In a popular advertising campaign the yeast extract spread 'Marmite' is described as something you either love or hate. Similar could be said of boaters' views of marinas. Hardcore liveaboards will often talk of marina-based boaters in derogatory terms implying that to be a true boater you must spend all of your time aboard out on the cut come rain or shine. They see marinas as businesses that exist to rip off boaters and where wimps keep their shiny boats for 50 weeks of the year. Moreover, marinas impose strict rules that intrude on one's freedom to chose how one lives so contradicting the ethos of the waterways liveaboard. Others may simply look at marina-based boaters with a hint of sadness in their eyes believing that those folks are missing out on the complete experience of living aboard a narrowboat. On the other hand probably just as many boaters prefer the added security a marina berth can bring and the convenience of facilities on hand. No walking miles along the towpath to collect water and empty the loo for them. To them, living out on the cut is for the fanatical liveaboard boater who is willing to sacrifice creature comforts for the sake of an arguably cheaper lifestyle.
We stand with a foot in each camp, paradoxically, neither loving nor hating marinas. Through necessity of jobs and owning a house we were marina-based boaters for several years. The marina gave us a relatively secure berth where our boat could lie for those weeks in between trips and visits. We gave up on trying to find any kind of online mooring as being in the 'too difficult pile'. However, when looking for a marina berth we were struck by the wide disparity between different establishments. Some would charge for 'extras' such as electrical hookup or use of Elsan disposal facilities, while others would not allow liveaboards. Many charged an all inclusive mooring fee, which is what attracted us to the marinas we used. We have noticed how marina 'mafias' can develop whereby a clique of long term moorers can become a de facto council of elders. In some cases this is not necessarily a bad thing as they can keep the management on their toes by 'looking after marina users' interests'. But sometimes it can spill over into a patriarchal (sometimes matriarchal) society where a few drive the rules for the many and some take it upon themselves to know everybody else's business. Marinas do sometimes impose daft rules such as no solid fuel storage on the roof of a boat, or no log burning on fires. Such rules are often driven by the afore mentioned 'mafias'. Toleration is the key to survival in these circumstances.
Once we had decided to cruise continuously it became clear that holding a marina berth for 12 months of the year when the boat would not be on it for up to 9 months just did not make economic sense. So our strategy now is to find winter moorings for at least November through to start of February each year. This gives us a 3 month window in which to complete any essential maintenance in the relatively easy environment of the marina. You do have to find a marina that does not ban boaters from working on their boats. Yes, that is another crazy rule some marinas impose on moorers. So we are happy to eschew a marina during the good cruising months but choose to find a safe haven to lie up for the depths of winter to use as a base to catch up on family friends. This approach paid dividends over last winter as we were frozen in solid in the marina and life was quite tough. Those folks who stayed out on the cut were hit much harder.
During this year's cruising we have seen many marinas and marina developments around the network and the variety in terms of size, location, fees and attitude to boaters is amazing. Our advice to any boater contemplating taking a berth in a marina is to do your research thoroughly including a visit in person. You will soon gain a sense of how the place is managed. Furthermore, as reported in October's Towpath Talk there are some 3000 vacant berths in marinas around the network. So there is scope for negotiating the fee for your berth. Meanwhile, we shall continue to enjoy the best of both worlds while we can, cruising throughout the year and find a berth in a marina somewhere on the network for the winter. And why not?
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