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Thoroughly bored with all this cc cobblers. Anyone with half a brain cell can understand what the requirements are. Those who need clarification in black and white are the ones who take the piss and are just looking for ways to avoid moving.

Move from Sawley to Zouch was very plain sailing. I felt confident once I got through the electric lock and had a wonderful first night (but a tad cold due to not being able to carry more than just a sleeping bag in rucksack I packed) at the trent lock. Then the turn onto the Soar felt like a piece of cake despite the wind saying we weren't allowed near it lol. Just having a pint at the Otter before pulling into the repair dock at East Midland Boat Services (for fitting the new stove next week) when the wind settles and the fishermen finish for the night this evening. Not wanting to leave the boat now, I'm addicted. So I'm spending another night aboard just because I can. The only issue is: where the heck is my inverter to turn on the sockets? I can't work it out and neither could two experienced boatmen when they had a look this morning. They were scratching their heads and decided to leave it as an unsolved mystery lol. Hope everyone enjoys this blissful sunny weekend :-)

Boaters without a Home Mooring: How far is far enough? Following our recent communication, a number of boaters have asked for clarification of the legal requirement to cruise throughout the period of their licence and, in particular, what is the minimum distance that should be covered in order to comply with the Trusts Guidance for Boaters without a Home Mooring. We recognise that boaters want clarity over this. However the BW Act 1995 does not stipulate a minimum distance. It does set out the requirement to use the boat bona fide for navigation, and the Trusts Guidance is our interpretation of this requirement. Whilst this means that we cannot set a universal minimum distance for compliance, we can advise that it is very unlikely that someone would be able to satisfy us that they have been genuinely cruising if their range of movement is less than 15-20 miles over the period of their licence. In most cases we would expect it to be greater than this. We will be advising those boaters without a home mooring whose range of movement falls short of this distance that their movement needs to increase or we may refuse to renew their licence. Our statutory right to refuse to renew a licence arises from section 17 of the BW Act 1995 which states that we can refuse to issue a licence if we are not satisfied that a boat either has a home mooring or intends to continuously cruise.

So why are you so worried about what "they" are up to? Why not just go along your own way? Can you not see that with your protestations and comments about dress code for example you are being as bigoted as those you say you don't like? It is not your waterway it sis everyone's and we all just need to learn to bump along together. Whinging about the "others" and blaiming everyone else for all that you see is wrong is not helping.

Obstructions are a different matter. The reasons why not cruising sufficiently might be a problem has been spelt out on here many times, but here goes again: Suppose CRT stopped enforcing on cc'ers any more than anyone else? That would legitimise bridge hopping. It would make it very easy for anyone to set up in a certain area near a job or school or whatever with no need to move around much or take a mooring. It would also potentially lead to those who have a mooring questioning the need for one. That's the risk - many people who currently pay for a mooring might not continue doing so. The consequence of that would be less money for CRT and less money for marinas and boatyards. So less money for CRT to spend on maintenance and private mooring suppliers going out of business. This would be very bad for the canal network. Of course, this is hypothetical (but plausible) since it's not been tried but is it really worth the risk? Other potential issues which could arise from a lack of enforcement would be that CRT have a duty to enforce as a statutory body responsible for doing so and also that many of the most popular mooring spots could be permanently filled with moored boats. Please note: I'm not really casting any judgement of the rights or wrongs of any of this, I'm simply saying that actions lead to consequences, and those consequences are frequently hard to predict. For what it's worth, my prediction would be substantial hikes in license fees for all boaters, or a different scale of fees for cc'ers. Either of these would be worse for cc'ers so it's probably best that they simply ensure they cruise a range of at least 20 miles a year. it really ain't that hard.

A few? Really? I thought by your definition it was pretty much everybody that wasn't a CCer or the like. In which case that would make "them" the majority. If it is only a few then fair enough but why do they worry you if that is so? On the other hand perhaps "shiny boaters" should form a minority group for the oppressed. However, the point I am trying to make is that we all need to bump along together the boating community let alone everyone who uses the waterways is a diverse group it doesn't need one part to be chucking insults about another whoever they are.

I don't think anyone, least of all CRT would miss them, or their money. They're few but they make a lot of noise. The amount of money burnt by CRT pandering to their prejudices is, I would guess, far in excess of any contribution they make.

Apologies if you find my comments insulting. My point is that the requirements aren't difficult to understand. Although we now have a home mooring we previously cc'd whilst working and never had any difficulty keeping within the 'rules' without the need for it being spelled out in black and white.

