Boaters Union

[Nige123]

Hi I was just wondering if we have a boaters union?

 

If not is anyone (maybe a retired person with experience in this area) willing to start one?

 

I think as CRT is busy collecting as much cash as it can & employing as many out of work City folk on crazy money to order volunteers to do work in place of skilled paid workers...

 

I think we need a group to keep things in check as CRT gets heavy handed with canal users & I know some take the p*ss & need to play the game!

 

I think a group that could promote moor-along-side stickers in places like London & Bath so we can all visit congested areas & find a mooring & fight for more marinas, water points, pump outs, removal of fallen trees & sunken boats....The list goes on....

 

CRT are set to take over the river Thames soon & I have been told by some lock keepers that pump outs could be closed as they don't make a profit? (so what we go back to pumping out over the side at midnight?) lock keepers cottages could be sold off (bonus for the top brass at CRT I bet)

 

You can look up CRT books on line & I would take a look if I were you just to see what happens to your hard earned cash & remember this is a Charity.........

 

 

I may have found what I was looking for:

 

 

http://www.bargee-traveller.org.uk/

[Athy]

^{I believe that there's a National Boat Owners' Association, though I'm not a member so I know little about them.}

[Tim Lewis]

Hi I was just wondering if we have a boaters union?

 

If not is anyone (maybe a retired person with experience in this area) willing to start one?

 

I think as CRT is busy collecting as much cash as it can & employing as many out of work City folk on crazy money to order volunteers to do work in place of skilled paid workers...

 

I think we need a group to keep things in check as CRT gets heavy handed with canal users & I know some take the p*ss & need to play the game!

 

I think a group that could promote moor-along-side stickers in places like London & Bath so we can all visit congested areas & find a mooring & fight for more marinas, water points, pump outs, removal of fallen trees & sunken boats....The list goes on....

 

CRT are set to take over the river Thames soon & I have been told by some lock keepers that pump outs could be closed as they don't make a profit? (so what we go back to pumping out over the side at midnight?) lock keepers cottages could be sold off (bonus for the top brass at CRT I bet)

 

You can look up CRT books on line & I would take a look if I were you just to see what happens to your hard earned cash & remember this is a Charity.........

 

 

 

So we need another group to be alongside the IWA, NABO, RBOA etc etc ?

 

Recent history has shown that starting a new organisation whilst others already exist is problematic and will only dilute the limited expertise out there.

 

Would take little notice of what lock keppers say and isn't it the EA who originally proposed selling off the lock houses and only backed down after masive protests from the existing organisatioons and others.

 

Tim

[The Lockie]

So we need another group to be alongside the IWA, NABO, RBOA etc etc

 

Would take little notice of what lock keppers say

 

Tim

Thanks for that much appreciated

[Nige123]

 

So we need another group to be alongside the IWA, NABO, RBOA etc etc ?

 

Recent history has shown that starting a new organisation whilst others already exist is problematic and will only dilute the limited expertise out there.

 

Would take little notice of what lock keppers say and isn't it the EA who originally proposed selling off the lock houses and only backed down after masive protests from the existing organisatioons and others.

 

Tim

Tim this was my question ie what is the best group to join to get things done? I found the one I listed joined & donated some cash to them as they do seem to be doing something......

[Paul C]

Tim this was my question ie what is the best group to join to get things done? I found the one I listed joined & donated some cash to them as they do seem to be doing something......

 

Surely the best one is the one who's aims align most closely with your own.....after all, there is a wide diversity of canal users and the three groups mentioned so far are "aiming" at different representative groups.

[Tim Lewis]

Tim this was my question ie what is the best group to join to get things done? I found the one I listed joined & donated some cash to them as they do seem to be doing something......

 

Apologies, I misread your post.

 

THere is nothing to stop you joining all the organisations and seeing which one best represents your needs. The IWA represents all users of the waterways and the restoration of abandoned ones whilst NABO's remit is for boat owners. Both in my opinion do a good job and should be supported.

 

Tim

[zenataomm]

Strewth!

[cereal tiller]

Hi I was just wondering if we have a boaters union?

 

If not is anyone (maybe a retired person with experience in this area) willing to start one?

 

I think as CRT is busy collecting as much cash as it can & employing as many out of work City folk on crazy money to order volunteers to do work in place of skilled paid workers...

 

I think we need a group to keep things in check as CRT gets heavy handed with canal users & I know some take the p*ss & need to play the game!

