Bristolfashion

Monday at 14:52

This figure is often quoted as "9% of mooring costs". However, since the 9% is leveled on Gross mooring capacity X rate charged, not actual fees paid (or actual occupancy ), surely for most marinas / moorings operating at less than 100% capacity, the Network Access Charge will represent more than 9%?

If a marina / mooring is at 75% capacity, the charge would represent 12%

The agreement says,

"The annual fee payable to us is calculated by multiplying your mooring rate (the rate charged to customers mooring in your marina) by an agreed gross mooring capacity (GMC) and then taking 9% of the resultant figure. Read our code of practice for determining GMC."

Or have I misunderstood the details?

If I'm right, what do contributors reckon is the average / typical % occupancy of the various mooring options?

Ta as ever for any insights.

August 31

15 hours ago, Alway Swilby said:

We've been cruising the canals and rivers for 20 years. We've been to many areas 3, 4 or 5 times. We cruised down the K&A from Reading to Bristol and back a few years ago and haven't felt inclined to return. There were some strange folk down there.

I'm so strange that it's the K&A boaters that are unnerved! 😀.

Last time I was crawling past moored boats in tickover and I got the "slow down you @#£&ing @#£&" treatment, I stopped and explained my situation - it turns out that that is even more annoying!

August 8

On 06/08/2026 at 15:15, LadyG said:

The Govt already tax the population. It all ends up in the Treasury, then they decide how to spend it, thats how the economy works.

And the chances of the government slinging extra cash at canals, with all the other areas requiring money and no further tax rises. Hmm, about zero I'd say.

August 6

4 hours ago, LadyG said:

Pigs might fly, it hasn't worked in any other industry.

You may be happy to pay more, but not everyone is in that situation.

I occasionally donate to othe charities, but I dont give extra to the CRT.

They know what they are getting from boaters, raising the costs too high will have a negative affect particularly in recreational boating.

The biggest beneficiaries are taxpayers and their families. The UK Govt must pay.

But, in order for the government to pay, they have to raise tax from sectors (or all) of the population - yep, pigs might fly!

So your vision is a gradual decline & closures?

August 4

I know it's an old thread, but just in case my experience is useful to anyone. My brass pump was not pumping AND I couldn't get the top off to prime.

The solution was to use one of those little cheapy brass hand pumps to pull oil through the fixed pump which got it primed and pumping.

August 4

8 minutes ago, MtB said:

Well no it doesn't actually, and that's just the problem isn't it?

All our licences would probably have to be closer to £20k each for them to actually and genuinely "pay for our boating". (Without taking into account the Laffer effect.)

Oh, I see, well I'd be happy to pay a higher licence fee to more accurately pay for my boating, I was more thinking about my monthly donation as somewhat paying for my general enjoyment and use of CRT infrastructure in the same way I support the RSPB, wildlife trusts & National Trust.

One other thing I've been thinking about is the Trust building an "end of life" fund (for boats, not boaters). There are quite a lot of notifications about sunken / abandoned / "terminal" non licensed/ insured/BSS boats and they can be pretty expensive to deal with in difficult locations.

I see that the total annual cost is estimated at substantial. My idea is a small first registration charge to reflect the theoretical end of life cost of a boat based on recovery / removal costs and % likelihood. Over time, a fund would build up to deal with these costs - and the additional cost for a new narrowboat would be inconsequential.

August 4

3 minutes ago, SLC said:

We walk our dog along the canal path every day when we are at home which is 10 months, water permitting. Should we pay in addition to our fees and donation? Indeed should we charge people for exploring our countryside? No imho, and likewise I dislike tourist tax.

Today C&RT are having to clear up dead pigeons which was quite possibly anti-social behaviour. Society should pay for the maintenance network of the network or putting right the consequences of anti-social behaviour. IIRC it works out at a few pence per month for each UK tax payer to support the businesses on the network, the wild life, environment, people's welfare and well being etc. All this brings financial benefits to the economy.

That the money cannot be found from general taxation suggests to me it is political prejudice rather than a financial argument.

End of grumble.

I guess that this is part of the endless and rather insoluble debate between public funding and "user pays" - theoretically, any increase in funding involves either an increase in government receipts (such as tax) or a decrease in expenditure elsewhere. Enough "few pence" a month burdens on government expenditure adds up to "several pounds"!

Personally, I'm happy to pay a bit more tax for such things, but that doesn't seem a common attitude.

My own view is that my licence pays for my boating & my donation for other access & a bit of general support - but only a tiny percentage of users are donors.

