Leni

Pardon my extreme ignorance - I'm 'new' to all this and on a steep learning curve - but who exactly will be eligible to vote for the council members?

In this link, which I attached to my post above in answer to Susan's question, there is reference to Local Planning Authorities considering planning applications for residential mooring sites, which would seem to indicate that planning permission is required. http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/media/documents/British_Waterways_guidelines_for_residential_mooring_sites_May_2011.pdf The link you post seems to me to be about Houseboats. As far as I am aware they are a different matter, aren't they? They are called 'boats' but have no way of moving from where they are situated on land at the side of a waterway, not boats which are moored on the waterway but can be moved from place to place. Don't different rules apply to them?

Thank you very much, Alan. That's a relief to know. (BTW, I see you are in Hertfordshire. I think we are in the same area as you, and yes, the charge is substantial and the facilities indeed limited!) However, in answer to Susan's question about the limited availability of residential moorings, I found this: http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/newsroom/all-press-releases/display/id/3177 And noted at the bottom of the article a link to this: http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/media/documents/British_Waterways_guidelines_for_residential_mooring_sites_May_2011.pdf Looks very interesting reading, although I haven't ploughed my way through all of it yet! Thanks again to all.

Thanks to Jimbo for asking a question which has been bothering me, and to all those who have answered. May I ask where one can find the a copy of the 'rules' which have been referred to? Particularly with regard to the length of time one may stay on a live-aboard at what is classed as a non-residential mooring? My boat is currently at a fully paid up BW Winter Mooring. Is this considered to be a 'Leisure Mooring'? I have searched the 'Winter Mooring Agreement Terms and Conditions' and can see no indication in it of how long I am allowed to live on the boat. The paperwork does talk about 'Site Rules', but I have not seen these or been given a copy of them. Is it likely that the answer to my question would be in them? How do I find out what they are? Thank you.

Thanks, Kev. I think you are right that BW are likely to be helpful. They are aware that we are working as fast as we can to get the boat legal - a legality which will require us to give them large sums of money on a regular basis. I see no reason why they would want to take away and destroy a boat in those circumstances! As for the 'foolishness' of spending nearly £3000 to get the boat back in the water; the boat was in a storage facility, the rent for which would very quickly have used up the funds which we hoped to spend on putting her in order. She was bought far from where my son lives, so there was no option but to get her out of storage - which required a very large (and expensive!) crane, because in the 7 years she had been in the storage yard many other containers had been placed around her, making access very difficult - and a long journey to where he would be able to work on her. The marina where she was re-floated wanted us to get her out as quickly as possible, or pay them large sums of money. I felt we had no option but to get her back in the water and set about getting her legal as soon as possible. I posted about it here because I wondered if someone was aware of any sort of interim licensing scheme, or what sort of leeway BW allow in this sort of 'catch 22' situation. In fact my son has spoken to a BW official BSS examiner about getting the CofC, and has explained this to them so BW are aware of the situation and it seems they are sympathetic. Thanks again for your comments. Leni

Thanks. It just cost us not far short of £3000 to have it put back *in* the water, so taking it out again is not exactly an option! Leni

Thanks, bottle. You are right about the Catch 22 situation! There are quite a few items on board which currently will fail a BSS, which is why we are working as fast as we can to sort them. We've got a copy of the guide, but the problem is the number of hours in a day - there just aren't enough! And winter isn't the time to be starting this, as someone pointed out earlier in this thread :-/ Oh well! I guess we just work like navvies (how appropriate! ;-D ) and hope to get it ready for BSS inspection ASAP. Many thanks again. Leni :-) Just noticed your post, Ditchcrawler. I will look into 'Trade plates' - sounds like a useful idea, if such a thing exists! Thanks :-)

Sorry, I should have said the boat has *been* out of the water for 7 years. She's now afloat again (on the Grand Union near Nash Mills) while my son and his mate work on her. They have got the engine running - not bad after 7 years! - and have re-lined the water tank and gas locker. They've also replaced the wood-burning stove and the batteries, which obviously were flat as pancakes, and are at present working out which other areas needed priority treatment to get her fit to pass the BSS. So yes, she *is* back in BW water and does need a licence! It's just the problem of getting the BSS certificate first, and then a new licence after a long break that's worrying me. Do we have any period of grace, or what are we supposed to do in these circumstances? Your advice is much appreciated. Leni :-)

Hi, I'm new here, so excuse me if I'm sticking my nose in to someone else's topic, but I have some similar (and some rather different! ;-D ) problems. I've bought a boat which has been out of the water for 7 years, so if it had a BSS certificate and a licence once, they've long ago expired. I have managed to get insurance for the boat, but currently my son and a mate are working on it to get it fixed up to comply with the BSS so that I can get the certificate, then the licence, then a mooring. So yes, it's possible to insure a boat without the BSS etc. However, I'm wondering what exactly is the legal position re a boat that has had a licence in the past, but it expired long ago? Everyone talks about getting a new licence before the old one expires, but what about getting a licence after a long gap? My son (who is working on the boat at present) recently was spoken to by a BW patrol office about the lack of a licence and was given a card with contact details, but he wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to do about it. Leni :-)