NARROWBOAT Living - That’s NOT playing by the RULES…..or are WE wrong? Ep89 

Hi Wendy, yes, he was quite abrupt and offish on the phone, and it seems that we’re not the only ones to experience this! We weren’t trying to diss the marina, that wasn’t our intention, but we were really surprised at his attitude. You will see in next week’s vlog that we get a pumpout for £20 (normal price) and diesel at another marina for £1.11, so a big difference in cost. Thanks Wendy! xx

The truth is, that most of us get seasickness when we see a bucket of water ! We think that these people are very courageous risking their lives on the high seas !

Aww John, thank you! xx

Exactly, we were quite surprised at the attitude, as it seems a lovely marina and last year we didn’t pay anywhere near £30 for a pumpout, all other marinas in this area are £20. Never mind, we had quite a few choices and were not desperate, so just carried on. We just wanted to confirm that we were right and that we hadn’t got it wrong! Thanks matey! xx

Hiya Steve & Christine, hope you’re both well, and Smudge of course! 🥰 Yes, it seems that is the case with this guy, we did the same and went elsewhere! We just thought we ought to check that we weren’t the ones in the wrong! 🙃 It just seemed to us that he was putting us off and didn’t want the passing trade 🤷‍♀️ Hope we get to see you soon! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB you were completely right. Look forward to seeing you at Crick in the Saturday if you are about to

@@LifeonboardAmyJo aww that would be lovely! Yes, we’re going to be there for the whole weekend, so we’ll definitely see you there! 😃 xx

Hi Sally, they really were! Unfortunately Crick marina was closed, but we called ahead to the next marina and went there the next day 👍 Thank you so much! xx

Hi Kate, think you’re right, we’ve used Yelvertoft before, it’s a lovely marina, we were very surprised at the attitude, very odd! Not heard ‘good road’ for a while, thank you so much! xx

The red diesel we use is tax free, as it is for domestic leisure use, for heating etc, but we have to declare a percentage for the amount we use for propulsion, as we do need to pay the tax on that 👍 Thanks Steve! xx

Hi Kerry, yes he was very abrupt and obviously didn’t want passing trade! Thanks Kerry! xx

Thanks Heidi, he had quite an abrupt attitude, we felt he didn’t really want passing trade, like you say, their loss! xx 😘

Hiya! Aww if we had known we could have said hi! That was a lovely mooring opposite the pub, even with a muddy towpaths! Lol 😂 Yes, most marinas are absolutely fine, perhaps Tia GU was having a bad day haha 🤷‍♀️ Gayton is lovely, we have some friends there. Thank you! xx

OMG Tim & Jalika, that made us proper laugh out loud!!! 😂😂😂🤣 That’s so funny, but I know what you mean, it was such comedy timing wasn’t it 😝 he does like that horn! Thank you so much! xx

Yes indeed ! And what is missing is a Penthouse on top with a swimming pool !

@@JohnSpurrellooh that would be nice lol 😂 xx

It is a shame, as that marina is a lovely place, but with that guy’s attitude, won’t get a lot of passing trade, the comments we’ve had are all very similar to yours, such a shame. Thank you so much! xx

Hi Peter, we keep thinking the videos are maybe too long at over 30 minutes and keep trying to cut them down, so pleased you are enjoying them! 😃 Sorry, we should have explained, with the diesel, we have to pay tax @ 20% on fuel we use for propulsion, yet fuel used for heating and to heat our water is at 0% tax. So the onus is on the boater to declare which percentage is propulsion and domestic, I.e. 60/40 split would be 60% propulsion with 20% added government tax and 40% domestic heating at zero tax. This guy was saying that he wouldn’t accept 0% declaration, and as we only wanted fuel for our heating tank, he wanted us to pay tax on it which is wrong! At the end of the day, us as boaters have to sign the declaration, so we just cruised on by and got our diesel elsewhere! Hope this all makes sense! Thanks Peter! xx

