Unicorn Stampede

Not checked, but I assume they removed the tree blocking the way between ludd foot and sowerby bridge Never mind, just checked and lock 8 is down (that lock has been an issue for 18+ months now. Crt on ground well aware of it also) and lock 17 looks like it's also due to fail (Another one that's had frequent issues... They were fixing that last summer. I walked past when they brought the wrong generator down via wheelbarrel, so couldn't power the tools to fix the paddle...)

I guess it's not essential, but its become a bit of the norm for those who do it.

Due to my partner working in Manchester (even with me WFH) we are continuous cruisers who do the northern circuit (or whatever it's called) each year without issue of water or moving the car around. Just means you occasionally have longer days. To clarify northern circuit, Rochdale > Leeds and Liverpool > Calder & Hebble (or the opposite way if feeling fruity) We aren't anything special in what we do, so can't see why others couldn't do it.

In terms of moving, they'd likely just shift every other weekend? That fixes the water issue as well.

My employers (I'm full time WFH on a boat) have always just accepted whatever address I gave them. They didn't even question whose home it was, despite knowing I'm a continuous cruiser with 'no fixed abode'. I've used friends and family addresses in the past with no issue.

Did you finish up at SPBC? We've just Moore's opposite the club and I'm sure I saw a boat called Midnight. Wondered if I put 2 and 2 together correctly.

Maritime law, in the respect of free men, is what they use/justify not paying. I know it makes no sense - it's an unfortunate part of me having had to deal with their members in a past life Your standard maritime law? Crack on, no issue with that.

There's nothing valid about 'Freemen of the Land'. They're a blight and a scam, so providing them with a platform isn't a wise idea. Also no idea what you mean @Alan de Enfield about me not wanting to discuss boating (or knowing what I signed up for??)

I absolutely don't want to see a thread about common law/freemen of the land/maritime law, or anything similar to that kind of nonsense

I posted it, because the NABO reported it after holding a meeting with one of the CRT directors. I wouldn't have if I felt it was pure guess work, but it felt like it came from a reasonable source. I guess it's fair though that nothing has been officially confirmed by CRT so perhaps it wasn't worth mentioning.

Information from NABO says that surcharge will be an increasing 5% charge after inflation is applied each year, to a maximum of 25% in 5 years. Guess we can wait for the confirmation, but seems reliable.

I'd likely be more concerned if it was the council chasing me. Bizarrely, of all 'groups' interested in going about things the way the law dictates, they are the real sticklers for chasing and following up with actions (well, and HMRC). CRTs track record doesnt provide as much concern in my eyes. Like MartynG said, it relies more on honesty than say risk of actual enforcement. I pay because I like to think maybe two or three quid of my license goes into the system. When we start up our canal business, I'll pay for the same reason (I say this now... guess it depends how broke it'll make me...) Personally it becomes a tough pill to swallow when you're asked to pay more and don't feel like what you're putting in, is being used effectively. It's the same nonsense as paying for council tax and wondering why things are in such a shit state. I only mention this third idea of staying but not paying because I don't believe it's been raised as an action some genuine CC boaters might take (or maybe lots if the NBTA/NABO go through with a potential proposal). Also worth noting that the chasing of CRT etc only really works if you even kept all your boat details up to date and allowed CRT to pester you. If you simply went (ironic to say) off grid with your contact details, it becomes I think an absolute impossibility to track based on CRTs current systems.

Oh I agree, there's nothing stopping them doing it. I assume that once they've gone through all the process of getting all the documents etc in line they could do something... Could being the operative word. It would require them lining up the right team and the right people, in the right place, at the right time. Just a pondering thought I had spurred from all this nonsense. With how unorganized everything else done by CRT, I'm not convinced they would take action. It seems like it took them a whole heap of time and manpower to sort out Mr Ward, that it would just be some lingering threat.

I notice that people are assuming that CCers will either (a) pay the new costs or (b) move off the cut. For me, there's absolutely a third option (there's also a fourth and fifth but that's not relevant to this post!) I'm not entirely sure what CRT actually does if a genuine CCer (I know there's a bunch of comments about genuine, but I use the term in the notion of someone that always moves on) decides to not pay. As I mentioned before, there's a whole heap of ways to simply avoid paying costs via the dodgy online account system, however my understanding is so far only CMers have been properly targeted for not being licensed. They're the easy ones to target right? We know where they are. We can arrange someone to come and grab the boat etc etc. On our sightings report, there are multiple months where we have disappeared from spotters (and the record logs they keep for manned locks aren't updated with those sightings). If we just decided to not pay and continue to move as we were, apart from a host of emails telling us there would be consequences, I'm not entirely sure I believe CRT would follow up... it would so much more work and manpower than say the George Ward (was that his name?) situation. I raise this because there could be a window where people who do CC properly just don't pay, regardless of the moral reasonings, that's just lost CRT money. The NBTA (or the NABO, I forget which) is currently querying members on an appropriate response. One of them is that all their members stop paying their license. That makes my above query even harder to handle. Suddenly it's not the odd moving non payer. It's potentially a whole heap of 'em. How does CRT go about chasing all those CCers. I'd imagine the answer is, they don't...

