Moorings and sharing a mooring

[cosy1541]

Hi

Is there a site that users use to find/locate mooring spaces. CRT have lots of non residential moorings to store your boat on throughout the year. Is there a forum/ index/ website that users can tell others their mooring is free whilst they are cruising? Not sure if CRT allow this- I understand about the issues of who is responsible for visiting boats and such- but if I pay for a mooring I would like to be able to offer It up for someone to use whilst I am away. No fees involved just a booking system so I can pop in for a week or two in a free space whilst owner is away? You could even swap sites for a few months to allow different cruising options throughout the network maybe?

Please do not shout at me.  

[Alan de Enfield]

16 minutes ago, cosy1541 said:

Not sure if CRT allow this

 

No they don't.

I think you will find it is the T&Cs for the moorings.

[cosy1541]

12 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

No they don't.

I think you will find it is the T&Cs for the moorings.

4.2 If you intend to move the Boat to another berth, you must obtain our prior written consent to do so. If in the case of an emergency you move the Boat to another berth without first obtaining our consent you must notify us in writing as soon as possible about the move and you must follow any subsequent instructions we may give you.

 

Still might be an option- not sure if anyone has done this already?

 

4.10 When cruising away from the Mooring Site you may temporarily use any vacant mooring spaces available at any other mooring site managed by us with our prior written consent. You must remove your Boat from any such temporary mooring it occupies when we ask you to do so.

 

Looking like an option- 

Edited April 14 by cosy1541

[PeterScott]

2 hours ago, cosy1541 said:

Is there a site that users use to find/locate mooring spaces. CRT have lots of non residential moorings to store your boat on throughout the year....

Is there a misunderstanding here ?  ... that CRT administer/control all moorings on their canals?

 

Most boats-with-home moorings (ie not continuously cruising) use a marina, and all the marina-providers have their own T&C. Some of the multi-site providers have reciprocal arrangements. AWCC - mostly smaller cruising clubs - make a point of their reciprocal arrangements .

 

CRT - in its Waterside Mooring brand - do like their small print ...

Edited April 14 by PeterScott
extra pic

[dmr]

This is a good idea and an interesting case which I don't think is well defined.

We have a private offside mooring on CRT water and so we pay rent to CRT, but its not a CRT owned mooring, just like a marina I suppose.

When we were away last summer we let a "boater in need" use the mooring, we have done this a few times.

The only issue I can see is that its our home mooring so the other boats can't declare it as a home mooring, so if they are CC'ers there is a question about whether they have to move after 14 days. One boat stayed for a couple of months and had no trouble with CRT so I assume its ok to stay on a known mooring.

[David Mack]

Some mooring sites allow your berth to be occupied by others (with your agreement) while your boat is away. Some say in their Ts&Cs that you have no rights over your berth when your boat is away and that the mooring operator can allow other boats to stay there, and they will pocket the mooring charges paid by the other boat (and ask you to give notice of your intended return date so they can move another boat which may be on your mooring).

CRT's online moorings have notices threatening substantial charges for boats staying on vacant moorings without prior arrangement.

[cosy1541]

25 minutes ago, dmr said:

This is a good idea and an interesting case which I don't think is well defined.

We have a private offside mooring on CRT water and so we pay rent to CRT, but its not a CRT owned mooring, just like a marina I suppose.

When we were away last summer we let a "boater in need" use the mooring, we have done this a few times.

The only issue I can see is that its our home mooring so the other boats can't declare it as a home mooring, so if they are CC'ers there is a question about whether they have to move after 14 days. One boat stayed for a couple of months and had no trouble with CRT so I assume its ok to stay on a known mooring.

Thanks. CRT charge for non residential moorings. I have read the CRT T&C's and it basically needs permission in advance from CRT. The non residential terms say you may stay for a weekend or longer with permission but not long term as no planning permission for residential use. So your 14 day point stands. I will call CRT and discuss longer term stays. For a CC it looks like the only option would be to pay for a marina berth. This may allow a more options across the network for longer cheaper stays maybe.

