Some of the canal boats for sale at Boatshed Grand Union come with a mooring, and some don’t. If the boat that you’re looking at does not already have a mooring there are three options available to you.

Option One: Find a mooring, either “off line” in a marina or “on line” (along the canal or river bank).

Option Two: Continuously cruise, moving the boat from place to place every fourteen days, or more often depending on the local mooring restrictions. There are very specific rules about this, check the Canal and River Trust guidelines carefully before deciding if this option is suitable for you.

Option Three: A combination of options one and two. Continuously cruising in the winter can be difficult due to weather conditions and stoppages for canal maintenance. The Canal and River Trust and some marinas offer winter moorings so that you can stop travelling during the winter and continue your cruise again in the summer.

Finding a mooring

The price of your mooring will depend on the location, the services provided and the length of your boat. Moorings in the south of England cost more than those in the north, and inner city areas like London can be more expensive than a rural mooring with less travel connections.

There is a Find a Mooring tool on the Canal and River Trust website. Many moorings are advertised on CRTmoorings.com and you can receive an email alert when something becomes available in your chosen area. Marina moorings operated by private companies are advertised in the waterways press, such as Waterways World, Canal Boat Magazine and Towpath Talk. A marina will often have more facilities than a linear mooring, including a water supply, sewage disposal, rubbish disposal and 240volt electric supply.

If you are offered a mooring at the end of someone’s garden a fee would still be payable to the Canal and River Trust or another relevant navigation authority. Some people dream of buying their own land and mooring a boat or several boats there. However, the Canal and River Trust prefer to create new off line moorings in basins and marinas, rather than on line moorings. This is because they have had feedback from boaters who feel that long lines of moored boats can detract from the pleasure of boating.

Paul Smith has compiled a list of all of the narrowboat friendly marinas in England and Wales on his website livingonanarrowboat.co.uk and has attempted to review as many as possible. Some marinas even provide marine engineering services, slipway, chandlery, gas, diesel, and Wi-Fi internet in addition to the basic facilities.

According to the Canal and River Trust website, “Mooring sites are plentiful,” so don’t let the lack of a mooring prevent you from finding your perfect boat on our website today.

Peggy
www.narrowboatwife.com

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