Self-declared "private mooring"

[The Bearwood Boster]

6 hours ago, steve hayes said:

There used to be a boat called River Dance that moored there under the balcony, not a traditional narrowboat from memory, but it hasn’t been there for many many years.

I remember the boat well,the owner used to pootle off to the Weighbridge pub on it & then (I assume) home again.

[Mike Todd]

3 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

This is obvious to me too when cruising past.

 

I would have been applying pressure to BW then CRT to stop boats mooring along there if I lived in one of those houses. 

 

OTOH making them permanent CRT moorings populated by empty boats would stop stop dead all the noisy, smoky CCers from mooring there and invading the householders' privacy.

 

 

I am sure we all worked that out long ago but it is not correct to say that the boats are at the bedroom level of the houses. Rather,  it is the houses built with the bedrooms at the level of the boats.

[MtB]

21 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

I am sure we all worked that out long ago but it is not correct to say that the boats are at the bedroom level of the houses. Rather,  it is the houses built with the bedrooms at the level of the boats.

 

 

Yes I was thinking about this, and the same effect is happening where townie buys cute thatched country cottage in village next to the church, then sets about getting the church bells silenced and complaining about the mud on the roads from the farmers' tractors. 

 

But then looking at the architecture, I reckon those houses were built in the early 1970s, when there was probably little canal traffic and every expectation of the canal closing. Even so, I bet most of the current owners of those houses bought later, well after the canal had been 'saved' and there was plenty of traffic.

[Francis Herne]

There's an almost identical one to the OP further down the Worcester & Birmingham, on the pound above Blockhouse Lock. I did think it was a bit strange.

[gatekrash]

8 hours ago, Puffling said:

"How long are you staying here?" asked the inhabitant of a house called River Dance from his balcony backing onto the towpath at Alvechurch (Worcester and Birmingham canal). I replied that probably just overnight, but in any case why the question?



Indicating his self-painted sign, Private Moorings, he mentioned that overnight would probably be acceptable, but not longer. I questioned under which authority the sign had been commissioned, and he muttered vaguely, "The Canal and Boats thing". "Did he own a boat? No. Had the Canal and River Trust sanctioned restricted mooring in front of his property? "There was an official sign but someone must have removed it."

I suggested then that the so-called Private Moorings notice was simply his attempt to keep his balcony view clear of canal boaters. The exchange ended with him calling my position extreme and going back inside the house.

The mooring is after Bridge 64. A little noisy from the motorway, but handy for access to the village shops and 'Tudor' chippy. There is Armco and space for about four boats before the turn and disused canal arm. I'd encourage any boaters in the area to moor outside River Dance and politely explain the position on mooring along Canal and River Trust property.

How many other such self-declared signs have members encountered?

Thank you. We pass that one several times a year and I've always said to the Mrs one of these days I'll make a point of mooring there. Glad I'm not the only one !

 

We came past one marked up on the north Stratford opposite some garden gates last week as 'please don't moor here as it's very inconvenient'. Not sure why it was inconvenient. Too far from the pub maybe?

[Francis Herne]

6 minutes ago, gatekrash said:

We came past one marked up on the north Stratford opposite some garden gates last week as 'please don't moor here as it's very inconvenient'. Not sure why it was inconvenient. Too far from the pub maybe?

Perhaps they have a canoe, rowing boat, etc. that gets rolled out through the gates into the canal? Would be a pain to turn it without hitting your boat (if it's long) and then carry further along the towpath.

 

Getting mine back in the water can be awkward if I've hauled it out on the bank and someone moors right up next to me; it's wooden and quite heavy.

Edited August 21, 2022 by Francis Herne

[MtB]

One could carry a home-made "Free mooring here" sign, and put it out on the towpath, then if challenged by the householder you could point to your lovely home-made sign.

 

S/he who would no doubt say "Hey, that sign has no authority - you just made that yourself and put it up!", in which case you could point out the exactly same applies to theirs. 

[David Schweizer]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

 

Yes I was thinking about this, and the same effect is happening where townie buys cute thatched country cottage in village next to the church, then sets about getting the church bells silenced and complaining about the mud on the roads from the farmers' tractors. 

 

But then looking at the architecture, I reckon those houses were built in the early 1970s, when there was probably little canal traffic and every expectation of the canal closing. Even so, I bet most of the current owners of those houses bought later, well after the canal had been 'saved' and there was plenty of traffic.

 

 That would be correct, they certainly were not there in the mid 1960's when we moored Pisces there for nearly a week whilst the engine was stripped down and the connecting rods taken back to London to be re-metalled.

[Jerra]

7 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

This is obvious to me too when cruising past.

 

I would have been applying pressure to BW then CRT to stop boats mooring along there if I lived in one of those houses. 

 

OTOH making them permanent CRT moorings populated by empty boats would stop stop dead all the noisy, smoky CCers from mooring there and invading the householders' privacy.

 

 

I suspect you would have had more sense than to buy such a house if you were concerned about the canal.

