Considerate boating

The canals and rivers and their associated towpaths are relatively narrow and are there to be enjoyed by everyone, whether they’re boating, walking, fishing, canoeing or cycling, or they live alongside the waterway.

So, please remember other visitors' enjoyment too and avoid unnecessary disturbance. The Waterways Code promotes understanding of the advice we give to those engaging in different types activity on the waterway.

Your boat licence terms and conditions include obligations designed to achieve harmony. For example, condition 7.5 says that you “must not do (or carelessly fail to do) anything which will cause damage or nuisance to any person or their property.” This includes things like …

• Generating excessive noise –whether human, dog or electricity generator.  Please don’t use electricity generators, including the boat's engine between 8pm and 8am unless you are moored completely out of earshot of other people. If you are moored close to houses, avoid running the generator or engine when stationary and be responsive to neighbours' requests for peace and quiet.
• Having a persistently smoky chimney in a built-up area. 
• Damaging the canal banks or structures. Creating waves by using too much throttle causes damage to the banks and results in silt settling within the channel. So save your pocket, your carbon footprint and the waterway by cruising slowly and never run the engine in gear when moored up.  
• Overspilling onto the towpath. Please keep your belongings on board the boat at all times.  Doing repairs to your boat or other activities which involve use of powered equipment on the towpath is not allowed.

Don’t hog the moorings!

You can moor along the towpath for short periods while cruising. This means up to 14 days or less where a local restriction applies, which is generally the case at designated visitor moorings. Please be fair to other boaters and don’t overstay. Increasingly, you may find yourself subject to an extended stay charge of £25 per day if you do. 

We have a well organised enforcement team whose job is to ensure that boats licensed and comply with mooring rules and licence conditions, but they’re not a police force, and we deliberately keep the team as small as possible so that more funds are available for maintaining the physical fabric of the waterways and associated services. So please help us to keep the waterways tranquil, harmonious and enjoyable places for all by being a considerate boater.

Join the considerate boaters!

Please pay a visit to www.considerateboater.com, an excellent independent website, dedicated to considerate boating on UK inland waterways and sign up as a supporter if you can.