Chose his mode of boating

I am a continuous cruiser and I am fed up with what I have been reading about people like me, writes Keith Gudgin.

We are not all the same so please do not keep painting us all with the same brush. [I must point out that contributors usually refer to continuous moorers, not continuous cruisers—Editor.]

Deliberately chose

I deliberately chose this mode of boating when I purchased my boat, I assume the continuous paid moorers chose theirs?

So what is it about us that some continuous paid moorers don't like?

They appear to think that continuous cruising is a cheaper option, well I can tell them it is not. I pay the same for my licence as they do! I do not pay a mooring fee but I do pay much more for fuel/maintenance etc. I challenge them to try it for a couple of years and then they'll see. If they pay for a mooring that has all the frills and whistles, then yes, they are going to pay a lot for it, but that's their choice. I chose not have this and I don't see why when I did people should call me a cheapskate etc.

Don't like staying

They appear to think I just want to stay in one place for free, I do not, in fact I don't like staying in one place more than a few days as I want to see the things I have not been able to up to now.

I do agree that boats should not moor for extended periods on visitor moorings or towpaths and this also goes for continuous paid moorers when they are cruising the network, yes I have seen them overstaying mooring times, and not just by a couple of days either!

I do agree that people should not just moor anywhere they like just so they can live on their boats and go to work/college etc. from it.

Affordable permanent moorings

The answer to licenced boats mooring at places for extended periods is affordable permanent moorings. I have spoken to boaters who have left their moorings because they are too expensive for the facilities that are being provided and the conditions that are being imposed too draconian. Some cheap moorings without extended facilities/hook-ups etc. for a reduced fee would help a lot. A case of you get what you pay for!

If you want to stop the licence evasion then the answer is simple: Smart card licensing. A smart card/chip and pin card that allows access to sanitary stations, water points, locks etc. that has a date in it that will not work when the licence runs out. It's cheap enough if you do not issue a new one each year and just renew the date on it. Can be used for other things as well such as hook-up tariffs etc.

Caught more easily

You do not need to fit them everywhere just at a few problem points around the network. Fit them to a few locks and those without licences will not be able to move far and can then be caught more easily.

Also the practice of CART removing all the 14 day mooring signs and replacing them with 24/48 hour signs is a complete waste of time and money as far as I can see as it will not stop the problem. In the first place I suggest those that advocate this practice read the relevant Waterways Acts first and stop treating us boaters as illiterate people who only know what CART tell us. I am not going to expand on this here, I suggest you read the Acts for yourself and you'll see what I mean.

Please stop this continuous cruiser bashing as you continuous paid moorers are not without fault, but you would not like it if we kept on about a few of you and painted all the rest of you with same brush would you?

Help if required

Perhaps if the boaters who see these boats moored at the places they state for extended periods would like to talk to them and find out why they stay there, and then they may be able to offer a more positive response and even help them if required.

We are all a family, I have had nothing but help and kindness from the live-a-board boaters I have met during all my time on the network and I hope this situation carries on. We need to unite and ensure that the new powers that be don't forget us. We need to ensure that the boater's voice is heard with a united front. We should be careful not to present ourselves as a broken entity that just argues and complains among ourselves as if we do not know what we want.

Management committee

Campaign to get more boaters on the management committee and then we can do something positive and of benefit to all boaters.

Don't let them ‘divide and rule us', unite and be a force to be reckoned with. It is your home you are fighting for after all.