Several aggrieved owners have already reported both Ed and Gill Rimmer to the police, but the case is being handled by a part time retired policemen who is now what they call a civilian officer… BB has been unable to contact him, but hopes to get in touch before he goes off on annual leave on the 16th…

Meanwhile allegations of dubious business activities escalate, with accusations that the Challenger Stealth Hire Fleet has been sold at least twice and rumours that one may have been sold three times. At prices of £90,000 a boat, these allegations suggest at least £1m may have been raised.

And one owner has pointed out to BB that suggesting owners acted imprudently in signing away large sums of money may be true in some cases, but that many owners took the Challenger sponsor contract to be examined by solicitors, who opined the contracts gave good title to the craft and offered security in the event that Challenger ceased trading.

Moves to sue the solicitors concerned for lack of due diligence have been ruled out by the British Marine Federation (BMF) chosen solicitors, Lester Aldridge. The firm points out there is no procedure in place that would have allowed the solicitors to check the boats had not been 'sold' previously.

Many brokers have been pushing for registration for some time now, mainly because of problems in proving VAT provenance on cross-border sales. The problems surrounding proving ownership can only add considerable weight to those calls.

It has also emerged from the various websites discussing Challenger Syndicateships that some people with shared ownership in some of Challenger's narrowboats were sold 'bonds'. These bonds were again secured against the sponsored boats.

Some boats that had been 'repossessed' and put up for sale have now been taken off the market as prior ownership has, allegedly, been proved on at least one of the boats.

One website correspondent says the supercars that many saw at the London Boat Show in 2007 weren't what they appeared to be. According to the writer, the yellow Lamborghini had been written off twice and had been sold to a boat owner as a bundle deal with only two out of 12 cylinders working. The car, allegedly, had to be moved by the AA.

Meanwhile, the administrators say they have sold whatever rights, title and interest the Challenger Syndicateships partnership previously had in the management of syndicate contracts in the UK, France, and the hire fleet to ABC Leisure Group Limited.