Novice

[GT6]

Hi all,

 

This is my 1st post so excuse any ignorance. I'm sold on getting a narrowboat, I very nearly got there a few years ago and a mooring in London finally came up but I had just gone through the expense of buying a flat so the timing was not good.

 

At the moment I must be bottom of the pile when it comes to finding a mooring between say Regent's Canal and Limehouse. Can anyone give me some advice if I should wait for a mooring before taking the plunge (as it were) or whether setting up on the tow path is a feasible option until one turns up?

 

Also are all the boats between Little Venice and Kings Cross or in Lea Valley on moorings or are those technically tow path?

 

I should add that I will probably be afloat 5 days per week so I would need some security or people looking out for me I should think.

 

Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Phil Ambrose]

Hi all,

 

This is my 1st post so excuse any ignorance. I'm sold on getting a narrowboat, I very nearly got there a few years ago and a mooring in London finally came up but I had just gone through the expense of buying a flat so the timing was not good.

 

At the moment I must be bottom of the pile when it comes to finding a mooring between say Regent's Canal and Limehouse. Can anyone give me some advice if I should wait for a mooring before taking the plunge (as it were) or whether setting up on the tow path is a feasible option until one turns up?

 

Also are all the boats between Little Venice and Kings Cross or in Lea Valley on moorings or are those technically tow path?

 

I should add that I will probably be afloat 5 days per week so I would need some security or people looking out for me I should think.

 

Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

 

Welcome aboard Dave, can't help out with the mooring problem as I'm on the Broads, but what I have picked up is that it's advisable to get a mooring first then a boat. Keep checking the forum as I'm sure you will get all the advice that you need

[bottle]

Hi all,

 

This is my 1st post so excuse any ignorance. I'm sold on getting a narrowboat, I very nearly got there a few years ago and a mooring in London finally came up but I had just gone through the expense of buying a flat so the timing was not good.

 

At the moment I must be bottom of the pile when it comes to finding a mooring between say Regent's Canal and Limehouse

Probably the most sort after moorings in the country.

 

Can anyone give me some advice if I should wait for a mooring before taking the plunge (as it were) or whether setting up on the tow path is a feasible option until one turns up?

 

'Setting up' on the towpath is not allowed unless it an official mooring place.

 

The maximum time you are allowed to moor in any one place is 14days unless a sign says otherwise.

 

Also are all the boats between Little Venice and Kings Cross or in Lea Valley on moorings or are those technically tow path?

 

I should add that I will probably be afloat 5 days per week so I would need some security or people looking out for me I should think.

 

Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

 

Lots of the technicalities on this site: http://www.waterscape.com/

 

Particularly here about Moorings. http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/moorings

[Lady Muck]

At the moment I must be bottom of the pile when it comes to finding a mooring between say Regent's Canal and Limehouse.

If it's a BW mooring you want, they rarely 'turn up'. Just one mooring has 'turned up' in two years where we are on the Lee. It's not waiting list based anymore, you have to participate in an auction (ebay style) so it depends on what you are prepared to pay. But they never seem to turn up. Everytime one comes up near us, such is the shortage of available space, it's invariably filled by a boat that BW have decided to move from somewhere else.

Can anyone give me some advice if I should wait for a mooring before taking the plunge (as it were) or whether setting up on the tow path is a feasible option until one turns up?

Well it is what a lot of people do, I personally wouldn't advise it, I've seen with my own eyes, the huge increase in boats (I've been told it's two a week arriving without moorings at the moment). The busier it gets, the harder it is to stick to the two week rule. Most of the towpath moorers I know decided to get a boat and see if a mooring came up. Three, four years later, they are still waiting.

Also are all the boats between Little Venice and Kings Cross or in Lea Valley on moorings or are those technically tow path?

If it's towpath side, they aren't 'paid for' moorings. The paid for moorings at Little Venice can be identified because there are locked gates blocking public access. You can download a list of all of the mooring sites from www.waterscape.com

 

I should add that I will probably be afloat 5 days per week so I would need some security or people looking out for me I should think.

