Victor: Where have the boats gone?

SO ANOTHER year and another thousand or so less on the waterways we are told, but where are they all going?

They obviously can't just disappear, though they seem to, with no piles of them by the side of the waterways, and there are now less second-hand being sold if our own marina is anything to go by—for where as long as I can remember boats have been 'head on' to the sales jetty, there are now three broadside, taking up a 100ft or more, that would have held a great many boats at 7ft each and well packed in.

Not produced

It was not too many years ago that I counted 83 boat builders advertising their wares in Waterways World, that of course was by no means the total. There were such as Liverpool Boats that had a virtual assembly line, churning them out, seemingly by the hour—and one of the first to bite the dust.

What however is worrying, is though we are supposedly through the depression, there has been no corresponding resurgence in the building of boats.  One or two of the smaller companies are reporting the occasional new build, but nothing on any grand scale.

Sea toilets

For those of you not conversant with sea toilets that are fitted in many cruisers, they simply discharge everything into the sea, or in the case of those on such as the Severn and Thames, into the river.

And I know of one cruiser moored at Sawley who nips out onto the Cut to do his discharge, not even going through the lock to the river...  And I am sure there will be more and more as prices for emptying tanks go up and up...

Keep a log

I know many people do, us included, but with people like Stuart Garner on the enforcing warpath, not caring if you have obviously been somewhere and come back pointing on the opposite direction, and caring even less if you are next to death's door, it is essential you have your own record—so keep a log.

And make sure you record your engine hours every day, as a sound bit of evidence of how long you have travelled.

Not good

Not a good week for the waterways.  First the Kennet & Avon was closed early in the week by a lock failure—caused by a boater we were told. But no further information.

Then the Aire & Calder was closed by a flood lock failure—that we were told they could not get the water level to open it.  But this was sorted fairly quickly with advice how to work it.

Then the worst with the Ashton closed, for weeks we are told, due to a lock failure—but no reason given this time.

Victor Swift