Oh where to moor?

[JustAddWater]

hey everyone, here is my dilemma.  I'm based in Kent near Maidstone and I'm looking for a marina that's no more than 2hrs away (Car), has some facilities like showers, laundry, electric, fuel, and water, and is on the main canal network so I can travel at weekends and some occasional holiday weeks.  I'm looking at a 30ft boat and need it cheap.  Does anyone have any ideas? So far I've been quoted 3k PA for a marina near Tring, was hoping for a price closer to 2k. 

[Arthur Marshall]

Are you planning to live on this boat in the marina or is it just a leisure thing? If leisure, and for weekends and thd odd week, you shouldn't need any of those facilities and would be much better off financially on a farm mooring. Showers and laundry you can do on the boat.

[Tony Brooks]

5 minutes ago, JustAddWater said:

hey everyone, here is my dilemma.  I'm based in Kent near Maidstone and I'm looking for a marina that's no more than 2hrs away (Car), has some facilities like showers, laundry, electric, fuel, and water, and is on the main canal network so I can travel at weekends and some occasional holiday weeks.  I'm looking at a 30ft boat and need it cheap.  Does anyone have any ideas? So far I've been quoted 3k PA for a marina near Tring, was hoping for a price closer to 2k. 

 

Live aboard or leisure? A 100% kosher live aboard marina mooring then think again or add another £3000 IF you can find one that close to London. Keep your head down and don't make a nuisance of yourself then perhaps you might find somewhere, but not 2 hours away from Maidstone because you will have to cross or go around London plus London prices for moorings.

 

There are some moorings at the Rye end of the Royal Military Canal, but I bet they are difficult to get hold of, and have none of the facilities you want. Look at the marinas on the rivers Lee and Stort. Even in the south midlands, one of the cheaper marinas with those facilities was costing over £2000 around 2020, so I doubt you will find anywhere within your budget.

[JustAddWater]

Not liveaboard, just looking for leisure. i was thinking somewhere on the Grand Union, but I don't have any knowledge. 

8 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Are you planning to live on this boat in the marina or is it just a leisure thing? If leisure, and for weekends and thd odd week, you shouldn't need any of those facilities and would be much better off financially on a farm mooring. Showers and laundry you can do on the boat.

the boat is only 30ft and doesn't have all the facilities, it's not critical that I have these facilities but it might make life a little easier.  I don't want to be on the canal because of security and making it easy to visit, park a car,etc.

[Tony Brooks]

14 minutes ago, JustAddWater said:

Not liveaboard, just looking for leisure. i was thinking somewhere on the Grand Union, but I don't have any knowledge. 

 

Try this, enter "grand union canal marinas" & press enter. Select maps from the top of the next page, zoom in and move the map abut. Click on any of the marinas and an inset pane opens where you can see any website, email address, and telephone number. Then you can ask them directly. I still think 2 hours from Maidstone is very optimistic, especially at weekends.

[David Mack]

£2k will get you a 40ft towpath mooring with no parking and no facilities (but a boatyard nearby) at Gayton Junction. But more than 2 hours from Maidstone. I doubt if you will find anything better or closer to London from CRT or a commercial marina for that price.

https://www.watersidemooring.com/396-gayton-l1-leisure/Vacancies

 

Have you tried boat clubs? Dunstable & District say they sometimes have vacancies for shorter boats like yours, and they have some of the facilities you are after.

https://ddbc.info/index.php

Edited March 21, 2025 by David Mack

[Stroudwater1]

There are a few marinas in Northamptonshire that would probably be cheaper, and at 30 foot you should get a decent deal in some but they are 2 hrs 50 or so away. Cropredy may do the job at 2 hrs 30. Would Roydon marina be any good? You do have to go through London to get anywhere…. 

[Tonka]

What about Newbury Marina or Burford Boat Club on the Kennet and Avon. Would you be happy with being based on the River Medway ?

22 minutes ago, Tonka said:

 

What about the Basingstoke canal. Mytchett Canal Centre have moorings. 

What about Send marina on the River Wey

Edited March 21, 2025 by Tonka

[Lady M]

A boat club might suit if you don't mind joining in to help with maintenance and also socialising.  Some of them offer shorter moorings at lower prices.

[JustAddWater]

1 hour ago, Stroudwater1 said:

There are a few marinas in Northamptonshire that would probably be cheaper, and at 30 foot you should get a decent deal in some but they are 2 hrs 50 or so away. Cropredy may do the job at 2 hrs 30. Would Roydon marina be any good? You do have to go through London to get anywhere…. 

it's not a bad shout, worth a look but it does restrict me as I can only really travel at weekends.

[Arthur Marshall]

2 hours ago, JustAddWater said:

Not liveaboard, just looking for leisure. i was thinking somewhere on the Grand Union, but I don't have any knowledge. 

the boat is only 30ft and doesn't have all the facilities, it's not critical that I have these facilities but it might make life a little easier.  I don't want to be on the canal because of security and making it easy to visit, park a car,etc.

While mine is forty foot, it only has a 23 foot cabin so probably the same anount of space as yours. There should be room for a shower. I lived on mine for a couple of years and still go out for several months with no problems. Hand wash laundry. I suppose it depends on how much luxury you need.

[MtB]

5 hours ago, JustAddWater said:

hey everyone, here is my dilemma.  I'm based in Kent near Maidstone and I'm looking for a marina that's no more than 2hrs away (Car), has some facilities like showers, laundry, electric, fuel, and water,

 

Frankly, I'm not sure why you think you need all this. 

