Taking the p**s………

We’ve lived all our adult lives believing that it’s cheaper and more sensible to DIY it if you can – painting, decorating, car maintenance, gardening, fitting kitchens, fitting bathrooms, making soft furnishings etc etc  So, boat-related things, in the main, we try to tackle ourselves.  DIY should be a cheaper option …… shouldn’t it?

Well, when it comes to the modern-day, CaRT pump out, think again!

Was it not bad enough when the price of a DIY pump out card rose 50% in one fell swoop - £10.00 - £15.00?  For a £15.00 card you got 25 points in order to do a pump out.  The Skipper tells me it only takes 20 points to complete a pump out so what happens to the 5 remaining points?  “What can I do with the 5 remaining points on the card?” John asked the lady at the Anderton Boat Lift where we bought some cards.  “Oh, you can use them on an electricity point,” said she.  Right!  Where might they be then?  We’ve seen something suspicious-looking on the Chesterfield canal and a couple going down to Boston but I bet they wouldn’t accept our 5-points-remaining card.  Actually, we now have FOUR cards with 5 points remaining on each!

AND, to make matters worse, when we purchased a couple more cards this year, we found they had gone up in price again – they now cost £16.00!  For that you:-

• have to DIY
• get no Blue added unless you put it in at your own extra cost
• worry that you’re going to run out of time before you’ve been able to give the tank a decent rinse out
• pay for more points than you actually need

DIY pump out a good financial option?   Not at the moment it isn’t.  Some marinas are not charging more than that but no doubt they will soon ‘wise-up’!  Perhaps this is a sneaky way of getting DIY pump outs off the canals altogether!  Cards need to be 20 points for £12.00.  As it is, whichever way you look at it, it’s a case of taking the p**s!  No wonder so many of our boating colleagues have opted for cassettes!

xxoo