Stoke Bruerne Visitor Moorings

[sueb]

Has anyone been charged for overstaying in the car park? I know for years the key to the wheel clamp was missing so we never paid. This mooring initiative will be a flash in the pan. Give it time then ignore it

[Leo No2]

Tonight your Stoke Bruerne correspondent has needs to have a bit of a moan but first the figures:

 

There's space for 3 x 70', 3 x 60' and 1 x 30'. With the Bank Holiday and Stoke Bruerne 'Pirate Weekend' just a day or so away I am surprised it is not jammed but it's not.

 

My moan is that there is a former working boat on the disabled moorings which arrived but an hour ago and it's been locked up and the curtains drawn - now they could have gone to either of the pubs or the Spice of Bruerne but my gut feel is perhaps not judging by the age of the child. When there is plenty of space around why dump yourself (and lock up) on a mooring someone else may need more than you? It doesn't give boaters a good name and in this case especially the historic boaters. Moan over.

 

ETA: No updates for a few days as I am off down to the Thames to give my boat some exercise with Byfleet Boat Club.

 

Edited August 21, 2013 by Leo No2

[jenlyn]

A few of us will be mooring there over the weekend. Protesting over the whole issue. We will not obstruct or cause any disruption.

[Leo No2]

A few of us will be mooring there over the weekend. Protesting over the whole issue. We will not obstruct or cause any disruption.

Steve - would you be good enough to try and work out how much space there is available at about 20:00 each evening - just a gut feel for how many @ 70', 60', 40' and 30' from the tunnel mouth to the disabled moorings. Either drop the figures (if you can do them) into the museum for me or just PM me.

[jenlyn]

Steve - would you be good enough to try and work out how much space there is available at about 20:00 each evening - just a gut feel for how many @ 70', 60', 40' and 30' from the tunnel mouth to the disabled moorings. Either drop the figures (if you can do them) into the museum for me or just PM me.

Yep, no problem :-)

[sueb]

Tonight your Stoke Bruerne correspondent has needs to have a bit of a moan but first the figures:

 

There's space for 3 x 70', 3 x 60' and 1 x 30'. With the Bank Holiday and Stoke Bruerne 'Pirate Weekend' just a day or so away I am surprised it is not jammed but it's not.

 

My moan is that there is a former working boat on the disabled moorings which arrived but an hour ago and it's been locked up and the curtains drawn - now they could have gone to either of the pubs or the Spice of Bruerne but my gut feel is perhaps not judging by the age of the child. When there is plenty of space around why dump yourself (and lock up) on a mooring someone else may need more than you? It doesn't give boaters a good name and in this case especially the historic boaters. Moan over.

 

ETA: No updates for a few days as I am off down to the Thames to give my boat some exercise with Byfleet Boat Club.

 

 

Is there any reason why someone on the boat may not be disabled? I know when hubby had his stroke a lady on a pair of boats also had a stroke at Stoke Bruerne.

 

 

[Leo No2]

Is there any reason why someone on the boat may not be disabled? I know when hubby had his stroke a lady on a pair of boats also had a stroke at Stoke Bruerne.

 

Two of them walked quite happily past my front door and the other was more than capable of managing the boat without them. An assumption? Sure it was but it was the first mooring they came to and they spent a day and a half on the water point last week!

[Ray]

The visitor moorings at the bottom of the flight were over-full at about 2.30pm yesterday afternoon - one boat seemed to have managed to get themselves on the last couple of rings at the north end with the stern unsecured.

 

There was even a hire boat on the most southerly of the 14 day moorings.

 

I think these and other proposals overlook the fact that irregular or new boaters e.g. hirers, don't always appreciate the difference in the VM types. Consequently the above mentioned hire boat may have just stopped for lunch but by doing so may have prevented someone who wanted to stay for 3 or 4 days from doing so - they were heading north and had taken the first mooring space they came to (which I accept may have been the last one vacant). Should the longer period moorings have a minimum stay period condition e.g. Minimum stay 1 day, Maximum stay 7 days?

