Jump to content

'Floating holidays'


The Welsh Cruiser

Featured Posts

This hire operation has popped up of late. Their website states they operate 5 boats from their Higher Poynton base. Some of you may know Higher Poynton, nice spot, 14 day moorings, probably the most popular 14 day spot on the Macc.

 

I had a walk up there earlier. All 5 boats are moored along the popular spot, opposite what's known as 'the wide hole'. 2 of them are breasted up so effectively 3 boats.

 

I'm mostly a live and let live type but it does seem odd that CRT appear to have sanctioned a hire business to operate from the towpath. Or perhaps I'm missing something. Does anyone know more?    

Edited by The Welsh Cruiser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it unusual for hire businesses to operate from the towpath side? We hired, long ago, from one in Wales which did - on the Mon & Brec, can't remember its name - and I think there's one at Braunston which does likewise - Union Canal Carriers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

10 minutes ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:

I'm mostly a live and let live type but it does seem odd that CRT appear to have sanctioned a hire business to operate from the towpath. Or perhaps I'm missing something. Does anyone know more?    

Just had a look at their website, are they not working out of Lord Vernon's Wharf?

 

 

Edited by Tumshie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not a useful response to your question, but there was (maybe still is) a London business operating from the towpath. He used to have up to 9 or 10 boats being renovated or for sale at any one time, and he "continuously cruised" them all every 14 days to the next km section of canal. No wonder there are issues in London.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, The Welsh Cruiser said:

I assume not, given that there isn't room for 5 boats there, and that they are all moored on 14 day moorings.

I'm not disputing where the boats are moored just that the website suggests that they working out of the wharf. I have no idea how one would set up a hire company but surely CRT have people who would do an inspection of where the business 'premises' are before allowing the licensing to go a head?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Tumshie said:

I'm not disputing where the boats are moored just that the website suggests that they working out of the wharf. I have no idea how one would set up a hire company but surely CRT have people who would do an inspection of where the business 'premises' are before allowing the licensing to go a head?

 

 

My thinking exactly. On this occasion, this 'due diligence' appears, on the face of things, to have been overlooked. Victoria Pit moorings are more or less opposite, they are virtually full of private boats on pontoons. There's Braidbar boats, full of boats being built. Some permanent moorings along from Braidbar, opposite Victoria Pit moorings, mostly full. That's it, nothing else other than the 14 day towpath moorings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Mike on the Wey said:

Not a useful response to your question, but there was (maybe still is) a London business operating from the towpath. He used to have up to 9 or 10 boats being renovated or for sale at any one time, and he "continuously cruised" them all every 14 days to the next km section of canal. No wonder there are issues in London.

I think I know which company you mean and if it is the same one then they still do that. They advertise the boats for sale on Farcebook.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With five boats listed on their website that's an awful big investment to risk having it all go horribly wrong because they don't have the right kind of permissions, and they seem to have been in business since 2017.

 

 

ETA I would be really miffed if I had invested five boats and three years into something only to find there things a miss. 

 

 

Edited by Tumshie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would bet a large sum that they do have permission. I guess my surprise is why that permission was given. Many moons ago I ran a day boat. One of the conditions for the licence was that the boat had to have a home mooring. I appreciate that a hire boat will range further than a day hire boat but still, there's a base to come back to regularly. It's certainly not 'continuous cruising' by most definitions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quite, running a hire boat company with the boats functioning as CCers is completely impractical for both the business and CRT, I can't see a licence being granted on those grounds. 

 

There's probbly a reason for the boats mooring there but I can think what it is. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Towpath side? Or without a mooring? (Because there are towpath-side permanent moorings.....)

1 hour ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:

This hire operation has popped up of late. Their website states they operate 5 boats from their Higher Poynton base. Some of you may know Higher Poynton, nice spot, 14 day moorings, probably the most popular 14 day spot on the Macc.

 

I had a walk up there earlier. All 5 boats are moored along the popular spot, opposite what's known as 'the wide hole'. 2 of them are breasted up so effectively 3 boats.

 

I'm mostly a live and let live type but it does seem odd that CRT appear to have sanctioned a hire business to operate from the towpath. Or perhaps I'm missing something. Does anyone know more?    

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Paul C said:

Towpath side? Or without a mooring? (Because there are towpath-side permanent moorings.....)

 

A good point; indeed, most CART LT moorings are on that side. It may be that the hire firm has simply rented a few of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Athy said:

A good point; indeed, most CART LT moorings are on that side. It may be that the hire firm has simply rented a few of them.

This makes much more sense - The company seems very well establish so unlikely to jeopardise themselves by doing something they shouldn't. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:

My thinking exactly. On this occasion, this 'due diligence' appears, on the face of things, to have been overlooked. Victoria Pit moorings are more or less opposite, they are virtually full of private boats on pontoons. There's Braidbar boats, full of boats being built. Some permanent moorings along from Braidbar, opposite Victoria Pit moorings, mostly full. That's it, nothing else other than the 14 day towpath moorings.

I have to confess that we found full moorings in places we would have liked to have visited to be quite an issue on the Macclesfield last year.  Perhaps it was exacerbated in some part by the Marple Flight closure, but the experience rather put us off this much vaunted canal. :(

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I have to confess that we found full moorings in places we would have liked to have visited to be quite an issue on the Macclesfield last year.  Perhaps it was exacerbated in some part by the Marple Flight closure, but the experience rather put us off this much vaunted canal. :(

 

You could always buy your own 

 

"Wharf with woodland, mooring and 55' narrowboat for sale.
Tramway Wharf on the Peak Forest Canal at Marple adjacent to Bridge 19 Brickbridge.
1.2 acres of land "

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

You could always buy your own 

 

"Wharf with woodland, mooring and 55' narrowboat for sale.
Tramway Wharf on the Peak Forest Canal at Marple adjacent to Bridge 19 Brickbridge.
1.2 acres of land "

Yeah, then I'd have the same problem but more often as it would then be in my local cruising area! :D

 

Anyway, we fixed it - we seized the brief opportunity to get down the Marple Flight and moved on! :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Athy said:

A good point; indeed, most CART LT moorings are on that side. It may be that the hire firm has simply rented a few of them.

There are long term moorings, on the other side of the bridge. I guess it's possible that they rented a number of them without any intention of using them (preferring to use 14 day moorings for operations), and CRT accepted this.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the above is the agreement and I were the company in question I'd look at increasing revenues by sub letting the unused long term moorings to other boaters. Presumably CRT, having allowed a fair sized business to operate from the towpath in the middle of the busiest mooring in the region, would have no objections to this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, The Welsh Cruiser said:

Presumably CRT, having allowed a fair sized business to operate from the towpath in the middle of the busiest mooring in the region, would have no objections to this.

That doesn't really make much sense - do CRT allow anybody to do that? And if you sub let your home mooring then you are without a mooring which would negate your business licence with CRT. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well on the Middlewich Branch at Barbridge the "boat yard"? has the moorings both side from the junction to the first bridge and on the T&M at Bartington Black Prince have all the towpath from before bridge 209, through 210 across the winding hole and about another 200 yards beyond.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Well on the Middlewich Branch at Barbridge the "boat yard"? has the moorings both side from the junction to the first bridge and on the T&M at Bartington Black Prince have all the towpath from before bridge 209, through 210 across the winding hole and about another 200 yards beyond.

And in Middlewich itself Andersen Boats operate from the towpath, as did Middlewich Narrowboats before they went belly-up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.