DavidAN

The more things are publicized, the more discussion can be had about the advantages and disadvantages about the wording of such laws/regulations/guidance. This inevitably leads to changes > progress. There is nothing worse than following the spirit of the law, only to find that others do not, and continue to do so, because there is no open discourse.

You do realize that someone could say exactly the same thing about boaters - i.e., that if you don't want to boat on crowded canals, get a mooring somewhere less popular. I'm not having a go at you. I'm just saying that, as a logical argument, it doesn't really hold. I personally think the canals should be concreted over and apartment blocks built on top of them. At least that way the canals would be put to functional use rather than just being used for rich people's leisure activities. (I'm only joking, by the way)

It's good that you mention this point because what counts as a 'residential' mooring can vary a lot. Some marinas for example may set limits for the total amount of time you can spend living there in any one year and may even require proof that Council Tax is paid elsewhere. I'm presently confused by the terms and conditions for my own residential CRT mooring (Waterside Moorings). It (the standard agreement for all moorings) states that: "6.4.3 not use the Mooring as your sole main residence without our prior written consent;" No other mention of residence is made and none specifically about residential moorings.

I just thought I would give an update for anyone who is interested... In the end I found a cheap CRT residential mooring. It was cheap because the mooring is relatively short in length, which is reflected in the price. So, I was quite lucky in finding it. It's a little bit farther North than I would have liked. Being a Northerner myself, though, it shouldn't be a problem. I'll have to pay Council Tax, but that doesn't bother me as there are several advantages to having Council Tax status, especially for an expat. It also means I won't have to pay for a postal forwarding address. Anyway, thanks to everyone for all the advice that has been given to me on this thread - even in the cases where I have already known some of the information, it has, at the very least, helped to confirm it.

But the boater would have to keep moving anyway to avoid being classed as resident on the mooring. The CRT mooring requirement for offenders seems to assume that the boater will reside on the leisure moorings which they do not allow for long periods and the boater would be taking up a mooring space anyway (albeit one that he/she has paid for).

That would imply that someone with a home mooring should be able to use the waterways frequently in the vicinity of their own mooring. But we do have continuous cruisers now and that is seen, if done correctly, as a valid way of living on the waterways. My point was asking what actual difference does the requirement of a mooring make to the 'problem' when having a mooring might not make a difference to the traveling frequency/pattern of the boater (offender) in question?

Just been reading http://www.canaljunction.com/boat/liveaboard1.htm and it says: "If you don't comply CRT say they will be examining how far boats have moved over the course of their previous licence to see if they satisfy the requirement for continuous cruising. Regular reminders will be sent to all those boaters whose limited movement is causing a concern. On the expiry of their licence, those that have consistently failed to move in accordance with the Trust’s Guidance will be refused a new licence unless they take a home mooring." What I don't see is what difference taking a home mooring would have on their cruising habits (and hence their impact on the network). If anything, as the home moorings are unlikely to be residential, it's more likely that cruising will then be done over even shorter distances. Is it just about the extra money generated? I'm not saying this is bad, I'm just asking what the actual reasoning behind it is.

I've just been reading the statistics from a survey of London boaters. For those who haven't already seen it, it has some interesting info. https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/30901-whos-on-londons-boats-survey-summary-report.pdf

This info is much appreciated. Thanks.

And some of them are successful. It's all in the planning.

The market is the market - everything is relative. I started my research into this a couple of months ago. I made sure to search for boats newly listed on the websites rather than those which were just relisted, etc. There were new boats being listed at relatively cheap prices. The prices I have seen from a couple of years ago were not just cheap, they were extremely cheap - there's one on YouTube showing off his 18-footer which he bought for a mere £1200 in good overall condition inside and out. He planned to live in it, but I assume that 18-foot would feel about half the size of a 20-footer (?). Rather than living in it, I'm assuming that such a boat would only be suitable for traveling and sleeping in at best. Not that 20-footers are really suitable for living in. I actually boarded up half a room to mimic the cabin dimensions of a 20-footer and even slept in it for a couple of days. I couldn't copy the headroom, though. It wasn't a bad experience. Oops, I'm digressing... There are still a few cheap boats about, but I'm thinking ahead to what the situation will be in two or three months. I could just get a mooring now and buy a really ugly boat that no one else wants (there are some really ugly ones being advertised), but with the difficulties I envisage in running a boat that's the last thing I would want. I assume that the market will pick up before the end of March, but which way? What will the balance be between people not wanting to renew their moorings/insurance/licences and those that want to buy a boat for the upcoming season? Buying patterns for cars are relatively easy to find. For boats it's a different matter.

I already have a transferwise account which I set up just last week. I'm also in the process of setting up a Monese account so I'll have use of a debit card.

All the cheap boats now seem to be suddenly disappearing from the boatyards..... despair! There are still lots of Shetland fishingy boaty types of almost cruisers, but they seem to be a little too far away from the mark. @ anyone >> Is there a "best time to buy" in the year, or has that already passed?

Quote from their website (I've blanked out the website name - not sure of the forum rules) "As the core customer base for --------------- is canal boat owners, motorcaravanners and those who use caravans, they are classed as Living on a boat or other movable residence and can use the ---------------- address as a point of contact and can get a listing in the local Electoral Role" On the yourvotematters website it states that you can use a special form to to be on the register due to a "local connection". Having an address you use for people to contact you is a local connection (it doesn't actually state that) as it's only a "declaration". I'm not an expert though.

