immunity to CRT enforcement?

[magnetman]

Ok.

 

This is going to look like another winge but it isn't really.

 

One of my boats has no home mooring and I got up to fairly advanced (cc2?) Enforcement last year so I put it on the Thames to escape for a bit this summer I have been considering bringing it back to east london and "squatting the towpath" a bit.

 

I have noted that certain boats seem to be "immune" to enforcement and do simply remain in one place for well over two weeks.

 

Its ok I have been on the cut for 20 years so I am not naïve

 

Anyway. I am also not a dailymail type but I am now intrigued. I know there is the old gearbox broken story but are there any other well known "tricks of the trade" which help.

 

Wheelhouse too high to get under the bridge?

 

That sort of thing.

 

I understand that winter towpath moorings will no longer be available in London.

 

Where is this heading?

 

Typo edir

Edited August 23, 2015 by magnetman

[Guest]

Ok.

This is going to look like another winge but it isn't really.

One of my boats has no home mooring and I got up to fairly advanced (cc2?) Enforcement last year so I put it on the Thames to escape for a bit this summer I have been considering bringing it back to east london and "squatting the towpath" a bit.

I have noted that certain boats seem to be "immune" to enforcement and do simply remain in one place for well over two weeks.

Its ok I have been on the cut for 20 years so I am not naïve

Anyway. I am also not a dailymail type but I am now intrigued. I know there is the old gearbox broken story but are there any other well known "tricks of the trade" which help.

Wheelhouse too high to get under the bridge?

That sort of thing.

I understand that winter towpath moorings will no longer be available in London.

Where is this heading?

Typo edir

So in short you want hints and tips on how not to get caught whilst not adhering to the terms and conditions of your licence?

 

Remarkable.

[steven wilkinson]

I didn't see it like that. On dry land you see it all the time from the authorities - they will go for an easy option, the least amount of hassle as possible.

[magnetman]

So in short you want hints and tips on how not to get caught whilst not adhering to the terms and conditions of your licence?

 

Remarkable.

 

Good night

[abraxus]

My only advice magnet is that you might need a bigger keepnet.

[Guest]

My only advice magnet is that you might need a bigger keepnet.

Very good. Some proper humour at last.

[Barry]

Ok.

 

This is going to look like another winge but it isn't really.

 

One of my boats has no home mooring and I got up to fairly advanced (cc2?) Enforcement last year so I put it on the Thames to escape for a bit this summer I have been considering bringing it back to east london and "squatting the towpath" a bit.

 

I have noted that certain boats seem to be "immune" to enforcement and do simply remain in one place for well over two weeks.

 

Its ok I have been on the cut for 20 years so I am not naïve

 

Anyway. I am also not a dailymail type but I am now intrigued. I know there is the old gearbox broken story but are there any other well known "tricks of the trade" which help.

 

Wheelhouse too high to get under the bridge?

 

That sort of thing.

 

I understand that winter towpath moorings will no longer be available in London.

 

Where is this heading?

 

Typo edir

 

There's a wide beam moored just at the entrance to Apsley marina. It has a "for sale" sign on the towpath beside it. I noticed it was there long enough for them to cut the grass with a strimmer from time to time. Speaking to someone from the marina this boat used to moor in the marina itself but gave up the mooring and moved to the towpath. But they never returned their key to the marina facilities. Apparently they've been in that spot for several months and still use the marina facilities as and when they please.

 

I asked the guy who related this to me if they had ever been subject to enforcement. His reply was a wink and "He knows some people at CRT".

 

I have no idea if that is true or not but the wide beam owner seems to be sitting in a very nice position. He's sussed it, it would seem.

[Guest]

There's a wide beam moored just at the entrance to Apsley marina. It has a "for sale" sign on the towpath beside it. I noticed it was there long enough for them to cut the grass with a strimmer from time to time. Speaking to someone from the marina this boat used to moor in the marina itself but gave up the mooring and moved to the towpath. But they never returned their key to the marina facilities. Apparently they've been in that spot for several months and still use the marina facilities as and when they please.

 

I asked the guy who related this to me if they had ever been subject to enforcement. His reply was a wink and "He knows some people at CRT".

 

I have no idea if that is true or not but the wide beam owner seems to be sitting in a very nice position. He's sussed it, it would seem.

Utterly contemptible if true.

[Barry]

Utterly contemptible if true.

 

The boat has been there for several weeks. That I know to be true because it was there when we arrived at Apsley, was still there when we went back three weeks later, and still there when passed that way again some weeks after that.

 

The rest is hearsay

[MHS]

Ok.

 

This is going to look like another winge but it isn't really.

 

One of my boats has no home mooring and I got up to fairly advanced (cc2?) Enforcement last year so I put it on the Thames to escape for a bit this summer I have been considering bringing it back to east london

How many boats do you own?

