Continuous moorers must be sorted

WE ARE getting an inordinate amount of correspondence about continuous moorers, showing that normal licence payers are really annoyed at such boaters taking up what are too often the most useful moorings for months on end.

Though many boaters realise that Canal & River Trust is now doing something about the problem, there is still the complaint that it is not doing enough.

Reply from CaRT

Over the next few hours we shall be publishing what you boaters think about the matter, the following being excerpts from what we have received:

Graham Westgate goes straight to the point remarking:

'Yes, I, and many others, do resent the fact that those who Continuously moor for free are scrounging on those of us who pay for what they think it's fine to take for nothing.
Many of us mere or is it 'sad' Leisure Boaters have aspirations to be Continuous Cruisers one day, so why would we denigrate those we wish to join'.

Regular contributor David Collins too does not mince his words:

'I know of an awful lot of leisure cruisers, me included, who are racked off by continuous moorers who claim to be continuously cruising but don't.  They are either permanently moored in places they shouldn't be or else play the silly game of shifting every fortnight between two or three adjacent villages or suburbs, so that they can readily drive to their friends, usual pubs or workplace'.

Another regular contributor, James Henry again tells how his cruises are spoilt by continuous moorers:

'It was particularly bad on the Shroppie as time and time again the few moorings by the shops were taken up by empty boats that were obviously home to continuous cruisers out at work locally.  As I was around Chester and Ellesmere Port areas for a month, the same boats were still there when I came back, though my photographs showed they had swapped about a bit'.

[James adds that Victor is to be congratulated on coming-up with the name continuous moorers, as there could not be better!]

Christopher Smith believes CaRT should go further by putting its effort into sorting out the residential moorers, stating:

'Now that the Trust have got on top of boat licence avoidance, and are putting their efforts into overstaying on moorings, will they then concentrate their efforts on the boaters living on their boats on Canal & River Trust recreational moorings.

Take action

The above emails were received within the past two days, and added to those already published, show there is clearly an increasing need for CaRT to take action against the problem.

In his article in narrowboatworld, Trustee John Dodwell told us:

'Now the enforcement team have got licence evasion down to a lower level, they are turning to over-stayers and it's intended there should be more frequent patrols in future at 24 and 48 hours moorings. After all, what's the point in having a limit on hours if nothing is done about over-stayers?'.

However, from the above information from boaters, it obviously does not seem to have taken effect.