Hi Roger, aww that’s lovely, so glad we can bring the canals to you, and really please you are enjoying our little videos! Maybe one day you could have a holiday on a narrowboat on the canal, or even stop at a holiday cottage along the canals. Take care xx

Yes we’ve used them, lovely people and like you say good prices too! Thanks Ben! xx

Yes in summer it’s always 60/40, but at that particular time, it was winter and we didn’t need any diesel in our main engine tank, we only wanted it for our Reflex diesel stove separate tank. So it should have been at 0% which the chappy categorically said we couldn’t. We carried on down to the next marina, so all was fine. Thanks Anthony xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB they obviously just want a quiet life . No need to record separate tank etc

Aww Donna, that’s such a lovely compliment, makes it all worthwhile, thank you! xx

Hi Wayne, we’re so pleased our little videos are bringing back memories, this part of the country is very scenic and has some beautiful views, you chose well with your holiday! Thank you so much for watching! xx

lol, Martin does love that horn! 😝 Thanks matey, hope you’re both well xx

Hi Colin, it was lovely to meet you too, shame we never got to meet Heather, but maybe our paths will cross again one day on the cut! So glad you got Iris sorted in the end (especially the toilet!🙈) Thank you Colin! xx

Hi Trevor, yes, on 75-80 litres that would have been a lot extra for us to pay, plus the pumpout being £30 instead of £20 everywhere else! Glad we checked before going in! 😃 Yes, we’re really looking forward to Crick, hope we see you there! xx

Crikey, they charged for emptying a cassette?!! Apparently they are breaking the law forcing you to do a percentage split of their choice, it’s not fair is it! Thank you! xx

Hi there Jo, thank you for your comment. Yes, we use the red diesel and have to declare a percentage split as to how much will be for heating or propulsion. But it’s not the Marina’s choice, it is the boater’s, whether it’s easier or not for them to do their paperwork, it is the boater who signs the declaration form, therefore it is the boater’s choice and responsibility. If the Marina is forcing boaters to pay tax when they shouldn’t be, just to make life easier for himself, then unfortunately he is breaking the law. When we come across this, as we did in our video, we simply pass on by and use another. In the warmer months it’s not really an issue, as most diesel used is predominantly for propulsion, however in the winter when we’re not cruising hardly, then if we just want to fill up our front tank for our Refleks diesel stove then we should be allowed to do so without the added tax just to make the Marina’s life easier. Times are hard enough as it is without people forcing us to pay unnecessary tax. Price per litre fluctuates quite a bit and fair marinas with a lot of passing trade can pass on the cheaper prices as they have a quicker turnaround of fuel and deliveries. Thank you so much xx

Hi Colin, hope you’re well, lovely to hear from you! Yes, we couldn’t believe the guy’s attitude, felt as though he was mocking us, especially when I said “oh ok, we may rethink then” he just said “Fine” and put the phone down! No question, or a goodbye, just cut us off, very rude! Hope you had a lovely holiday, somewhere warm, looks like the weather may be changing here at last! 🤞🌤️ We love the Reolink, it’s done us well 👍 See you soon! xx

Thank you Mishka, yes we’re hoping that the weather may be turning dryer 🤞 think we’ve all had enough of the wet stuff! Thank you for the lovely compliment on the drone footage! Thanks Mishka! xx

Lol Dale, he does it to make me jump, but yes, I will start to edit it out, although Martin has said he is only going to use it when it is necessary to do so. So the hooter will become a lot less from now on. Thanks Dale! xx

Oh dear, it doesn’t sound as though he is very popular from the comments we’re getting. It’s a shame, as i5 is a lovely marina, but it was obvious from our brief phone call that he really didn’t want or encourage passing trade, quite the opposite! Thank you Rob! xx

Aww thank you! xx 😘

Aww thank you Dan, it’s so lovely having you along! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB You're very welcome!

