Arthur Marshall

I think the latter is the paranoid theory, rather than the usual cock-up which is normal for outsourcing stuff. If CRT were doing it, they would be aware of boats, but it isn't. Councils are interesting in walkers and cyclists and wouldn't want the added expense of putting rings or bollards in. Possibly the local canal societies should get involved - most of the rings etc on the Shroppie have been done by the SU canal society, not BW, CRT or the councils. Possibly more boaters should get involved in their local canal societies instead of grumbling that everyone else is doing stuff for them (NB I am not accusing anyone here of doing such a terrible thing as whinging, you understand, so don't start a fight. I've got a trombone and I'm not afraid to use it.)

That's very true. There are a few boat owners on the farm where I moor who I have never seen moving, but they seem to have a great time with a glass or two of wine sitting in the sun watching the ducks. To some it's a vaguely movable holiday cottage - each to his own, I say. I like moving, and due to the necessity of trombone practice, in my case it's compulsory...

For the past thirty years I've cruised at least six weeks in the summer and a couple of smaller cruses during the year. So from Chester (originally) and now Macclesfield, I've been to Oxford, Leeds, Stratford, Llangollen and almost as far south as London, though I could never really be bothered to go all the way. For some journeys I've lent the boat to friends to either get it further or bring it back. The default cruise is the 4 Counties ring - this year I've got a two week cruise, a trip to Llangollen with the wife and eight weeks in the summer on my own (assuming I can finally get the damn engine fixed!). Next year I've got two eight week trips planned, though no idea where I'm going, although the L&L is an option if I can bring myself to face Wigan again.. You're obviously a bit limited in distance with a HM, and I'd love to be able to CC, but I can't get enough books and instruments on the boat, and at the moment I still enjoy playing in a band too much to pack that in. That being said, in all of last year I went to Middlewich, where the engine broke, and back home, where the boat sank...

Wish I had.

There's a fair few on online moorings with "for sale" signs in the windows. Two on my mooring, I think. Trouble is, you can only see them from the canal.

Having been a committee man every now and then, i think the problem is that if individuals report stuff without prior agreement, their reports may well be misleading - not deliberately so, but it's easy to state things in a way that can be misunderstood, or they may simply have missed some points themselves. It's better if one person, usually the secretary, writes up the meeting, gets it checked by the members and then publishes it. I suspect that's the reason for the non-disclosure thing, rather than CRT trying to conceal the fact they are conspiring to take all CCers boats off them. If you want an example of how phrasing something wrong can cause aggro, just browse a few of the locked threads...

The 24 hour moorings may have been designated as winter moorings, too, remember. Things are not always as they seem... although sometimes, of course, they are. But, as you say, it doesn't really matter unless you want to moor on the 24 hour moorings and can't. And then it's annoying.

I think they told me when mine was first registered, which didn't help me date it as I think it's was before the numbers were allocate, but they were quite helpful about it! .

To be honest, I can't see why anyone in their right mind would really tick all the boxes. It's unlikely that you'd be interested in, or qualified for, all of practical, customer service, management and supervision, marketing and promotions, recording and monitoring, education, volunteers, and administration. You would also be barmy if you thought you could do all, or in fact most of these while working from home. So yes, it could have been written better, but if you really wanted to volunteer it would be for one or two of the options at most and it really wouldn't be hard to find any opportunities that were going. If however, you just wanted to say how everything CRT does is crap... There again, you could get CRT to spend a lot more money on their website and use expensive professional writers and grumble about that. Me, I'd rather have a new lock gate.

I'm sure this has been mentioned on here before. IIRC, the terms and conditions still say the licence has to be displayed, but the boat checkers don't use it, just tap the boat number into their doofers. The tunnel bods at the Harecastle still come and look at it and make a note, though they probably don't do anything with it either - I got grumbled at when I forgot to display mine last year. I suppose if you don't display it, it gives them another legit way of prosecuting (probably wrong word, but you know what I mean) you if you bend/break any of the other rules/directives (and get caught).