Is it like Monty Python's Two sheds Jackson, or Labour grandee Jack Straw''s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th homes?

[MtB]

 

The boat has been there for several weeks. That I know to be true because it was there when we arrived at Apsley, was still there when we went back three weeks later, and still there when passed that way again some weeks after that.

 

The rest is hearsay

 

 

Ah but how do you know he doesn't move it the instant you are out of sight, only to put it back again just before you return?

 

(Just getting in before all the usual bleeding hearts pipe up with this as an explanation.)

 

He may alternatively have cut his finger and have a sick note, sustained whilst failing to mend his engine. Or even be settling into an 11 month wait for new stern tube bearings.

[Guest]

Ah but how do you know he doesn't move it the instant you are out of sight, only to put it back again just before you return?

 

(Just getting in before all the usual bleeding hearts pipe up with this as an explanation.)

 

He may alternatively have cut his finger and have a sick note, sustained whilst failing to mend his engine. Or even be settling into an 11 month wait for new stern tube bearings.

 

That is not the prime issue here though is it?

 

The bigger point is the suggestion somebody is mooring contrary to their licence conditions with no reasonable reason but with the full knowledge and consent of (somebody at) CRT.

 

That if true is what I find contemptible.

[NilesMI]

That if true is what I find contemptible.

 

What steps can be taken to find out if the story Bazza2 has heard from someone (and we have now heard from him) is actually true or not?

 

Putting the use of the marina facilities to one side, as that is clearly not something which CRT can deal with, even if the bare facts are true; that the boat has been in the same spot for several months, how can we know whether CRT is turning a blind eye or showing favouritism?

 

Could be CRT are aware of this boat and that unkown to the rest of us, enforcement has kicked off, but is not yet at the stage where the boat is being towed away? That would, after all, be more than a few months down the line.

 

 

To the OP who is deciding whether to "squat on the towpath" for a while, having reached cc2 level already, I would say the decision really depends on how much you love that particular boat and whether you have another handy place to "escape" to before you get into section 8 territory.

[Tony Dunkley]

 

What steps can be taken to find out if the story Bazza2 has heard from someone (and we have now heard from him) is actually true or not?

 

Putting the use of the marina facilities to one side, as that is clearly not something which CRT can deal with, even if the bare facts are true; that the boat has been in the same spot for several months, how can we know whether CRT is turning a blind eye or showing favouritism?

 

Could be CRT are aware of this boat and that unkown to the rest of us, enforcement has kicked off, but is not yet at the stage where the boat is being towed away? That would, after all, be more than a few months down the line.

 

 

To the OP who is deciding whether to "squat on the towpath" for a while, having reached cc2 level already, I would say the decision really depends on how much you love that particular boat and whether you have another handy place to "escape" to before you get into section 8 territory.

 

I think this is the most likely explanation for most of these apparently ''immune'' boats. The Section 8 process is very lengthy and slow moving when being incorrectly and inappropriately applied to boats that are, or may be, lived aboard.

[craftycarper]

That is not the prime issue here though is it?

The bigger point is the suggestion somebody is mooring contrary to their licence conditions with no reasonable reason but with the full knowledge and consent of (somebody at) CRT.

That if true is what I find contemptible.

. I,m afraid it's how the world works Martin, have you never heard the saying, it's not what you know,it's who you know, you would probably be better off saving your contempt for some of the bigger issue,s in life as this sort of thing gets worse the closer to the top of society you get, I mean someone gave Jimmy saville the keys to broadmoor, I think that's slightly more contemptible, than someone turning a blind I to an overstaying boat,

[Bod]

 

There's a wide beam moored just at the entrance to Apsley marina. It has a "for sale" sign on the towpath beside it. I noticed it was there long enough for them to cut the grass with a strimmer from time to time. Speaking to someone from the marina this boat used to moor in the marina itself but gave up the mooring and moved to the towpath. But they never returned their key to the marina facilities. Apparently they've been in that spot for several months and still use the marina facilities as and when they please.

 

I asked the guy who related this to me if they had ever been subject to enforcement. His reply was a wink and "He knows some people at CRT".

 

I have no idea if that is true or not but the wide beam owner seems to be sitting in a very nice position. He's sussed it, it would seem.

 

 

If the boat has a "Home Mooring" licence, does it need to move?

After all its still in the same 1 kilometre as its mooring.

 

Bod

[Alan de Enfield]

 

 

If the boat has a "Home Mooring" licence, does it need to move?

After all its still in the same 1 kilometre as its mooring.

 

Bod

 

Dodgy ground !!!

 

They have allegedly given up their mooring, if they have not notified C&RT of their change in 'circumstances' they have broken their licence conditions and, could have their licence revoked.

[kris88]

Or even be settling into an 11 month wait for new stern tube bearings.