Hi Eric! We do try to balance things and show the journey and views, really pleased you noticed and are enjoying the videos! We feel a bit more confident with the cameras now, it’s nice to know that it shows thank you! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB it absolutely does, as i have been binging you can see the evolution plus you look more at ease and can’t wait what will come next! Ratbags included! 🥂

@@tteric67 aww thank you Eric! xx

Aww thank you, you’re very welcome! Thank you! xx

Yes, no doubt there should be, think most were crops here. Thank you! xx

Yes, we were really surprise at his attitude, he really was offish and abrupt on the phone, and seemed not to want passing trade 🤷‍♀️ Pumpout @ £30 is ridiculous, all other marinas in this area are £20, and expensive diesel too, there was no way we were going to stop. At the end of the day, the onus is on the boater not the company selling the diesel, it made no sense! Wow, 60/40 split in the winter months is daylight robbery! Thank you, we’ll see you soon! xx

Thank you Donald, lovely of you to say! xx

Haha, thanks Phil, we do bounce off each other lol 😝 Yes that guy had quite an attitude, I hope he changes, as it’s a lovely marina! Thank you! xx

Hi there! Oh I wish we could send you some of this rain, it’s bonkers! Hopefully things are starting to brighten up now and once we get shot of these April showers, we hope to have some warmer, dryer weather to follow! Hope you get some much needed rain where you are! Thank you so much! xx

Hi Glenn, thank you for the lovely compliments! That shot is approx 6 inches from the water, glad you like it, I love that shot too! Yes, it was a strange attitude to have, like they are not interested in passing trade 🤷‍♀️ Aww it is lovely when we meet viewers of our little channel, it really makes our day! Lol, re putting Martin on the spot, it looked like he was about to say something and then carried on eating haha, I’ll try not to 😜 Thank you Glenn! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB Thanks for your reply Julie. With that camera shot above the water line. I have a picture in my head of one of your On your knees holding the camera for a short length of time. I maybe wrong completely. Cause I know you're very handy pilot with your drone. Enjoy your weekend dear friends, and we'll see you soon 😊 xxx

@@glennclarke9787 you are correct, I literally hang over the side at the bow, holding the camera/phone down near the water! 😃 xx

Hi Debbie, thank you so much! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB you both of to Chroperdy today to the open day. We are going x I see you are close x

@@deballen6147 Hi Debbie, we’re near Braunston, so not near Cropredy, shame as it would have been lovely to meet up xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB deffinatly we was there last week x

Hi Nick, yes that’s what we thought, it’s down to the boater to declare what they are using it for. Thank you! xx

Hiya, that makes sense 👍 We try to use the fuel boats when we can, unfortunately when he came out of the tunnel there was nowhere for him up to stop and service us. We weren’t desperate for fuel, bu5 we get some in next week’s vlog, so all was good. Thank you! xx

Hi Neil, thank you for your lovely compliments, it was nice to be able to get the drone up, as it has just been so so windy of late! Yes, you’re right, it was a bit off, but like you say, we’re out on the canals and love it! Hadn’t looked at it like that, but yes, this chappie is stuck in the marina 👍 Thanks Neil! xx

Hi Nicholas, lovely to hear from you! Oh crikey, hope people never empty toilets into the canals, that would be awful!! We were surprised at the marina chap’s attitude on the phone and that he wouldn’t accept boaters making their own declarations for fuel tax, it’s a shame, as it is a lovely marina! lol, my steering, you could really hear it in my voice how nervous I was of getting it wrong, but luckily I got the boat through the bridge unscathed lol. Martin is definitely one of a kind lol, he does make me laugh! Thanks Nicholas xx

Hi Matthias & Nadine, so lovely to have you with us! We would love to see the canals in Europe, maybe one day! We answer the question about the Spitfire in last week’s video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--tL7LxyBc-g.htmlsi=fCi90dXbMh4R_3JB, but the reason for it is: The boat’s first owner was in the American Air Force and the second owner was in the UK’s Royal Air Force, so we bought the Spitfire as a ‘nod’ to them both, as a thank you for looking after the boat so well. Thank you! xx