I think you'll find that people with pump-out toilets always put the pawl back, and those with bucket & chuck it don't.

Pot, kettle.

Yes but... I'd be surprised if there are any boaters currently out there boating who don't know CRt have stated this many times, and if they don't, they should. Unless you want a CRT bod to knock on every boat on the system and politely tell them of any changes to the rules/policies/what you will, boaters have to take just a little responsibility themselves for keeping up with what's going on. As is often quoted, ignorance is no excuse in law, and half the time it seems we whinge about being nanny-stated, or too many signs going up, and then spend the other half grumbling that there aren't enough signs or we're not being spoonfed info which is freely available almost everywhere.

But can't you stay on winter moorings for up to 14 days if there's no one on them? I can understand the frustration of the reserved bits. I don't know SB, so am asking for enlightenment, not criticising!

Can't see why it should - you can still moor up and put the kettle on. You just might not be able to stay as long as you'd like.

I suppose the advantage of owning a sixty year old boat with a fairly crummy paint job and a few dents is that you really don't mind too much if you get hit. I can appreciate there's a difference if you've just spent sixty grand on the thing. But while i don't go along with the "contact sport" concept, you're always going to get clonked by inexperienced boaters, and as for the drunken dayboats... It's really the wrong environment for the excessively houseproud. NB this is emphatically NOT a criticism of any of the above posters!

You have to play the "untangle the Defra tape" game...

Sadly I think you're right. At nearly 70,it'll see me out but it's sad that I can't see future generations enjoying what I've had. Mind you, they'll probably see something else in the same way.

For what? The system came alive years ago because of the dedication of a stack of enthusiasts. After them came some of us who fell in love with the freedom of the life when it wasn't as busy as it is now. Then came the marina dwellers etc and the hundred thousand pound boats while the enthusiasts got old and the system started to fall apart. Trying to pretend it'll last forever is like trying to go back to horse drawn boats. We're lucky to have it, and we've been lucky to live in a time when it is navigable, and CRT with its friends and volunteers is trying to recreate the early years. It can't, specially with half the boaters who do actually care fighting it.

That's the significance of the change of name. Britsh Waterways implies navigation, C&RT just says there should be wet stuff in them. Boaters, and certainly CCers, are outnumbered by fishermen and dog walkers. Locks are expensive to maintain, and the towpath has to be maintained for everyone, not just a few grumbly boaters. So if money is limited, the priority goes to the most used bit. And there's me just spent ten grand on replating & engine work...

You can't look after something without having some kind of authority over what happens on it. The argument here is where lines are drawn both morally and legally, and I suspect there is a discrepancy between the two. In the whole scheme of things, the vast majority of boaters aren't p-takers and are happy enough with the way CRT runs things. The problems arise on the margins where the situation isn't clear and that's where positions can get entrenched instead of compromises being reached.

Unfortunately, the word "must" is meaningless. The government must also keep libraries open, support small businesses, manage education rationally, run the NHS for the benefit of patients, make sure citizens are housed and fed - shall I go on? If it isn't going to do any of those, why "must" it look after what it probably regards as a muddy ditch?ETA there is no such thing,in economics or law, as fairness. You don't fight for it, you lose it.

I think the main problem is that the canal system has a finite "shelf life" and CRT is aware of this and planning at least in part for a future when most of it in unnavigable. As more and more financial cuts are levied, can we really expect money to be used for this when those who run things see much better uses for it? Yowling about the minutae of the rules is just rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.

A garden is a lovesome thing. God wot!

Last road I lived on was unadopted. Meant that I had to maintain my bit of it, but still had no right to reserve it for parking. Have no clue as to how this fits in with anyone's argument, but no doubt someone will tell me. Or not. As the discussion is essentially silly, it doesn't really matter. Interestingly, my predictive text knew I was going to say that. Must have been programmed by CRT.