Blood sucking banks!

The things you learn when going through an exercise like this. I'm sure many of you know this fact already, but I didn't. There are exchange rates and then there are exchange rates! So you do all your calculations on the price of the boat and shipping. You do these against the costs of what the price would be to have the boat built in the UK. It all looks good, you use the freely available, up to the moment exchange rates on the web. In full understanding of the little caveat at the bottom of the page, that says these rates may change. You are happy the with a currency like the NZD the exchange rate is pretty stable, and, well it might move a couple of points but nothing drastic. Then you go to the bank to do the funds transfer. And you find the bank in it's wisdom set a daily rate. The daily rate, it is said it is set to allow for any fluctuations in the rate that day. Well that's fine, but does it really mean that it has to be set at a level where the boat you have just bought costs an extra £250, yes £250! Well if you are a banker I'm sure the answer is yes, if you are a regular guy trying to import a boat, the answer in most defiantly NO!