Yes, at last! Honestly, the internet just dropped out for a day or so, never had that happen before, but we got there in the end! Thank you so much! xx

Hiya! Yes, they weren’t helpful at all were they! With Crick, we had intended to go in and use them as we had done a few times this winter, but when we tried calling them (we always check with a marina first before pulling in) they didn’t answer, we tried a few times and then just decided as it was getting late that they were perhaps closed for the day. We called forward to the next marina on our route, they answered, so we agreed to go there instead the next day, so that will be in next week’s vlog. Hope that makes sense. Thank you so much! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB I understand that Crick Marina is now closed on Mondays but they haven't altered their website info.

@@Idle-Days That explains it then, I looked back and i5 was a Monday, it was 18th March, thank you for this info, I’ll mark it down for future reference! Thank you! xx

Hiya! Yes, Martin is the West Ham fan, he grew up around there, his Nan lived in Aragon Road, right near the Boleyn Ground! Not quite the same at the new stadium is it, his late Dad would never go to the new one! COYI, see you on the next one! xx

Hi Diane! Martin said he saw you earlier, so sorry I missed you! Thank you so much! xx

Hi Dorothy, you’re exactly right and we did just that, we carried on by! You have to pay tax at 20% on fuel that you use for propulsion, yet domestic use fuel, for heating and to heat your water, is at zero rate tax. But the onus is on the boater to declare honestly and the boater has to sign a document together with their details, so we really couldn’t understand this marina’s attitude. Thank you Dorothy! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB That sounds really complicated but I suspect boaters are as honest as they can be in figuring it out. It sounds very subjective.

@@dorothydotson7154 lol, it’s not too bad, and most boaters are as honest as they can be 👍 xx

Aww thank you, hope you’re both keeping well xx

Hi Paul, yes we’re going to Crick, we’ll be mooring in zone 2 and will be at the show Saturday, Sunday and Monday 😃 we’re really looking forward to it! It would be lovely to meet you and Caz, hopefully see you there! xx

Hiya, sorry, boats use red diesel which is at a reduced tax, but us boaters have to declare what percentage we use for propulsion as we have to pay tax on that. Diesel used for heating and cooking is not taxed, so at 0%. We only needed diesel for our separate heating tank, yet this guy was saying that he would not accept 0% even though the onus is on us boaters to declare and also sign the form. He is in fact braking the law by forcing boaters to pay tax when they don’t need to. Hope this all makes sense lol Thank you! xx

Hiya! Ooh exciting, bet you can’t wait, which canal will you be on? I use the DJI Mini 2 as it is allowed to fly in most places due to being under 250g in weight. Mine is considered old now, 2021 lol, as since then you have the Mini 3 and now the Mini 4, you can pick up the Mini 2, or 3 second hand at real bargain prices now, and most are hardly used! They are very easy to fly, you just need to get the licence and do a short online registration to get your Flyer ID and then you’re good to go, it’s all explained on the DJI website. Hope this helps! Thank you for the compliment! xx

Hi David, sorry, we should’ve explained! Boaters use red diesel, so has no added tax, however, we have to declare what percentage we use for propulsion, as we have to pay tax on that amount. For diesel used for domestic, i.e. to heat the hot water and for heating systems, it is 0% tax. What this guy was saying, was that even if we only wanted fuel for heating, we still had to pay tax as he doesn’t accept 0% declaration! The think is, it’s not his call, the onus is on the boater to declare a propulsion/domestic percentage split and we are the ones that have to put our name and signature to this declaration, it has nothing to do with the company selling the diesel. Thanks David! xx

O I see thanks for explaining he is trying to get more money out of you in other words glad you didn't use him take care xx

