Good Or Bad Year?

[PaulN]

14 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

take it down the river, with your wallet handy to pay all the mooring fees.  

 

Yes, on top of the extortionate tolls, we now have all these mooring fees as well as the decreasing public moorings. Suddenly everyone is jumping in on the bandwagon. We never use to pay at Ranworth, Womack, Norwich, Yarmouth, Salhouse, Stokesby, New Inn Horning, The Swan Horning, Hotel Wroxham, Lord Nelson Reedham, Stracey Arms etc. All this adds considerably to a family holiday.

The Ferry Inn at Horning refunds the fee against eating at the pub, which is fair enough as it's their land and the experienced Gus is there to help people moor safely and sensibly. 

I'm afraid we haven't seen the last of this charging regime either. 

[oldgregg]

52 minutes ago, marshman said:

 Of course there are fewer hire boats and now more private boats, but NYA will tell you, and there is plenty of evidence to support this, that quality secondhand Broads boat still sell well! Now if you don't believe it thats up to you, and at the same time, I do not see masses of boats moving to other waterways, nor evidence the BA intend to shut down the rivers!

Salespeople saying things that would make people have confidence in their product?

Does anyone have the number for the newsdesk at the Sun? Hold the front page! 

The really good stuff is selling well as you know from personal experience, but the rest is not. This is a very different situation from 2-3 years ago.

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, PaulN said:

Yes, on top of the extortionate tolls, we now have all these mooring fees as well as the decreasing public moorings. Suddenly everyone is jumping in on the bandwagon. We never use to pay at Ranworth, Womack, Norwich, Yarmouth, Salhouse, Stokesby, New Inn Horning, The Swan Horning, Hotel Wroxham, Lord Nelson Reedham, Stracey Arms etc. All this adds considerably to a family holiday.

The Ferry Inn at Horning refunds the fee against eating at the pub, which is fair enough as it's their land and the experienced Gus is there to help people moor safely and sensibly. 

I'm afraid we haven't seen the last of this charging regime either. 

How long ago was mooring at Womack, Norwich and Yarmouth free.  Womack is a Parish Staithe and they’ve just increased the fee from £3 to £5 overnight.  I’ve never moored at Yarmouth, but have moored at Norwich many times.  I honestly can’t remember not paying there.  The farm moorings at Stokesby have charged for many years. These aren’t newly imposed charges.

The only BA mooring that has started to charge recently is Ranworth, which doesn’t appear to have dented the popularity of the location to any great degree, especially considering the massively decreased visitor numbers this year.

We can harp on about moorings and associated charges, but we wouldn’t moor at pubs and risk our precious gel coat on damaged quay heading, so if a pub levies a reasonable charge to moor at well maintained moorings, that is surely their entitlement.  We only moor at pubs if we want to - we aren’t forced.

The biggest issue here seems to be the BA and their alleged shortfall in navigation revenue and the good doctor’s explanation.  It seems to me that, when faced with the choice of paying the mortgage or having a holiday in the current economic crisis, the holiday takes second place.  It doesn’t take a university degree to work that out, surely?  What worries me is how they go about covering the shortfall and it probably means another double figure toll increase.

[Jeep15]

Well I think it's a brilliant idea

People and the last remaining businesses paying over the odds.

Keep jacking the prices up and up to cover the deficit.

Sounds like a plan to me

Poor Goose 

[Hylander]

 We never use to pay at Ranworth, Womack, Norwich, Yarmouth, Salhouse, Stokesby, New Inn Horning, The Swan Horning, Hotel Wroxham, Lord Nelson Reedham, Stracey Arms etc. All this adds considerably to a family holiday.

Well we have been knocking about on the Broads for a good 26 years and we have always paid at Salhouse, Stracey Arms Norwich and Yarmouth.  I cannot vouch for the pubs as do not moor at pubs.      Are you speaking on long long ago.

 

[woody223]

I have hired a boat half a dozen times over the past decade, One thing has struck me the rising costs imposed on me by all parties. The boat yards charging more per litre for red diesel than white. Last year it was£1.44 when I can get it for 89p at home. Pubs charging you to moor up, less and less free mooring IE walsham broad. Another point is the boatyard I used including a full tank of diesel in the price. I only used half and the remaining was refunded when you returned the boat, not now so they made money out of me there. Some of the hire boats leave a lot to be desired as well. In conclusion I cannot see me returning anytime soon. There are cheaper holidays out there. If people don't come and spend then less money for the broads means less conservation 

[MauriceMynah]

I remember back in the 60s an elderly guy in a green dinghy, collecting mooring fees on Salhouse broad. 