[Leo No2]

The visitor moorings at the bottom of the flight were over-full at about 2.30pm yesterday afternoon - one boat seemed to have managed to get themselves on the last couple of rings at the north end with the stern unsecured.

 

There was even a hire boat on the most southerly of the 14 day moorings.

 

I think these and other proposals overlook the fact that irregular or new boaters e.g. hirers, don't always appreciate the difference in the VM types. Consequently the above mentioned hire boat may have just stopped for lunch but by doing so may have prevented someone who wanted to stay for 3 or 4 days from doing so - they were heading north and had taken the first mooring space they came to (which I accept may have been the last one vacant). Should the longer period moorings have a minimum stay period condition e.g. Minimum stay 1 day, Maximum stay 7 days?

Ray - on this map (http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/library/3979.pdf) there is shown 50m of 2H moorings at the bottom of the flight. I think we should ask (I'll take responsibility for it) CRT to replace any maps they have (the one at the Top lock is very out-of-date) with ones showing the mooring restrictions together with the current information they are showing (I think there may only be a map at the Top lock) with a 'You are here' annotation. That should make it easier (especially for hirers whose first language may not be English) to understand. I find the wording shown currently quite complex.

 

ETA - if there is only one map then I'll add to my E-mail to CRT that there should be one at the beginning of the restrictions (both ends) and anywhere else within the flight there is restricted mooring.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Leo No2

[sueb]

How many flipping signs are we going to have littered on the system? Can we start a 'get rid of signs' campaign ?

[luctor et emergo]

The coming winter may take care of that..

[ditchcrawler]

The visitor moorings at the bottom of the flight were over-full at about 2.30pm yesterday afternoon - one boat seemed to have managed to get themselves on the last couple of rings at the north end with the stern unsecured.

 

There was even a hire boat on the most southerly of the 14 day moorings.

 

I think these and other proposals overlook the fact that irregular or new boaters e.g. hirers, don't always appreciate the difference in the VM types. Consequently the above mentioned hire boat may have just stopped for lunch but by doing so may have prevented someone who wanted to stay for 3 or 4 days from doing so - they were heading north and had taken the first mooring space they came to (which I accept may have been the last one vacant). Should the longer period moorings have a minimum stay period condition e.g. Minimum stay 1 day, Maximum stay 7 days?

I often moor on 14 day moorings, but probably only stay overnight.

[Kwacker]

Two of them walked quite happily past my front door and the other was more than capable of managing the boat without them. An assumption? Sure it was but it was the first mooring they came to and they spent a day and a half on the water point last week!

It is good that you are including the immobile & incorrectly moored boats. Do you think they will still be able to do it after the new rules come in?

[nicknorman]

 

I often moor on 14 day moorings, but probably only stay overnight.

Naughty! According to Ray, once one has touched the bank (14 day mooring unless otherwise notified) one must stay for at least 24 hrs. I will need to re-plan our next trip!

[ditchcrawler]

 

Naughty! According to Ray, once one has touched the bank (14 day mooring unless otherwise notified) one must stay for at least 24 hrs. I will need to re-plan our next trip!

But I have seen him moored down the Ashby and he didn't stay for 14 days

[Ray]

The point I was trying to make was simply that I feel some consideration needs to be given to those who have a bona fide reason to need to stay in an area for more than 24/48 hours in areas where both long (7 & 14 day) and short term (say, 2 days or less) nominated moorings are in close proximity and where, having passed said long term moorings the next guaranteed long term mooring place is all but 2 hours cruising time away (as can happen in flights of closely spaced locks near tunnels and further short term moorings as happens when travelling north through Stoke Bruerne.

 

I don't suggest that a minimum stay period should apply to the towpath away from VMs.