August 4

1 hour ago, IanM said:

Thank you for pointing that out 🙄

Yes, I did think that you'd rather missed to point of the other poster's comment. Glad to help. 😉

1 hour ago, Arthur Marshall said:

All they are interested in is getting the towpaths sorted and a handy fence to hang their bag of dog excrement on. Navigation is not their interest. I walked by the Chichester canal every day when I was a kid, and never knew they actually could still have boats on, nor had any idea that boating was a possibility for ordinary people until I got bullied onto a friend's boat in my 30s.

Not necessarily navigation, but the use of the infrastructure for leisure.

August 4

From my observations this season, there is an enormous use of the towpath by walkers, dog walkers, ramblers and cyclists which dwarfs any use of the system by boaters - how to extract any support for maintenance of the network from these groups is the issue.

The other area I've been thinking about is the absolutely enormous wildlife reserve provided by the canals together with their unique "wildlife corridor" feature. This "nature reserve" is probably in the order of the same size as all the land owned by the wildlife trusts in England - and they raise substantial funds.

August 4

16 hours ago, IanM said:

We certainly don't. He'll have all the canals closed to protect the wildlife from those nasty boats!

I think that the poster means a passionate, media savvy "face" for the canals, able to promote all their benefits and tie together all of the users and supporters.

June 29

On 24/06/2026 at 19:03, tcp13 said:

I had a great experience with Darrel Broscomb (dbmarinesurvey.co.uk), who traveled from Oxfordshire. He was highly reviewed and unaffiliated with the brokerage. Very thorough and talked me through all his findings.

Number 2 for Darryl - extremely thorough, willing to chat things through and helpful.

June 16

Thanks Adam yep, problem solved with your help.

June 16

Hi all, we've arrived at a lock and the crew raised both paddles on the downstream lock gates (double gates, narrow lock) before realising that the gates are chained by CRT. We can't for the life of us work out how to release the mechanism to lower the paddles again! Any ideas?

I'll post a photo of the mechanism in a few minutes. It's the Intogear (marked) type with a gear box.

Thanks, as ever.

It's Kilton lock on the Chesterfield just outside Worksop. And, yes, whilst I diligently researched the CRT assisted passage notice on Mondays & Thursdays, I then promptly forgot again - D'oh!

June 5

There are 2 day CRT visitor moorings before the Glory Hole (and Brayford Pool) when coming from Torksey. Today, there was loads of space there - but that's not always the case.

The moorings just after the Glory Hole were pretty full yesterday, but lots of space further on before the lock.

May 28

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gLyX6sFNbQVhmzWA7

A short video of us going through Ferry bridge

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YBdwr2Yjvek1tZeA8

And the head of the navigation at Cobblers Lock.

On 26/05/2026 at 19:14, Chris Lowe said:

Waterway Routes give the bridge at 6' 3"/1.91m.

Having wandered up and measured it - that's a bit optimistic on their part - we measured it at 1.75m

May 28

We got through! We walked up from South Kyme and measured the clearance at 175cm. Our air draft is 168cm with everything off the roof. We also walked into Sleaford and, fortunately, met a couple of guys from the restoration team.

On the day, we reckon we had 3 or 4cm of clearance, so maybe the water has risen a cm or so.

Video / pix to follow.

May 26

Hello all,

Having arrived at South Kyme on the Sleaford Navigation, SOMEONE forgot to look at the height mark for the Ferry / Halfpenny Hatch Bridge beyond South Kyme on the last lock, so we don't know if we'll fit.

Does anyone either know the actual height - or have an account of a successful or unsuccessful attempt - and the boat air draft involved.

Otherwise, has anyone moored in the vicinity of the new winding hole beyond South Kyme - a shorter trip on foot to check it out.

Otherwise, we'll trudge up there tomorrow carrying highly sophisticated surveying equipment - boathook, tape measure & rope!

As ever, thanks for any info.

May 25

In the depths of winter, on a cold frosty day, when no other boat is moving, there's something quite pleasant in sitting on the boat in a full, narrow lock for a cuppa (always on deck and ready to move should a boat hove into view - although that's never happened)

I was just going to add that here on the River Witham, the locks accommodate 15'8", so a single gate gives you 7'10" - so never any need to open both gates for a narrowboat. Other bits of the system are probably similar.

May 21

8 hours ago, Momac said:

There are charts available to buy which help estimate travel times and indicate the relevant hazards. No need to draw your own charts .

https://theboatingassociation.co.uk/product-category/charts/

A passage plan can be simple notes . I doubt many canal boaters have much clue about tides but they will rely on advice from the tidal lock keepers

Sure, but many people draw pilotage plans as not to scale charts as well as notes.

May 21

9 hours ago, matty40s said:

You are being stupid, drunk, and dangerous.

You do NOT draw you own chart....unless you have weeks to spend on the tideway with a shallow drafted vessel, depth sounder, and whatever else the experts use.