 

Why don't you do what we did? Buy a boat on it's mooring? There are always a few on sale, it might not be the perfect boat, but you can always swap it for a better one. Of course what you must do is to get it in writing that the mooring will be transferred to you if you buy the boat, remember for the majority of BW moorings (but not Limehouse, for instance) you cannot get the mooring transferred to your name, that's why it is important to make your own checks.

 

VC Marine and Boatshop sell boats on moorings, there are also some often on Apollo Duck. IMO it's by far the easiest and most stress free way to get afloat in London.

Edited August 16, 2009 by Lady Muck

[GT6]

Thank you all for your replies. I suspected that getting a mooring 1st would be the better way to go. Not having the benefit of what has gone before I find it strange that mooring can effectively be passed on with the sale of a boat, something that is not actually owned and yet has value. I'm surprised also that landlords allow this and presumably don't even get a cut.

 

I saw a 37ft boat that was for sale which was very basic being sold for 45k. I would have thought the boat has a value of about 25k so would it be fair to say that the mooring represents 20k of the purchase price? This was a London mooring which are something of hens teeth it would appear! Anyway enough mutterings from me, thanks again and I look forward to the day I can enter the fold.

 

Dave

[sueb]

Make sure that the boat mooring can be passed on. Some can't, check with BW

[sociable_hermit]

Make sure that the boat mooring can be passed on. Some can't, check with BW

On the other hand, some can, but BW are always very reluctant to tell you this - making their advice somewhat suspect. They generally say "No, that's against the rules" on principle.

[SarahB]

Do you really need a central London mooring or could you venture slightly further afield and look at moorings such as Packet, Apsley, Cow Roast or Brentford (that's the bit of London I know best so there may well be others)?

 

Still easy enough to get into central London and there may be slightly more availability?

[sueb]

On the other hand, some can, but BW are always very reluctant to tell you this - making their advice somewhat suspect. They generally say "No, that's against the rules" on principle.

I know of someone who sold his boat with mooring - he had a winter mooring

Sue

[Proper Job]

I know of someone who sold his boat with mooring - he had a winter mooring

Sue

I bet that came as a bit of a surprise to the new owner at the end of March

 

He may have just said that mooring fees where paid for up until the end of March?

[debbifiggy]

Hi all,

 

This is my 1st post so excuse any ignorance. I'm sold on getting a narrowboat, I very nearly got there a few years ago and a mooring in London finally came up but I had just gone through the expense of buying a flat so the timing was not good.

 

At the moment I must be bottom of the pile when it comes to finding a mooring between say Regent's Canal and Limehouse. Can anyone give me some advice if I should wait for a mooring before taking the plunge (as it were) or whether setting up on the tow path is a feasible option until one turns up?

 

Also are all the boats between Little Venice and Kings Cross or in Lea Valley on moorings or are those technically tow path?

 

I should add that I will probably be afloat 5 days per week so I would need some security or people looking out for me I should think.

 

Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

 

With all best wishes to you for your new life but please do you research first and if you can't get a proper residential mooring in central London before you get your boat please think very very very hard before doing it as probably at least 500 people have attempted this over the last 12 months on a variety of craft from huge wide beams to dinky little cruisers and there just isn't the room any more. It is getting very very crowded between Enfield and Uxbridge and there have been no new marinas, no new online moorings and basically nowhere to go. Genuine cruising visitors to London also struggle for space.

 

I have heard that there may be a residential mooring coming up for tender at Engineers Wharf at Northolt and some leisure (i.e. non residential) moorings coming up at Uxbridge, Cowley, Springwell and even Harlow.

 

Whatever you do I hope it works as non continuous cruising in London and many other places like Bathampton on the K&A and Milton Keynes on the GU and other places is fast becoming increasingly impossible for many reasons, mainly too many people trying to do the same thing, particularly if they've got wide beam craft taking up twice the space!

 

Best of luck,

 

D