How often and how far will you home moorers cruise?

[patty-ann]

I had several trips out last year but never far from home mooring...due to the commitments on the house renovation front. I am hoping to be able to get out in the boat soon for a few weeks and then weekends and away days....I really considered selling her as I felt trapped by horror house and couldn't get rid of house as it wouldn't sell as it was and i felt my boat neglected. Last year bad, but now house can be left..so we shall see if I can use boat as I want to.

[churchward]

Aha...are you one if those who wants the canal to themselves? I feel like that sometimes.

 

The problem is that I doubt just throwing money at CRT is enough to keep the waterways maintained everywhere. There also needs to be a demand. If it wasn't for footpath societies walking the rarer footpaths from time to time we would lose them. I think the waterways are also at risk for the same reason.

I agree there does need to be a demand but I do like the differences between the seasons. The warmer months are good for being social, meeting some nice people having a beer or two and enjoying the super countryside and warm weather. The the colder months brings a different pace. A bright cold day is a joy and a slow meander along the canal not worrying about getting anywhere in particular is another and yes sometimes it is good to have the feeling you are the only ones out and about.

[colinwilks]

Probably the opposite. After all it takes up a lot of time reading and responding to posts on this forum. Time that could more productively spent fettling or cruising...

Got to agree with that. I've been looking at the forum more than usual recently due to being restricted while the new hip sorts itself out. Six weeks was up yesterday, so the boat beckons!

[johnmck]

Being retired helps! We have for the last few years, taken a winter mooring in a marina. Come April, we escape and cc until October ish.

 

Last year we completed

 

1004 miles 668 locks

 

(610 miles of narrow canals, 333 miles of broad canals, 61 miles of river, 345 narrow locks 317 broad locks and 6 large locks)

 

41 tunnels, 98 moveable bridges & 10 major aqueducts.

 

This saw us up and over the Pennines, to Chester, Llangollen (twice!) then back across country to the Leicester line, with a diversion to Oxford to round off.

 

Plan to head south this year.

[captain birdseye]

In the winter months we get up to the boat every odd weekend and always pop out on her to the pub. I work on the theory that if you are running the engine to charge batteries and get a tank of hot water you might as well be moving

[The Bearwood Boster]

We love being away over Christmas & new year,but a combination of heavy rain & man flu meant we spent Xmas on the mooring(rather than boating or in the house)

We're off for a break at Easter,coming home for a while-then cruising from May to October.Bring it on ?

[Mike Todd]

Save a copy as a pdf then uplift it, example I've just done

But for such a small piece it would be better to show it inline rather than as an attachment - too much effort (!) to go and open it . . .

[14skipper]

have a 4 month cruise 950 miles 525 locks planned this year.

 

14 skipper

[frahkn]

I had several trips out last year but never far from home mooring...due to the commitments on the house renovation front. I am hoping to be able to get out in the boat soon for a few weeks and then weekends and away days....I really considered selling her as I felt trapped by horror house and couldn't get rid of house as it wouldn't sell as it was and i felt my boat neglected. Last year bad, but now house can be left..so we shall see if I can use boat as I want to.

 

I am in a similar position.

 

We intended to buy a boat and sell the house when we retired but health issues intervened so although we bought the boat, we decided not to risk selling the house. As we were sure we were going to sell, only a minimum of decoration and required maintenance was done at the house. We thought it best to leave such decisions to the new owner.

 

So now we have home refurbishments and boat alterations at once and are torn between the two.

 

Having said this, I have managed 5000 odd engine hours in the 2 1/2 years in which we have owned the boat (not all of those moving of course).

 

Frank.

[Sbg]

We are between boats but while we had ourboat we ranged about a bit. Having spent a year each with home moorings at Alvechurch, Upton, Droitwich Spa and Saul junction, we did all of the navigable Severn, Worcs and B'ham, Droitwich canals, lots of trips into the BCN, Staffs and Worcs, and a 2-week ranger to Warwick, Rugby and Braunston, having stopped at Stafford Boat Club for a month to come out for blacking and continued "around the top". I wish we could do that this year!

[cuthound]

I am in a similar position.

 

We intended to buy a boat and sell the house when we retired but health issues intervened so although we bought the boat, we decided not to risk selling the house. As we were sure we were going to sell, only a minimum of decoration and required maintenance was done at the house. We thought it best to leave such decisions to the new owner.

 

So now we have home refurbishments and boat alterations at once and are torn between the two.

 

Having said this, I have managed 5000 odd engine hours in the 2 1/2 years in which we have owned the boat (not all of those moving of course).

 

Frank.

Sorry to hear about the health issues Frank. Hopefully on the mend now?

 

Our first year with didn't go as planned. No sooner had we moved in than the dog developed a lypoma,which grew and grew, then he developed vestibular disease, both of which limited our boating. Still managed about three hundred hours of cruising, mainly day trips with a couple of weeks here and there.

 

This year we hope to at least double that.

 

Alan

 

Edited for tryping errors.

Edited March 5, 2016 by cuthound

[RichardN]

Not sure what direction you are travelling but there is no need to be worried about travelling through London and getting a mooring. If coming down the GU I would stop the night at Uxbridge (loads of towpath) then Little Venice/Paddington Basin for a night, and then Limehouse Basin for a night. Each of those stopping places is a easy days crusing and you'll not have a problem finding a space.

 

Bookable mooring at the London Canal Museum, Battlebridge Basin. Will come and show you the Bantam tug if I'm about.

 

Thanks guys, good advice.

 

Our issue will be the weather - we are off down to the Medway and need a 7 or 14 day mooring if we have to wait for a weather window and then get to Limehouse smart-ish. I know that generally visitor moorings in London are full, a lot of the other places which we used to use are beyond of full, I now worry about safety, and worry about whatever dogs we will have with us. The wall at Limehouse should have spaces but after 24 hours you are paying a fee which is probably not unreasonable for Central London but the wall is not that dog friendly, again depends on who we have with us.

 

It may be better to moor up at Brentford or Teddington and then pop down when we know we have a weather window, we will miss our old haunts but not sure if I fancy the hassle.

[David Mack]

then Little Venice/Paddington Basingstoke for a night, and then Limehouse Basingstoke for a night.

Is your autocorrect working overtime, Junior?

But for such a small piece it would be better to show it inline rather than as an attachment - too much effort (!) to go and open it . . .

So take a screenshot of the spreadsheet and upload that as an attachment, and a small version will appear as an inline image.

[Peter X]

An experiment; If this works I'll post how it's done!...

abc 1.70 29/02/2016 xyz 2.67 01/03/2016 ijk 42.00 25/12/2015

Failed, back to the drawing board.