Narrowboat Mooring: A Beginner’s Guide to Your Options

Every narrowboat on the Canal & River Trust (CRT) network needs a CRT boat licence. When you apply for that licence, you make a core decision that shapes your entire narrowboating life: do you want a home mooring, or will you be continuous cruising?

This isn’t just an administrative preference — it’s the legal framework that determines where you’re allowed to stay and for how long. Getting it wrong creates real problems: boats without home moorings that stay in one place too long face enforcement action from CRT, up to and including licence revocation.

Before anything else, decide honestly which model suits your life. Neither is better — they suit different circumstances.

A home mooring is a designated place where your boat is based — typically a CRT-affiliated marina or towpath mooring. You pay for a berth at that location, and your boat licence allows you to stay there indefinitely when you’re not out cruising.

The advantages are considerable. You have a fixed, reliable base — somewhere to return to, store your belongings, receive post, and be connected to shore facilities. Many liveaboards prefer a home mooring because it provides the stability of an address and the reliability of shore power, water, and pump-out facilities close to hand.

A home mooring also means you’re not required to keep moving. When you’re not cruising, your boat sits where it always sits, and you can come and go as you please. This matters enormously if you have a job, family commitments, or simply don’t want to be permanently on the move.

The disadvantages are cost and availability. Canal marina berths can cost £150–£350/month (rural areas) to £350–£600/month (popular urban locations), and well-placed sites often have waiting lists. Adding this to your boat licence, insurance, and living costs requires a realistic budget.

Types of home mooring include:

• Canal marina berths: Purpose-built facilities with pontoons, shore power, water, Wi-Fi, pump-out, showers, and laundry. The most convenient and most expensive option.
• CRT towpath moorings: Designated stretches of towpath bank offered on long-term licence by CRT. No shore power, no water connection — your boat must be self-sufficient. Generally lower cost, but with minimal facilities.
• Private waterway moorings: Some private landowners and small operators offer mooring on non-CRT waterways. Terms and facilities vary widely.

Continuous cruising (sometimes called “continuous navigation”) is the alternative to a home mooring. Under a continuous cruising licence, you don’t pay for a dedicated berth — instead, you moor on the towpath (at visitor moorings and general mooring rings) and move regularly.

The appeal is obvious: lower fixed costs, total freedom to explore the network, and no commitment to a single place. Many narrowboaters choose this life deliberately, spending weeks in each area before moving on and building up an intimate knowledge of the waterways.

However, continuous cruising is a real commitment, not a cheaper version of having a home mooring. CRT requires continuous cruisers to demonstrate they are genuinely and bona fide navigating the waterway — which brings us to the 14-day rule.

If you have a continuous cruising licence, you cannot moor at any single spot for more than 14 days — and you must move to a genuinely different location each time. This is the foundation of what CRT calls “bona fide navigation.”

What does “genuinely different” mean in practice? CRT has been deliberately vague, but enforcement precedent makes clear that moving 100 metres down the towpath doesn’t count. You need to be moving around a meaningful geographic area — not shuffling between adjacent mooring rings in the same village indefinitely.

CRT officers observe mooring patterns, check licence status, and issue warnings and enforcement notices to boats that don’t comply. Enforcement can escalate to boat seizure and licence revocation in serious cases. This is not theoretical — CRT does enforce, particularly in London and popular city areas where demand for towpath space is high.

The 14-day rule applies on visitor moorings and on the general towpath. Some designated areas have shorter limits (24 or 48 hours) — these are signposted. Some stretches prohibit overnight mooring entirely. Check signage carefully when mooring.

If you have a job, children in school, or other fixed-location commitments, genuinely continuous cruising will be very difficult to maintain legally. Many people in this situation find a home mooring more practical, even if it costs more.

Every boat on CRT waterways in England and Wales must have a valid CRT boat licence. This is separate from your mooring fee and from the boat’s BSS (Boat Safety Scheme) certificate.

To obtain a CRT licence you need:

• A valid Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) certificate — a safety inspection confirming your boat meets gas, electrical, and fire safety standards. Valid for 4 years.
• Third-party boat insurance with at least £1 million public liability cover (most marinas require £2–3 million).
• Evidence of a home mooring (for a home mooring licence) or a declaration to cruise continuously.

CRT offer two main licence types: Gold Licence (includes home mooring) and Standard Licence (continuous cruising). Gold licences are slightly more expensive but include the right to use CRT-managed home mooring sites.

If you’ve decided a home mooring is right for you, the next step is finding a marina that suits your boat, your budget, and your location requirements. Canal marinas vary significantly in quality, cost, and what they offer — here’s what to look for.

Berth dimensions: Confirm the marina can accommodate your narrowboat’s length. Most narrowboats are 57–60 feet (17–18.3m), but some are 70 feet (21m). Wide-beam narrowboats (above 7 feet beam) need a marina that can accommodate wider vessels. Don’t assume — ask explicitly about maximum beam as well as length.

Access to the network: Consider how easily you can get from the marina onto the main canal network. Some marinas are set back from the mainline and require transiting a spur or lock to reach the through route. Others open directly onto busy mainline canals. If you plan to cruise regularly, direct access saves time and reduces wear on locks.

Facilities for liveaboards: If you’re living aboard, shore power reliability, showers, laundry, and pump-out frequency matter more than they might for a leisure boater. Ask how often pump-out facilities are available, whether there are power outages, and how maintenance issues on the pontoon are handled.

Security: Narrowboat theft and break-ins do occur, particularly at marinas close to urban areas. Check what security measures are in place — locked access, CCTV, lighting, and whether a harbour master is on site or within contact range.

Community: Canal marinas are communities, not just parking spaces. A good marina with a settled, friendly community of long-term moorers is a significantly better experience than one with high turnover and no shared culture. Visit and talk to residents before committing.

The total annual cost of keeping a narrowboat is made up of several distinct elements. Many people focus on the mooring fee and underestimate the others.