Contents Listing - Articles & Features in this issue
Frontispiece
Comment
News of the Waterways World
IWA News and Views
New Boat News
Thames & Severn Canal Report
Canal Creation
Sojourn on the Medway by the Editor
"The Canals of Canada" a review by Hugh Potter
Book Review - Wonders of the Waterways - the Leawood Pump by Ken Clew
Winter on the Waterways by John Saxon
Fenland Lighters and Horse Knockers - Part 2 by R. H. Cory
Meeting People - John Gould by L. J. Dalby
Llangollen Revisited by David Owen
Letters to the Editor
Comment
Front Cover - The Peterborough lift lock is situated on Canada's Trent-Severn waterway. A new book 'Canals o' Canada' is the subject of a feature on pages 36-38 of this issue. Photo by Helen Harris.
Article Snippets
Readers will recall the proposals by the South Derbyshire County Council to license hire boats operating in their area on safety grounds. At that time we said that if such licensing were necessary, it would be better for it to be administered by the British Waterways Board which already licenses the boats for navigational purposes. Fortunately, the local authority appears to have dropped the idea but the BWB has been actively preparing for such a licensing scheme but with the big difference that it would cover all pleasure craft operating on the waterways under the Board's jurisdiction not just hire craft. The detailed proposals have not been announced, but the Board has been having talks with various interested organisations.
The Board intends that their specification shall cover all new boats built after 1978 and all boats operating on their system within five years. The certificate, which will have to be issued before a cruising licence is issued, would be obtained at the boat owner's expense.
Whilst we repeat that a competently-administered and fair system of licensing for hire craft is desirable, many readers will be concerned to learn that the inspection is to be extended to cover all privately-owned craft. One type of boat which is already being outlawed by the Board is the horse-drawn boat - that most delightful of all modes of travel. The Board, it seems, do not intend to license any more horse-drawn craft until further notice.
What next - full-length narrow boats perhaps, or working boats on cruising waterways? The situation needs vigilance on the part of the parties representing these interests since rights, once lost, are almost im- possible to regain.
The Board intends that their specification shall cover all new boats built after 1978 and all boats operating on their system within five years. The certificate, which will have to be issued before a cruising licence is issued, would be obtained at the boat owner's expense.
Whilst we repeat that a competently-administered and fair system of licensing for hire craft is desirable, many readers will be concerned to learn that the inspection is to be extended to cover all privately-owned craft. One type of boat which is already being outlawed by the Board is the horse-drawn boat - that most delightful of all modes of travel. The Board, it seems, do not intend to license any more horse-drawn craft until further notice.
What next - full-length narrow boats perhaps, or working boats on cruising waterways? The situation needs vigilance on the part of the parties representing these interests since rights, once lost, are almost im- possible to regain.