Survey of boat owners’ views

The third survey of a third of CRT boat licence holders was carried out by an independent research consultant in March and April 2018. The survey has now covered all boaters who have held a boat licence in the last three years. In June, CRT published a summary of the last survey results, which included every new boat licence holder who had not been surveyed in 2016 or 2017. For comparison, the results included the average over the three-year survey cycle (3YA). 

In the 2018 survey, of the 1,760 respondents:

• 76% said they would recommend the waterways to other boaters (3YA 74%)
• 74% rated overall upkeep of the waterways as OK to excellent (3YA 75%)
• 70% were satisfied with their experience of cruising the waterways (3YA 71%)
• 53% feel they know the Trust very well or a fair amount (3YA 53%)
• 54% feel more favourable to the Trust (3YA 56%), and
• 62% trust the charity to look after the waterways (3YA 64%).

Jon Horsfall, Head of Customer Services, said that: “with only just over half of respondents both knowing and feeling favourable towards the Trust, we do acknowledge that there is more to do.”.

The summary of results ended with a note that ‘The Boat Owners’ Views survey report will be published on the Trust’s website in due course’. At the time of writing, in mid-September, the detailed survey results have not appeared on the CRT website.