Independent Survey of Thames Boaters
Led by the Thames Motor Boaters Association (TMBA) and supported by all the organisations representing powered craft which use the non-Tidal Thames (including NABO) we are undertaking a survey of the views of our members about their experiences when using the Thames over the past year. We urge all who both moor on the Thames or […]
Letter to members – CRT’s T&Cs
Anne Husar finds key issues not consulted on, which could negatively impact boaters. As many of you will be aware, there has recently been yet another revision of CRT’s Terms and Conditions (T&C’s) for private boaters. This latest publication follows their admission of ‘errors’ in previous drafts which has now led to two of the […]
A blow-by-blow account of the terms
In mid-2020, CRT commenced a consultation on the private boat licence terms and conditions. They did not invite comment on the whole document, but limited the consultation to nine items of change. NABO made three submissions: on the consultation; on the privacy policy and a third on the readability of the terms and privacy documents. […]
Heritage and the Canal and River Trust.
During the last century, British Waterways began the sale of canalside properties, listed or otherwise, and this has been continued over the years by the Canal and River Trust (CRT). Although a recent Freedom Of Information request asking how many listed buildings have already been sold was denied, seasoned boaters and canal enthusiasts could easily […]
Trouble signing in?
I see a few members trying to sign in and failing. I get an email every time this happens, so I know what is going on. The system is working ok, or I would not be able to write this, but there be gremlins about. I have done some maintenance clean up on the system […]
EA Navigation Consultation – boat registration charges proposals from 1 Jan 2022
EA have advised us as follows: We are pleased to announce that our Navigation charges consultation is now live. The consultation will be running for 8 weeks, until 16 September 2021. You will find the Navigation charges consultation page, together with all the relevant information on Citizen Space – https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/environment-and-business/nav-boat-reg-charge. We do encourage you and your […]
Bridgewater bookings
Following an agreement with the Bridgewater Canal Company, CRT-licensed boaters wishing to access the Bridgewater Canal, must now pre-book the visit using the on-line booking system (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/planning-your-boat-trip/booking-your-passage-online), after you have set up a customer account, or by phone on 0303 0404040. Outbound passage, free of charge, is limited to a maximum of seven continuous days […]
Disabled boaters’ forum
Ken Hylins reports on the meeting on 12th April. I attended this meeting for the first time with an open mind as to what to expect. There were seven people in the Zoom meeting: Matthew Symonds (Chairing) and Rachel Heywood from CRT, a waterway chaplain and other people with an interest in this matter. The […]
Lockdown lock use
– CRT’s annual lockage report for 2020 The headline figure, comparing 2020’s lock use with the previous year, is that there was a reduction of almost 33% across 172 comparison sites. In the week before the first lockdown in March, there were some 3,500 weekly lock counts, which fell to fewer than 1,000 during lockdown. From early […]
A sad reminder of the CO danger
Every so often, something happens that brings home the dangers closely associated with our way of life and hobby. Preventing carbon monoxide (CO) accumulation has been in the forefront of the fight to make life on a boat safer, with compulsory CO meters, adequate ventilation and a programme to make boaters more aware of the […]