@@davidcragg2550 Yes exactly! Thanks David! xx

Hi Robert, haha don’t think we’ve noticed that, I can imagine that must be frustrating. Thanks Robert! xx

Hi Chris, yes you are right, we have to pay full VAT on the fuel we use for propulsion. So when we fill up, we declare a percentage split, this is down to the individual boater. In the summer months, it’s usually around 60/40, 60% being for propulsion and 40% for heating the hot water, or running the diesel heater on chilly mornings or evenings. But in the winter, as boaters don’t tend to cruise very much, every 10-14 days or so, then it can be a much higher split for heating, I.e. 80/20, 80% being for heating and only paying tax on 20%. Occasionally, as in the case this week, we only needed diesel for our front tank, which is exclusively for our Refleks diesel heater, so we would have declared 0%, no tax, however, this marina was staying that they wouldn’t accept 0% declaration. This is actually breaking the law, he cannot dictate how much tax that he thinks we should pay, hence we boycotted the marina and went to the next one. At the end of the day, we as boaters have to give our personal details and sign the declaration amount on an official form every time we get diesel, so the onus is on the boater. After all, we know what we’re using it for and we’re the ones signing the form. Hope this all makes sense! Thanks Chris xx

Haha Andrew 😝 Good point lol 😂 Hadn’t thought of it like that! Thank you! xx

Thank you Edward! xx

Hi Lewis, yes you are right, the Marina does have admin associated with different percentage splits. However, this was not the issue here, this chappie was saying that they don’t accept 0% declaration, I.e. 0% on the whole amount. So in his mind, if we are moving the boat to come into his marina, then we must pay some percentage tax. However, we only wanted our front tank filled up, which is exclusively for our heating and nothing to do with propulsion but he wanted us to pay tax on that, hence why we didn’t bother and went on to the next marina. Hope that makes sense! Thanks Lewis xx

Hi Steve, and thank you! Overwater is a lovely marina, we visited there last year, it’s where we bought our top-box from. We’re hoping to cruise north again this year as free the Crick Boat Show, we’ll look out for you! xx

@JulieandMartinonRIB we will be doing the Audlem locks towards the end of may get as far out as poss with the time we have off from work 14 days think 7 out and 7 back to Overwater base for us

@@stevecapper9321 ooh that will be nice, the Shroppie is beautiful! 🤩 xx

Haha, trust me, I was so worried that I was going to misjudge that bridge and hit it lol, but like you say, was glad when Martin got back 😃 Thank you so much! xx

We were surprised at their attitude, we always check before we go into a marina rather than just turn up and we’re glad we did this time. You’ll see next week that we get diesel and a pumpout much cheaper at the next marina! Thank you so much! xx

Hi Clinton, exactly, by this fella said he wouldn’t accept 0%, so wanted to make us declare propulsion tax when we only wanted fuel for our diesel heater, we didn’t need fuel in the back tank. The next marina was much more accommodating, so we passed on by. Thanks Clinton! xx

❤ Yes, hi Jude, hope you’re well matey! xx

Hi Colin, yes it’s red diesel, so we need to pay tax on the fuel we use for propulsion, but for heating and hot water heating there’s no vat. So when we fill up, we declare a percentage for both. In this case, the marina was telling us that even though we only wanted fuel for heating, he wouldn’t accept that. We just carried on and got our diesel and services elsewhere. Thanks Colin! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB thank you farmers dont pay tax on red diesel for their tractors as far has I know a canal boat is not using the kings highway it seems unfair

@@colinturner4158 yes I think it’s a relatively new ruling, from April 2022, Rishi Sunak changed it when he was chancellor in 2021 🙄 Typically just as we were leaving to go continuous cruising! 😂 Thanks Colin! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB it’s a Liberty I wish you both well and happy sailings