Apart from that exception I too remember when paying a mooring fee was a rarity.  

I can understand pubs charging though the fees seem rather steep to me.

Ranworth staithe however, no way should that be charged for.

[marshman]

Well that shows how people people can make the apparent situation worse - as you say I too cannot speak for pubs but lots of those places have always charged. Even the pubs I have some sympathy for - people forget that moorings still have to be maintained, and thats not cheap by any means these days!

And why do people have to moored up at night,i.e. tied up? What's happened to mudweighting? There always used to be boats mudweighting on places like S Walsham, but whilst you see a few occasionally, they are becoming rarer - thats free, or always was!

[MauriceMynah]

I suspect that television is the main reason mudweighting has lost favour.

[marshman]

MM - The mudweighting charge at Salhouse was always a scam - it has always been free and if you paid up, you were diddled!!! At various stages in the past people have been approached, but it was usually enterprising lads, or perhaps old lads, from the village!

Don't forget too, there has always been a charge for mooring on the Island at Ranworth - if he bothered to row over and collect it!

[webntweb]

3 minutes ago, marshman said:

Don't forget too, there has always been a charge for mooring on the Island at Ranworth - if he bothered to row over and collect it!

He did last time I was there.

I've always paid at Norwich as far back as 1963.

My dad moored us overnight on the moorings just below Yarmouth Yacht Station rather than pay the fee in 1958.

[MauriceMynah]

Sorry Marshman(MM) I should have made it clear that the fellow in the green dinghy was collecting from the boats tied bow on to the trees. That was the usual mooring method at Salhouse.

[rightsaidfred]

16 minutes ago, marshman said:

hy do people have to moored up at night,i.e. tied up? What's happened to mudweighting? There always used to be boats mudweighting on places like S Walsham, but whilst you see a few occasionally, they are becoming rarer - thats free, or always was!

Several reasons, you can't mudweight with a dog, not always a good idea with children, some don't feel safe and just as important except for one individual you can't walk on water.

Fred

[MauriceMynah]

Better not mention that last point to JP.

[Hylander]

Not that this was anything to do with the BA but just noticed that the mooring on the bend just before you get into Beccles is now all private moored boats.   It used to be a lovely mooring albeit £8 for the night but peaceful it was.   Another mooring gone.

[PaulN]

17 hours ago, Mouldy said:

How long ago was mooring at Womack, Norwich and Yarmouth free.  Womack is a Parish Staithe and they’ve just increased the fee from £3 to £5 overnight.  I’ve never moored at Yarmouth, but have moored at Norwich many times.  I honestly can’t remember not paying there.  The farm moorings at Stokesby have charged for many years. These aren’t newly imposed charges.

The only BA mooring that has started to charge recently is Ranworth, which doesn’t appear to have dented the popularity of the location to any great degree, especially considering the massively decreased visitor numbers this year.

We can harp on about moorings and associated charges, but we wouldn’t moor at pubs and risk our precious gel coat on damaged quay heading, so if a pub levies a reasonable charge to moor at well maintained moorings, that is surely their entitlement.  We only moor at pubs if we want to - we aren’t forced.

The biggest issue here seems to be the BA and their alleged shortfall in navigation revenue and the good doctor’s explanation.  It seems to me that, when faced with the choice of paying the mortgage or having a holiday in the current economic crisis, the holiday takes second place.  It doesn’t take a university degree to work that out, surely?  What worries me is how they go about covering the shortfall and it probably means another double figure toll increase.

Ok, I accept some have not been free for a long long time. I do probably go back a lot further than most though. I had my first Broads Holiday with my parents in 1956 and many more since (me in the picture with my Dad and younger sister)

However, it does seem that more and more companies and people are jumping on the bandwagon and making Broads Holidays more and more expensive.

[Vaughan]

10 minutes ago, PaulN said:

(me in the picture with my Dad and younger sister)

Is that the Pleasure Boat at Hickling, by any chance?

