The need for the 14 days mooring

Jan and Malcolm Gunningham wonder why it is necessary to define 14 day moorings. Having taken advantage of such moorings in the past let me offer a scenario where they fit a need, writes Tony Collins.

Some years ago, as someone who worked full time, I could usually only boat at weekends. We were coming to the end of a two week holiday and as I wished to take part in the BCN Challenge, the following weekend, we ended our holiday in Birmingham.

Left the boat

It became obvious that I would need somewhere to leave the boat for a week before the event and another week after the event. So I found a 14 days mooring which I considered safe and left the boat there. I collected her on the following Friday evening, took part in the event over the weekend, and returned to the mooring on Sunday afternoon. The boat stayed where she was until the following Friday night and we used the weekend to bring her home.

I suggest that this sort of use of the 14 days mooring is not unusual. Others would perhaps use them to cruise the system by leaving their boat in the week and moving on the subsequent weekends, each time returning home to go to work. Is this not a legitimate use of the moorings?

Free loaders

I do sympathise with the Gunningham's view on those that are free loaders, staying illegally on visitor moorings or on un-designated moorings, mooring for an excessive time. (British Waterways workboats used to be one of the worst culprits of this, occupying lock landings for example).

Some of the culprits would appear to have been caught out in London recently. There used to be an adage, 'Don't buy a boat until you have secured a mooring'. In these days of excesses of mooring available (at a cost), this need not now apply, unless you are intending to live aboard and not move, in which case the saying is still applicable.