Visitor mooring £25 charge flyer

[haggis]

I've often asked boaters to move up or back to make room for us but only once have I moved a boat. It was on the pontoon at Leicester where two short boats, both on 30 day visitor licences that had expired, were moored with large gaps between them. The owners never returned during the time we were there.

It must be a thing about the Leicester pontoons! We arrived there early afternoon to find one boat moored right at the end and another two with big gaps. As we cruised past I asked the guy on one of the boats (he was leaning out of his side hatch feeding swans) if he could possibly move up a bit and let us in but the answer was negative. We moored with about 6 feet of boat on the pontoon and then moved the unoccupied boat in front right up to the boat in front of it (the one with the swan feeder) and got most of our boat on the pontoon. When I saw the owner of the boat we had moved coming back, I spoke to him and told him what we had done and why and he said that was fine and it had been selfish of him to moor as he did. The swan feeder appeared, obviously ready to join in telling us off for moving a boat but when he heard the guy being Ok about it, he said he would have moved but he was having lunch! They both left later and we moved right up to the boat at the end of the pontoon then another boat came in behind us and one along side. I think the only time we have moved an unoccupied boat was at leicester and the boat owners have always been OK about it.

A couple of days before we had been down the Welford arm and again, boats were moored with big gaps. the only one prepared to move was a hire boat but that wouldn't have given us enough space. Some folk are really precious about their space!

 

Haggis

 

Haggis

[David Mack]

What next parking meters?

 

They used to have them on the Rochdale Nine:

 

 

 

From this post http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=44729#entry828275

[Lampyrichard]

It must be a thing about the Leicester pontoons! We arrived there early afternoon to find one boat moored right at the end and another two with big gaps. As we cruised past I asked the guy on one of the boats (he was leaning out of his side hatch feeding swans) if he could possibly move up a bit and let us in but the answer was negative. We moored with about 6 feet of boat on the pontoon and then moved the unoccupied boat in front right up to the boat in front of it (the one with the swan feeder) and got most of our boat on the pontoon. When I saw the owner of the boat we had moved coming back, I spoke to him and told him what we had done and why and he said that was fine and it had been selfish of him to moor as he did. The swan feeder appeared, obviously ready to join in telling us off for moving a boat but when he heard the guy being Ok about it, he said he would have moved but he was having lunch! They both left later and we moved right up to the boat at the end of the pontoon then another boat came in behind us and one along side. I think the only time we have moved an unoccupied boat was at leicester and the boat owners have always been OK about it.

A couple of days before we had been down the Welford arm and again, boats were moored with big gaps. the only one prepared to move was a hire boat but that wouldn't have given us enough space. Some folk are really precious about their space!

 

Haggis

 

Haggis

 

OT, but If you ever take Gamebird through to Linlithgow in the Summer now, you might have to be prepared to shuffle boats about!

 

When I was there last month, I & one of the hire boat crews (who were English boaters & used to the idea) spent a good while effectively being mooring wardens, persuading folk to move up, share rings & eventually allow others to breast up.

 

We went from 3 moored boats & a crew forlornly trying to moor at the end of the day, to 6 boats moored by the time I got fed up & went to the pub.

 

The skipper from the hire boat even (very politely) requested permission for us to move one of the other hire boats while they were having their tea. ISTR his gambit was something like 'I don't wish to disturb your tea, but would you mind if we move you up behind the next boat where you should have moored in the first place' :-)

[PaulG]

I think it's typically British diffidence at work - we don't like mooring too close to the neighbours so each boat ties up 25 feet away from the next one. This is fine if you're in the whopwhops but rather irksome at popular places.

 

What does the team think about moving such a boat, i.e. untying it, pulling it along 20 feet and then retying it, thereby creating a viable extra space? I saw this done at Cropredy last week. On one hand, one is interfering with someone else's property. On the other, they should have parked considerately in the first place.

 

The Moral Maze...

I have moved another boat in the past. If I remember correctly it was on the Severn at Upton, where moorings are always at a premium.