You really should refrain from making "nasty" comments. If you don't like them being made about you. This is the second snide comment you have made about me in two days.

 

Regards kris

 

Do you want me to quote the one in the other thread. Wouldn't it be more honest to start a thread and we can discuss it.

[Allan(nb Albert)]

I think this is the most likely explanation for most of these apparently ''immune'' boats. The Section 8 process is very lengthy and slow moving when being incorrectly and inappropriately applied to boats that are, or may be, lived aboard.

It might be that BWML was not agreeable to the boat being sold privately in the marina and the owner has taken it just outside to sell it.

[Guest]

. I,m afraid it's how the world works Martin, have you never heard the saying, it's not what you know,it's who you know, you would probably be better off saving your contempt for some of the bigger issue,s in life as this sort of thing gets worse the closer to the top of society you get, I mean someone gave Jimmy saville the keys to broadmoor, I think that's slightly more contemptible, than someone turning a blind I to an overstaying boat,

 

When you hear of people being pursued quite vigorously by the Trust up to the point of losing their boats and then we seemingly have a case of somebodies overstay being sanctioned by somebody at the Trust (without a reasonable cause) then I found it wholly wrong and unjust.

 

People should be treated equitably even if you appear not to think so.

 

It has nothing to do with Saville or any of the other vile things that go on in the world Crafty.

Edited August 24, 2015 by MJG

[MtB]

You really should refrain from making "nasty" comments. If you don't like them being made about you. This is the second snide comment you have made about me in two days.

 

Regards kris

 

Do you want me to quote the one in the other thread. Wouldn't it be more honest to start a thread and we can discuss it.

 

 

Kris, there is already a thread discussing it at length. You started it yourself.

 

In that thread several posters defended you mooring for 9 months (at the time) in one place on the towpath asking "what's the harm?"

 

I suggested that once other boaters see you 'getting away with it', a few might also decide to moor on the towpath for extended periods instead of shelling out a home mooring.

 

This boater could easily have read the thread and decided "I'll have some of that too", and resigned his mooring to copy you. There could well be other boaters out there too, doing the same given your very public success in bending the rules.

 

That is the relevance of my comment.

 

 

 

***Edit to add: But yes I take your point that it was a bit snidy and I apologise. On reflection it would have been less snidy to have written something like:

 

"Or even be settling into an 11 month wait for parts as Kris88 has recently shown can be done."

Edited August 24, 2015 by Mike the Boilerman

[chubby]

In short

 

People who live in glass houses shouldn t throw stones

[Barry]

 

What steps can be taken to find out if the story Bazza2 has heard from someone (and we have now heard from him) is actually true or not?

 

Interesting question - I'd be happy to have my curiosity satisfied

 

Putting the use of the marina facilities to one side, as that is clearly not something which CRT can deal with, even if the bare facts are true; that the boat has been in the same spot for several months, how can we know whether CRT is turning a blind eye or showing favouritism?

 

I'd like to know that too - but it could be that, actually, all this is none of our business

 

Could be CRT are aware of this boat and that unkown to the rest of us, enforcement has kicked off, but is not yet at the stage where the boat is being towed away? That would, after all, be more than a few months down the line.

 

I have no idea - but the owners don't behave as though they are under any pressure. They seem to go about their business perfectly happily, cutting the grass, keeping where their boat is nice and tidy

 

The bigger point is the suggestion somebody is mooring contrary to their licence conditions with no reasonable reason but with the full knowledge and consent of (somebody at) CRT.

 

That if true is what I find contemptible.

 

It alarms me too. Double standards perhaps

 

 

If the boat has a "Home Mooring" licence, does it need to move?

After all its still in the same 1 kilometre as its mooring.

 

Bod

 

Its not a long term mooring stretch of towpath Bod

[chubby]

I might be wrong , i might have " assumed " when i shouldn t have & might have totally misread a thread of recent times that involved influential individuals meeting in pubs to discuss vested interests that led to mooring time changes that are likely to have benefitted some of those involved .

As i say , i may have read it all wrong , it was a while back .

If dodginess starts up high then its going to filter down & if theres any going on relating to this boat at Apsley then its hardly surprising . Disappointing maybe , surprising ...? hardly .

 

ETA : maybe theres a genuine explanation why its there , why its using facilities not paid for etc , who knows ? But it certainly appears to " off the hook " . Im not a political type , i read these threads but rarely comment but lately ive become a bit annoyed . Boaters within the rules getting questioned whilst others flagrantly bending rules are left alone .

Edited August 24, 2015 by chubby

[MtB]

There was a boat moored on the towpath for several months on the southern oxford earlier this year. It had an official CRT notice displayed in the window stating permission had been given for an extended overstay.

 

Something I didn't realise CRT do. I don't suppose this boat is displaying such a notice?