Selfish 'middle moorers'

MIDDLE moorers, that is boaters who find a space, no matter how big, and moor in the middle of it are, as far as I'm concerned, just plain ignorant and selfish, writes Keith Gudgin.

I have just come down the Trent & Mersey and got to a very popular 14 day mooring that can take upwards of 10 large boats. It had six boats on it and there wasn't enough space left to get my 40 footer in anywhere. At least two of the boats had arrived there in the past hour as they passed me whilst I was taking on water.

Git gaps

Every single boat had a space at each end of around 25—30ft. These have been called git gaps, and rightly so in my opinion. This practice prevented at least three or four boats from mooring. I also find that these boaters are the first to moan when they can't get in on a mooring because of other boaters git gaps. And, if you ask them if they could move up so you can get in, well the replies you get are very often unprintable.

To say that it is acceptable to leave a git gap in case the boat next to you makes a noise is no excuse at all in my opinion. Generally, noisy boats do not use popular mooring places. You do of course get the ignorant boaters who don't care at times, but it is very rare. You can always move if you don't like your neighbour. If you want peace and seclusion, find a mooring away from the popular moorings and don't hog them with weak excuses.

Straight for the middle

Also, what is it with boaters who find a mooring empty and then head straight for the middle? What's wrong with mooring at the end, I always do. By doing this I don't end up sitting in the middle of a large gap when other boats move off, and, for those who don't want boaters next to them, you always have at least one end of your boat without anyone moored next to it. Also mooring at the upwind end prevents fumes from entering your boat.

Middle moorers can't use the noisy boat excuse when they moor in the middle of an empty mooring. Being a continuous cruiser I see it all the time. It appears to me that most boaters seem to find it acceptable to find a gap or mooring and then just head for the middle of it and moor up without looking or thinking about what they are doing.

Why do they do it?

Would these people park their car over two parking spaces and not expect adverse comment? So why do they do it with their boats? A little bit of thought and consideration goes a long way to making boating a pleasure for all. Remember, on some moorings it would be helpful if boats did move up when others left, some places are very popular and making space available helps everyone.