There is a reason

AS A continuous cruiser who has been such for nine years come next March, I hope you will include my observations of why from time to time I could not move within the required 14 days, and that people espying such overstaying can understand, writes Malcolm Portend.

These are of course my own circumstances, but I have known others affected similarly.

Would have starved

During winter I have been stuck time and time again when coming up to maintenance work and miles past a winding hole, and before you say I should make sure I know where the work is, this particular lock on the Leeds & Liverpool was not listed and I was there over a month, which is why I have a cycle on the roof, otherwise with an estimated seven miles to the shops I would have starved.

Another time I did know about maintenance, but last year the floods exacerbated the time it took to complete, and again I was stuck for over the 14 days, and this time I was reported by someone who obviously was not capable of adding two and two together.

Over 14 days

And writing of floods, they are a reason that many of us get holed-up where we do not want to be and have to hang on until the water recedes. One year coming down through Shardlow the Trent was well flooded, but this time I was in a mess as Canaltime had taken over all the moorings to turn around their boats, as they were unable to reach  their marina, and so as I did not want to moor on pegs with such activity I went back up the canal and found a mooring.  Once again it was the trusty bike to get provisions, but this meant I was back in the same area over the 14 days period, which was the reason I was moving in the first place.

All regular boaters know that things go wrong from time to time, and for those of us with no regular mooring, such happening can have you stuck in one place a lot longer than you want to be. Of course normal things like a piece of equipment failing is no problem as you can still carry on and get to somewhere where it can be attended to, but when you lose your main drive on the Shropshire Union miles from anywhere and nowhere near a road to boot, then you are in a mess. The engine was going but when I shoved the throttle forward it increased its revs but the prop remained steadfastly still.

Five weeks

As I had purchased the boat second-hand I had no idea what make was the gearbox that was coupled to my traditional engine, and finished up with three separate people coming out, but they could do nothing, until eventually I had a tow to a boat yard that could only fit on a new gear box.  Altogether I was in the area five weeks, way past the 14 days, but what could I do?

Luckily I have not suffered illness, but I have known boaters who have, and have finished up in hospital whilst their boat remains, over the 14 days, but this is what happens, so please, when you see a boat in one place for quite a while don't jump to a conclusion, as it most likely will be the wrong one.