Go to bed.

Whilst one should always refer to published, accurate charts when navigating, it is standard practice to produce a pilotage plan which draws together tide times, places to moor, relevant VHF channels etc for the trip in question . Many people include a a not to scale "chart" to highlight navigation marks & characteristics, hazards, prominent landmarks etc. I suspect that's what the OP meant.

May 16

As far as I can determine, we're a bit narrow - 6'81/2" maybe, so in "normal" conditions, we'd only open one gate. If there's any chance of a problem - wind, turbulence, gate not quite opening fully etc we'll open the other one a bit.

May 5

17 hours ago, RickS said:

All good points. That is possibly why the fees at the marina are relatively low as will be the subsequent profits. All that said, there really are no other options, and as far as I know, a percentage of the marina fees goes to CRT (not sure exactly what percentage) so it isn't just the licence fee difference.

Network access fee,

From the CRT ....

"The annual fee payable to us is calculated by multiplying your mooring rate (the rate charged to customers mooring in your marina) by an agreed gross mooring capacity (GMC) and then taking 9% of the resultant figure. Read our code of practice for determining GMC."

I can understand CRT focussing on the absolute essentials in these cash strapped times - the usage of CRT facilities by those not paying for them has been increasing, damage (and the consequent repair costs) is also up. On the other side, most boaters have toilet & shower facilities on board.

We've probably all seen the figure of (up to) £6000 for a severe sanitary blockage caused by improper use.

I watched a van dweller pull up, dump two big bags of rubbish & fill up with water the other day, something CRT can't really afford.

May 2

44 minutes ago, Tonka said:

So are you saying that you can't have smokeless fuel in a DEFRA approved stove

No. Wood can only be burned in a Defra approved stove (in a smoke control zone). Authorised fuels or smokeless fuels (as defined) can, of course, also be burned in a Defra approved appliance. Here's the full description from the government.

What you can burn in smoke control areas

In a smoke control area you can only burn fuel on the list of authorised fuels, or any of the following ‘smokeless’ fuels, unless you’re using a Defra approved appliance:

anthracite

semi-anthracite

gas

low volatile steam coal

Exempt appliances that can burn unauthorised fuels

Unauthorised fuels, such as wood, can only be burned in exempt appliances such as some boilers, cookers and stoves.

You must only use the types of fuel that the manufacturer says can be used in the appliance.

Outdoor ovens, burners and barbecues

You can use outdoor barbecues, chimineas, fireplaces or pizza ovens in smoke control areas.

If your appliance uses a chimney on the roof of a building (for example, a summerhouse), you can only burn authorised fuel unless it’s an exempt appliance.

Garden bonfires

You’re allowed garden bonfires in smoke control areas but you need to follow the rules on bonfires.

May 2

The actual legislation is quite interesting - and probably better than the rather poorly worded summaries/reporting floating around. There is no specified "lighting up"period and the defences are useful. It does appear that, whilst the original legislation says "buildings" elsewhere it is indicated that boats can be included. As others have said, it's "authorised fuels" (indicated on the packaging) in any stove, wood only in a Defra approved stove. Handy to know if a jobsworth or Karen comes a-knocking!

(1)Dark smoke shall not be emitted from a chimney of any building, and if, on any day, dark smoke is so emitted, the occupier of the building shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)Dark smoke shall not be emitted from a chimney (not being a chimney of a building) which serves the furnace of any fixed boiler or industrial plant, and if, on any day, dark smoke is so emitted, the person having possession of the boiler or plant shall be guilty of an offence.

(3)This section does not apply to emissions of smoke from any chimney, in such classes of case and subject to such limitations as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Secretary of State, lasting for not longer than such periods as may be so prescribed.

(4)In any proceedings for an offence under this section, it shall be a defence to prove—

(a)that the alleged emission was solely due to the lighting up of a furnace which was cold and that all practicable steps had been taken to prevent or minimise the emission of dark smoke;

(b)that the alleged emission was solely due to some failure of a furnace, or of apparatus used in connection with a furnace, and that—

(i)the failure could not reasonably have been foreseen, or, if foreseen, could not reasonably have been provided against; and

(ii)the alleged emission could not reasonably have been prevented by action taken after the failure occurred; or

(c)that the alleged emission was solely due to the use of unsuitable fuel and that—

(i)suitable fuel was unobtainable and the least unsuitable fuel which was available was used; and

(ii)all practicable steps had been taken to prevent or minimise the emission of dark smoke as the result of the use of that fuel;

or that the alleged emission was due to the combination of two or more of the causes specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) and that the other conditions specified in those paragraphs are satisfied in relation to those causes respectively.

April 28

30 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

You only require fenders when mooring

Er, yes!

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