Floating World - Mooring
Author: Ian Morris

Purchasing a boat can be a wonderful experience and provide an
alternative lifestyle for many who choose to live in this
floating world. Whether you choose to follow a life afloat or
simply enjoy time on your boat as a recreational hobby you will
inevitably need to buy a mooring. Finding and buying your ideal
mooring can be one of the most difficult parts of owning a boat
and therefore needs some careful consideration. There are about
3,000 miles of inland waterways in England and Wales alone,
including a wide range of mooring so it's important to fully
understand the practicalities involved.

In this article we identify the most common types of moorings
that you will come across and the associated costs involved. The
information contained may be used as a guide to help you find
and purchase the right mooring.

It is advisable to find a proper residential mooring before you
buy a boat or another option is to buy a boat that already has
its own residential mooring. This is because you won't be able
to get a licence for your boat until you have a mooring
arranged. Moorings are also in short supply in many areas of the
UK, so it's important that you should find one as soon as you
can.

There most common types of mooring are:-

Long Lease/Freehold Moorings

These types of moorings are rare, in high demand and represent
around 5% of moorings on the Thames. Due to this they tend to be
more expensive and demand higher deposits-a minimum of 50% will
be required. Many moorings are provided by private companies,
typically in marinas.

Alternatively you may opt for continuous cruising which means
that you do not remain in one place for longer than fourteen
days or such longer period, as is reasonable in the
circumstances. However this is not a sustainable existence as
you will have to move your boat on and on again and again.

Premium Residential Moorings

Residential moorings require planning consent and as there are
often large waiting lists of applicants which can make finding a
mooring tricky. The value and therefore the price of the mooring
is generally calculated by the value of the boat and the mooring
as two distinct items. The boat and the mooring will then be
packaged up (usually with a mark up) to set an asking price. In
this situation you purchase the boat and the right to moor only-
Please note you will not own the mooring. Mooring fees will also
have to be paid to the mooring owner.

Premium moorings can be on month to month or year to year
arrangements however most moorings generally last for about 12
months. Security may be a concern and in order to secure your
mooring 100% you would need to buy a long lease or freehold
mooring which would inevitably add to the asking price. This
would protect you from your mooring agreement being terminated
at short notice. However there is a negligible chance the
mooring will cease to exist as the mooring owner is effectively
acting as a landlord by renting the mooring to you. Like long
lease/freehold moorings a 50% deposit is usually required.

Life on the water follows the same 'location, location,
location' principle as the bricks and mortar property market and
is probably the most important consideration when buying and
renting a mooring.


About The Author: For more information about buying a mooring,
please visit experienced yacht brokers Inwards Marine, at
http://www.inwardsmarine.com Based in Europe Inwards Marine have
offices in the UK, Switzerland and Monaco.