Halloween is upon us. Everyone knows this because the price of pumpkins increases overnight, and our mobile remind us of a pressing engagement on the evening of October 31st.
Naturally, this has nothing to do with avoiding little people camping on our doorsteps demanding sweets with menaces. More like a sudden urge to check the mooring ropes of the beloved cruiser and take just long enough doing so to miss the last of the trick-or-treaters.
Well, we can all agree good practice dictates boat owners check their craft on a regular basis, and not just as a distraction technique on an Autumn evening awash with ghouls & ghosts.
The thing is, looking after your vessel is more than plain common sense, it's sure to be a requirement of any warranty plan you have in place – and talking about warranties, if you value your stress levels and bank balance, a Boats & Yachts Warranty is something you should certainly consider to protect your investment.
We're often told 'stranger (or should that be spookier) things happen at sea', aren’t we and the Mary Celeste, which, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, earned quite a reputation for carelessly losing its crew, falls into that category.
So, here's a thought. Was it the clammy presence of an ethereal spirit that snapped your crankshaft in half? Or was it for the want of an oil top-up that engine components ground together like an arthritic kneecap until it gave up the ghost?
We suspect the engineer will discount your protestations blaming inferior components and malign banshees, in favour of poor maintenance.
The trouble is, getting on with that kind of stuff is boring, and expensive since it can involve your credit card melting from over-use.
Many say the main beneficiaries of 'empty wallet syndrome' are those pesky bankers, oh, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Nonetheless, raging at the chap with the big red box in Downing Street won't change things.
Much as we hate to pay for regular servicing, how many are prepared to admit when our vessel returns from the service agent, we silently think, 'yep, feels like the bee's-knees'?
So, the cost becomes an 'investment' instead of a 'bill' and, Ta-da, logic triumphs over emotion…and the overdraft!
To help things along, we chased away those ghastly ghosts (if we're being honest, we scarpered when one slithered out of our office vending machine last week) and retrieved something spooky but nice from the goodie-tray.
So why not treat yourself to 15% off a new warranty and get shot of all that Halloween hocus pocus?
Simply use the code SPOOKY at the Boats & Yachts Warranty checkout before midnight 31st October to receive your 15% discount.
Alternatively; Anyone got the number for Ghostbusters?