[enigmatic]

Moored in front of there about three months ago. Guy in house asked if I minded moving so I wasn't overlapping their mooring. 

 

Asked where their mooring ended and moved less than half a boat length. Everyone happy.

 

(Never saw any sign of their boat though. Don't care that much if he was trying it on or not when there was plenty of space around.)

[zenataomm]

I remember in the 1960s reading in The Coventry Evening Telegraph that due to the Oxford leaking into the low lying field on the off side, it was feared the water was then draining down through and then under the canal..  It had been noticed that although no water had been seen over running from the towpath side or emerging from half way down the embankment, it was emerging from the base and into the road.

This being when the field on the other side of the cut was sodden.

Surveyors feared the embankment would be washed out endangering the houses already there and any being built.

This created turmoil between Home Owners, Builders, Investors, Insurance Companies, Rugby & Coventry Councils and of course Waterways.
It was assumed that constantly hammering pins into a feared non stable embankment might be a good idea to avoid.  I'm pretty sure Waterways at this point installed mooring rings, when the other parties really wanted to deter boats from surfing into houses at 2.00 am.  The No Mooring attitude escalated at this point. 

I also remember the Social Club being unhappy as they used to have a sign on the towpath inviting boats to tie up and pop in tonight..

 

I suppose if, as an organisation you had a shared interest in a multi million pound housing project succeeding, you too would opt for "No Mooring due to being on level with bedrooms" as opposed to "No Mooring as we never got to the bottom of boats cartwheeling down the hill on a wave of water 15 1/2 miles long"

I think it's called Marketing.

[dmr]

4 hours ago, MtB said:

One could carry a home-made "Free mooring here" sign, and put it out on the towpath, then if challenged by the householder you could point to your lovely home-made sign.

 

S/he who would no doubt say "Hey, that sign has no authority - you just made that yourself and put it up!", in which case you could point out the exactly same applies to theirs. 

 

I like it, but a better wording would be "Free Mooring for 14 days, or longer in reasonable circumstance, by order of the 1995 waterways act".

Though in the midland it could be adjusted to say "by order, Peaky Blinders"

[ditchcrawler]

Just passed a sign on the Shroppy down neat Calveley but it also has a boat name on it, well two signs actually one at each end.. I don't think CRT issue official notices which they should if people are paying.

[Arthur Marshall]

16 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Just passed a sign on the Shroppy down neat Calveley but it also has a boat name on it, well two signs actually one at each end.. I don't think CRT issue official notices which they should if people are paying.

There's a few of them on the narrow bit of the T&M up by Northwich, and one on the lower Macc. I assume all of them are by agreement with CRT as they're a bit obvious.

[CV32]

21 hours ago, zenataomm said:

I remember in the 1960s reading in The Coventry Evening Telegraph that due to the Oxford leaking into the low lying field on the off side, it was feared the water was then draining down through and then under the canal..  It had been noticed that although no water had been seen over running from the towpath side or emerging from half way down the embankment, it was emerging from the base and into the road.

This being when the field on the other side of the cut was sodden.

Surveyors feared the embankment would be washed out endangering the houses already there and any being built.

This created turmoil between Home Owners, Builders, Investors, Insurance Companies, Rugby & Coventry Councils and of course Waterways.
It was assumed that constantly hammering pins into a feared non stable embankment might be a good idea to avoid.  I'm pretty sure Waterways at this point installed mooring rings, when the other parties really wanted to deter boats from surfing into houses at 2.00 am.  The No Mooring attitude escalated at this point. 

I also remember the Social Club being unhappy as they used to have a sign on the towpath inviting boats to tie up and pop in tonight..

 

I suppose if, as an organisation you had a shared interest in a multi million pound housing project succeeding, you too would opt for "No Mooring due to being on level with bedrooms" as opposed to "No Mooring as we never got to the bottom of boats cartwheeling down the hill on a wave of water 15 1/2 miles long"

I think it's called Marketing.

We have stopped at least twice there and gone into the club - made us very welcome and had a nice Sunday lunch. I assume its still running and open to non members - I remember we had to be signed in i think.

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

On 21/08/2022 at 10:17, Puffling said:

"How long are you staying here?" asked the inhabitant of a house called River Dance from his balcony backing onto the towpath at Alvechurch (Worcester and Birmingham canal). I replied that probably just overnight, but in any case why the question?



Indicating his self-painted sign, Private Moorings, he mentioned that overnight would probably be acceptable, but not longer. I questioned under which authority the sign had been commissioned, and he muttered vaguely, "The Canal and Boats thing". "Did he own a boat? No. Had the Canal and River Trust sanctioned restricted mooring in front of his property? "There was an official sign but someone must have removed it."

I suggested then that the so-called Private Moorings notice was simply his attempt to keep his balcony view clear of canal boaters. The exchange ended with him calling my position extreme and going back inside the house.

