'120 gallons for the heating, one gallon for the engine please guv,probably won't wash at the yard'

摘要

The proposals for this autumn's diesel price hike are something of a bureaucratic curate's egg, really (see our lead news story on page 4). We could have been faced with an across the board extra 47p on all diesel from November 1, rather than just on that used for cruising, but the price of the concession is paperwork - for boaters and suppliers. For the boatyards it means filling out forms based on boaters' declarations ("120 gallons for the heating, one gallon for the engine, please guv," probably won't wash) and then sending them in to HMRC who will no doubt peer at them through their telescopes looking for the world's most fuel-efficient engine coupled to the world's most inefficient boat heating system. True, you don't have to keep records of what diesel you use for which purpose, but the British Marine Federation has suggested that the wise boater will do that, just in case the men in suits come asking questions... while we might not like it, we reckon that's good advice.