Banking will be a strange set-up at first as there is a bank account type of thing I can use coming from Europe. It's not a real bank account, but it gives me access to my own UK bank account number with sort code IBAN etc,. After setting it up it shouldn't be a problem using a paid for forwarding service address and I believe it would be perfectly legal. It's also now seems possible to set up a basic account in the UK (a very recent development) from an EU address. Once this is done changing to a UK forwarding address service shouldn't be a problem - it's something many people do. Regarding state benefits, in the short term I would not be entitled to them. There are rules which say that I must have the right to reside in the UK (as a UK national, that right is automatic) and that I can prove 'habitual residence'. I would have to provide proof that I have been living in the UK for at least 3 months. Adding to this, I may actually stay officially registered at my address in Europe as this could be beneficial in some ways. There are many pros and cons to this which I need to weigh up before deciding how to proceed. These are things I have been thinking about and am working on. "What I am saying is that you can't just be a non person, do your own thing, you need cash, ergo you need a bank, who will want an address." Although I have already thought about these things, it is good to see that we are on the same wavelength regarding the problems that will arise.

Yes, I am. I used the wrong wording for it.

I wasn't going to answer a purely pessimistic post, but as this seems to be carrying on, I will just add that I do have further options if everything falls through. They are options I really don't want to take (most people would think they are good options to have), but the are there if I am at risk of becoming destitute.

At the moment, I'm prepared to admit that my eyes are only half open in regards the information and preparation that is required. I've got past the feasibility part (at absolute minimum requirements). Now i need to get into the nitty-gritty. Thanks for the pointers.

Renting requires contacts or references. I have neither. Renting a room, rather than an apartment, wouldn't be something that wouldn't appeal to me anyway. My address will be a paid-for boating address - they can even be used for voter registration now. "A lot of people have had your plan before you, and have come unstuck." Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I feel that if I am successful in this, the gains far outweigh the risks.

In all likelihood I will not have a choice as to the type of engine. My opinion was that I would not be using an outboard to charge leisure batteries - again maybe this is a possibility I have missed. I said a 3-way fridge because it would be powered by gas most of the time - I have never used one and this is one of the things I need to investigate. One of the two CRT moorings I am presently looking at does have a hook up, but I wouldn't be there most of the time anyway. Yes, an electrical system would be nice - it will be pot luck whether or not I will have one of any use. If not, it's back to the dark ages. I'll have a lot of hard choices to makes. It might even be worth sacrificing the home mooring to put a little more money into buying the boat.... This would create its own problems though. Problems...problems. I'll just have to weigh everything up when it actually comes to it.

"I would respect fully suggest that this is not an ideal introduction to canal boating and living on a boat." You are definitely correct in this, but this is what people say about camping or caravaning or traveling, etc. Some people just cannot afford to do things 'properly'. People always suggest amounts way over what is actually needed on the most basic level. Sorry, I'm not prepared to say what my budget is - it will be way below what you consider normal. All I can say is that I have been intensively investigating the costs to do this at minimal level and it is do-able and I know of other people who have done the same. It's actually possible to get a running boat with BSC without serious osmosis for much much less than you are saying - £5000 is a very common Brokerage price for a clean-looking GRP. Of course, at £1500 it would be foolish to buy one even though it's possible to find them at that price, but I already know the places where I will be buying mine and at the moment I'm not planning to pay anything like £5000. The only important thing to me at this stage is that it doesn't look horrible on the outside, the hull is not in catastrophic condition and the motor runs smoothly (In saying that, if I can scrape some more money together it will be more.) As for your numbered points, (from the cheap GRP list): 1. Beggars can't be choosers 2. A real pain, but beggars can't be choosers 3. I can buy a camping stove 4. I've managed in worse situations and still kept myself cleaner than the average person (I still can't understand the excuses some people give for not keeping clean when camping etc. - if people could just admit that they can't be bothered then OK) 5. Not a problem - drinking water will be bottled. Not much needed for washing. 6. I don't need a lot of storage space - I will be not bringing much back with me from Europe (relatively speaking). 7. I can buy a small cheap 3-way fridge. 8. and 9. I am starting sometime in April, so I will manage - not ideal, but it will be easier than camping in cold weather, so I don't see the problem. The worst thing I can think of is not having electricity! I'm not saying that it's not going to be a long hard slog, because it will. I'm prepared for the fact that it could all go wrong - I'm bringing my camping gear with me, so if it does, I'll be off to Scotland (Brrrh).

After reading this, I looked up another thread on ghost mooring. I gave up after the first few posts as I saw it's another very divisive issue that people are going to argue about forever.

My preference is to abide by the law and avoid any possible problems. It's just way I like to do things.

I didn't know this. I would have expected that people pay a premium for moorings near prime locations precisely because they would like to visit them often.

I have no contacts (none that I can rely on) in the UK and no references. It is actually easier for an ex-convict to get accommodation than it is for me. I really didn't want to go into details, but it would just be a case of buying a very cheap GRP cruiser. With a cheap mooring (I can't afford a residential one) + insurance, canal licence, reserve money, etc, it is more expensive in the short term, but it does seem do-able until I can get references from doing voluntary work and find a job which could take half a year. Time spent in the UK looking for an apartment can also be expensive with no guarantee of results - having a boat as a base seems a good alternative. I was never thinking of a leisure mooring being a long-term solution. I did look into finding a residential mooring, but they are simply too expensive at the moment. After I find work, a residential mooring would be an option. (I wasn't saying that living on a boat wouldn't be fun. It's just not my primary reason for wanting to do so.)