novascotianboy

Done - thanks for the survey John, Steve, and Lucy. How long will the survey run for (apologies if you've said this elsewhere!)

Sent you a Direct Message ...!

What sorts of materials came with the course (i.e. did you get any paper, books, to take away?) I paid for one of their courses a few years back about how to service your boat where they come and show you how to service it - but the problem was that while I felt confident at the time, when time came for the next service, I'd forgotten a few bits and bobs (and had a very irritating few hours trying to work out why, despite priming my engine, etc, it wouldn't start - I'd left one of the two little o-rings that come with the fuel filter on the engine) PS - replies telling me I'm a moron for making such a simple mistake not required - I know already!

Since I've got nothing really of value on our boat (though we are liveaboards - I'm just poor!) I don't have contents insurance - but have you tried looking for a standalone contents policy with another provider? A little Google-ing and I found this company: http://www.merciamarine.co.uk/boat_contents-insurance.aspx

I don't know what others think, but whenever we leave our boat unattended on the towpath, we leave it near other boats where possible - and make sure it looks lived in but lived in by someone poor! Nothing of value left on display, but some of the detritus of every day life left in view (we have windows on our doors) - newspaper out, a coffee cup left out, etc.

No, boats with a home mooring can also get patrol notices if they overstay on Visitor Moorings.

We've had to call them out a few times over the past few years - as we're inept! They often came within a few hours and sorted us out without much fuss. We have bronze membership. One of the complaints I've heard about them is quibbles about what's covered as replacement parts - but the primary reason we have them is so we're never "stuck" - and because of them we never have been!

Lots of the posts on this thread seem to be "there is a problem/there is not a problem", etc. Part of the reason why the IWA approach irritates and concerns me is that an accurate picture of the extent of overstaying by both boats with and without a home mooring is not going to be had by relying on the photographs and scribblings of a bunch of IWA busy-bodies. When the CRT say they are trying to improve their boat monitoring and enforcement, I believe them. They clearly haven't kept on top of this for a number of years, and to get an accurate picture they are going to have to collect data for many weeks - months - probably for a year or two. They seem to be trying to do this. I also have a problem with the IWA approach as a matter of principle. The CRT is the navigation authority - not the IWA. If the IWA want to complain that the CRT are not doing their job properly - go right ahead - but no one has asked the IWA to take on the role of "Enforcement Officer of the Waterways". The bottom line is that true extent of overstaying will only be determined by the analysis of data systematically collected - not by random photographs and bits of tittle-tattle submitted by IWA members.

While I don't know if anything can be done about this - my concern is that if random IWA folk are collecting "data" and then presenting it to CRT as evidence of an overstayer problem - how does anyone know that their data is correct? Given the cosy relationship the IWA seems to enjoy with the CRT, I'd be very concerned indeed if the CRT decide to change their enforcement priorities based on IWA "data". If someone came along and wrote down my licence details and was clearly not a member of CRT staff, I'd be very tempted to follow them along the towpath - and follow them home, writing down their address when I got there.

quick question, are cart answerable to any kind of ombudsman? Yes - Waterways Ombudsman

I didn't say it was right, Sue - just why I thought they would propose it (i.e. easier to manage)

You've actually reminded me that I haven't checked the seals on my weedhatch in a bit...!

Absolutely - and that it's not unreasonable to have to sometimes not moor up exactly where you had planned to or had hoped to.

I suspect that the "2 per year" is easier to manage which is why they've proposed it - i.e. a boat checker sees you once - puts your number in - sees you again a few months later - puts your number in - sees you a third time - puts your number in and a penalty notice comes up! Doing it by days (i.e. 14 days per year) means that, unless they are checking a particular stretch every day, they can't keep track of how many days a boat has been on a given mooring (a problem we once had when accused of overstaying on a VM when we had in fact gone to a terminus, winded, and stopped at the same place on the way back). Not saying the "2 per year" system is right - but just that I can see why they prefer it.

I think the point about consultation with leisure boaters is a valid one - particularly as the "2 visits per year" would presumably affect them as well. "2 visits per year" probably wouldn't be too difficult for me as I might only visit London once per year - if at all - but for someone with a mooring somewhere near London who might want to cruise into the city more than once in a year, it could prove problematic. I'd also be interested to hear from leisure boaters themselves what they perceive the problem to be - is it access at VMs? Is it that it seems to always be the same boats on VMs, etc?