Tolls and Bits

[JawsOrca]

Hi All,

 

Couple of quick questions:

 

Does anyone know of anywhere that sells the stainless metal toll plaque found hanging from the pullpits? I know I can make one but it's probably easier and cheaper to buy one (and Yup I'm getting lazy now!!).

 

Also, do I really have to pay £94.28 to use the inflatable dinghy and the 2.5 hp engine? (I daren't bring the larger engine as I can get the dinghy on the plane with that one.. ).. as much as I understand the need for tolls that sounds steep considering the 28.6 foot cruiser is three times that! By the smallest possible chance tenders to a toll paying boat aren't dare I say free (as is the case on EA waters)?. 

 

[Guest]

I quite agree Alan, the BA toll for outboard powered dinghies is outrageous.

 

The moment you strap even the smallest of outboard engines onto the smallest of dinghies, the toll triples to nearly £100, which is about a quarter of the resale value of such craft.

 

If 40ft cruisers paid the same pro-rata, then their toll would be about £10,000 per year !

 

Powered inflatables are "portable" craft that have practically no impact on the river authority's overheads. They require no dredging, no moorings, and are invariably removed from the water when not actually in use.

 

To make them pay a third of the toll of the average cruiser is quite unfair.

[JennyMorgan]

In some respect the toll does keep a cap on the youngsters aimlessly buzzing at around at top speed in circles in their parent's boat's tenders. I say this with some feeling as on popular coastal areas this can be a major irritant. That said I agree entirely with Strowager on this one.

 

I'm not against youngsters in boats, indeed I feel we should encourage them, a £30.00 toll for a dinghy may not be that much to many folk but it is a deterrent to many youngsters, or their parents.

[JawsOrca]

Someones being a spoil sport aren't they strowager

 

I do believe we should pay something as although it has little effect on dredging etc it is still being used on a maintained waterway and it's only fair to repay. I am surprised it's so much though and I would have thought it would get a discount being used with another full paying boat as a dinghy with an outboard is a good liferaft! 

 

Quite agree with Peter as I've seen similar on the upper medway and it can very annoying..

 

Anyways I guess I have to pay as no amount of dwelling on it is going to change anything!  (although I think we will just get a short term tax for the longer periods and not use other times .. shame).

 

[Guest]

Thank God for the BCU....

 

I have three canoes, a sit-on-top, a canadian, and a folding kayak.

 

The BCU enables me to pay one subscription of about £40 per year, and I'm covered for all three canoes, almost anywhere in the UK, including the Broads.

 

Without that, I'd have to pay the BA about £30 for each one, totalling almost a £100, just for Broads use.

 

I can only physically use one at a time anyway, and they're all kept away from the river when not actually being paddled. To charge for three individual craft under those circumstances is quite unjustifiable.

 

If only there was a similar UK scheme for dinghies.....

[Labrador]

There was a time when it was overseen by the GY Land Haven Commisioners that a boats tender was free.(correct me if I wrong, age takes its toll!)

[BuffaloBill]

Alan.

To answer your question about the stainless toll plaque's.

I made ours from 0.8mm stainless sheet bought from the

Boat Jumble at Newark and cut to fit the shape of the

pulpit rail, so as to tie it in 3 places and this stops it swinging

in the wind and cutting the plastic ties it's fitted with, not

withstanding the noise of it swinging in the wind and hitting

the downward rail!

Notice also that I fitted edging I bought from the jumble too

to protect the pulpit rail.

By fitting it with plastic ties, you only need to cut them and

take them off to make it easier to remove the old toll plaque

and stick on the new one.

Worth the effort in the long term 

[Liberty]

Plaque boards - Brian Wards or Broom's stainless plant.  Failing that, I have a mate with a metal fabrication business.  Drop me a pm if you want to pursue.  If you want plastic, drop me a pm as I work for a plastics business in Norwich.

 

BB is so right about about the blasted things swinging in the wind - all blooming night like Chinese water torture..!

 

Outboard - if you go electric, there is a substantial discount but I found the batteries a pain in both weight and duration.  I have a 15hp on a 3.6 rib and it ticks along at Broads speed very happily, but is fun on Breydon.

[Guest]

......Outboard - if you go electric, there is a substantial discount........

 

Yes, there used to be, and may still be, but it's become very obscure on the BA website now.

 

In previous years it clearly stated the percentage discount for electric power, but I can't seem to see it mentioned now. When you look up the main tolls, it simply lists the powered craft rates with no indication of anything different for electric.

 

You have to look at the "other tolls" page to see that the special outboard motor toll has different rates for electric, but that only applies to three boats or more.

 

Hopefully the BA will apply the correct rate when someone sends in their reg form if marked as "electric", but hasn't realised it should be cheaper.

[Liberty]

If I remember correctly, it was 40% discount.  

 

Mind you, I still got rid of the electric outboard having had to row from Barton to Wayford in the dark after the ****ing battery gave up the ghost.

[zacthedog]

I am considering a mirror dinghy, you know sail, row, or stick a small outboard on, my main worry is one, storage, easily sorted, but two, the toll I would be paying for occasional use, visitor, tempory toll is no good as I would only use it on weather or time allows.

[Guest]

If I remember correctly, it was 40% discount.  

 

Mind you, I still got rid of the electric outboard having had to row from Barton to Wayford in the dark after the ****ing battery gave up the ghost.

 

Yes, most people are discouraged from using electric outboards because the most popular batteries are still the very heavy lead/acid leisure batteries.

 

It's a shame really, because they do offer "silent running" , like sailing, but in any direction you wish.

 

Better technology has actually arrived now, and is quite affordable, but no-one seems to be catering with ready made solutions for boating enthusiasts, apart from the Torquedo outboard motors, and they're so expensive.

