Chargeable mooring on the towpath side

[dccruiser]

18 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

600W of solar would transform your experience, I suggest, removing your need for hook up to give your batts the "good charge" you mention earlier...

 

 

I do have solar onboard (3x175watt panels) but as i have a bank of 6 trojans its nice to give them an equalizing charge via my sterling ultra and i have to hook up to do my washing anyway so its no big deal  

Rick

[Chris Williams]

32 minutes ago, dccruiser said:

I do have solar onboard (3x175watt panels) but as i have a bank of 6 trojans its nice to give them an equalizing charge via my sterling ultra and i have to hook up to do my washing anyway so its no big deal  

Rick

I don't understand all that!  I had a dynamo and a Nife battery and went to the launderette.

[Justin Smith]

On ‎17‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 16:24, dccruiser said:

I do much the same in the main , the odd night moored near a pub for a meal out but the rest of the time I use nice out of the way moorings, the fact i have a massive washer/dryer aboard means every couple of weeks I can wash everything on the boat including all my bedding and towels and doing it once a fortnight even at an average 15 quid a night including electric, means over the boating season maybe 200 quid which to me is well worth it as i dont have an engine suitable for a travelpower, although i did look at installing a diesel genny like a fischer panda or similar, but the cost along with servicing and repair along with fuel far outweighed what i do... but like all things its horses for courses.

 

Rick

Yes, to me that`s one of the great attractions of boating, you can moor up anywhere miles from anyone, absolute quiet and peace. When we hired a camper van in NZ that was what I wanted to do most of the time (wild camping is more or less legal over there, though a local said it`s safer and easier in the South Island), though the wife was keener on stopping in a site.

[Alan de Enfield]

10 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

Yes, to me that`s one of the great attractions of boating, you can moor up anywhere miles from anyone, absolute quiet and peace

Yup - real boating that is easily achievable, down the coast, anchor up in a little cove, repeat …………………… all of a sudden 6 years has gone by.

 

A bit different on the canals where folk seem to hunt you out to moor touching your 'button'.

[MtB]

15 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

A bit different on the canals where folk seem to hunt you out to moor touching your 'button'.

 

Yes it's a bit like they say about rats. No matter how 'miles from anywhere' you think you are, there is usually a massive boat city around the next bend, just out of sight. 

 

 

[dccruiser]

1 hour ago, Justin Smith said:

Yes, to me that`s one of the great attractions of boating, you can moor up anywhere miles from anyone, absolute quiet and peace. When we hired a camper van in NZ that was what I wanted to do most of the time (wild camping is more or less legal over there, though a local said it`s safer and easier in the South Island), though the wife was keener on stopping in a site.

I actually have a motorhome aswell and am currently setting it up for wildcamping ... still loads of spots in the uk where you can get away with it and of course all of europe to go at in the cooler months  

Rick

[WotEver]

On 12/06/2019 at 15:43, Alan de Enfield said:

They cannot sell off any of the land without approval of Government. (Secretary of State for DEFRA)

they can 'rent' out as much as they wish...

There’s a little triangle of land on the offside the other side of the bridge from Hartshill Works on the Cov. A chap I knew used to lease that off BW for £1 a year. He kept a goat on it (Mandy) and she kept the weeds in check. He jumped in the cut with a shovel and dredged alongside it and moored his little 27ft narrowboat there. Everyone was happy and no-one was harmed. One year BW refused to renew his lease because they ‘had plans for the land’ so he sold his boat and relocated the goat. That patch of land is now over 6ft high with thistles, brambles and other assorted wild growth and has never been touched. 

[Justin Smith]

On ‎19‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 15:09, dccruiser said:

I actually have a motorhome aswell and am currently setting it up for wildcamping ... still loads of spots in the uk where you can get away with it and of course all of europe to go at in the cooler months  

Rick

We went to Shetland, well twice actually, and that seemed like the kind of place to go wild camping, safe, sparsely populated, and very very friendly.

[dccruiser]

On 15/06/2019 at 13:01, dccruiser said:

I do the same, not having a TP I stop in a maina for a night every couple of weeks to hook up, give the batteries a good charge and use my washer/dryer ... as you say most places are around 10-15 quid, although i did book into overwater on the middlewich section which was an eyewatering £24 a night , when i asked why it was so much more than anywhere else i had stopped i was told it was because it is cheshires premier marina! must say though the breakfast was good even at 8 quid  

Rick

Just looked at my cruise log, it was Aqueduct marina at 24 quid a night not Overwater , i dd stop at overwater which was a lot cheaper

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, dccruiser said:

Just looked at my cruise log, it was Aqueduct marina at 24 quid a night not Overwater , i dd stop at overwater which was a lot cheaper

Cruise log Rick!! Are you turning into a posh git?  

[dccruiser]

Just now, mrsmelly said:

Cruise log Rick!! Are you turning into a posh git?  

Was a present from my bro last year when i put a new engine in ... I started using it to note shops, pubs etc as all my nicholsons are so out of date I think most the village stores i marked in them were VG's and i havent seen one of them for over 20 years! ... as for the amount of pubs that have long since gone and the amount of marinas that have sprung up! .....

Rick

 

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, dccruiser said:

Was a present from my bro last year when i put a new engine in ... I started using it to note shops, pubs etc as all my nicholsons are so out of date I think most the village stores i marked in them were VG's and i havent seen one of them for over 20 years! ... as for the amount of pubs that have long since gone and the amount of marinas that have sprung up! .....

Rick

 

Yeah Nicholsons are ten years out of date when they print the so called " Latest edition". They are often very very wrong but always seem to know loads about the local churches!!

