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Friday 13 April 2012

It's not FAIR!!!!

I noticed in the latest edition of Canal Boat magazine (May 2012) that there are two letters to the Editor bemoaning the Continuous Cruiser (Ccer).
In the first letter, David R Lawson claims that the 'majority of boaters' resent Ccer's because they get off lightly financially by not having to pay for a mooring on top of the licence.  He suggests that C&RT should slap a 50% nominal mooring charge on top of the standard licence fee for Ccers and then abandon winter mooring provisions/charges altogether.  Mr Lawson also claims that the current winter mooring sites are often used by boaters without the requisite permit.
In the second letter on the subject of Ccer's, A. Haines  states that 'resentment is inevitable' because boaters who pay for a mooring and a licence feel that they are subsidising Ccers and calls for C&RT to scrap mooring permits and increase all licence fees.  Apparently, we would all unite then and rid the network of dishonest boaters that pay nothing!
So just a couple of thoughts and I will start with the last point made by A. Haines.
 
BW have been less than effective at policing and enforcing the current regulations why would any of us think that C&RT will be any better?  I recently met a group of what we affectionately term 'bridge-hoppers' whose number had been added to this winter by someone who had paid for winter moorings last year and then watched other boaters pitch camp on the opposite bank for the winter and pay nowt.  This year they joined the ranks of the 'bridge-hoppers'...  If BW had dealt with the breach of licence of the initial group they would have retained the income from this disaffected boater and in all likelihood gained income from the miscreants.  Apparently this enforcement malarkey is easier said than achieved though... and there lies the nub.  If no action was taken against people who failed to buy road fund licences for their vehicles how long would it be before the majority went unlicensed?  If enforcement is really not feasible, affordable or possible then someone needs to take a long hard look at the fee/revenue generation of C&RT Nee BW.
As an early retiree and  Ccer myself I fully admit that I am a lucky bugger  To be able to live on my boat and  cruise around the network at leisure is a real privilege, no two ways about it.  I play fair by the rules, pay my licence promptly and treat my environment with respect.  If I still had to work and could afford a narrowboat I would place it in a secure marina and pay the going rate.    If I have to store something, be it household goods, caravan, car or boat I would expect to have to pay for the service.  If you are an occasional boater through choice, or circumstance, why would you feel entitled to resent others who can spend more time boating .  If you join a golf club and can only play once a week and others can play everyday you don't get a rebate...
If you tax a car and only do a couple of thousand miles on the road you still pay the same as someone who does 100k miles....?

Do feel free to resent people who take the pee, don't play the game and don't pay for moorings when they should under the current rules.  But please  leave your envy at home when it comes to genuine continuous cruisers. 
You are not subsidising us you are paying for a service (mooring/storage) that YOU need and we don't. 
Ask yourself if the boot was on the other foot and YOU could cruise like us,... would you?






33 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you.
      I have just read Maffi's rant on the subject - you should too.
      Lesley

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  2. Lesley,
    Agree wholeheartedly with what you say, why should you pay for something you don't need or want? How would increasing the licence and abolishing mooring fees work anyway. I rent my mooring from a private operator so the money doesn't go to BW anyway. Actually, I've just given it up to become a "genuine" cc'er - if only for the summer! I know, "fair weather boater. . . "

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    1. Hi Jim
      I am not sure whether the angst and envy is aimed at the genuine Ccer or the Bridge-hopper... as you say the vast majority of moorings are in the hands of private companies and that is how it should remain.
      I am pleased that I managed to make a coherent point in favour of the Ccer and that you could agree with my thinking/arguement and as for 'fair weather boating' I am all in favour we don't travel in the rain if at all possible!
      Lesley

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  3. Well put Lesley!

    The way I see it if one wants the luxury of a mooring then one should expect to pay the fee for such. CCers choose not to have a mooring so therefore should not need to pay such a fee. Besides what would they be paying for if they did?

    From where I stand as a gongoozler (for now), it would seem to me that all David R Lawson and A Haines want is for everybody else to stump up the cost for them to have the privilege of a mooring and themselves not pay a bean for it. How is that fair?

    regards
    Steve
    nbAmyJo

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    1. Hi Steve
      I am not sure that the two correspondents had thought through their arguements very well. Of course there is point to be made about the apparent lack of enforcement of the regulations but that's about it. Perhaps I should write to the Editor of CB mag...
      Lesley

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  4. From someone that does need to pay for a mooring - well said!

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    1. Hi Julie
      Thank you. I am glad that my arguement has some credibility.
      Lesley

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  5. Replies
    1. You and David would be most welcome in the Ccer ranks...when are you joining us?
      Lesley

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    2. We will have paid nine months mooring without using it yet, do I get extra points?
      We will be glad to get anywhere this summer with the stoppages etc, if Foxton closes, then we may be forced to pay at another marina when we go home to tend to garden, grannies and offspring..... masses of extra points!!! I'll send them to you

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  6. In view of water shortages and closures of locks to conserve water perhaps C&RT should have a rethink of licence fees.

