Mooring charges

[Captain Coochie]

Ive just got my river views mag and notice on page 6 they are introducing charges for over staying boats . Fair enough if it stops people that dont have a dedicated mooring but what about those of us that do .
During the summer its quite common for me to leave my boat at the lawn in Sunbury . Nearly opposite its mooring . That way i can nip down to it for a spot of lunch in the afternoon and then back down in the evening for a bit of fishing and a few beers with whoever is around . At the weekends when the lawn area gets busy i,m out and about or back on my mooring so i dont take up the space .
Under the new charges detailed on page six i would be charged £110 from monday to friday . Some of us only get to do weekend boating and the new charges would rule out any chance of long trips by leaving the boat for the week and carrying on the journey the next weekend . Why should we all suffer these charges because of a few people ? The EA must know who they are so why not target them ? Or is it people like me that they are talking about ?

 

[ms1]

as I read it the charges apply at Stevens Eyot (collected by the small boat club) with the suggestion that , if successful, it may be introduced elsewhere.
I confess I do favour measures to deal with the "permanently crusing" fraternity and as is so often the case these days the 'authorities' think they can do that with financial penalties. I have my doubts. Who's going to collect especially away from recognised moorings ?. What happens when they dont /wont pay ... weeks of admin and court applications ?. As Spelthorne Council told me recently in connection with a matter at Mrs Lindseys at Shepperton .. the boats can be moved away and legitimately return 24 hours later and all the admin starts all over again.
I hope this doesnt foul up your arrangements at Kings Lawn .. as Sunbury is such a publicly visible mooring it is not generally frequented by the sorts of boats that we all wish were not taking up residence, so hopefully these measure will not be implemented there.

 

[Phill]

I remember sitting in the park at Marlow one saturday or Sunday in the summer and a lady got off a moored narrowboat with her suit cases. She told someone on a neighbouring NB to keep an eye on her boat as she would be away all week. I am sure that these are public 24 hour moorings and are in demand during the week as well as weekends. If new measures are being put in place to stop this, then I would welcome them.

 

[TrueBlue]

I shall probably get flamed for this

[ QUOTE ]
I remember sitting in the park at Marlow one saturday or Sunday in the summer and a lady got off a moored narrowboat with her suit cases. She told someone on a neighbouring NB to keep an eye on her boat as she would be away all week. I am sure that these are public 24 hour moorings and are in demand during the week as well as weekends. If new measures are being put in place to stop this, then I would welcome them.

[/ QUOTE ]

but to my mind there's no distinction in this case between the "great unwashed" that everyone likes to attack, and those that use the system to give them cheap accommodation.

Both take up valuable mooring spaces on prime moorings are accordingly deny that space for those genuinely cruising the system.

IME those most who live onboard in reduced circumstances, by choice or circumstance, do not grab any of the public moorings, but rather tuck themselves away in "informal" moorings. Unfortunately some of these are popular for overnighters as well.

It's the lady mentioned above and the like who abuse the system to its maximum and who have jobs who pinch the prime moorings as they are near public transport, who really need "sorting out", as they are more articulate and argumentative.

I have some sympathy for the real travelling community, who don't want hassle, and keep very much to themselves. It's the others who upset me. But it's all very much a matter of degree.

 

[Captain Coochie]

Re: I shall probably get flamed for this

Hmmmm i didnt really think that one through . If i was to leave the boat for a week i would probably pay a marina rather than just leave it somewhere that i didnt know . Saying that i still leave her at the lawn in Sunbury , if it starts to get busy i go back on the mooring .

 

[TrueBlue]

Re: I shall probably get flamed for this

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmmm i didnt really think that one through . If i was to leave the boat for a week i would probably pay a marina rather than just leave it somewhere that i didnt know . Saying that i still leave her at the lawn in Sunbury , if it starts to get busy i go back on the mooring .

[/ QUOTE ]

Not getting at you, Cuchilo - You're a member of this Forum and therefore OK and caring! ( /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif). Your's a short boat, and being an above-mentioned person, probably leave your boat tucked into one end or another of the mooring, leaving room for others, so no issue.

Its longer thin steel things that take up more room and more suitable for liveaboards that cause the problem and raise so much anger, 'cos they're bigger.

Of course "we" don't have any vehicle for pointing out "the error of their ways", so the problems will continue.