Nick Burnham: I have to say that the marina has been absolutely terrific
Our first season at Noss on Dart Marina on the River Dart has flown by. I’ve owned or shared boats in Torquay harbour on and off for 30 years so I was a little trepidatious of the move, but I’m glad to say that it’s really paid off, bar a couple of tiny glitches.
The first you’d never imagine could be the problem that it is, and it’s that the freshwater taps on the marina are only a couple of inches above the deck and stick out sideways. I guarantee the genius who came up with that idea has never tried to fill a bucket with water from one. It’s not just the bucket thing, most of us these days use collapsing hoses. These brilliant space-saving devices shrivel when empty to a fraction of their size. Plug them in and turn on the tap and the water pressure extends them back out to full length. All very marvellous unless you have a tap that points away from your boat. Then the sharp 180° corner in your hosepipe is fine until you start using it, the pressure drops a bit, and that tight bend folds in on itself, effectively blocking the hose.
The other issue is time ashore. One of the biggest draws of life on the river is to keep the boat afloat for most of the year but I’m a big believer in letting the boat dry out with a couple of months ashore too. Fortunately, Noss on Dart allow “up to eight weeks ashore for free”, a big factor in justifying paying more than double my previous berthing costs. However, when I tried to book my eight weeks, I was told by the marina that I couldn’t have all eight of them unless I could justify them. Apparently I don’t get to choose my “up to��
