Can you register a sailing dinghy as your tender?

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SimonA

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Just wondering if the EA would allow this, small (12ft) sailing dinghy which will sometimes be towed behind my boat as a tender and sometimes used on it's own (as I have a trailer for it) Or would I have to register it on it's own (which costs more)?

PS I'm on the Anglian waterways not the Thames but I suspect it's the same rules.
 
SimonA said:
Just wondering if the EA would allow this, small (12ft) sailing dinghy which will sometimes be towed behind my boat as a tender and sometimes used on it's own (as I have a trailer for it) Or would I have to register it on it's own (which costs more)?
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From the EA documentation:
"Tenders are eligible to a 50 per cent discount when registered at the same time as your main boat. A tender is a small boat or dinghy, towed or carried by your main boat."

I think you would need a full unpowered licence if you want to be able to use the dingy on its own.
 
I think you are all reading too much into the description.

  • I use mine to get to the boat - better than swimming in the winter.
  • I tow it to where I'm going - nice for pottering up the unnavigable bits.
  • I use it on it's own when I get there.
Nobody's ever raised a query.
Why should they?
You've got a discount for a second small boat. You can't use it at the same time as your main boat.

Nice little concession for you and EA get a bit more cash for dinghies that might remain unregistered.
 
As I understand it - you understand - the discount for a tender is where it is used in association with, and registered at the same time as, the main vessel.

Our friend Simon says that it will be "sometimes used on it's own (as I have a trailer for it)" so, IMESHO, that would not be in association with etc......
 
It could be both. My RIB is a T/T my boat, licensed and insured as such for use on the Thames. But, I also have a trailer for it, and some times go to the big salty water and mess about there. It is also insured for use there under my "boats' equipment" clause (Nav and Gen, I phoned and checked..) even though it is nowhere near the main vessel. I think this is legal and within the intent of the licensing rules?

It is only a vessel in it's own right when operated (in my case..) off the river.
 
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I have never paid a licence fee for my tender and it has never been an issue in over 30 years. There are bigger fish for the EA to deal with which I am pleased to say they seem to be doing. My tender is ancillary to my boat and not used as an independant cruising craft and certainly has never used a lock.
A sailing boat however as admitted in the OP is an entity in its own right and should have an unpowered licence in my opinion.
I have to pay for my 'beer boat' as well, which never uses a lock, so I feel I am paying my dues and then some:).Hic!
 
Hi dash ,

It should really be registered , speaking with my EA hat on , anything that is afloat on the thames should be registered , regardless of whether you go through a lock or not.

If you should be stopped by a patrol launch while pottering about in it , i would imagine you will be given an unregistered report , and there should be a lot more patrols this year with the volunteers manning the boats.

A question for the OP ...

Is the boat solely powered by oars or sail , or do you ever put an outboard on the back of it when on the EA navigations ?

Personally , and i mean just my own option , is that it should be fine to licence it as a tender at the same time as your main boat ( anyone with a tender can do exactly as TrueBlue has stated ) , it is immaterial if you trailer it to the sea or not . Although , you will need to weigh up the size of it versus cost , you will get a discount as others have mentioned , but will this make it cheaper than an annual unpowered licence ( currently £32 ).

The only caveat with an unpowered licence is that you can not use the boat with an outboard on EA waters if it is registered as an unpowered craft , with a tender to licence , you can if the opportunity presents itself.

For a definative answer though , give craft reg a call.
 
For the cost of less than half a tank of fuel in the average car you get 12 months of usage.
Register it you Tight Wad
 
teddington_lock said:
Hi dash ,

It should really be registered , speaking with my EA hat on , anything that is afloat on the thames should be registered , regardless of whether you go through a lock or not.

If you should be stopped by a patrol launch while pottering about in it , i would imagine you will be given an unregistered report , and there should be a lot more patrols this year with the volunteers manning the boats.

A question for the OP ...

Is the boat solely powered by oars or sail , or do you ever put an outboard on the back of it when on the EA navigations ?

Personally , and i mean just my own option , is that it should be fine to licence it as a tender at the same time as your main boat ( anyone with a tender can do exactly as TrueBlue has stated ) , it is immaterial if you trailer it to the sea or not . Although , you will need to weigh up the size of it versus cost , you will get a discount as others have mentioned , but will this make it cheaper than an annual unpowered licence ( currently £32 ).
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Thank you.

It is powered by oars or the sail, no engine.