Aww thank you, you too! xx

Hi Brian, not sure what you’re meaning, we weren’t trying to be negative, or open a can of worms, we were genuinely surprised at the rudeness and abrupt way we were basically dismissed on the phone by the marina. We were simply asking if WE had got it right or wrong. Sometimes rules can be misconstrued, so we were checking to make sure that we understood the rules ourselves. As it has turns out, we were correct and this guy in the marina is actually breaking the law. We expected people to have different opinions, however, it seems that we are not the only ones to have experienced a negative reception from them. We really like that particular marina, it’s a beautiful place in a lovely setting, it’s such a shame that their reputation doesn’t reflect this! Thank you! xx

But you can’t fish if the worms stay in the can.

@@getlostwhenwondering393 Very true! 👍Thanks Brian! xx

I live in a Marina so my fuel is declared as zero as I don’t move at all. I can’t steer my boat.

Please forgive a Yank for butting in. As I understand it, fuel for the engine is one price, and fuel for heating is discounted at a lessor price. Boat owners, if I've got it right, have to state, probably on a form somewhere, what percentage of the fuel the buy is for moving the boat and what percentage is for heating the boat. A 60/40 declaration means that 60% of their fuel is full price, and 40% is at the discount price. A zero declaration essentially means that that fuel seller is refusing to sell anyone heating fuel at the discounted price--in other words, price-gouging. That'll give the gouging seller a bad reputation on the canals. Eventually, word will get around among the boating community to avoid this or that vendor. After word gets around sufficiently, that vendor in the marina will only have a captive customer base of the people already mooring there full-time. I suspect, this is the case--that this marina owner doesn't want anyone who isn't paying them mooring fees to use their facilities at all. If I'm off the mark, I apologize. I'm only a Yank who subscribes to a few dozen canal boat vlogger channels. All I know is what I can glean from watching boat vloggers every week. And being a Yank, I naturally have a firm dislike of price-gouging rapscallions. :) --Dan

@@danhollifield that’s right!

@@danhollifieldHi Dan, you are absolutely correct, fuel used for propulsion has a 20% tax attached, yet fuel used for heating is zero rated, so no tax to pay. At that time, we only wanted fuel for heating, for our separate heating tank at the front of the boat, we didn’t need any in the main engine tank. Boaters have to sign an official government form declaring the percentage split as to how they are using the fuel, so the onus is on the individual boaters and has no bearing in the vendor, which is why it seemed so bizarre that this guy was so adamant and abrupt in his tone. Thanks Dan! xx

Hi Jim, so sorry, we should have explained the percentage declaration, we didn’t think d’oh! 🤪 Boaters use red diesel, as opposed to white diesel used in regular cars and trucks. The red diesel has no added government tax, as it is for domestic heating (Hot water, Refleks diesel stove, Eberspacher diesel heater, Webasto heater etc) yet any fuel you use for propulsion needs to have the additional 20% government tax added. So boaters have to declare what percentage they are using for domestic heating at 0%, no added tax, and propulsion/cruising with the additional 20% tax. In the summer, the split is mostly 60/40 split with the 60 being propulsion and 40 being to heat water and for the odd chilly evenings/mornings. But in the winter, we don’t tend to cruise as much and are often frozen in, so only running the engine to heat the water and run the Eberspacher, we often only move/cruise just to get fuel for heating, so often is all at 0%, or maybe 90/10. Hope this makes sense, Dan gave a good explanation. Thanks Jim! xx

if the fuel is used for heating then reduced vat.

