CaRT and the statute
WHILST not wishing to make waves I have to ask how it is that the 14 days rule for boaters mooring on a towpath, as laid out in the 1995 Waterways Act, can be so easily changed, purely to suit the purpose of the Trust? Asks Pam Pickett.
I refer to those sections of towpath now designated 'winter moorings' that those continuously cruising (more correctly travelling) are increasingly being pushed into taking. The 14 days rule now simply applying only to we boaters, and not to CaRT that is desperately it seems overriding those rules to seek further funding!
Varying circumstances
Still with rules in mind I also wish to query the term 'reasonable' written into statue to allow for those unexpected circumstances we boaters may face, health or breakdown etc. that surely raises the question of not just how long is 'reasonable', but how long is in fact 'reasonable' given such varying circumstances?
When a boater rescued a piece of waterways history from the scrapyard he no doubt did not expect further along the line to be hit with the necessity for massive engine repairs. That on the face of it nine months on a towpath in order to effect these repairs could be deemed 'unreasonable'—in the circumstances in which this boater finds himself however I have to ask if it is? Incidentally he is on a towpath where he is causing no-one any problem, other than CaRT with its 'tick box' enforcement.
Fine on the face of it
Exploring suggestions I've read that include taking this boat into a marina, onto winter moorings or into a boatyard, seem fine on the face of it. However, how many marinas do you know would welcome this sort of repair taking place on its jetties? How many availing themselves of paid winter moorings would welcome such disruption? As for boatyards, just how many in the area any longer have the necessary expertise for such a task?
Reasonable? Best I'd have thought leave this fully licenced and insured boat where it is, and where it is causing none of us a problem, and allow the owner to get on with the job so that he may then cruise, something he genuinely intends to do. Surely in exceptional circumstances exceptional dispensation can be given even by CaRT—without opening the flood gates to others!