3 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Some mooring sites allow your berth to be occupied by others (with your agreement) while your boat is away. Some say in their Ts&Cs that you have no rights over your berth when your boat is away and that the mooring operator can allow other boats to stay there, and they will pocket the mooring charges paid by the other boat (and ask you to give notice of your intended return date so they can move another boat which may be on your mooring).

CRT's online moorings have notices threatening substantial charges for boats staying on vacant moorings without prior arrangement.

£25 a night if over staying on visitor moorings apparently. I assume they would warn you if you did over stay outside of an emergency. 

[Arthur Marshall]

I don't quite understand what you are looking for. Initially you said you wanted to let someone else use your mooring while you were away, but now we are discussing how a continuous cruiser can park up for a while.

I suspect CRTs attitude may depend on whether one is a home moorer out on a cruise, or a ccer who want a mooring for a bit.

[MtB]

Exactly what CRT needs right now. A whole new level of complication regarding mooring regulations. 

 

Obviously this would cost nothing at all to administer and nobody would abuse it.....

 

 

 

[cosy1541]

2 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I don't quite understand what you are looking for. Initially you said you wanted to let someone else use your mooring while you were away, but now we are discussing how a continuous cruiser can park up for a while.

I suspect CRTs attitude may depend on whether one is a home moorer out on a cruise, or a ccer who want a mooring for a bit.

At the end of the day it's about letting your paid for mooring space be available. If I swapped with a similar mooring both parties get the same benefit whilst they/ me are away. Helpful if you wanted a period of time of time moored up away from home when travelling around the network.

[Jonny P]

34 minutes ago, cosy1541 said:

At the end of the day it's about letting your paid for mooring space be available. If I swapped with a similar mooring both parties get the same benefit whilst they/ me are away. Helpful if you wanted a period of time of time moored up away from home when travelling around the network.

Why do you need to swap as opposed to simply have reciprocal mooring rights? 
 

I had a CRT online mooring for six years and regularly made use of the reciprocal mooring arrangement as I travelled around the network between May and November each year. But that only uses vacant moorings so my own mooring was not available to others while I was elsewhere.

 

With CRT moorings it’s only those that are available for sale that can be used. There’s lots of apparent vacant space on CRT moorings but most of that has been removed from the portfolio as CRT remove mooring space as per their part of the agreement for the expansion of private offline mooring facilities. CRT mooring vacancies may appear to be quite plentiful over the winter but there tends to be less availability in summer.

Edited April 14 by Jonny P

[Cheshire cat]

I thought that CRT had had a change of heart regarding decommissioning moorings.

 

There is a reciprocal mooring agreement between awcc clubs but not for anyone and their dog.

[Stroudwater1]

I was interested to see a few independent marinas last year clubbed together to allow reciprocal moorings for short term subject to availability. Much as ABC and Lakeland leisure marinas do.
 

We were puzzled why many boats weren’t moored up at several of the waterside moorings either recently. Grendon Wharf had quite a number of empty spaces (1vacancy) and Tuttle Hill was almost empty though no vacancies on the CRT site. Exhall basin may have filled up but pretty empty last time we passed yet no vacancies and described as thriving with 12 boats? Hmmm 
 

 

 

[Jonny P]

8 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

I was interested to see a few independent marinas last year clubbed together to allow reciprocal moorings for short term subject to availability. Much as ABC and Lakeland leisure marinas do.
 

We were puzzled why many boats weren’t moored up at several of the waterside moorings either recently. Grendon Wharf had quite a number of empty spaces (1vacancy) and Tuttle Hill was almost empty though no vacancies on the CRT site. Exhall basin may have filled up but pretty empty last time we passed yet no vacancies and described as thriving with 12 boats? Hmmm 
 

 

 

The empty spaces are generally not vacancies. They are berths that have been permanently removed from the portfolio as part of the process for the creation of private offline marinas under which CRT are (or maybe were given the above post) obliged to reduce the number of online moorings in proportion to the number of newly created marina berths in the same locality.
 