I assume you mean water from water points. Unless CRT have massively bungled up their agreements with the water companies, then fresh water costs will be substantially cheaper per litre than a household. I say that from my experience in the water industry. Now, their leaking water points don't help towards their total water costs...

Seems that would be the case. Unless there was some kind of automation built in to catch it. But then it seems like it was legal to receive all those payments.

CRTs systems simply aren't clever enough to process constantly changing information submitted by users and identify issues with what's been updated. There's been a continual push towards online servicing, which will eventually bite them in the ass and force them to either update or swap to a more traditional contact centre system. If someone wanted to dodge around fees currently, without alerting CRT, they could do so without a great amount of effort. Unfortunately as the increases continue to come, there will likely be a point where it's a greater consideration for those who are struggling. We will wait and see what the increase to our CCing life style is before we decide anything specifically - we chose the life style not because it was 'cheap' housing, but because it's what we wanted to do (as someone who lived 'cheap' for years prior to boating, living on the canal felt expensive personally...) I'm disappointed, but not surprised by the choice. Me and my partner knew this was coming, especially when the survey first popped up. I do feel sorry for CCing widebeams, as they get double shafted (and I rarely feel sorry for widebeams!) Seeing the continual cuts applied to the northern canals over the last few years, followed by this, will we see an end to CCers up north. Obviously not a concern right now, but I can see a future where places like the Rochdale become hire boat only territory (well, until Shire Cruisers gives up, then it's probably placing bets on when CRT close the Rochdale...) At the moment, I guess we just wait and see what kind of insane justification is used for the % increase due.

Up at Brighouse CRT basin, CRT spent a bunch of money to redo the moorings, rebuild rusted pontoons, etc after they lost a bunch of permanents (who left because of the state of it). To CRTs credit, they've mostly filled that basin now. It did take them having to reduce the cost of each mooring spot by at least £1,000 per boat. One of the few times I've seen them change up from an higher priced 'auction' to a much cheaper buy it now.

We spent a winter at a CRT winter mooring which has a waste area with recycling bins. Every week the Biffa truck turned up, and dumped the general waste and the recycling waste, one by one, into the same truck, no separation. After seeing that, not entirely convinced they bother to do actual recycling. It's possible I don't understand how they split it up, but it feels pointless to seperate it, then to bring it all in together again before taking it away.

It's not my cup of tea, but sure, you could live on it. The question is more, what sort of things do you want/expect in your boat and does this one line up with it? There's only so much that can be gained from an online viewing - my recommendation would be that if you're going to buy a boat to liveaboard, go view a good number of boats first. Then you've got something real to compare against.

Stoppage notice: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/25555-closed-locks-leeds-and-liverpool 30/06/2023 15:06 Temporary dams will be installed later today to deal with the low water levels. The locks will remain closed, a further update will be provided tomorrow. DescriptPassage through locks is suspended due to an ongoing incident on the pound between Skipton and Gargrave. An update will follow later today. 30/06/2023 15:06 Temporary dams will be installed later today to deal with the low water levels. The locks will remain closed, a further update will be provided tomorrow. Passage through locks is suspended due to an ongoing incident on the pound between Skipton and Gargrave. An update will follow later today.

Friend of ours has sent me a video of the long pound from Gargrave/Skipton to Bingley emptying into a farmers field. Seems a big ol' sinkhole has appeared. When he messaged me, the canal was 6inch down. I imagine there will be some kind of stoppage shortly. CRT have told him a team will attend to repair before midnight tonight. The bigger question is, do they have the water to refill it!

You did indeed. I hadn't considered an electric outboard. Did you manage to find the specific link for the electric motor you were talking to me about? Our builder feels a tad nervous about a non outboard. We are going up next week to help out and have another talk, as the shell build is currently under way. Ah ha, that is a fab little idea. Yeah, that wouldn't be an issue for us to get done. We passed someone recently who had this built onto the back of their boat, so we had considered some kind of 'cage'. The idea of it being locked away so to speak in a groove sounds sensible though.

Yeah, we've spoken to CRT and got all the details confirmed for it. We'll be paying for it as a full license. Apologies on the confusion - I used the term butty because the idea started off life like that and well, we are now up to the real thing, but just shrunk in size. Same width as a narrow as well. You're right, the swim will come right back. It does mean it'll have a mostly squared arse, which I'm not super keen on, but it's mostly a cosmetic thing! So with what has already been said, we're potentially looking for a 25ish HP outboard (I'll explore electric as hadn't considered that to be fair!) with a larger prop?

You mean the actual outboard itself? That kinda weight wouldn't be a huge issue for me, in terms of getting it in and out as needed. It wouldn't specifically need to come on/off every day. I guess if we could get away with a small HP outboard that would be fine. Just down to what is reasonable to shift the boat on its own. We've got a Perkins MC42 on our narrowboat and many a boater and/or engineer has told us it's far too big for our 50ft, but that's what was installed when it was built.