Houseboat Hotels, the stationary narrowboat hotel business operating in Sheffield's Victoria Quays, suffered a disastrous setback on 19th November when one of the three boats sank at its mooring. A guest occupying Ruby, a 40ft narrowboat rented out at between £55 and £95 per night, said he had onlyjust moved in for the night and heard a 'sloshing noise'coming from below. He phoned proprietor Kathryn Marsh, who advised him to switch on the bilge pump. However, the problem became worse, and minutes after she arrived to check, the boat had sunk out of sight to the bottom of the 18ft basin. Early attempts to refloat the boat failed, and it had to await the arrival of a crane.
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