The mooring is after Bridge 64. A little noisy from the motorway, but handy for access to the village shops and 'Tudor' chippy. There is Armco and space for about four boats before the turn and disused canal arm. I'd encourage any boaters in the area to moor outside River Dance and politely explain the position on mooring along Canal and River Trust property.

How many other such self-declared signs have members encountered?

It so happens I’ve just passed this mooring twice. Once on the way to Hopwood and then on return to the Crown. 
It’s a lovely stretch with Armco all along and only one twee little house fronting the towpath. I guess you could get a good half dozen full length boats along there. 
 

I did notice on my return trip a battered and old blue/white fender fastened to the Armco which suggests to me the space may have been used as a private mooring at some point.  I guess the present resident is now attempting to discourage mooring there under the pretence that it is still used. 
 

But other than mooring to raise the issue and look for a fight, I can’t see why anyone would moor there when there is plenty of unused space?

 

 

 

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Just remembered: coming through Penkridge there’s a boat moored offside that has a note in a window saying  do not fish or moor opposite  

Now I did feel like mooring up and getting a fishing rod out just to cause an argument 😂. 
 

[Puffling]

41 minutes ago, Goliath said:

[...] But other than mooring to raise the issue and look for a fight, I can’t see why anyone would moor there when there is plenty of unused space?

So just imagine Rosa Parks, in December 1955, declaring, "I can't see why I should sit in the front seats* when there is plenty of unused space at the back."

 

Would the American civil rights movement have been halted in its tracks?

 

I'm not pleading for equivalence between a petty house owner and systematic racial discrimination, but the principles are comparable. By deferring to someone with property, we allow them to restrict what is ours. I never suggested looking for a fight, only constantly to remind the occupier that the view outside of his window is not his to dictate. Boats are free to moor there by nature of it being CRT property.

 

* Under rules at the time, a black passenger was required to give up their seat to a white person and move to the back of the bus. Rosa Parks refused and was arrested. It was a turning point in overturning  segregated buses

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

6 minutes ago, Puffling said:

So just imagine Rosa Parks, in December 1955, declaring, "I can't see why I should sit in the front seats* when there is plenty of unused space at the back."

 

Would the American civil rights movement have been halted in its tracks?

 

I'm not pleading for equivalence between a petty house owner and systematic racial discrimination, but the principles are comparable. By deferring to someone with property, we allow them to restrict what is ours. I never suggested looking for a fight, only constantly to remind the occupier that the view outside of his window is not his to dictate. Boats are free to moor there by nature of it being CRT property.

 

* Under rules at the time, a black passenger was required to give up their seat to a white person and move to the back of the bus. Rosa Parks refused and was arrested. It was a turning point in overturning  segregated buses

Yes, I watched that episode of Dr Who too. 👍 
 

I’m not sure. Are you saying if there were no signs you would have shown some curtesy by mooring further down?

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, Goliath said:

Just remembered: coming through Penkridge there’s a boat moored offside that has a note in a window saying  do not fish or moor opposite  

Now I did feel like mooring up and getting a fishing rod out just to cause an argument 😂. 
 

Thats the same at Tipton near the old stables and the long term moorings

[ditchcrawler]

On 22/08/2022 at 17:57, ditchcrawler said:

Just passed a sign on the Shroppy down neat Calveley but it also has a boat name on it, well two signs actually one at each end.. I don't think CRT issue official notices which they should if people are paying.

Just now, ditchcrawler said:

 

 

And this one with no boat down in Chester 

[MtB]

So who moored that wheelybin there?

 

 

[Arthur Marshall]

The Calvely ones have been there for many years and l presume are an extension from the legit moorings. Not that there's any way of telling.

[oboat]

On 21/08/2022 at 12:01, dmr said:

There are many unofficial "no mooring" signs all over the network. We have discussed this here before, and I think at one time CRT asked for boaters to inform them of such signs.  My own suggestion is that this sort of thing should be allowed, if a homeowner desires a view without boats then they can have it...... However they should pay the full local mooring fee in order to have the sole non-use of that bit of water. Just like how CRT soemetimes refuse mooring spots, CRT would also refuse to allow "non mooring" spots if they were really usefull moorings or generated customers for the local pubs/shops etc. They would of course have to sign an agreement that they can never moor their own or their mates boats there (because its a no mooring spot).

 

Thinking a bit more,  they should pay twice the local mooring fee.

As a CRT Boating Volunteer, one should take the initiative and re paint the non-applicable part of the sign or collect the mooring fee and forward it to CRT!

[enigmatic]

Since there have been boats on the Calveley end-of-garden moorings when I've passed, I'd assume they were completely legit. Otherwise it's basically a "dear CRT, this boat is here all the time. please issue an enforcement notice against it" message.

 

Don't really see the benefit to bothering Mr River Dance though. I'm actively encouraged by official signs to breast up at certain popular visitor moorings, but wouldn't make a point of breasting up to the guy who asked me not to, especially not with other space usually available.

   .

If CRT want to go chasing him for fees for his private mooring - assuming it isn't still paid for - that's another story...