Living aboard in Oxford - Mooring

[samuelthomson]

Hello!

 

I'm moving to Oxford in September to start an MA and I've been thinking about getting a narrowboat to live on whilst I'm there. A room in a house would be £400/month minimum and I'd much rather put the £5000 living costs for the year towards a boat instead (I realise some of that would go on various licences, fuel and fees, but I'd imagine less than half).

 

I've started to research boats and their costs, and I've spent a day travelling through London with friends on their narrowboat, I want to illustrate that this isn't an idle fantasy but something that I'm considering carefully.

 

However, from my research it seems that Oxford is a difficult place to find a mooring. I called up Osney Mill and was surprised that they have no residential moorings and weren't able to suggest anywhere else I might call. I asked about continuous cruising, and was told there wasn't anywhere I'd be able to stay near Oxford for more than a night or two at a time (whereas most of London seemed to work on a 14 day basis).

 

At this point, I'd be open to either a permanent mooring or cruising and I wondered if anyone had any recommendations for either. Apparently its possible to apply for an Agenda 21 mooring, so advice on this would also be well received. I'm planning on visiting Oxford in the next week to do some ground work, so please let me know if you'd like to meet

 

 

Sam

 

P.S. I'd also be interested if anyone was looking to rent space on a boat that they used lightly.

 

 

 

[Lmcgrath87]

Well, our mooring near Reading costs us just shy of £5k a year...with license/insurance/fuel/maintenance etc on top of that. Are you looking to moor on the Thames? Because that is not a CRT waterway. hence the difference in rules to a CRT canal. It is managed by the Environment Agency.

[MtB]

Hello!

 

I'm moving to Oxford in September to start an MA and I've been thinking about getting a narrowboat to live on whilst I'm there.

 

 

Surprisingly you're not the only person to come up with this idea, which is why there is so much demand for moorings near Oxford.

 

There is no way to my knowledge of applying for one of the Agenda 21 moorings. You have to wait until one to become vacant then bid for it against everyone else when CRT get around to auctioning it. Oddly, the last time I saw one come up for auction a couple of years ago, there was only one bid IIRC, so it went for the reserve price of about £2.5k.

[ditchcrawler]

There are moorings here and the mooring plus licence plus insurance plus running costs will be well above half of your £5K I would say

 

 

Surprisingly you're not the only person to come up with this idea, which is why there is so much demand for moorings near Oxford.

 

There is no way to my knowledge of applying for one of the Agenda 21 moorings. You have to wait until one to become vacant then bid for it against everyone else when CRT get around to auctioning it. Oddly, the last time I saw one come up for auction a couple of years ago, there was only one bid IIRC, so it went for the reserve price of about £2.5k.

If you sell a boat on them are they transferable, that could be an option if he doesnt have a boat.

[lampini]

 

Oddly, the last time I saw one come up for auction a couple of years ago, there was only one bid IIRC, so it went for the reserve price of about £2.5k.

 

Saw a boat for sale recently already on an A21 mooring, it was a proper rotting heap and the price nearly made me spit cornflakes all over my keyboard! CCing round Oxford is asking for a bunch of stress IMHO, 'specially if your'e trying to study too.

 

Maybe reading this thread would help?

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=70490&hl=+oxford%20+enforcement&page=1

[john6767]

 

Saw a boat for sale recently already on an A21 mooring, it was a proper rotting heap and the price nearly made me spit cornflakes all over my keyboard! CCing round Oxford is asking for a bunch of stress IMHO, 'specially if your'e trying to study too.

 

Maybe reading this thread would help?

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=70490&hl=+oxford%20+enforcement&page=1

Are Agenda 21 moorings transferable?

[lampini]

Are Agenda 21 moorings transferable?

 

Not sure - i wondered this when i saw it... the rest of the ad was a pi$$-take so probly not!

[youthoftoday]

Your best best is Daily Info - dailyinfo.co.uk . There's usually some boats for sale. I won't comment on their quality, but caveat emptor. There's a local problem of less-than-stellar boats going for too much money because of moorings / scarcity on the canal.

 

As someone who lives in a residential mooring in Oxford (and who got lucky) I can tell you that they are literally like hen's teeth. I wish you the best of luck, but you should adjust your expectations. There's a couple of marinas / moorings - e.g. at Port Meadow, Osney, Abingdon but they are non-residential. Some people cheat.

 

Also, this is an ongoing local issue which can colour some people's views of boaters: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/13373026.Canal_boat_squatters_say_cost_of_moorings_leaves_no_option/

Edited July 7, 2015 by youthoftoday

[MtB]

Are Agenda 21 moorings transferable?

 

Are any CRT moorings transferable?

[john6767]

 

Are any CRT moorings transferable?

I didn't think so hence the question.

[MtB]

I didn't think so hence the question.

 

I thought not too, but I've an idea BWML moorings are transferable. Do BWML moorings count as CRT, given CRT own BWML?

I guess it also depends what is meant by transferable. Does a CRT moorings automatically terminate if you sell the boat? I suspect not, as one must be able to put one's new boat on one's existing mooring if up/downgrading.

 

OTOH, has anyone here ever bought a boat on a CRT mooring and taken over the moorings agreement too?

[alan_fincher]

 

Are any CRT moorings transferable?

 

 

I didn't think so hence the question.

 

This post says they are.

 

(Or at least were in 2007).

[john6767]

Google brings up this old auction for an Agenda 21 mooring in Oxford

 

https://www.crtmoorings.com/vacancy/vacancy_details.php?id=2727

 

I can't see anything that says that is is transferable in the "view the local rules" and I presume the standard CRT rules say it is not transferable.

