Rules, regulations, advice and.... even more rules

摘要

I sometimes can't help wondering if the joy's gone out of canal boating. In the past it was simply a matter of getting a boat and buying yourself a licence -and you were off. It didn't really matter what you defined as a boat either: as long as it floated it was good to go. Nowadays, though, there's a whole raft of regulation you have to comply with to get on the water, from safety directives to insurance requirements. Blimey, reading the Canal & River Trust's General Terms and Conditions for Boat Licences is enough to put you off boating for life. It reads like a legal document. It IS a legal document.