Berengaria

Beard - Check....Boat - Check....Real Ale - Check....Folk music - Check. I think a lot of boat owners just appreciate the simpler things in life, and beards, boats, ale and folk all go hand in hand. I love a few ales and watching the Morris Dancers, me!

Oh my I'm loving the way your mind works lol

Haha, I like it. "Council Mace"

I think I'm closer to that lot than a shiny boater

How do I know if I'm in this group? Is it down to how reflective my paintwork is?

Surely if anyone gives you grief when you're on your boat, siege tactics would triumph. By that I mean simply pull your boat onto the offside, phone the police, set your video camera going in case they try to chuck stuff at you, and then go inside and make a bacon sandwich. Light your stove and wait for nightfall. I bet they get cold before you do

The thing is, I see TONS of liveaboards on the offside on my travels, as I'm sure you guys do too. The majority of these are on farmland (you know, tiny fenced off areas at the ends of fields) and many don't display mooring permits at all - if these are indeed illegal and CRT chooses to enforce their laws, a few people potentially being made homeless in the SE will be just the tip of the iceberg surely.

Agreed Cotswoldsman, just don't tell my missus if someone gets some cheap offside land with enough room for chickens and a bee hive, she'll hit the roof

I suspect the situation has come about from inaction rather than action. If the rules are fuzzy, and you do what you want believing yourself to be within the rules, if no-one challenges you then I guess you get a situation like this.

Just two quick questions, apologies if I've missed the answers buried in this thread anywhere! 1. Someone quoted the Human Rights Act 2000 as not being able to de-home anyone. If this is the case, does that mean non-payment of rent or mortgage (house) or non-compliant CCing (boat) can NOT result in eviction? I'm confused, does that mean whatever you do (or don't do) it's illegal for you to be booted out and made homeless? 2. These RPs, are the costs (£50/m/pa) in ADDITION to the standard boat licence? Sorry it's been a long day

£50 a metre is about half I will be paying for my marina mooring so doesn't sound too bad considering the reduced security and presumed lack of towpath facilities. Having said that I'm not supposed to be living aboard in the marina (I'm not either btw!)

Hahaha. They both made a big thing about ducking under the smoke....one of them loudly said 'for f*** sake' and then the other began coughing when he was about 30 yards down the towpath. I mean if you're going to go for a run down the towpath on a chilly evening, expect some chimneys to be firing up surely.

Sorry, thank you Alan

Not sure if this has already been shared here, apologies if so as its from January. http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2013/jan/councillor-says-huge-increase-dirty-and-noisy-canal-boats-close-homes-could-force-res The reason I found it is that I just had two 'sported up to the nines pro joggers' run by the boat on the towpath complaining very loudly about my stove that i had just lit. It always smokes when it's first lit but the comedic coughing from one of them was priceless.

Little &£$^*&£$ers!!! I honestly don't know what I'd do if that was my boat and I found out who they were, the f****ng scrotes.