At my present mooring for instance the latest Nick guides states water and rubbish disposal which is absolutely incorrect. Pearsons however contacted the owner here to verify before printing and therefore havnt put the wrong details in their books.

[dccruiser]

10 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Yeah Nicholsons are ten years out of date when they print the so called " Latest edition". They are often very very wrong but always seem to know loads about the local churches!!

At my present mooring for instance the latest Nick guides states water and rubbish disposal which is absolutely incorrect. Pearsons however contacted the owner here to verify before printing and therefore havnt put the wrong details in their books.

Doh! not having a good day its pearsons i have , but i have had most of them from when VG stores still existed ... but i dont see the point in replacing them as the canals and locks never change and they are still an excellent reference for timescales.

Rick

Edited June 26, 2019 by dccruiser

[Arthur Marshall]

I like the old Nicholsons, find the maps easier to follow. The new shiny paper ones seem half the time to read backwards. Anyway, the old ones have got all my favourite mooring places marked. For shops I use the e-canal maps or maps.me on the tablet. 

[MtB]

4 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Cruise log Rick!! Are you turning into a posh git?  

 

A 'cruise log' sounds a bit sh!t, don't you think?!  ?

 

 

 

 

[johnmck]

12 hours ago, dccruiser said:

Just looked at my cruise log, it was Aqueduct marina at 24 quid a night not Overwater , i dd stop at overwater which was a lot cheaper

Gosh, that rings bells.

In the "Glorious" summer of 2012  we arrived at Middlewich, soaked to the skin once again. We needed respite, to wash and dry nearly all our clothing and bedding. We were heading for Liverpool and then the pennines, but diverted to the nearest marina. This was Aqueduct...

Upon arrival, Ali went into the office as I completed mooring up. We had agreed a two day stay. As I walked in, I heard Ali confirming she wanted one nights mooring. I interjected,  but was given "that look".

Yep, even then, it was £24 per night. It did include electric and we certainly made use of it. Our washer never stopped.

Never again paid anything near this for a mooring, thank God.

In contrast, for over a week on a mooring near Barnoldswick  the same year, we were charged £35.

[Alan de Enfield]

7 minutes ago, johnmck said:

Yep, even then, it was £24 per night. It did include electric and we certainly made use of it. Our washer never stopped.

It does make one wonder how Inland marinas can offer moorings so cheaply (£10 - £15 - £20 - £24) when Coastal marinas tend to start in the mid-20's and go upwards, well into the high £30's in our experience.

The facilities are the same  and presumably the costs of pontoon installation, provision of electricity, water, toilets and showers is not dissimilar.

[Jerra]

38 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It does make one wonder how Inland marinas can offer moorings so cheaply (£10 - £15 - £20 - £24) when Coastal marinas tend to start in the mid-20's and go upwards, well into the high £30's in our experience.

The facilities are the same  and presumably the costs of pontoon installation, provision of electricity, water, toilets and showers is not dissimilar.

Is it perhaps because the alternative on an inland waterway (moor on the towpath) is more acceptable than whatever the alternative for lumpy water would be.  Meaning the marina has to keep the price down to attract enough custom.

 

Just a thought.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Jerra said:

Is it perhaps because the alternative on an inland waterway (moor on the towpath) is more acceptable than whatever the alternative for lumpy water would be.  Meaning the marina has to keep the price down to attract enough custom.

 

Just a thought.

And a good thought it is.

 

The alternative is to anchor-up in a nice bay, take the tender ashore and play with the dogs on a sun-kissed sandy beach, have a big drift-wood log-fire (or BBQ) a few cans, and then back to the boat to be gently rocked to sleep. 

It would be a guess - but I'd reckon that every night 'in the season' many 100s do this rather than go into marinas.

[Jerra]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

And a good thought it is.

 

The alternative is to anchor-up in a nice bay, take the tender ashore and play with the dogs on a sun-kissed sandy beach, have a big drift-wood log-fire (or BBQ) a few cans, and then back to the boat to be gently rocked to sleep. 

It would be a guess - but I'd reckon that every night 'in the season' many 100s do this rather than go into marinas.

So probably the opposite of my thought.   Coastal marinas charge so much because they get comparatively fewer customers.

[Mike Todd]

As boaters whose annual cruise away from our winter marina mooring has typically been 8 months, but with not infrequent gaps to return home to attend to all sorts of other responsibilities, we have some experience of the differences between marinas with regard to visitor moorings. Much of the time we do not have a lot of choice regarding which marina to opt for so I have not been obsessive about keeping comparative records but our experience varies substantially both in terms of charging and what you get for your money. Overall, it does seem that most marinas do not include income from visitor moorings as an essential part of their business model (there are exceptions) As a result, what we have been charged is not easily determined as a proportion of their normal long term rates. Some are ridiculously cheap and other similarly expensive. What is included, and indeed what the marina has as facilities varies (we recently stayed in a  marina that has no elsan disposal facility, nor one within several miles! Just occasionally there are CaRT secure moorings which we can use but most cannot be booked.

 

In general, my conclusion is that visitor mooring charges have little or nothing to do with the cost of provision (unlike long term moorings). We just factor it all in to our overall cost of boating! (even if we are are neither spendthrifts not misers!)

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It does make one wonder how Inland marinas can offer moorings so cheaply (£10 - £15 - £20 - £24) when Coastal marinas tend to start in the mid-20's and go upwards, well into the high £30's in our experience.

The facilities are the same  and presumably the costs of pontoon installation, provision of electricity, water, toilets and showers is not dissimilar.

I have a friend who does that lumpy stuff and he avoids marina moorings like the plague but in some places even has to pay to drop the hook