You’ll perhaps have noted that the extent of online moorings between Braunston toll house and the A45 bridge has recently been consolidated into a shorter length and the end nearest the toll house is now visitor moorings. 
 

Though for offside moorings and basins, such as Exhall, consolidation is pointless in terms of creating space for other mooring use.

[agg221]

2 hours ago, cosy1541 said:

At the end of the day it's about letting your paid for mooring space be available. If I swapped with a similar mooring both parties get the same benefit whilst they/ me are away. Helpful if you wanted a period of time of time moored up away from home when travelling around the network.

I can see the benefit of this, but it does depend on the Ts & Cs of the moorer. It would also need to line up reasonably well on length.

 

We have a privately rented online mooring (farm mooring). From Wednesday morning, we will probably only be there for three days until somewhere in late June/early July. We will be paying for a mooring through May and then need to sort something out through June as we make our way back. It would be really handy to be able to leave the boat somewhere more secure than the towpath as we weekend it home.

Alec

[Lady M]

In a marina perhaps?

[Graham Davis]

I'm sure I remember, when we did the Oxford, there were handmade signs on some of the moorings at Cropredy, where moorers had painted boat names on the armco, saying something like "on holiday, you can moor here overnight".

[cosy1541]

An official version would be exactly what I was looking for. I have emailed CRT to find out the official stance. An app would allow you to find, ask to stay etc. 

[David Mack]

An app to show temporarily vacant moorings would need to be created and maintained, it would need the operators of moorings (CRT and others) to update the app as moorings become available or unavailable, would have to provide a booking system for those wanting to use such a mooring temporarily etc. , all of which would cost money. How much would you expect to pay to use such an app? Do you think enough mooring operators would participate? Do you think they would all update their mooring availability regularly? Do you think the permanent moorers would always notify their mooring operators of their intended departures and returns? Do you think enough prospective short term moorers would use the app?

It all sounds like a hopelessly complicated process, with little chance if it all working seamlessly and reliably.

[cosy1541]

4 hours ago, David Mack said:

An app to show temporarily vacant moorings would need to be created and maintained, it would need the operators of moorings (CRT and others) to update the app as moorings become available or unavailable, would have to provide a booking system for those wanting to use such a mooring temporarily etc. , all of which would cost money. How much would you expect to pay to use such an app? Do you think enough mooring operators would participate? Do you think they would all update their mooring availability regularly? Do you think the permanent moorers would always notify their mooring operators of their intended departures and returns? Do you think enough prospective short term moorers would use the app?

It all sounds like a hopelessly complicated process, with little chance if it all working seamlessly and reliably.

Yep. You must be right. Good old positivity yet again. I will drop my topic and accept your sage words of advice. 

[David Mack]

Yes it's a great idea!

All it needs is someone with your enthusiasm to take the project forward and make it happen!!

[MtB]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

Yes it's a great idea!

All it needs is someone with your enthusiasm to take the project forward and make it happen!!

 

I took the OP to want someone else to do it, for nothing!! 

 

 

 

[cosy1541]

I have written to CRT to discuss this issue. I'm sure they could take it on. So many booking apps available. I'm sure it could be an easy fix once CRT confirm if it can be agreed and the terms for getting prior agreement from them

 They already have an email section to request longer stays at visitor moorings. 

[Jerra]

19 hours ago, cosy1541 said:

I have written to CRT to discuss this issue. I'm sure they could take it on. So many booking apps available. I'm sure it could be an easy fix once CRT confirm if it can be agreed and the terms for getting prior agreement from them

 They already have an email section to request longer stays at visitor moorings. 

Yes but isn't that for emergency situation where the boat needs to stay because say single hander has broken an arm and a leg.  So presumably is not used a lot and probably overseen by a human.