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Mooring

If you're living on a boat you have two choices: Either find a permanent mooring or 'continuously cruise', i.e. pay your river/canal license and move from one public mooring to another. Both have big pros and cons, but this decision is more important than any other if you're considering buying a boat to live aboard.

PERMANENT MOORINGS

The main reason you'll want a permanent mooring is if you have to travel to work each day and either need to be near a station or you have a car you want to keep nearby. Also being able to run a mains supply from the shore makes life aboard a lot less complex.

There are three types of permanent mooring:

• Official residential moorings, recognised as such by the local authorities
• 'Pied a terre' moorings - These are officially recognised moorings but you're not supposed to live there permanently. It's the equivalent of a holiday chalet where you're only allowed to live there for a certain proportion of the year. Everyone turns a blind eye though.
• Unofficial moorings - These can range from an official non-residential mooring with everyone turning a blind eye, through to marinas etc using you as a 'security boat', through to permanently mooring against disused or unclaimed land.

How to find a mooring

• Waterways magazines and newsletters sometimes list vacant moorings
• Get a Nicolson's guide for your waterway and phone through all the boatyards and marinas listed. If any sound even vaguely positive then go and visit the owner, make sure you sound like you know what you're doing, buy him a pint and wave bank notes at him.
• Get on a bicycle and travel down the waterway, stopping to chat to any boaters moored up. Most will be very happy to stop and chat and may know of possible moorings.

Advantages of permanently mooring:

• Chances are you'll have neighbours and a good community spirit
• You may be able to park your car nearby, maybe even have your own parking space
• Water, electricity and sewage disposal points are often laid on at moorings, sometimes BT lines also.
• If you are lucky enough to find a mooring with official residential status, your boat's value will rise considerably simply by being on the mooring. Many people are willing to buy an 'overpriced' boat on a mooring because they a) can't find a vacant mooring space or b) basically have money to burn. Remember that even an overpriced boat is likely to cost MUCH less than a flat or house in the same area. As the country becomes more overcrowded, 'alternative' lifestyles such as living aboard are becoming more and more fashionable, and this is driving demand (and costs) up rapidly.
• Post can be delivered to you as normal.
• Being in a community of boats increases security as there's usually someone around to challenge would-be thieves

Disadvantages:

• It is VERY difficult to find a vacant mooring with official residential status, especially in the South East.
• As demand rises, problems arise. The mooring fees go up, and mooring owners can increase mooring fees without justification. There is no 'rent tribunal' you can speak to about unjustified mooring fee increases. Once on a mooring, you are heavily reliant on its residential status in order to keep your boat's value inflated, and also because you know that there's no other local vacant moorings. The mooring owners know this as well... And most behave like a**holes as a result. I've never personally met an nice, honest one yet, and that also goes for the more 'official' moorings run by BW and EA officers. When you do find a vacant mooring, insist on a contract being drawn up. The contract should mention your name, the landlord's name PLUS the name of your boat. Insist that the contract includes a minimum commitment level for both parties e.g. mooring upkeep & supply of services. Make sure that the landlord states a minimum notice period, and lists sensible reasons for terminating the contract. Also, as many landlords realise that your boat is worth more on their moorings, they'll want a cut of the profits if you sell it on the mooring. Make sure this amount is specifically mentioned in the contract, as a rule of thumb the landlord's cut should be no more than 8% (British Marine Brokers standard) if he sells the boat, or 2% if you do. Having your boat's name on the contract means that it's harder for the landlord to try and stick his oar in when you're trying to sell on the mooring. If it only mentioned you by name then the landlord can claim that the contract is null and void the moment you find a buyer. If the boat's name is on the contract then theoretically it stands so long as the boat remains on the mooring.
• If the landlord refuses to include any of the above in a contract or refuses to draw up any contract then I would think long and hard about whether you ought to moor there. Would you rent a flat without a contract??
• As a residential boater, just because you pay mooring fees and even council tax, don't think you have the same legal rights as a home owner or tenant. You have very few official rights. Luckily you have many 'implied' rights as long as you're prepared to fight for them with a solicitor. A solicitor with knowledge of mooring rights is hard to find, I recommend joining the Residential boat owners association, they can supply a good one. Find out who represents you in your local council. They might not have a clue (mine is in charge of parks & gardens!) but it's useful to know who to address issues to. If you trust your neighbours enough then I recommend you form a moorings association. Use this to increase your 'clout' and share any legal costs.

If you're on a mooring that's not 'officially' residential, then all I can advise you is to try for the best contract you can and keep your head down!

Continuously Cruising

This is the true 'gypsy' option - You pay your river/canal license and travel from one public mooring to another. This option will definitely suit you if you're retired or can work from home armed with nothing but a mobile. It also suits people who work short contracts around the country. If you don't have a job that suits this lifestyle then find one! Even the lowest paid jobs will support you with such low living costs.

Advantages:

• The cheapest way of living in the UK!
• Complete freedom - The true gypsy life
• Get to meet loads of new people every week
• No council tax, TV license etc

Disadvantages:

• The boat must be self contained - All power must come from the batteries or a generator
• Only suits certain types of job
• Risk of the boat being broken into
• Not compatible with owning a car
• No postal address, although you could get a friend to forward mail to you via the nearest post office
• Life becomes a continuous cycle of obtaining fuel, water and toilet stops
• Your boat will cover large distances, therefore the engine etc will wear out quicker
• Rivers flood, canals freeze over and engines break down - you will become stranded, not always in an area of your choice!
• You can't stay in one place indefinitely - Most waterways authorities place a maximum stay time on each public mooring, e.g. 24hours, 48hours, 1 week, fortnight. Most also specify further, e.g. no return to that mooring within a month, or no more than 'X' number of days on that mooring over 1 year. It's sufficiently complex to make enforcement rather difficult, and you'll rarely be challenged so long as you don't abuse the rules too much. Winter months tend to be more relaxed because there's very little tourist traffic. On the canals you can moor virtually anywhere, and in many places it's possible to moor for very long periods of time before being asked to move on. The more remote your mooring is, the less chance of you being hassled.

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