Boats, caravans for the middle classes…
Discussion
Any given weekend now if I dare venture out onto a nice road I am almost bound to end up in a traffic jam behind some middle-aged bloke in a Ute towing his oversized fibreglass motorised bathtub at an average of about 50 km/h (given fair prevailing conditions). What’s the point of having a boat that needs towing? We live on an island ffs (where very few places are far from the sea) and there are plenty of places that you can pay a very reasonable fee to keep your boat tied up, don’t be miserable and force us all into a traffic jam as you take home your ‘floating caravan’ 
. I can’t comprehend why people would put themselves through the hassle every time they want to spend a pleasant day out pottering about on a boat, …with their mates…alone…without any one watching…pretending to be seamen 
, they would decide it not to be disadvantageous to spend the X amount of time it takes to tow a boat to the seashore and then launch it.
And while I’m on the subject of middle class men with a penchant for questionable activities why is it that our tightly clad lycra cyclist heroes always seem to chose busy roads to cycle along? I cant possibly think of a worse place to go for a cycle than the state highway through Paramata which consists largely of narrow lanes and blind bends. Was there a cycling brochure somewhere that I wasn’t given at school that went:
Why not, find the most dangerous road in your local area to partake in your dubious activity?
Why not, ride along that road just far enough from the shoulder that it forces every single car to overtake you into oncoming traffic?
Why not, get your mate to come along so that you can cycle next to each other and have a conversation as you form an even wider blockade forcing motorists into an even worse position?
Why not, chose a time when the road will be really busy such as a Saturday or Sunday morning?
Why not, constantly complain about how dangerous the habits motorists are?
Cocks the lot of them! 
. I can’t comprehend why people would put themselves through the hassle every time they want to spend a pleasant day out pottering about on a boat, …with their mates…alone…without any one watching…pretending to be seamen , they would decide it not to be disadvantageous to spend the X amount of time it takes to tow a boat to the seashore and then launch it. And while I’m on the subject of middle class men with a penchant for questionable activities why is it that our tightly clad lycra cyclist heroes always seem to chose busy roads to cycle along? I cant possibly think of a worse place to go for a cycle than the state highway through Paramata which consists largely of narrow lanes and blind bends. Was there a cycling brochure somewhere that I wasn’t given at school that went:
Why not, find the most dangerous road in your local area to partake in your dubious activity?
Why not, ride along that road just far enough from the shoulder that it forces every single car to overtake you into oncoming traffic?
Why not, get your mate to come along so that you can cycle next to each other and have a conversation as you form an even wider blockade forcing motorists into an even worse position?
Why not, chose a time when the road will be really busy such as a Saturday or Sunday morning?
Why not, constantly complain about how dangerous the habits motorists are?
Cocks the lot of them! Thats why the only proper cycling is done off road - mountain biking.
We also tend to stay away from the lycra or at least hide it.
Roadies are by and large an arrogant bunch of tossers.
The number one reason I'd never own a boat?
Towing the damn thing!
We also tend to stay away from the lycra or at least hide it.
Roadies are by and large an arrogant bunch of tossers.
The number one reason I'd never own a boat?
Towing the damn thing!
Edited by izza on Saturday 21st April 23:59
Most boat owners down here in the south tow them because they're using them in the lakes more than the sea, and in general I've found people towing to be much better at pulling over to let others past than those who are going just as slowly without a boat or caravan on the back.
And as for cyclists, agree with izza's comment about roadies thinking everyone should get out of their way, though having said that I ride to uni most days (on a mountainbike which is less likely to get flat tyres than a roadbike, and staying well away from lycra) and spend a fair bit of my riding time trying to avoid getting taken out by blind drivers deciding they want to cut across the front of me and stop in the bike lane while they wait for a park. Two sides to every story.
And as for cyclists, agree with izza's comment about roadies thinking everyone should get out of their way, though having said that I ride to uni most days (on a mountainbike which is less likely to get flat tyres than a roadbike, and staying well away from lycra) and spend a fair bit of my riding time trying to avoid getting taken out by blind drivers deciding they want to cut across the front of me and stop in the bike lane while they wait for a park. Two sides to every story.
Edited by GravelBen on Sunday 22 April 01:54
Agreed Ben, Boats and caravans are always a hazard on the road and am sure they cause many accidents. People think they are doing everyone a favour by driving 70-80km on the motorway slowing evryone down, but just makes people take risks trying to get past them.
As for boats beeing moored, it aint cheap and can understand why people buy trailer boats. How does spending 20-$30K sound to you for buy a "cheap" mooring then the 4-10K per year for rates on top of that plus the monthly leasing fees, plus pay out 10% of the value of the boat each year in maintenance costs etc etc
As for the caravan crowd its a bit of a weird scene isnt it. All caravans and their owners must be banned and a normal life !!!
Now the cyclist, only safe place cycling up here is in the country side, its not safe at all. Those bunch riders are a pain to get past and have a bad rep for not singling out letting traffic through. Shame for everyone else who tries their best to stick hard left of the white line.
My 50c
As for boats beeing moored, it aint cheap and can understand why people buy trailer boats. How does spending 20-$30K sound to you for buy a "cheap" mooring then the 4-10K per year for rates on top of that plus the monthly leasing fees, plus pay out 10% of the value of the boat each year in maintenance costs etc etc
As for the caravan crowd its a bit of a weird scene isnt it. All caravans and their owners must be banned and a normal life !!!
Now the cyclist, only safe place cycling up here is in the country side, its not safe at all. Those bunch riders are a pain to get past and have a bad rep for not singling out letting traffic through. Shame for everyone else who tries their best to stick hard left of the white line.
My 50c
I'd rate boat trailers well down the list behind caravans, camper vans, motor homes and worst of all (We can't drive fast it might upset dobbin) bloody horse floats.
Days do vary of course like last Sunday on SH1 when the 20 of us banked up finally had a long enough passing bay to all get past the complete t
t driving at 75kph on the flat and 50kph up hills in his proudly labelled plumbers ute. I was in fact towing our boat and went past this moron at about 105kph. No reason to hang about just cause the boats on the back, ditto race car trailers.
Cheers
Mark Stacey
Days do vary of course like last Sunday on SH1 when the 20 of us banked up finally had a long enough passing bay to all get past the complete t
t driving at 75kph on the flat and 50kph up hills in his proudly labelled plumbers ute. I was in fact towing our boat and went past this moron at about 105kph. No reason to hang about just cause the boats on the back, ditto race car trailers. Cheers
Mark Stacey
Let's face it, if there were more roads with more than a single lane it wouldn't be so much of a problem would it?
I enjoy driving and others enjoy boating - who am I to criticise?
Oh yeah, caravaning is actually a lot more attractive when you've got a couple of kids. There's no better way to attend a weekend motor racing meet - you can park up at the circuit, enjoy the sport, have a beer and light up the bbq. I think in the future I would like a classic caravan (with all mod-cons) to go behind my Rover P5b Coupe (only after the 5.1lire engine is installed though).
Of course, anyone trying to tow a 30ft boat/caravan with a Nissan Micra wants shooting.
I enjoy driving and others enjoy boating - who am I to criticise?
Oh yeah, caravaning is actually a lot more attractive when you've got a couple of kids. There's no better way to attend a weekend motor racing meet - you can park up at the circuit, enjoy the sport, have a beer and light up the bbq. I think in the future I would like a classic caravan (with all mod-cons) to go behind my Rover P5b Coupe (only after the 5.1lire engine is installed though).
Of course, anyone trying to tow a 30ft boat/caravan with a Nissan Micra wants shooting.
Gassing Station | New Zealand | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff