barge association conduct survey on mooring prices

Why do boat owners decide to live “afloat”? Are the reasons changing? If affordability was important then how do you know what it’s going to cost? Has the pandemic made it more difficult to pay for where you and your boat live? Can you help all UK liveaboards achieve the best deal for each of us?
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brigadoon! launches in london

Roving Traders — canal boat owners licensed to sell goods and services on UK canals — have to be mad.  Consider the challenge of living sideways in an improbably elongate tube.  Now consider shoehorning a business in there with you.  And if you somehow defeat the odds, and are hard working and fortunate enough that your product finds an audience … your continuous cruising license requires that every two weeks you leave your customers behind.
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body cameras on towpaths

The Canal & River Trust is to commence the use of body worn cameras for its customer service employees whose role includes day-to-day interaction with those on the towpath.  The cameras will initially be used daily by its boat licence customer support team in the Trust’s London & South East region in response to increased concerns about the potential for confrontation, abuse or harm whilst conducting their work.
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water pollution award for rcr and bilgeaway

River Canal Rescue has won the British Safety Industry Federation’s Water Pollution Award for its Bilgeaway filter.  In its entry, RCR explained how Bilgeaway – the world’s first environmentally-friendly bilge discharge filter – was developed to address a well-known pollution problem.
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blue space research by aquavista

Analysing data on each counties’ access to lakes, canals and beaches, new research by Aquavista reveals that the residents of Cornwall have more access to blue space than any other county in England. Surprisingly and thanks to its extensive canal network, the West Midlands was found to be the county with the second most access to blue space In England.
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crt update on composting toilet waste disposal

The latest advice from CRT on disposal of toilet waste: If you’re considering getting a separator/compost toilet for your boat, please only do so if you have the ability to completely compost the solid waste from your toilet yourself or have access to somewhere that will do this for you. If you don’t have the ability to do this, then getting a composting/separator toilet is not the best solution for you.
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rcr asks boaters to trial WaterNav

River Canal Rescue has redesigned and re-launched its WaterNav app, making it freely available to all. The rescue service believes everyone should have access to the app – which allows navigation without wifi or data connection – as it improves safety and shares key information.  And in order to assist in its development, RCR is calling for all boaters to download and trial the app and give feedback.
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magnet fisher finds live grenade in Kennet & Avon Canal

A magnet fisher who caught a grenade in the Kennet and Avon Canal was given the kit he used as a Christmas present. Friends Tony Scott and Elliot Bromfield were using the equipment – which is similar to metal detecting but in water – when they pulled up the object. Elliot, who is ex-army, said he knew it was a World War Two hand grenade and they called the police immediately.
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