    I saw a 25ft cruiser (on its own) going down a lock on the GU and saw how much water this one little boat used to fill and empty the lock. As the amount of water used in locking is the same irrespective of the size of boat, it would be sensible to charge all boats the same licence fee. Marina charges are different as this is related to space taken up by an individual boat.

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  7. Hi Anon
    I would suggest that two full sized boats using the double GU locks would use the least water in a lock. However, how C&RT might factor that in who knows?
    Lesley

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    Replies
    1. Hi

      First off, well said!

      Secondly, almost all marinas pay 9% of their fee income to BW, in theory because evaporation from the marina surface has to be replaced by BW, but really it's just another income stream. What would be fair would be to remove that element from the mooring fee and put it on the licence fee for all of us.

      Thirdly, it makes no difference to how much water a lock uses whether it's got boats in it or not. The water that enters and leaves has to be below the boat's bottom, or you'd run aground!

      Nice review in that CB, mind ;-}}}

      all the best

      Bruce

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    2. Thanks Bruce.
      You are quite right about the lock usage but it has taken my feeble brain a few minutes to work that out - I was thinking that displacement would make a diffrence but of course it doesn't.

      On you second point about the premium that marinas pay to BW for water usage/replacement I would take issue with you. This charge is part of the overhead of running a marina and must be recovered by the marina flowing down cost to their customers, not having its operation subsidised by non-customers surely?

      good to hear from you
      Lesley

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    3. Yes, it's part of the marina's overhead, but it was introduced a while back (maybe what Mr Haines means by a "mooring licence") as an extra income stream for BW. It's far more than the real cost to BW of replacing the lost water.

      I think we should all write to CB; I just have, and will put the text in my blog tonight.

      Take care on those rivers now!

      ATB

      Bruce

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  8. As far as I'm concerned (and despite the fact that I am stuck in a marina most of the time due to work) CC'ing is in essence what narrowboats *should* be doing, and if anything those who are doing it should actually get a discount, as they are keeping the waterways active and USED (as we know a huge % of boats barely ever move). Sod those who clearly feel resentment at not being able to make the most of their boat, and sod the old fogies who feel the urge to write their nonsense ideas in letters to magazines.

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    1. Hi Neil
      I agree that the navigation needs to be used and is healthier for that. As for People's resentment, if it exists, it is clearly misplaced but it's free Country and all that...
      I might write to CB mag as a fully paid up old fogey myself and put the counter arguement!
      Lesley

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  9. Well put Lesley. I think you should respond to the two letters in CB magazine. We pay (to a landlord and BW) for a mooring on the Llangollen for 12 months of the year, although we only use it for 5-6 months of the year, but for those 5 or 6 months, we choose to be here, and static for a length of time, so we expect to pay for that privilege - unlike some who've been shuffling about the same 4 mile stretch round here for literally years. How can that be continuously cruising? Everyone on a boat is there out of choice, and as such should abide by the rules and not take the pee. And yes - if we could - we'd be continuous cruising! Sue NB Beefur

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    1. Hi Sue
      I think you have high lighted where the real 'resentment' stems from...'those shuffling about the same four mile stretch for years...'when they should be paying for a mooring. I might send something in to CB mag...tempting.
      take care
      Lesley

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  10. hear, hear - brilliant posting! Are you sending a copy to Canal Boat Magazine - you should, you know!

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    1. Thank you kind lady - they fiver is in the post...
      Lesley

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  11. Well put Lesley! We have been away Cycling the Canal du Midi for a week but you have been busy I see. Definitely need to send it to CBM.

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    1. HI Amanda
      You will have to update us with your cycling trip when we catch up with you in a few weeks time. I have written to CB mag but I imagine any number of others have also done so by now. Next months letters could be interesting...
      X Lesley

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  12. Well put Lesley. We have been away cycling the Canal du Midi and return to find you have broken your blogging break with all guns blazing! You should definitely send it to CBM. It's time some one put forward some common sense arguments

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  13. My sense is extremely common!
    Lesley

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  14. A argument well put Lesley.

    Also having CCed, a more sensible suggestion I saw put forward was for BW/CaRT to charge CCers for a winter mooring in their licence fee. Clearly if they could show evidence of a winter *non BW* mooring, they would be exempted, although I'm sure some would still claim they didn't need one.

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  15. Hi Chris
    Thanks.
    I am afraid that we would one of those Ccer's that don't feel the need for a winter mooring. We continue travelling, working our way around the stoppages and if we need to 'park'the boat for any reason we generally go into a marina on visitor moorings. We recently moored at Billing Marina on the R. Nene for three days while I went off to see my Mother.
    We get caught by ice most winters but so does everyone and as soon as there is a thaw we are on the move again so no requirement for a winter mooring for us. Many Ccers do take winter moorings in marinas or on line and if that is what suits them, and they pay for the priviledge, fine.
    Lesley

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  16. People who pay for a mooring get the advantages of a mooring. They can choose where and what level of service, and don't have to have one at all. There is no grounds for them complaining about the cost as if it were an extra tax!

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    1. Sarah, you put it very succinctly, I agree!
      Lesley

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  17. NB QISMA

    Lesley

    Very very well out. Can we have your thoughts on the cost of CaRT winter moorings - at least 90% empty.

    Jan

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