Here on the Anglian Waterways sailing boats (including dinghies) are not classed as unpowered, they strangely come under mechanically powered craft (What's mechanical about a sail?). The fee is £45 if I register it on it's own, but since I'm paying £400 for the licence on my motor boat this month I can register a tender and get a 50% discount, so £22.50 instead of £45. I'm probably only going to use the sailing dinghy a couple of times as it's kept at home, so £45 is a lot of money for a couple of trips out.
 
teddington_lock said:
Hi dash ,

It should really be registered , speaking with my EA hat on , anything that is afloat on the thames should be registered , regardless of whether you go through a lock or not.

If you should be stopped by a patrol launch while pottering about in it , i would imagine you will be given an unregistered report , and there should be a lot more patrols this year with the volunteers manning the boats.

A question for the OP ...

Is the boat solely powered by oars or sail , or do you ever put an outboard on the back of it when on the EA navigations ?

Personally , and i mean just my own option , is that it should be fine to licence it as a tender at the same time as your main boat ( anyone with a tender can do exactly as TrueBlue has stated ) , it is immaterial if you trailer it to the sea or not . Although , you will need to weigh up the size of it versus cost , you will get a discount as others have mentioned , but will this make it cheaper than an annual unpowered licence ( currently £32 ).

The only caveat with an unpowered licence is that you can not use the boat with an outboard on EA waters if it is registered as an unpowered craft , with a tender to licence , you can if the opportunity presents itself.

For a definative answer though , give craft reg a call.
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TL you are of course are correct and I am probably stuck in the rose tinted past before the commercial reality hit the sleepy river. I am very concerned however about the volunteer 'river specials'. We have all seen the sad wannabees who volunteer in other walks of life and they have made the parking Nazis look like Saints. My tender will be firmly attached to it's davits!
I wonder if it will get a ticket affixed.:eek:
 
mlines said:
The other option which is often forgotten is to pay for a Day Licence at the first lock you come to.

For a few trips per year this can be cost effective. My powered boat costs £12 and for some reason a day licence seems to last 2 days.
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No , if the tender is hanging on the back of a Thames based boat , i'm pretty certain you can't buy a visitors licence.

A day licence lasts two days , because of the two for one deal that the Agency offer. Pay for one day and you get the second day free. Worth bearing in mind that the second ( free ) day comes off your annual visitors licence entitlement though.

1 x 31 day
2 x 15 day
Any combination of 1-6 days

Totalling 67 days in any one year.

So , 3 visits using your two days a time and you're done , unless you go for a 15 day licence.
 
teddington_lock said:
No , if the tender is hanging on the back of a Thames based boat , i'm pretty certain you can't buy a visitors licence.
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I would agree with that but I thought he was talking of a small sailing boat that he wanted to sail and was looking to reduce his costs by calling it a tender, not actually using it as a tender.



So , 3 visits using your two days a time and you're done , unless you go for a 15 day licence.
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Thats interesting to see that the "free" day comes off your allocation. I worked on the principle that 6 day registrations were allowed, not 3 x 2 day. Its doesnt make that clear on the EA site where it states "purchasing up to six 1-day registrations" without stating that 1 day registrations are in fact two days, sneaky.

Martin
 
This thread is descending into a rather confusing melange of assumptions and misconceptions and this is really not the place to get a definitive answer - especially as the question relates to Anglian waters and not the Thames.

Best way to get a definitive answer is for Simon to seek clarification from the registration authority direct and let us know the outcome.
 
I phoned the EA and to be honest wished I hadn't bothered. The person I spoke to had no answers to any of my questions. I also wanted to cancel my direct debit and set up a new one for the increased amount to include the dinghy (Anglian region licenses run from the 1st April and direct debits start 28th April), the person I spoke to didn't have a clue how to do that or register a tender. Not a lot of help really. So I downloaded the forms of the EA website and filled in the details for the sailing dinghy clearly stating it's kept at home on a trailer and will also be used as a tender. Posted this to the EA along with the application for my main boat plus new direct debit details, I will wait and see if they are happy to register the dinghy as my tender.

The EA website defines a tender as a small boat carried aboard or towed behind the main vessel. I see a lot of people using their tenders for a trip up the river from the marina, which is really no different to how I propose to use mine.
 
SimonA said:
I phoned the EA and to be honest wished I hadn't bothered. The person I spoke to had no answers to any of my questions. I also wanted to cancel my direct debit and set up a new one for the increased amount to include the dinghy (Anglian region licenses run from the 1st April and direct debits start 28th April), the person I spoke to didn't have a clue how to do that or register a tender. Not a lot of help really.
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Agreed I rang them as well to chase up the licence application i made for my tender (in FEB.)
No flipping idea.
Apparenly its in a "pile" somewhere and they have not logged it into the computer system yet.
Tone will be along in a mo with the violin out.
 
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