When you say "put the new sealant in", are you thinking of taking the windows out at some point after the paint job or, are you thinking of sealing around the windows, without taking the windows out at any point? If you have any rust around the windows it has, more than likely, spread from beneath the windows and windows out would be a good thing to do prior to painting. The surface under the window will need prepping and painting. If your windows aren't leaking, there's no need to seal beyond the window frame edge and trimming has only cleaned the edge back. If you have used a blade to trim the sealant back, are you sure you haven't cut through the old paint, down to the steel. Doesn't matter if you're stripping back to steel. If you're not going down that far, the cuts will lead to rusting at a latter date. I used to double seal the windows, after the paint job. Fit them in on butyl, wait a few days, clean back to the window's edge, put a bevel of black rubber sealant around the windows to finish for sealing and cosmetic reasons. It is something I used to do because I found painting to the edge of window frames never produced the best looking or robust finish. Over time, painting cracks around where it has overlapped sealant and looks untidy. The rubber finish over the paint avoided the paint looking tired and added some extra sealant protection. If you are planning to only reseal the edge, do this after painting

I agree. As I stated in another thread a week or so ago, by throwing about judgements whether they think a boater has moved "far enough" (their words, not mine), without defining what that meant in measurable terms, CRT were setting themselves up for (at best) a harassment case as soon as they try to deliver on the threat to not renew a license on the grounds of not having moved far enough. At worst, they'd have have found themselves on the wrong end of a court case for using bullying tactics to extract further money from people by forcing them to pay for home moorings - by setting boaters up to fail to meet their undefined rule. So I genuinely think the fact that they've finally put a number to it is a good thing. Quite frankly, IMHO, CRT should be spending staff time and money on maintaining and repairing the waterways rather than pandering to the grumblings of those IWA members and hireboat company owners they've got on their various committees, who are targetting one group of canal users who cause little or no problems of any real consequence to other boaters. If another underrepresented group of society was targeted in such a way and with such a disproportionate use of a charity's resources, it would likely be labelled as discrimination and misuse of a charity's funds.

London is a big city with 32 Boroughs - plus City of London - with price variations across each borough (even across each postcode or each street) so your argument holds both ways. In other words for every £675K flat you hold up as an example you can find a terrace house a lot less. I just checked you can get a choice of three bedroom end of terraces in my London Borough for less than £300K. And guess what - not one three bedroom flat for anywhere near £600K (you would get a detached house for that). London has some real price hotspots. Try buying anything in say Chelsea or Kensington for £300K. So all talk of "London Prices" is not specific enough. Describe boroughs/postcodes. In summary - your examples can be dismissed as easily as you dismiss others.

It'll be from a parallel universe where their technology is different as well as their rules and guidelines. Some of our canal tunnels are also portals to and from universes next to ours. I once went through one, it was sunny before I went in but on exiting there was rain and the water was reddish in colour. My suspicions were confirmed when I couldn't understand a single word an animated and very excited fisherman shouted at me. Obviously I immediately worried whether my Co-op dividend card would be honoured there so I turned round and came back.

The problem is that (however politely you asked), you are trying to make your problems his problems. The fact that you can't afford to do both isn't his problem, it is your problem, and you are responsible for resolving it. Either you decide that you will take the Winter mooring and defer the work that you were going to do on the boat, or you decide that you will do the work and will continue to move such that you won't need a WMP.

What proof exists that this boat is "Kildare"? Sold to Ernie Thomas in 1948 who knows what he called it? The same could be said for "President".... Why that is kept at the Black Country Living museum is beyond me, its not a Black Country boat.

I used to get worried on the London Underground when I saw, at the top of escalators, signs saying "Dogs must be carried". I didn't have one, so I couldn't comply. Never got done for non compliance though.

Congratulations We've also just completed our first year living on board, ccing and owning a boat. What a year it's been. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's been without incident/problems or a very steep learning curve...learning how to steer, stop & moor, new battery bank, new invertor/charger, breaking the bow thruster, learning more in-depth detail about my and my husbands bodily waste then I ever thought possible or probable, the first oil change, the first broken fan belt, operating locks, casting ropes onto bollards on the Thames Locks, getting to grips with the sounds of water fowl pecking the side of the boat, the banging noises when filling the water tank, teaching ourselves how to make rope fenders, Dave falling in, the cats falling in and of course loosing both cats within 5 months of each other But... I wouldn't change it for the world, It's been by far the best year I can remember. The sun rises, sun sets, the water fowl, and other wild life, the picturesque towns and villages as well as canals we've seen, the history and heritage we've encountered and learned about, the appreciation we've gained for the diversity of people who live on/work on or simply holiday on boats. And the wide variety of new friends we've made along our travels The same as the OP, we knew zip about narrow boating when we bought out boat, invested the money we had and jumped into the lifestyle with both feet (well 4 feet really) and not one regret. Much of the learning, has been down to the help, guidance and advice shared by members of this forum; so a really Big and heart felt Thank You all, from the two of us to all of you who have shared you knowledge. Here's to year 2

My dad is so excited and insanely jealous, he thinks it's the best idea in the world.