Basic Winter Maintenance.

[Smoggy]

RLM31 Vaughn but not far different from the elysian hull, my doors would never shut once opened when on chocks so it works both ways, I can't see how chocks on a few key places can ever support a boat as well as soft boat shaped mud that dries in a boat shape, obviously you have years of experience of running boat yards that I wouldn't consider trying to argue against.

Maintenance wise I can't really comment as I know nowt about hire fleet regimes.

[andyg]

I think will can all agree this can't be right, if like you say they have the facilities to put most up on the hard  why hasn't it been done ? I assume the staff are still around. Even with my limited knowledge of boat building I understand how doors window frames etc will become distorted after a while. If that was me I'd want to do everything I could to protect my investment. 

[annv]

Another thing is when a boat is left moored out of true,  water cant drain from deck properly and can enter hull with condensation and mold issues. John

[Vaughan]

 

I went and took these photos yesterday, to try and explain what used to be done, when they drain the canal in winter. 

Homps was one of Connoisseur's first bases, on the town quay, before the Mairie built the new big basin.  You can see that the bottom of the canal is a flat v shape with a small stream left in the middle.  It is not mud, but a hard gravel bottom.  I notice there is no sludge from fallen leaves now, since they cut all the plane trees down a couple of years ago.

Before the canal was drained, they used to take the boats out in the middle in rows of 3 abreast, with each 3 tied tightly together at bow and stern. As the water went down, the incline of the bottom leaned each 3 against each other and they propped themselves upright. You could even walk out with a ladder and work on them quite safely. Not perfect, but miles better than what we see now! 

The double lock below Homps is having two gates replaced, so it may well be March before the canal is filled again.  Not long till Easter, after that!

[Vaughan]

 I am posting this today because, for almost all of my adult life, I have gone down to whatever boatyard I was running, on Christmas morning, to check the moorings and make sure the boats are all right.  No-one else is there at that time as the staff are all on holiday.  I have always done the same visit even in retirement and here is the Locaboat base at Argens this morning - the last place I worked before retiring.

 

 

 

 

Compare this with my photos of another base, and you can see how it should be done!

Some of them were lifted out by the fixed gantry on the yard and then they hire a large mobile crane and get all the rest out, in one day.  The only boats left in the water are privately owned.

 

[Vaughan]

 

 

Here's one of the first out on the canal this year, all done up ready for Easter week with what looks like a brand new set of mooring ropes.   After all, they have had two years laid up in their bases to make sure that they are fully maintained and well presented for the new season.

There was an article in the local paper back in January to say they had appointed a new manager at Trebes (where this came from) to oversee the re-opening of their base.  He said in the article that he came from Toulouse and was new to the hire boat business but "he knew the Canal du Midi".

If he does, he will know that the canal is under serious threat of losing its UNESCO World Heritage classification if tourism does not get back to normal.  This is hardly going to help!

When I think that it was Blue Line who saved the canal from closure back in the 70s and of all the work and effort that myself and my friends put into Crown Blue Line, to make it known as the most prestigious hire boat company in Europe (and so probably, in the World), all I can do is weep.

By the way there is nothing libellous in my posting this - it can be seen by anyone like me who drives by on the canal bank. A disgrace on the company ; a sad sight for anyone it passes and surely an embarrassment for those who have hired it, for more than 1500 this week and probably twice that in high season, when it won't look any different.

[Smoggy]

When I saw the pics I thought you were going to say MM has another new boat... (sorry MM)

What an absolute bloody mess!

[Happy]

20 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

When I saw the pics I thought you were going to say MM has another new boat... (sorry MM)

What an absolute bloody mess!

 I thought it was one that had survived the floods last year!

[Lulu]

2 hours ago, Happy said:

 I thought it was one that had survived the floods last year!

I assumed that too

[andyg]

Shocking and I bet that was a fair few quid/euro to hire. How do these ppl think that's OK?? 

[OldBerkshireBoy]

7 hours ago, Vaughan said:

 

 

Here's one of the first out on the canal this year, all done up ready for Easter week with what looks like a brand new set of mooring ropes.   After all, they have had two years laid up in their bases to make sure that they are fully maintained and well presented for the new season.

There was an article in the local paper back in January to say they had appointed a new manager at Trebes (where this came from) to oversee the re-opening of their base.  He said in the article that he came from Toulouse and was new to the hire boat business but "he knew the Canal du Midi".

If he does, he will know that the canal is under serious threat of losing its UNESCO World Heritage classification if tourism does not get back to normal.  This is hardly going to help!