[PaulN]

Just now, Vaughan said:

Is that the Pleasure Boat at Hickling, by any chance?

Correct, no problem with PH Bridge in those days!

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, PaulN said:

Ok, I accept some have not been free for a long long time. I do probably go back a lot further than most though. I had my first Broads Holiday with my parents in 1956 and many more since (me in the picture with my Dad and younger sister)

However, it does seem that more and more companies and people are jumping on the bandwagon and making Broads Holidays more and more expensive.

I guess as far as moorings are concerned, the cost of maintaining those is increasing too.  I agree that some mooring charges are excessive, like the ones imposed at The Swan, Horning, but five pounds a night, as charged at Womack or even the charge levied at The Lion, I don’t find unreasonable.  From the pubs point of view, they could either load the price of food to all customers, or just charge a mooring fee to visitors arriving by boat to fund maintenance of moorings.

We can always refer back to what things cost years ago - it was one of my late mum’s favourite things to moan about.  She used to pick something up in a shop and say ‘I can remember them costing two bob!’  Times have changed, some things cost more, but some things a lot less.  Only twenty years ago a 42” plasma TV would have cost £4000 and I vividly remember standing in a hifi shop in Northampton, staring longingly at one, thinking ‘I wish.’  Now, a 42” flatscreen TV is commonplace and by comparison, far cheaper.

Maybe, from time to time, it would be worth remembering how lucky we are to live in a relatively civilised country, with running water in our houses and so many things some folk could only dream, of available to us.  Recent events in Morocco and Libya should serve to remind us that in reality, we really have much to be thankful for.

[Broads01]

3 hours ago, rightsaidfred said:

Several reasons, you can't mudweight with a dog, not always a good idea with children, some don't feel safe and just as important except for one individual you can't walk on water.

Fred

I agree. I love mudweighting but only for short periods during the day because of the dog and because I like the chance to walk. I did intend to try mudweighting overnight on one trip last year when I was dogless but windy conditions put me off.

[marshman]

Can I double like that last but one post??

One of the worst things about being old, is having to listen to other old people moaning about prices, cyclists on pavements, other peoples driving, and worst of all, their pensions.  Regretfully the average person no longer contributing to a pension, has absolutely no idea what they cost to fund - I read somewhere the other day you would need a cash fund of over £360k to fund the equivalent of our current state pension if you were to retire today. I wonder how many people discussing their "entitlement" have made contributions of anywhere near that amount?

The other favourite moan is of course migration - but thats too political for this site today!!!!

On TV's I remember my first colour tv - you could not even buy it, you had to go on a waiting list just to rent one!!!!!

You are right we do have a lot to be thankful for, but you would not think so earwigging in any half decent garden centre restaurant at lunchtimes!!!!!!

[Hylander]

Having worked from the age of 15 and paid a full stamp until I left at 63 , except for 5 years when my children were small  my Government pension that I receive does not even cover the bills.    Some people earn as much in a day as I get in a month, if it was not for my husband I would be on the bread line, so dont talk to me about pensions.    I too still think in sterling and always will do.     My housekeeping in the 60s was £5 per week and that was it, there was no other money, no credit cards, yes you could get what they called HP (hire purchase) but most people went without rather than going into to debt.  If I remember correctly my husbands wage was £20 a week and he had to go to London on the train to earn that.    How we ever got a mortgage I dont know.     I think the purchase price was £3,339.    We would have liked the £3,500 house but just that small amount more,   that today they would have bunged on the credit card,  you just thought was a fortune to find.

[Aboattime]

So back in the day when the broads were busier and double mooring at places was common place,i remember there used to be arguments about if the doubled moored boat was liabel to pay a mooring fee as well as the boat tied to the quay.?

[MargeandParge]

It was a good year for Parge cos I got to see The Water Rats three times. They were great performances so made it a good year that I very  much hope ain't over yet.

October with Marge to keep  me warm I hope. 

Happy boating all as it is your hobby. 

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[JanetAnne]

9 hours ago, PaulN said:

 

And the boat behind you (right hand side) B761, I can see right now!

To the left is a Delight (as in a Water Rail) but I can't quite make the number out. B7 something, but most of them were b7 something!