 

Easier to move house! 

 

 

 

 

[alan_fincher]

3 hours ago, Lady M said:

A boat club might suit if you don't mind joining in to help with maintenance and also socialising.  Some of them offer shorter moorings at lower prices.

 

Yes, worth trying this.

There are at least the following three on the Grand Union.

Dunstable & District

Taverners
Lionhearts.

However they tend to select you, rather than you choosing them.  There may well be an interview to include their commodore, (yes honestly!).
They may also need you to convince them that you will spend adequate time on club related activities, such as rotas for grass cutting or similar.

The only one I ever applied to rejected me, so at least they set some reasonable standards! 😄

[MtB]

19 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

The only one I ever applied to rejected me, so at least they set some reasonable standards! 😄

 

I was a member of Burghfield Island Boat Club back in the day.  They ejected me as a member for failing to attend their "Welly boot-throwing competition"

 

Hopefully this gives you a flavour of boat clubs....

 

 

 

[Jonny P]

I agree with those suggesting boat clubs. There’s one in Milton Keynes - Lionhearts Cruising Club - that only caters for shorter boats.

 

No idea of mooring costs though.

 

Dunstable & District Boat Club at Pitstone another good suggestion too.

 

Fair play if the ‘club’ scene isn’t what the OP is after though.

 

[junior]

Have you looked at High Line Yachting? They've three boat yards on the outskirts of London and all within 2 hours of Kent. I used to moor at their Northolt yard and whilst I don't recall exact how much I paid, I don't think I paid much more than £2k for a 50ft boat 10 years ago.ci seem to recall them being very reasonably priced. Has everything on your list.

[b00ke23]

Yes boatclubs are worth considering. They are all different, I didn’t get interviewed for the last club I was in (to any newbie thinking of starting a boat club - I’d recommend you always interview as there are some funny characters on the canals!), there was a grass cutting rota that required you be responsible for the grass one week a year so that wasn’t onerous, and a couple of working party days a year to do odd jobs. There was water but no electric or elsan. 

 

The downside from my point of view is they are much more social….no such thing as keeping yourself to yourself. This is great if everybody is easy to get on with but as the saying goes it only takes one rotten apple to spoil the barrel, and I did come across a few rotten apples. 

 

It was very cheap though….paid £1200 for the year 2023-24 for my 40 footer. 

[LEO]

Hi,

The marina near Tring would probably suit you, reasonable connections to M25, has facilities you want and is well run, some nice cruising routes along the summit. The best way to Maidstone is via the Dartford bridge.........

[blackrose]

You could try moorings on the River Nene. Northampton Marina, Billing Aquadrome, Lilford Lodge Farm, Oundle marina, etc. Google River Nene moorings. Should be within about 2 hour drive from Maidstone. The only downside is that when the river floods in winter you can't take the boat out.

Edited March 22, 2025 by blackrose

[Stroudwater1]

1 hour ago, LEO said:

Hi,

The marina near Tring would probably suit you, reasonable connections to M25, has facilities you want and is well run, some nice cruising routes along the summit. The best way to Maidstone is via the Dartford bridge.........

 

I suspect this is the one the OP refers to in their first post? £3000 seems steep for a 30 footer, probably the London effect. It’s only a bit less than some of the Northamptonshire marinas charge for 57 footers. 
 

16 hours ago, JustAddWater said:

 So far I've been quoted 3k PA for a marina near Tring, was hoping for a price closer to 2k. 

Would Aylesbury boat club be similar to others mentioned (If there are spaces available) 

[Tacet]

Rammey Marsh Cruising Club on the Lee is not much over the hour (by road) from Maidstone

 

 

According to this, under budget too. https://www.rmcc.uk/mooring

 

The facilities are pretty basic and, more fundamentally, there are no vacancies at present!

[alan_fincher]

1 hour ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Would Aylesbury boat club be similar to others mentioned (If there are spaces available) 

 

If you based yourself at Aylesbury you would have  to travel through 17 locks in each direction just to get positioned on the Grand Union main line.

 

This will not be an issue for many people, but doesn't really fit in with the idea of weekend only trips.  You would end up seeing a great deal of the Aylesbury arm, but not much of anywhere else.

[magnetman]

Harefield Marina might be worth checking. 

 

CRT towpath moorings at Uxbridge come up from time to time but its a bit of a hellhole wild west type of place.

 

 

[David Mack]

23 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

 

If you based yourself at Aylesbury you would have  to travel through 17 locks in each direction just to get positioned on the Grand Union main line.

Just to be nitpicking, it's only 16 locks from Aylesbury Basin to Marsworth Junction, and only 14 from Aylesbury Canal Society's Circus Field Basin.

But from the junction you are faced with either Marsworth flight up to the summit, or a steady flow of locks in the other direction.

[LEO]

2 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

 

I suspect this is the one the OP refers to in their first post? £3000 seems steep for a 30 footer, probably the London effect. It’s only a bit less than some of the Northamptonshire marinas charge for 57 footers. 
 

Would Aylesbury boat club be similar to others mentioned (If there are spaces available) 

I thought that, but the extra £1000 p.an is not that bad, if a maina too far away is chosen, fuel costs would eat up any savings. My pal used to live in Loose near Maidstone, it's a bloody awful journey at the best of time, no matter what time of day....Cowroast has the easiest road connections.