 

I use a Minn Kota on my dinghy and a much smaller sevylor electric outboard on my canoe.

 

I originally used a 55 amp 12v lead/acid leisure battery. but I now use a home assembled lithium poly battery pack which has the same usable amperage ( 30 amps) , but weighs only 4kg, in a neat waterproof plastic lunchbox.

 

It's much "greener" too, with a life of many hundred charge/discharge cycles, unlike lead/acid batteries.

 

It contains six 5 ah lithium packs connected in parallel, giving 13.2 volts and 30 ah.

 

You need to be aware of the correct way to assemble it though, and charge it with a sophisticated balancing charger.

 

It sounds very complicated and expensive, but radio control aeroplane enthusiasts have been using these components  for several years now, and the prices have been driven down to very competitive levels.

 

Much cheaper than a Torquedo but with many of the advantages  !..... 

[Guest]

I am considering a mirror dinghy, you know sail, row, or stick a small outboard on, my main worry is one, storage, easily sorted, but two, the toll I would be paying for occasional use, visitor, tempory toll is no good as I would only use it on weather or time allows.

 

A mirror dinghy would be a great addition to a cruiser on the Broads.

 

You could probably forgo the outboard as you would have oars and sails, though the toll will still creep up from the £30 to about £50, because the BA even raise the toll for the use of the wind !

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Thank God for the BCU....

 

I have three canoes, a sit-on-top, a canadian, and a folding kayak.

 

The BCU enables me to pay one subscription of about £40 per year, and I'm covered for all three canoes, almost anywhere in the UK, including the Broads.

 

Without that, I'd have to pay the BA about £30 for each one, totalling almost a £100, just for Broads use.

 

I can only physically use one at a time anyway, and they're all kept away from the river when not actually being paddled. To charge for three individual craft under those circumstances is quite unjustifiable.

 

If only there was a similar UK scheme for dinghies.....

 

Hi Strow,

 

i know you do a lot of digging re varying subjects, so may i ask you, is it possible to register a rowing dinghy with the BCU, and on another topic, do the BA still charge a toll for ELECTRIC outboards?.

 

Re your comment regarding pro rata sized tolls for 40 footers being £10,000,

 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE................ don`t give them ideas :

[diesel falcon]

re tolls plaque,

ours are old car number plates ,sprayed with two pack car paint,the up right stops them swinging ,ours are also tied with cable ties,

 

 

 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Hi Strow,

 

i posted that above before reading ALL the thread         

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

re tolls plaque,

ours are old car number plates ,sprayed with two pack car paint,the up right stops them swinging ,ours are also tied with cable ties,

cropped plaque.jpg

 

 

Very effective Trevor, and looking good at Rockland too.

[Liberty]

Found it on the BA website under boating>owning a boat>environmentally friendly boating:

 

A tolls incentive has been introduced which gives electric boats a 30 per cent discount on annual tolls paid to encourage the use of electricity.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

If the Government allow electric cars to be exempt from road tax, shall we all get together and sign an e-petition to get the government to instruct the BA to make electric boating toll free. If it`s good enough for cars, it should be good enough on the rivers.

 

And Peter (Jenny Morgan), sailing boats should get a refundyes?.  :naughty:

[Guest]

If the Government allow electric cars to be exempt from road tax, shall we all get together and sign an e-petition to get the government to instruct the BA to make electric boating toll free. If it`s good enough for cars, it should be good enough on the rivers.

 

And Peter (Jenny Morgan), sailing boats should get a refundyes?.  :naughty:

 

Oh no.... 

 

 

 

 

[Samuel]

Strowager

 

You have an impressive shed.

 

"It contains six 5 ah lithium packs connected in parallel, giving 13.2 volts and 30 ah."

 

Because they are in parallel does that mean each battery is rated at 13.2V?

[JennyMorgan]

Surely sailing boats over a hundred years old should be exempt from tolls! 

 

That could be funded by charging a supplement on all boats with twin engines! Over to you, Doug! 

[JawsOrca]

Thanks for the toll plaque tips, I think we will find some stainless sheet and make one up but appreciate everyones help.  

 

I dare not get further into the toll discussion as I know little about it, other than I do think our dinghy rate is a bit "high"  

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I do think if a dinghy is below a certain lenght (9.9ft or 3mtr?), and is a named tender to an existing toll paying craft, then they should automatically qualify for an exemption, as should electric outboards, and small 4 stroke outboards, say 3hp max should only pay £25-£30.

 

The trouble is, the BA would then want to raise the revinue lost on the above scenario elsewhere, and don`t we all know where that elsewhere will be?.

[Guest]

Strowager

 

You have an impressive shed.

 

"It contains six 5 ah lithium packs connected in parallel, giving 13.2 volts and 30 ah."

 

Because they are in parallel does that mean each battery is rated at 13.2V?

 

Yes Samuel, each of the six packs is a self contained 4 cell pack already connected in series, to give a fully charged voltage of 14.8v.

 

So when they're connected in parallel, that gives 30 amp/hours at 14.8v max.

 

Although that's higher than the nominal 12v of these outboards, they can handle it, (because of the "water" cooling), the extra volt or so actually makes them even more efficient.

 

It's more grunt than a 55 amp lead/acid leisure battery because it can genuinely give out 30 amp/hours per discharge, unlike the 55 amp lead acid battery which suffers a shorter life if discharged much below 50%.

 

Lipos are not for everyone though, they do need to be connected and charged correctly, through the balance connectors etc.. (the small white connector in the photo that monitors that voltage at each cell junction).

 

It's worth the effort though. Lithium gives something like four times the energy for the same weight, and a much longer service life.

 

I've always had impressive sheds to play in with my toys..