorings"!

Great work! I was hoping we would hear from you again soon.

Unfortunately you are probably right. Unless cases like this are brought to the public eye in the media, and thus discussed? I also notice it was still possible to moor 3 or 4 large boats on the quay at sunset on a Friday night. Bit of a lack of "footfall" there, then? Perhaps those who cruise in the later season are more discerning about value for money?

Perhaps it is time that @BroadsAuthority put us out of our misery and gave us the reason. I am sure it is legitimate for toll payers to know why their facilities are being withdrawn?

I agree. Travellers presumably have vehicles with a current licence and MOT, giving them the right to use the highway. And so do residential boat owners.

I agree with that Cheesy and in a lot of ways some of the problems are public order issues, in other words anti-social behaviour, which is not the BA's problem. All the same, the BA have a lot of "previous" over the years, in their deliberate and sometimes very expensive persecution of residential moorings. It cost the Tolls Fund an almost 6-figure sum in legal fees, plus all the admin costs, before those living peacefully in Thorpe were thrown out "into the stream". So where does the BA suggest they go now? Edited to add : And will other electric posts now be disabled, to stop ovestaying on other moorings? In which case, what does the BA suggest to other boats, wishing to stay legitimately overnight and to use the shore power provided by their river tolls?

I quite agree, this is not necessarily a "live-aboard" issue. However : And there was a genuine and practical alternative in Jenners Basin, until, after 10 years of quite vicious persecution, the BA succeeded in throwing them all out to fend for themselves on the river. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap".

Qu'es-ce que c'est que cette maudite salopérie de notice? Je m'en fous de leurs petits règles!

Except you can't blame HW for the rust streaks on the hull. Connoisseur went to the trouble and expense of making special mould tools to have GRP rubbing strakes and then "spoiled the ship for a ha'porth of tar" by using cheap steel fixing bolts and binn iron screws. The rust will streak every time it rains and eventually, the bolts will rust right through and the whole thing falls off!

Well done! Especially as two of them are hire boats. I wonder who they will serve the notice on? Daniel Thwaites? It is good to see those who still have the courage to stick to the principle of the thing, as I am sure this sort of protest is now the only way to fight it.

Just for fun Simon, I wonder if we can name more than 10 places left on the North Rivers (downstream of Potter) where you can just moor on the bank in the trees and stick your rhond hooks in the grass?

Oh dear me. Someone must have been putting Spanish Pesetas in the meter again. But I suppose you have to be of a certain age, to remember that! That video of Neil's reminds me of the old joke about how many *****men it takes to change a light bulb.

This is what really matters. Here is a holidaymaker, on his first post on the forum, and this is what he thinks of Ranworth moorings. He has said that he would not pay to stop there. While others seem content to roll over and pay, while they quote "more footfall" for the shops. This is exactly what the BA knew would happen this year, since Ranworth moorings are a "captive audience". If they can turn round and say "There you are, we knew people would not mind paying" then there will be charges for what is left of their public moorings, all over the Broads next year. This is what a National Park means, folks! If you visit a national park in a camper van or a caravan, there is no question of "wild moorings" : you are not allowed to park except in organised sites where you pay extortionate fees for the privilege. Wild moorings on the Broads are a thing of the past since landowners have learned how to grab money - and I suggest they were taught how to do that by certain pubs, back in the late 70s. If the BA now want to "Rake in the Shekels" on moorings that are already maintained by river tolls, then the Broads are going to be effectively, a private, fee paying holiday park. No longer a place where you can cruise the countryside in freedom. If there are those here who really can't see this coming, I certainly can!