Has CRT lost the plot on fundraising? Missing the obvious?

[Laurence Hogg]

Looking at the plethora of bits and bobs which arrive via email and or the post which are all begging letters in disguise I am becoming a little worried they have lost the plot.

We have offices full of staff with fancy titles and sub depts. to run and yet what are they trying to achieve?

You can stand on a towpath for months begging and get virtually nothing, lets face it the towpath users aren't going to pay for usual trek they have been doing for years.

You can chase Marks and Spencer and maybe get a one off donation but heck there's a far more profitable group to engage than them.

 

They are called BOAT OWNERS, yes CRT may not have them in their sights for the right reasons, because if you strove to get people to buy boats and use them on the water instantly your income goes up, not by a few quid a day but by the cost of licencing and mooring.

 

I think its fair to say the average boat licenced and moored in a CRT mooring will be shelling out around £2500 per year to CRT.

 

As boat numbers are dropping so is CRT related income, so why aren't they encouraging people to buy boats? They could even partner up with a finance company and help provide funding for purchasers.

 

It does seem to me thy cant see the wood for the trees, getting boats on the water, annual payments of high value to the coffers has got to better than employing chuggers and hoping to rope in friends which is so far an awful long way from its target amount.

 

I put this suggestion to Peter Mathews of the West Midland Partnership and he wholeheartedly agreed it was a very sensible one to run with, whether he gets anywhere with the MK mafia is another thing.

[Delta9]

Maybe if they relaxed the 14 day rule and allowed CCing within smaller areas it would encourage more liveaboards. That would also save them some money on enforcement costs, so a win win.

[junior]

Maybe if they relaxed the 14 day rule and allowed CCing within smaller areas it would encourage more liveaboards. That would also save them some money on enforcement costs, so a win win.

I wonder if they'd loose just as much money from people giving up a mooring they pay for as it isn't required anymore? I dare say all the marinas and boatyards would kick off too as their income plummets.

[cotswoldsman]

ay, 03:58 PM

Firstly not sure how profitable a company has to be in your books Laurance but M&S made a profit of £661 million last year, they have a complete dept for charitable giving and are very generous yes there are always 2 motives when companies donate but CRT does fit their criteria.

 

last I heard friends were over 11,000 and growing now the sun is out I would expect that to grow considerably I think Ruth has done an amazing job considering a Friend gets very little in return.

Yes getting more boats on the system would help but it is a fairly minority market.

Maybe boaters should do more to encourage Friends to join

[bassplayer]

I wonder if they'd loose just as much money from people giving up a mooring they pay for as it isn't required anymore? I dare say all the marinas and boatyards would kick off too as their income plummets.

Maybe Dean could start a poll. I'm on my phone so dont know how. 'How many boaters with a current home mooring would give it up if the 14 day rule/law was abolished?'.

[Sabcat]

I wonder if they'd loose just as much money from people giving up a mooring they pay for as it isn't required anymore? I dare say all the marinas and boatyards would kick off too as their income plummets.

 

If I could moor over the other side of the cut from me now with no pressure to move more than a short distance I don't think I would. Sure, I'd not be paying mooring and council tax which between them would leave me a few grand a year better off but the security and convenience of a fixed mooring suits me down to the ground and I'm sure it does many other live aboards.

 

If I was on a CRT tow path mooring with no facilities I'd be gone like a shot though but then, are CRT taking the piss charging for them in the first place?

[Naughty Cal]

Maybe Dean could start a poll. I'm on my phone so dont know how. 'How many boaters with a current home mooring would give it up if the 14 day rule/law was abolished?'.

It may come as a surprise to you but not everyone wants to dump their boat on the towpath indefinitely.

 

Change the record, it's getting a tad boring now.

[jenlyn]

The way they are throwing money at shoesmiths and the courts, I would suspect the equivalent amount they collect from "friends" is just about breaking even.

[Delta9]

 

 

If I was on a CRT tow path mooring with no facilities I'd be gone like a shot though but then, are CRT taking the piss charging for them in the first place?

I think they are.

 

Similar to you, I wouldn't give up my home mooring. I like the shoreline, laundry facilities, security and car park.

[bassplayer]

 

If I could moor over the other side of the cut from me now with no pressure to move more than a short distance I don't think I would. Sure, I'd not be paying mooring and council tax which between them would leave me a few grand a year better off but the security and convenience of a fixed mooring suits me down to the ground and I'm sure it does many other live aboards.

 

If I was on a CRT tow path mooring with no facilities I'd be gone like a shot though but then, are CRT taking the piss charging for them in the first place?

I think they are charging too much but the auction prices reflect supply and demand. I'm pretty sure winter moorings would have taken off more if the price was right.

[jenlyn]

 

 

Change the record, it's getting a tad boring now.

No more so than some of your posts I feel.

(Prefer a CD or iPlayer myself.)

[bassplayer]

It may come as a surprise to you but not everyone wants to dump their boat on the towpath indefinitely.

 

Change the record, it's getting a tad boring now.

So it's Ok for others to discuss the subject but not me. Don't be pathetic.

 

This forum is full of threads and posts which go around in circles. If you don't like it join a river or sea forum.

[Naughty Cal]

So it's Ok for others to discuss the subject but not me. Don't be pathetic.

 

This forum is full of threads and posts which go around in circles. If you don't like it join a river or sea forum.

I already have. They complain about raggies. In fact I'm coming to the conclusion that raggies and narrowboaters are of the same breed.

No more so than some of your posts I feel.

(Prefer a CD or iPlayer myself.)

CD's are a bit old hat!

[bassplayer]

I already have. They complain about raggies. In fact I'm coming to the conclusion that raggies and narrowboaters are of the same breed.