@crazyig4564 Sorry matey, we didn’t think to explain 🤦‍♀️ Boaters have to declare what percentage of fuel they are using for propulsion/cruising and domestic heating. For propulsion you have to pay government tax @ 20%, but for heating there is zero tax. So even though we only wanted diesel for our heating tank, the chap at the marina wouldn’t accept 0% so we would have had to pay tax on it. The marina we’re in the wrong, as it is up to the individual boater to declare what percentage split they want and we have to sign an official government form, so the onus is on the boater and NOT the marina to dictate what tax we pay! Hope this makes sense xx (luv ya ❤️) Thanks matey! xx

Thanks Rob, yes that is right, and we only needed fuel for our heating, so it didn’t make sense for us to buy from there. Thank you! xx

Hi Scott, thankfully we were right, thankfully we always phone ahead rather than just turning up at a marina, so we could just keep going and find somewhere else. Hopefully other boaters will do the same and they can then decide for themselves. It’s a shame, as that marina is a lovely place! Thanks Scott! xx

Yes very much so, we found our pumpout receipt from last time and it was £25, so that’s gone up 20% to £30 too! Never mind, we went on to another marina and paid the more usual price of £20 and were able to get diesel at the correct percentage too, so all’s well that ends well 👍 Thank you so much! xx

Exactly Emma, we’re the ones signing the declaration , so it’s our decision! Thanks Emma! xx

😂😂 He does love that horn lol! Although in all seriousness, Martin will only be using the horn when needed, ie tunnels, junctions etc so it will be less. Thanks Diane! xx

Oh dear, you’re a happy soul aren’t you! Ok, to go through your points raised …. To begin … A klaxon, we feel IS necessary, (in our opinion), as a lot of canal bridges are little road hump-backed bridges where cars hoot before going over, and many boaters ignore such hoots as they are usually from the road above. So having a hooter the same as cars would just be futile in many situations and proven by past experiences. At the end of the day, the hooter needs to be loud enough to be heard by a helmsman/woman standing at the other end of an oncoming boat, who is standing above a loud engine and probably well over 100 foot away! A little toot from a car horn is pointless. And a little harmless fun between Martin and myself doesn’t hurt anyone and is certainly not selfish, it is just a bit of fun, maybe you’re missing that. Moving on …. We live full-time on our narrowboat and do a personal vlog covering our journeys and any experiences along the way, which I believe qualifies this as a narrowboat channel, I assume you saw the boat and the canal that we were cruising along? We’re also English, which also qualifies us to moan about the weather, too hot, too cold etc, it’s what we do isn’t it, sorry, I shouldn’t assume, perhaps you’re not British, so wouldn’t understand. You totally missed the point regarding the marina, he was quoting to us that we had to declare fuel for propulsion, thus paying added tax, when we only needed fuel for heating which should be at zero tax, thus he was breaking the law. We were asking our viewers and fellow boaters if we were indeed right about this, which it turns out we are so glad that we moved on to the next marina. I’m doubting that you are a boater, so you may have not understood the relevance, we as boaters, have to sign a declaration, so a marina cannot dictate to us that we declare false information! Another point you raised ….We are not an information video channel, like I said earlier, we make a vlog about our life living on our narrowboat and take people along for the cruises, scenery, daily challenges and banter, we’re not a history channel, nor a tourist information channel, we show things that we come across, and anything of significance we will of course share. I.e. length of tunnels, age of aqueducts, sometimes in depth and other times a little caption in the screen. With regards to the drone footage, it was obvious where it was, our mooring and surroundings, our boat was in most shots and why spoil it by talking over it, or putting captions on screen for people to read instead of watching the scenery?! Now that wouldn’t make sense. Lastly Simon, thank you so much for your comment, it really helps our channel grow having interaction like this, whether negative or positive, so thank you, however, it doesn’t seem as though our channel is for you! Thankfully we have over 7k subscribers and many more viewers that disagree with you and enjoy the free content we are producing. At the end of the day, we are not film makers, everything we do is self-taught, and we produce amateur free vlogs that we hope people will enjoy, mostly it seems they do. It’s a shame you didn’t enjoy our video, missed our humour, scenic beauty and misunderstood some parts, but there are many other narrowboat channels for you to choose from, or perhaps The Discovery Channel on Sky, (unfortunately you may have to pay for that though) We hope you find a channel that meets your needs and makes you happy! Thanks Simon! xx

