LAST year I decided on a winter mooring from the Trust, just outside Reading, and paying just under £200 a month for my 62ft boat, worked out at a tad under £500, writes Bernie Clinton.
All I got for this money was Armco piling and a tap over a mile away, but which came under the Trust's 'some facilities on site or within a short cruise', bringing it in its £10 a metre per month range. I'm not sure how this was not under its £6.50 range, which states 'no facilities', for the mooring had no facilities, and it would be interesting to know if anyone got away with this cheaper range, that I expect depends on the Trust's interpretation of 'facilities (a tap) a short cruise away'.
Saved a great deal of money
Speaking to others paying for winter moorings, that can go up to £10 a metre per month, I soon learnt that rather then stop on one such mooring with no facilities, others simply stayed the require limit then moved on, so saving themselves a great deal of money.
As many of us now use solar panels, the latest being most efficient even on a cloudy winters day, and my water tank will last a good week and having both kinds of toilet facilities, I am most self-sufficient so why should I pay the Trust, for having the use of a tap over a mile away and no other facilities whatsoever?
An added incentive is that there seems to be many a 'blind-eye' turned during the winter months, though I don't know if this is because the K&A has a strong association standing up for continuous cruisers, but it certainly helps when the weather turns against us.