A little bit about the rules of mooring your boat and the different options for living aboard. Anything I've missed out or any questions, put them in the comments
I hope you don't mind me chipping in on this but do be very careful when buying a boat "with a mooring" because almost certainly the mooring contract is with the boat owner and does not relate to the boat. In other words, just because you're buying a boat that currently has a residential mooring does not mean the mooring can or will transfer to you with the boat - it's up to the mooring owner to decide if they wish to permit you to take over the contract.
We are in the South West where the CRT have been notorious for their fine issuing for continuous cruisers that don't move around enough, difficult on such a limited waterway system (and not CRT in Bristol), so we bought a leisure mooring which we live on in the Cotswolds. It's about £1400 a year and doesn't have many services (no electric etc.). There is a water point and l-san nearby and it's forced us to make the boat much more self sufficient. We fitted solar panels and a small inverter for laptop charging etc. Have a petrol generator for heavy duty stuff like power tools etc. I work 3 days a week in Bristol which is an easy bike ride & train journey. The CRT guy who operates the bridge nearby takes no issue with people living on the leisure moorings. They've also said nothing about us setting up a nice little garden next to the boat. Happy days
Hi! Most fascinating videos! Many thanks! Was always my dream, many years ago, when I lived in England, to buy a narrow boat to live on! Life didn't have it in her plan for me, and I am now living in Berlin, with 2 dogs, 2 cats, and near to my 2 sons and their kids☺ At the 'tender age' of 60, I really enjoy 'living my dream life' through your eyes☺😊 Thanks so much! All love , and best wishes, Claire, Sally, and Zora, Berlin, Germany
Hi, another nice video. :) The big danger with playing the continuous cruising game is that if CRT deem you're abusing it, and aren't moving far enough, then they have the right to revoke your license, which would mean you had to remove your boat from their waters and, if you didn't do so quickly enough, they could seize your boat and either destroy it, or auction it off to cover their legal costs. Sadly, due to the number of people who do abuse this, especially in popular places, like London, CRT are getting more stringent about enforcing it. Leisure/cruising moorings are primarily designed for people who only use their boats for leisure purposes - taking it out at weekends, or for holidays, kind of thing. CRT (and some private marinas) generally do offer what they call winter moorings (which could actually involve being allowed to stay moored at the same place on the towpath for a few months) over the winter months, when they generally have closures in different places around the network to allow them to carry out maintenance - replacing lock gates, for example.
If CRT try to revoke your licence they give you a check as a refund, don't cash it and let them take you to court, keep all receipts as proof you traveled the 20 miles and the sue them for harassment.
I imagine that the upside of paying 15-20k more because it came with the transferable mooring is that you'll be able to command the same higher sell price down the road. So you are out more money now but should see the return of it.
Your mooring decision sounds very sensible. Permanent residence whilst you are working in London with the possibility to go off and cruise when you like, I assume that your morring you are on is yours and always will be whilst you pay for it?
since they can't give a number of kilometers to travel in order to qualify they can't say any body didn't qualify. no standard to qualify means no standard to Disqualify. they are mutually exclusive.
What happens if you have a res mooring but decide to have say a week travelling, can someone pinch your spot whilst you are away if so what happens please ?
hi u said that liesure mooring are expensive not sure how much res moorings r but i found a les. one for60 foot boat costiing 3600 which i thought was good. are res cheaper than this gr8 vid beest regards colin
I've only spoken to a few London based people and they were paying around the same as I'm paying and there year-on-year increase was a higher % than I'd expect
PS What do you actually do, as far as work is concerned? You often refer to 'the office', and 'coming home late, because of work'? Please keep up the wonderful, and sometimes problematic, life you lead😙
Why would you think I don't intend to use her? I'm sure some people don't ever move their boats for many different reasons and that's their business. I try not to judge
john jones well i can see a big one! you dont need a moving van to move unlike a house! plus that way your free to change your neighbours! lol sorry, just my pov
Pasquale Ferrillo you would need permission from the mooring company, but for a genuine reasons, I don't see it being a problem. And obviously people change boats over time. However to do it immediately just to gain a more valuable boat, is probably not in the spirit of the mooring agreement
Pasquale Ferrillo the transfer is a one off per boat. The monthly costs vary greatly so best to ask the mooring you have in mind. Cost will be based on boat size
may i ask is there ways to make money using your boat i ask because im interested in buying a boat but i would be cruising so wouldn't be able to hold down a job still i would need to pay for fuel and license and any other cost my savings can only stretch so far
I'm not sure. And maybe you'd need a special licence for that? There are supply boats selling things like coal but I don't know how profitable that is or if it'd leave much space to live. If you had a job in central London it'd be feasible I guess to cruise around London and surrounding areas and commute in. Or something you could do from home would be ideal
You can get a trading licence for your boat. It means you can trade directly from the boat on (most?) temporary moorings but not from a permanent spot. We're in the process of getting one. The local authority issue them (which is strange considering you'll likely be trading outside that area) and and will likely come and inspect your boat (dunno if that's just for food stuff though). There's a canal traders association worth looking up. They have an instagram page and are lovely
Doubt a reputable marina would be happy about anyone living on a leisure mooring. They are designed for people to keep their boats on when not in use, for people who use their boats for weekends and holidays. People living on canal side leisure moorings are abusing the system, giving other live aboard residents a bad name, illegally avoiding council tax, and adding to water pollution. Residential moorings are limited partly because of the effect on the water quality with all the shower and sink water going overboard. Too many people doing this is damaging.