When I think that it was Blue Line who saved the canal from closure back in the 70s and of all the work and effort that myself and my friends put into Crown Blue Line, to make it known as the most prestigious hire boat company in Europe (and so probably, in the World), all I can do is weep.

By the way there is nothing libellous in my posting this - it can be seen by anyone like me who drives by on the canal bank. A disgrace on the company ; a sad sight for anyone it passes and surely an embarrassment for those who have hired it, for more than 1500 this week and probably twice that in high season, when it won't look any different.

To whom do you blame, the owners or the new manager?

[Vaughan]

46 minutes ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

To whom do you blame, the owners or the new manager?

Funny you should say that!

The owners would blame the manager of course.  But then if they employ someone who admittedly knows nothing about the business, but presumably has a nice smile for the public and comes very cheap in terms of salary, it is most definitely their fault.

What was that old saying, about monkeys and peanuts?

[mikeyboy1966]

Playing devils advocate,

maybe someone has bought it ,ex hire  and is relocating it?

if it has gone out on hire like that,  the whole operation from the top to the lower ranks are responsible.

if I were presented with that for my holiday I’d be turning straight around for a long disappointed drive home

[YnysMon]

The problem with todays ‘equal opportunities’ recruitment practices, that instruct the manager to go with whoever ‘performs’ best in the interview and other ‘tests’, is that you tend to get people who perform well in those circumstances but aren’t necessarily the best people to actually do the job. Seems that having the skill set to do well in job selection is what’s needed nowadays. 

[andyg]

After two very hard years,were  sufficient finances in place to allow the management to  completed a full winter maintenance programme. Although we are now starting to come out the overside of the pandemic a successful season is far from assured. This may have impacted winter spending,Its easy to blame the manager or his Staff but we don't know what kind of financial constraints he has to work to. One thing is for sure this boats presentation is not acceptable, DAVIDH posted some pictures of herbert woods yard in his last holiday tale, there's one of an old cc c45 with all rust streaks down its Hull and generally look tatty, I can assure you that went out on hire a few days later. 

[Vaughan]

14 minutes ago, andyg said:

,Its easy to blame the manager or his Staff but we don't know what kind of financial constraints he has to work to.

This is another way of saying what I was trying to explain above.  When the then new owners -First Choice - threw away the three prestige brand names that they had paid a lot of money for (Crown Blue Line, Connoisseur and Emerald Star) to create the silly down-market nickname Le Boat, from then on it was all about "driving down costs".  You couldn't do anything that might have an impact on the bottom line.  Believe it or not, Le Boat got through 7 new general managers in France in its first 5 years.  And each one came in with same questions - "Why do you spend so much money on maintenance?" and "If you work on a basis of one man employed for every 7 boats in the fleet, why can't one man look after 8 boats?"

And the next new manager would ask "Why can't he look after 9 boats?".  By the time I left, what little staff we had were looking after 11 boats each.

It is also an unfortunate trend in this business over the years, including on the Broads, to get rid of an experienced manager because he costs too much and replace him with a mechanic, who will enjoy the promotion, in return for not much more than a mechanic's wages.  He also won't argue when you tell him to do things that he knows won't work. They don't usually last long either.  They burn out quite quickly.

[CeePee1952]

16 hours ago, YnysMon said:

The problem with todays ‘equal opportunities’ recruitment practices, that instruct the manager to go with whoever ‘performs’ best in the interview and other ‘tests’, is that you tend to get people who perform well in those circumstances but aren’t necessarily the best people to actually do the job. Seems that having the skill set to do well in job selection is what’s needed nowadays. 

That is so true!  Before I retired I interviewed many a candidate for various roles and was always frustrated with the "guidelines" from Head office that I had to follow.  Set questions on Head office proforma that had to be copied to them when completed and the original placed in the successful candidates personal file.  Having said that, I always used to use my own experience and judgement most of the time and the proforma completion became a "tick box" exercise!   And don't get me started on CV's!! Some of the CV's I received, you would have thought the applicants were applying for a job with Alan Sugar!! 

Chris

[webntweb]

1 hour ago, CeePee1952 said:

That is so true!  Before I retired I interviewed many a candidate for various roles and was always frustrated with the "guidelines" from Head office that I had to follow.  Set questions on Head office proforma that had to be copied to them when completed and the original placed in the successful candidates personal file.  Having said that, I always used to use my own experience and judgement most of the time and the proforma completion became a "tick box" exercise!   And don't get me started on CV's!! Some of the CV's I received, you would have thought the applicants were applying for a job with Alan Sugar!! 

Chris

Notice on window of local chippy yesterday: "Staff wanted, apply within with your CV".