 

If you pass the 14 day moorings at the bottom of Stoke Bruerne there are a couple of similar berths towards the top of the flight, which may or may not be free. The moorings between the top lock and the tunnel are all short term and mooring on the tunnel is not generally accepted! The area immediately north of the tunnel is not conducive to mooring because it is too shallow. The VMs at the bottom of the lock are north of a long raised wall so one would have to reverse some distance past said wall to get back to a towpath area bellow the locks where mooring is practical. Not all people would feel confident in doing so.

[Jerra]

The point I was trying to make was simply that I feel some consideration needs to be given to those who have a bona fide reason to need to stay in an area for more than 24/48 hours in areas where both long (7 & 14 day) and short term (say, 2 days or less) nominated moorings are in close proximity

That is basically a sound point however I (from my personal point of view) would have a problem with it.

 

You are approaching an area where you wish to stop say to go to the shops. You see what is obviously a mooring and see a sign which says 14 days. Oh good I don't want to stay that long I am OK to moor - so you do.

 

Many boaters (certainly me) don't have an encyclopaedia like knowledge of VM and won't be aware that there are (or should that be may be) short term moorings just a little along the canal. What am I expected to do cruise past and hope there will be short term moorings further up or do the logical thing moor and go and do my shopping?

[ditchcrawler]

If I get to a busy place like SB or Braunston I stop in the first available.

[Tim]

I don't believe it! Now a complaint about under-staying.

[RLWP]

I don't believe it! Now a complaint about under-staying.

 

 

Richard

[matty40s]

I visited Foxton today, late afternoon, and in the interest of spotting congestion and lack of moorings (allegedly), noticed that at 6pm there were only 4 boats moored on the 2 day moorings above the top lock, leaving space for about 5 more. Beyond bridge 60 (outside the "zone") there were 4 boats moored with plenty of space for another 5 or 6 on pilings.
At the bottom of the locks, there was plenty of space ( 3 moored boats, room for another 5 plus).
No boats were moored outside the pub or on the opposite bank.

Congestion my arse.

 

Small hand laminated notices state that the new restrictions start tommorow, however, several are missing in action already.Leaving the top lock and mooring up, you would be excused staying 10 days in a period and then maybe paying £25 for extra days - the 2 day mooring sign has gone.

 

As per another observation earlier in the thread, the car park (£1.50 per day) has a number to ring if you wish to stay longer and pay extra - the canal boats have no such number to ring.

Considering that there is a bank holiday this weekend, and the weather was nice, Foxton was suprisingly quiet, not just foot visitors, but boats moving as well.

Edited August 23, 2013 by matty40s

[c c]

If I see 7day, 2day, 10 day, areas, zones and bridge numbers all on the same notice, my mind goes blank and by the time I have worked out what the author actually meant, I will have certainly overstayed.

[matty40s]

If I see 7day, 2day, 10 day, areas, zones and bridge numbers all on the same notice, my mind goes blank and by the time I have worked out what the author actually meant, I will have certainly overstayed.

If you were coming up the flight without a stop on the moorings at the bottom, you could easily overstay as the small pillar lacking notices is the only thing you would see before mooring up. The large notice is by bridge 60 where all the pedestrians from the car park can read it.

[Mike Tee]

That would be at variance with what CRT management said would happen, when they held the workshops.

 

You are supposed to get a positive notification from the watdens BEFORE you end up overstaying - charges should never come as an unexpected surprise!

 

The charges, incidentally will be seperaty invoiced to you at the address they have for licensing puposes. They do NOT have legal powers to use money you send them for a licence to settle any other debt instead, nor can they refuse you a licence if there are other charges they have invoiced you for, but not paid.

 

All the above were conceded by both Jeff Whyatt and Sally Ash at various points in the discussions and/or workshops.

Alan, my comment was a bit tongue in cheek - is that how they are suposed to do it? You get approached by a warden, perhaps giving you the option to move on before incurring this charge? If so, although I disagree with the whole idea, at least anybody being charged will have had the option to 'get out of Dodge before noon'.

[matty40s]

Apparently, there is no mooring warden back until Monday, one is on holiday and the other one only visits Monday.....