I've been 20 years out here as a constant cruiser travelling pretty much every day, canals and rivers in all weathers and never hit a thing. There's no need to hit anything in my opinion. However some people don't take to piloting a boat quickly and you have to be understanding of that. However, sometimes when I'm hit, I'll come out and they'll look at me blankly without saying 'sorry', or make some lame excuse 'It's the wind!' (You can maneuver accounting for the wind, and even use it) or blame me ridiculously 'Well you shouldn't have been there!' But manners are the issue in a nutshell for me. Accept accidents happen, but they say 'sorry', or you give them both barrels, (you can do it without shouting in an unaggressive way that preserves your dignity) and if they do damage, they pay, which people weasel out of too. I installed cameras on my boat years ago.
And don't get me started on the etiquette of mooring up too close. 'Safety Parasites' I call them. If you haven't got the stones to moor up on your own out in the countryside at night, maybe this lifestyle isn't for you. But you'll just travel till you see a moored boat, without a thought for people that might want to be left alone. It's the reason some people do this lifestyle, for a bit of peace, to feel that wonder of being a million miles from everything. Even the guide book says 'if you see a boat on its own, maybe it wants to be left alone.' I could moor up on the moon and some pain in the stern would appear...and then put his engine on at 4 in the morning.