 

I think a group that could promote moor-along-side stickers in places like London & Bath so we can all visit congested areas & find a mooring & fight for more marinas, water points, pump outs, removal of fallen trees & sunken boats....The list goes on....

 

CRT are set to take over the river Thames soon & I have been told by some lock keepers that pump outs could be closed as they don't make a profit? (so what we go back to pumping out over the side at midnight?) lock keepers cottages could be sold off (bonus for the top brass at CRT I bet)

 

You can look up CRT books on line & I would take a look if I were you just to see what happens to your hard earned cash & remember this is a Charity.........

 

 

I may have found what I was looking for:

 

 

http://www.bargee-traveller.org.uk/

It has been quite a while since there has been a Advert for the NBTA.

 

Not really long enough though!

 

CT

[Alan de Enfield]

It has been quite a while since there has been a Advert for the NBTA.

 

Not really long enough though!

 

CT

 

Maybe because all of the 'constant moorers' are already members, and they don't want to attract the 'wrong sort' (you know - the 'sort' that go boating)

[alan_fincher]

As has been said the most recent attempts I'm aware of to start a new boaters association have not resulted ultimately in a new boaters association, despite the initial fanfares.

 

I suspect getting this right is a great deal harder than many people would imagine.

 

On the other hand whilst the NBTA seems to be gaining some growing support, it is very hard to find out, even when talking directly to their officers, exactly what they stand for and what firm policies they hold. The London NBTA seems to be sending out its own messages, which don't always seem consistent with those from other parts of the NBTA. When I challenged Marcus Trower, who is (or at least was at the time) one of the officers of London NBTA about some statements he had posted as such, I was told he was freely expressing his own views, and not necessarily policy of the NBTA. Nobody present at the time could point me at anything that lays out NBTA policy.

[Paul C]

As has been said the most recent attempts I'm aware of to start a new boaters association have not resulted ultimately in a new boaters association, despite the initial fanfares.

 

I suspect getting this right is a great deal harder than many people would imagine.

 

On the other hand whilst the NBTA seems to be gaining some growing support, it is very hard to find out, even when talking directly to their officers, exactly what they stand for and what firm policies they hold. The London NBTA seems to be sending out its own messages, which don't always seem consistent with those from other parts of the NBTA. When I challenged Marcus Trower, who is (or at least was at the time) one of the officers of London NBTA about some statements he had posted as such, I was told he was freely expressing his own views, and not necessarily policy of the NBTA. Nobody present at the time could point me at anything that lays out NBTA policy.

 

NBTA don't have a mandate. Until they do, anything anyone claiming to be part of it says, can only be their own opinion. They seem to be unwilling to make the step into "democracy" and have any kind of formal process to elect or appoint people into official positions.

 

I suspect if they did take this step, and it went okay for them (ie didn't cause the organisation to crumble) then they would be much more successful for it, be able to justifiably take seats at CRT meetings and improve their membership base too.

[ditchcrawler]

What about the ACC Association of Continuous Cruisers.

[cereal tiller]

What about the ACC Association of Continuous Cruisers.

I heard that they got assimilated,NBTA,Borg,who knows?

 

CT

[alan_fincher]

What about the ACC Association of Continuous Cruisers.

 

A lot of people are saying that, I think!

[zenataomm]

As The People's Front of Judea discovered in "Life of Brian" the authorities love lots of different voices.

As they are rarely fighting for the same thing (otherwise they'd all just join the same one) it's hardly collective consultation .... which is what unions are all about.

Fodder for divide and conquer.

I don't actually see anything happening on the cut that scares me for its future nor anything that's going to stop me doing anything I want to.

 

Most importantly to me I go on the cut to avoid this carp.

[FadeToScarlet]

remember this is a Charity.......

No it isn't.

[Nige123]

No it isn't.

Sorry a trust??????

 

Trust must be another word for get people to work for free & pay to use what they have built & then suck the money up..........

I looked on CRT's job page a while ago & found 2 jobs. first was a man to walk 18 miles of canal through London & pull out dead junkies from the canal, fix broken stuff in all weathers £18K a year...... second office bod to make money out of moorings £60K a year + expenses......... I know what one brings in more money to the trust but I know what one most of us would like to see after a hire boat rams the top gate at a lock....... We just don't value workers any more the very people that built our play grounds are now looked upon as well a bit stupid a bit thick & dirty....... stay back children you may catch a work ethic!