It's an insurance policy

Further to my namesake’s comments, (no relation), I joined River Canal Rescue two years ago, writes Martin Howes.

As we now cruise longer than before, and,of course, the boat is older. RCR is an insurance policy as far as I’m concerned, but I still carry simple spares and have used them on two occasions rather than call out RCR. I’m conscious that I have things like drive plates that I could never expect to carry as a spare, and would not have all the tools available for such an occurrence.

Completely different outlook

I suppose that some newer boaters have a completely different outlook to those of us who have boated for a long time, and can remember when facilities were very few and far between. They no doubt look upon the RCR service in the same way as they view motor recovery. I suppose the first experience they have will change their views, and they need to remember that lots of ‘internal’ problems are not covered.