British Waterways (BW) is today publishing updated, more concise mooring guidance for boats without a home mooring. 

The existing 2004 ‘mooring guidance for continuous cruisers’ has been refined to be more easily understood and to reflect the judgement of Bristol County Court in September 2010 that moving up and down within a 10 mile stretch of the Kennet & Avon Canal by a boater with no home mooring did not amount to bona fide navigation.

BW has drafted the updated document following professional legal advice, including from Leading Counsel, and also sought input from national boating organisations. 

In particular the new, shorter, guidance explains what is meant by bona fide navigation and seeks to clarify the nature of the movement that must take place.

Sally Ash, Head of Boating at British Waterways, said; “The existing guidance needed updating in light of the increasing number of boats without a home mooring and to reflect the judgement of Bristol County Court.

“We welcome genuine continuous cruising on our canals and rivers and very much hope that the new guidance will remove much of the confusion and ambiguity around this subject. Importantly we’ve actively sought the views of leading organisations within the boating community and the National Association of Boat Owners in particular made several constructive suggestions which we have been pleased to incorporate”.

The new guidance will be communicated to all continuous cruisers this week and will be updated within the existing boat licence terms and conditions. A copy can also be found at www.britishwaterways.co.uk/mooringguidance or by calling BW Customer Services on 01923 201120.