A leap of faith.

Whilst working away doing upgrades and repairs on the boat I have been thinking again. Bad news I know -  But I can't help myself. I might need to join the TA (Thinkers Anonymous). I can just see myself, "Hello my names Michael and I'm a thinker." But I digress!

So what's rattling my chain on this wonderful spring morning! "British Waterways Moorings"

Some of us boaters have a BW mooring for which we pay a fee each year. Some of us are located upon residential and some of us are located upon leisure moorings. My idea does not differentiate between both types of mooring. Depending upon our personal circumstances, our boat may spend very little or a considerable amount of time away from our mooring - particularly during the cruising season.

Our BW mooring has showers, toilets, elsan disposal, rubbish disposal, electricity, water, secure car parking and even your own private telephone services, a storage unit and a solid fuel bunker are also available. There is a nearby BW pump out facility and also a chandler.

However, other BW moorings may have some or non of these.facilities available. Again I don't intend to differentiate between the different types of mooring available.

My idea depending on the individual boaters good will and their cruising habits. A previous mooring neighbour was opposed to anyone using their mooring when they were away cruising. The reason for their preference was that other BW moorings that were empty were not available for them to use.

My idea springs from my individual choice of how my BW mooring is used in my absence when we are out and about on our boat. So what would I see is a workable alternative to moorings being left empty when they could be used by passing boaters for an over night or short term stay.

First of all, the change in use should not present any difficulty or additional workload to BW. So it has to be done by personal choice. Further more it should not present a difficulty of any kind to my BW mooring neighbours.

So my idea is based around the following Basic-Rules.

To qualify you must hold a BW mooring licence.

The period of use should not be longer than seven days.

You should leave the mooring in the same condition or better than the condition in which you found it.

You should not cause any disturbance to other people within the area.

Considerate Boater Link

It will require your mooring to be identified in some way if you wish to participate. Maybe with a small sign attached to the bank side. Maybe you could print off and laminate a copy of the Considerate Boater Logo!

Have a look at the Considerate Boater web site. I was quite sceptical in the past that the ethos of Considerate Boating would work. But it does seem to be quite popular and I have seen CB stickers on several boats.

I don't intend to complicate the matter in any way by levying a fee or pre booking. It has to be a simple open ended agreement. However, if I was using someones mooring with an electrical point I would top up their meter with a card, or leave a note of thanks with a neighbour.

OK, that's it - a basic idea which I am throwing open for constructive comment. I know that some people feel possessive about their patch of water. I know some people will want to use the facility without reciprocating in any way. It is important that as a process it is not required to be policed in any way.

Later.....