 

CD's are a bit old hat!

So if the 14 day restriction was lifted, would you give up your home mooring? Presuming you have one...

[Naughty Cal]

So if the 14 day restriction was lifted, would you give up your home mooring? Presuming you have one...

No I wouldn't for exactly the same reasons I stated in the other topic where it has been discussed.

 

We like somewhere safe to keep the boat, somewhere safe to keep the car whilst we are out on the boat, the knowledge that we have a designated, guaranteed mooring space in a flood protected basin, access to electric and water, nice shore based facilities, workshops on site and a generally nice environment with nice staff who look out for the boats.

[bassplayer]

No I wouldn't for exactly the same reasons I stated in the other topic where it has been discussed.

 

We like somewhere safe to keep the boat, somewhere safe to keep the car whilst we are out on the boat, the knowledge that we have a designated, guaranteed mooring space in a flood protected basin, access to electric and water, nice shore based facilities, workshops on site and a generally nice environment with nice staff who look out for the boats.

Just trying to gauge whether marinas would actually lose loads of business as some suggest.

[Naughty Cal]

Just trying to gauge whether marinas would actually lose loads of business as some suggest.

It would more likely be people on CRT long term moorings with little or no facilities who would give up their moorings. CRT would lose out in that case.

[peterboat]

Maybe if they relaxed the 14 day rule and allowed CCing within smaller areas it would encourage more liveaboards. That would also save them some money on enforcement costs, so a win win.

No the OP wanted people to pay for mooring the last thing they want is more boats not paying

 

Peter

[Arthur Marshall]

I don't think abolishing the 14 day rule would make a bit of difference to most of us with home moorings. If you've got a leisure boat, the last thing you want to do in the few weeks or months you manage to go boating is hang about the same bit for weeks on end. Home moorings make sense if you want your boat to stay in the same place - it's safe, you've got somewhere to park, facilities if you want them or not if you don't.

 

As far as I can see, the 14 day rule only really affects people who are using their boats for cheap housing. If you got the boat to cruise the system it's not going to bother you except in rare moments of crisis which can usually be managed. Whether boats should be used for cheap housing is another matter but again there wouldn't be a problem if there were enough residential moorings, official or unofficial.

[peterboat]

ay, 03:58 PM

Firstly not sure how profitable a company has to be in your books Laurance but M&S made a profit of £661 million last year, they have a complete dept for charitable giving and are very generous yes there are always 2 motives when companies donate but CRT does fit their criteria.

 

last I heard friends were over 11,000 and growing now the sun is out I would expect that to grow considerably I think Ruth has done an amazing job considering a Friend gets very little in return.

Yes getting more boats on the system would help but it is a fairly minority market.

Maybe boaters should do more to encourage Friends to join

Virtual greenie John

 

Peter

[pete.i]

I already have. They complain about raggies. In fact I'm coming to the conclusion that raggies and narrowboaters are of the same breed.

CD's are a bit old hat!

What's a "raggie." Have I just become a raggie because I have sold my narrowboat and bought a cruiser with a canopy??

[bassplayer]

No the OP wanted people to pay for mooring the last thing they want is more boats not paying

 

Peter

But they are paying. The point was, why chuck any boat off the system if they are contributing with their licence fee, not upsetting anyone and not wearing out the infrastructure.

[jenlyn]

 

 

As far as I can see, the 14 day rule only really affects people who are using their boats for cheap housing. If you got the boat to cruise the system it's not going to bother you except in rare moments of crisis which can usually be managed. Whether boats should be used for cheap housing is another matter but again there wouldn't be a problem if there were enough residential moorings, official or unofficial.

I don't think that is a very fair statement Arthur. I live aboard, and I can assure you it's not for "cheap housing".

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Just trying to gauge whether marinas would actually lose loads of business as some suggest.

Unless they scrapped the 14 day rule and we actually saw marinas going bust everything else is just opinion. Unfortunately once the marinas had gone bust it would then be a bit late to then say, 'OK it wasn't such a good idea, we'll bring the 14 day rule back'.

 

To that end then, my opinion is that a lot of leisure boaters who want a boat for the minimum cost would be quite happy to then leave it on the towpath somewhere near to their home address for nothing, instead of a marina at considerable cost. They can then periodically pop around to check up on the boat themselves rather than drive for an hour or so to the marina. The guy who had my boat before me only wanted it for leisure purposes and tried leaving it around the towpath in the Market Harbourough area for the 2 years he had it, and picked up a couple of patrol notices for his trouble. He was however quite happy to risk it, if there was no longer any risk I suspect a lot more people would do it. If significant numbers began to come out of the marinas the costs for those remaining would inevitably increase since the marina owners have a business plan that involves a certain amount of profit and it would probably be the start of a domino effect leading to a situation whereby only seriously wealthy boat owners could afford to keep their boats in a marina, everyone else would leave it on the towpath, and since there would now be a lot more boats on the towpath it would statistically reduce the chance of your boat being the one broken into.

 

Of course once the marinas start to fold you are then going to become increasingly reliant of the fuel boats to get your diesel,gas,coal etc which may be a good thing provided you are in an area where they operate. If you aren't then there are going to be areas of the canal which will become less frequented if you cannot get services there.

 

I buy my licence in full knowledge of the 14 day requirement and comply with it. Why do people make the CC declaration if they have no intention of complying with it? Isn't that a bit dishonest?

[David Schweizer]

So it's Ok for others to discuss the subject but not me. Don't be pathetic.

 

This forum is full of threads and posts which go around in circles. If you don't like it join a river or sea forum.

 

But you have only one drum to beat and it is getting very repetitive.