[Mike Todd]

I was mostly joking, however I do think vm's on crt controlled waters should stay free. Maybe a compromise woild be a small number of (extra) chargeable moorings with hookups and water? or maybe that's a daft idea.

We perhaps need to be aware that most parking charges (for cars on roads etc) were originally seen as a means just of controlling congestion etc. Over time, councils but the income into their budgets and then found that they had to increase them each year just to balance the books. I noticed recently one council being reminded that they did have the power to reduce parking charges - actually they don't need to have them at all apart from being a solution to the control issue. Otherwise they are free to balance the impact of charges (mainly on whether people will patronise small businesses near by) against the need for income from wherever they can get it.

 

Let's be vigilant hat something that might start off as an enforcement matter could quickly become the norm. Given that the money to main tain the canal network has to come from somewhere, there is a question of progressive versus regressive 'taxation' in this. What do we want?

[Jrtm]

I got told i had to pay 25 a day where i moored the other day. Till i pointed the notice right next to the guy that said 2 days free mooring. If im honest i think its a little cheaky but i think in very popular areas then the should be some free parts but say right out side shops / stations / ect that are already restricted to a few days mooring then i dont see why the shouldnt charge but not 25 a day the only other moorings that put me off stopping are the 14 days only per year. I would happly stop and explore a village more but i avoid stopping just incase i need to later in the year i never have gone back but you never know. 14 days every 3 months then i would happly stop and explore

What i do get anoyed with is the few days mooring is always well built and deep but go 1 foot the other side of the sign and its instently shallow try the section between the 3 locks pub and the globe pub it was less than 1 foot in places and i went along that hole section testing so i could stop as it was only 2 days free morning.

[alan_fincher]

I got told i had to pay 25 a day where i moored the other day.

 

Where was that, then, please?

 

And by who, (CRT permanent staff / uniformed volunteer / un-uniformed volunteer / other ?).

 

If this is really was by anyone claiming to be acting for CRT it really does need raising directly with CRT, and I would take it straight to the regional manger, but you will need to be very precise about what happened, and what was said.

 

On the other hand, if it were not someone acting for CRT, but just someone trying it on, it certainly would be the first time it has ever happened!

[Richard Fairhurst]

What does the team think about moving such a boat, i.e. untying it, pulling it along 20 feet and then retying it, thereby creating a viable extra space?

 

Anyone is more than welcome to do that to my boat.

 

Not just to free up mooring space, but because I'm crap at knots and you'll almost certainly do a better job of tying up than I have.

[Sir Nibble]

Where was that, then, please?

 

And by who, (CRT permanent staff / uniformed volunteer / un-uniformed volunteer / other ?).

 

If this is really was by anyone claiming to be acting for CRT it really does need raising directly with CRT, and I would take it straight to the regional manger, but you will need to be very precise about what happened, and what was said.

 

On the other hand, if it were not someone acting for CRT, but just someone trying it on, it certainly would be the first time it has ever happened!

Someone was trying to reserve the mooring most likely. At least you weren't told it was somebody else's mooring on "the rota".

[Jrtm]

 

Where was that, then, please?

 

And by who, (CRT permanent staff / uniformed volunteer / un-uniformed volunteer / other ?).

 

If this is really was by anyone claiming to be acting for CRT it really does need raising directly with CRT, and I would take it straight to the regional manger, but you will need to be very precise about what happened, and what was said.

 

On the other hand, if it were not someone acting for CRT, but just someone trying it on, it certainly would be the first time it has ever happened!

I dont ask i just pointed at the sign behind them next to the boat as i had turned up about 5 mins before and had just finished unlocking the boat was a middle aged guy on an old bike after i pointed at the sign he just went ok and carried on might have just been a guy infoeming me that they would charge if i stayed there. I didnt really pay full attention as we had only been at the 3 locks 1 day and i was moving that day about 20 mins later i was gone

 

I wouldnt pay attention unless i got a letter threw the door.

Note it has been very busy on that stretch so as above might have been someone trying to make me move on. They clearly didnt know how long i had been there

Most crt people normaly have some sort of crt badge or something

Edited August 17, 2016 by billybobbooth