@@JulieandMartinonRIB Thank you for you detailed response. I don't agree about the Klaxon. Even a car horn can be heard easily from the bow of one boat to the stern of another a couple of hundred yards through a bridge hole, and the other boater should recognise that there's a safety obstacle and be listening out, not ignoring a horn because it might be a car. Secondly, it's not good for the wildlife in the peace of the countryside, and I'm damn sure if you set that off next to my moored narrowboat as you went past while I'm relaxing I'd have even more to say. And 'just a bit of fun' for two self-indulgent entitled people is not necessarily pleasant when it spoils it for everyone else. But, you obviously think you're right. As for the marina, you say you're English, so you should know that any retailer can refuse to sell you their produce for any reason - it's the law. He's obviously too lazy to get into discussions about splits, and is only interested in one rate to save on calculations - maybe he's bad at maths. He's also quite within his rights to take advantage of the closeness to Crick, and therefore a decision point for where to go next and charge what he likes for stuff. I won't argue further on your video style. If people like it, I'm glad for you, but I assure you I have had years of watching other RU-vid channels, like Minimal List (especially before they took root on the River Cam) and Cruising the Cut and Foxes Afloat, both before they gave up their narrowboats. All three channels have exceedingly good content of a wide mix of subjects, and that is what I'm talking about when I talk about a good narrowboat vlog. Maybe it is you that should go and look elsewhere instead of arrogantly telling me what I should watch.

Hi, I’m not interested in getting into arguments either Simon, but you writing negative, quite hurtful comments doesn’t help anybody. There are ways of telling someone you don’t like what they are doing without hurling insults, calling us ‘self-indulgent’, ‘entitled’ and ‘arrogant’, these are unfair, untrue and just not very nice at all. We were not insulting in our reply, I even thanked you for your comment. We watch many vlogs and have lots of vlogging friends now, and yes we’ve also watched The Foxes and Cruising the Cut, but they were reporters, that was their careers before boating, of course they will be more polished than ours, we are simply filming our journeys. It then takes 3 days to edit each episode and it’s all for free viewing. We started these vlogs for our family and friends and it has grown into a lovely community of viewers and friends alike who enjoy being taken away to the canals for half an hour each week. This is not our career and will not be perfect, but just nice videos with gentle music and a little banter from us. We will agree to disagree about the horn, as we have had many a boater ignore hoots, and even saying they didn’t hear our klaxon, so maybe it doesn’t really matter what you have. We don’t sound the hooter around other boats generally, as we have respect for others too. Yes, the marina guy was being very lazy, and yes he can charge what he likes, it’s his business, but he is breaking the law when it comes to the diesel tax split, the onus is very much on the boater and we are the ones signing the form, which is why we chose to bypass him and move on to the next marina. I wasn’t being arrogant and I didn’t tell you what you should watch, I just pointed out that if our videos are not for you, then there are hundreds of others for you to choose from and hoped that you find something you enjoy. Once again thank you for your comment Simon, maybe you’ll give us another go sometime, or we’ll meet you out on the cut one day for a chat over a cuppa, or something stronger 😜 Thanks Simon! xx

@@simonuden8450 I think you're a semi-pro complainer. The fire is too hot, my water is too wet, gravity makes me fall down, why can't I slither like a snake instead of walking, why is a weekend two days..........just say you hate everybody and everything without writing a book.

@@feloniouscraphammer Can I just say that your username is the best I've seen in a long time, and your response is absolutely brilliant. It's made my day 👍👍👍. Just don't be near the loud end of a Klaxon when it goes off, or you'll understand why I said what I did.

Such a nice comment, thank you!

Wow, I hope you are not as rude in real life as you are behind a keyboard. You could have just scrolled on if it’s not for you 😦

We were surprised at the attitude of the guy on the phone. He was quite abrupt, so we just went on by! Thank you! xx