[MtB]

And I note from the listing it went for £3,700 a year.

 

The OP isn't going to save a bean by moving onto a narrowboat by the time licence, insurance and miscellaneous running costs are taken into account.

(And that was £3.7k four years ago!)

[samuelthomson]

Thanks for such a quick response!

 

I see what you mean about not saving much when mooring costs are considered. As always, I'd hoped to find something out of the ordinary, eg, someone able to rent half a double mooring or similar.

The thread you suggested was good reading, I would be skirting the limits of acceptability during term-time, although I'd venture further whenever possible and might only be in the area for 10 months total. People I've spoken to in London seem to find CCing relatively easy and I'm surprised it gets harder in Oxford but Hey ho, as the saying goes. Is there a map of visitor moorings available from the CRT or similar, and is it really that hard to moor for 7+ days at a time?

 

@Lmcgrath87, So then the shorter staying-times are due to Environment Agency rules?

 

@Mike, Yes, I make no claims for originality and I've no doubt that the area suffers enough inexperienced boaters even with the few that make it onto the water

 

@youthoftoday If anything, this article suggests there's plenty of potential for mooring space

 

@John6767 Here's an advert for a boat with a "transferable" Agenda 21 mooring, I don't know if this helps: http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=419758

 

I've actually been looking at boats all over the country (which I'd then bring to Oxford) because they do seem to get both more expensive and more dilapidated in the south.

[bottle]

 

People I've spoken to in London seem to find CCing relatively easy

 

Yes but they have more than one canal and one river that are navigable.

 

Link to info for boating on C&RT waters https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating

 

and if you do not get a permanent mooring this: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring/want-to-be-a-continuous-cruiser

 

The Thames (Environment Agency) have different rules and costs.

[youthoftoday]

There's tonnes of potential mooring space on the Thames. I was talking about officially recognised mooring space.

 

There are boats parked up the towpath in town and downstream that have been there for months. Possibly years, I can't remember.

[Athy]

It is also worth checking with local marinas to ascertain their definition of "residential". For example, if you are likely to be on your boat only during term times, i.e. about 30 to 35 weeks per year, this may not be considered as residential use.

[MtB]

@John6767 Here's an advert for a boat with a "transferable" Agenda 21 mooring, I don't know if this helps: http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=419758

 

 

Interesting!

 

I'd get you solicitor to check out both the transferability of the mooring AND the security of tenure if I were you, as that boat is probably worth only about £20k off the mooring. At £55k it is, shall we say, ambitiously priced. But a £35k premium for good security of tenure is probably a good deal.

 

I can't see any mention in the advert of the annual mooring fee, other than that they claim it is paid until Dec 2015.

P.S. lovely rare engine though!

[Athy]

 

P.S. lovely rare engine though!

Lister "Freedom Range", you have the freedom to transfer the mooring to a new owner!

[alan_fincher]

 

I can't see any mention in the advert of the annual mooring fee, other than that they claim it is paid until Dec 2015.

 

As it is a CRT mooring, the current pricing should be freely available in their current long term moorings price list, freely available on their site.

 

I'm not currently using a suitable device to go looking though - it will be a PDF document, from memory.

 

EDIT:

 

Just looked up Oxford "Agenda 21" Residential moorings. Current CRT pricing is £111.79 per metre, per year, so for this boat (21 metes) about £2,348 per year (VAT included).

 

So what is the verdict of the jury, then?

 

Old Agenda 21 moorings sold with a boat often do have the right to transfer to another owner, whereas any given up now, and which CRT re-auction do not?

 

I'm struggling to see why anyone would ever give one up - surely if you wanted to move your boat away, you would try to acquire another cheap boat, put it on the mooring, then quicklky resell it for far more, but with the mooring rights?

Edited July 8, 2015 by alan_fincher

[fittie]

My little girl is also doing an MA at Oxford next academic year and we already own a boat and still do not think that her living on it for term time is a option re cost.

Contact your college and enquire about accommodation within the college system. If the college has post grad accommodation I would go for that option - no extra costs (electric etc all in) and you get a scout (cleaner) as well, well at Hertford College you do.

[FadeToScarlet]

I think that from a cost and practicality point of view, you will be better off in college postgrad accommodation than on a boat, especially if you're trying to CC.

 

Say it's 10pm and you're doing some prep work for a seminar you're teaching the next day, but the batteries are low and you need to charge your laptop. What do you do? Trying to get into town for a meeting with your supervisor, but having to come in from Banbury because you've moored up there, and the busses are massively delayed. Or even saying, "I can't come to the pub tonight, I have to move the boat for two hours to empty the poo tank and get a new gas bottle." Or the boat gets broken into and your laptop with your thesis on gets stolen.

 

I did a postgrad degree when living aboard on a full residential mooring, and even that was tricky enough- there were always boat jobs that needed doing, just when I needed the time to work on my dissertations or planning.

 

I think it could well just add another layer of stress. Yes, there can be benefits to boating, and it could be a good escape from academic pressures, but I think the dis benefits outweigh the benefits.

[MtB]

I think it could well just add another layer of stress. Yes, there can be benefits to boating, and it could be a good escape from academic pressures, but I think the dis benefits outweigh the benefits.

 

 

I think you're bang on with all that.

 

But "dis benefits"... I'm guessing your degree isn't in English, haha!

[exfire]

_{disbenefit-----------disadvantage,impediment,setback,hinderance,negative item,}