Finding a long-stay mooring is a search problem with hard constraints: your boat's dimensions, your budget, where you need to be, and whether you intend to live aboard. Work through it in order and it is manageable. Start by browsing listings with no criteria and you will waste months.
Step 1: Write down your non-negotiables
Before you look at a single listing, fix these on paper:
Boat dimensions: length overall including fenders and any bowsprit, maximum beam, and draught. These are hard limits — a berth either fits or it does not.
Waterway and cruising range: where you actually want to be able to go from the berth.
Location: commuting distance, parking, and how you will reach the boat in winter.
Use: leisure, occasional overnight stays, or full residential. This is the single biggest cost driver.
Budget: total monthly cost including metered power, licence and insurance — not just the berth fee.
Facilities: the ones you genuinely need, separated from the ones that would be nice.
For a sense of what your budget buys: inland berths are priced per foot of boat per year, with basic moorings at up to £20 a foot, standard marina berths up to £45 and full-service marinas £60 or more — roughly £1,200 to £4,200 a year for a 60ft boat. Region moves that further than anything else. UK mooring costs in 2026 breaks it down by region, length and berth type, from published marina tariffs and live Canal & River Trust listings.
Step 2: Search in the right places
Online marketplaces
MoorHub lists berths with standardised dimensions, photos, facilities, prices, contract length and availability, which makes genuine comparison possible. Filter by location or by waterway to see what is actually free where you want to be.
Direct contact with operators
Still worth doing for waiting lists, smaller sites and flexible arrangements. Ask to be added to the list in writing, and follow up quarterly — lists are often managed informally, and the person who stays in touch gets the call.
Clubs, associations and word of mouth
Boat clubs, cruising associations and local boater networks surface berths that are never advertised, particularly private moorings and residential berths. If you know the area you want, this is often how the good ones move.
Step 3: Read the listing properly
Before you enquire, check the listing against your constraints:
Maximum length, beam and draught — against your real measurements, with fenders.
Berth type — pontoon, linear, towpath, widebeam or residential. See types of moorings.
Contract length and what the price covers.
Whether the price is fixed or the listing is an auction.
Availability date, and whether it aligns with when you actually need it.
Use class — leisure or residential.
Some berths are listed at a fixed price and some run as auctions with a starting price. An auction start is a floor, not a settled figure — on the Canal & River Trust's own London vacancies, opening prices run from about £605 to £891 per metre per year against £341 to £420 for fixed-price berths in the same area. Compare on the price you would actually end up paying, and set a ceiling before you bid.
Step 4: Ask the right questions
What are the berth's maximum length, beam and minimum depth at low water?
What exactly is included in the fee, and what is metered or charged separately?
What is the current electricity rate, and how is it billed?
What is the notice period — mine and yours — and what happens if I leave early?
When does the price change, and what is it linked to?
Is liveaboard or residential use permitted, and is the site consented for it?
What are the rules on pets, guests, engine running, generators and working on the boat?
What security is in place, and who is on site out of hours?
Is there a waiting list, and where would I sit on it?
Who is responsible for maintaining the berth, pontoon and services?
What deposit is required, how is it held, and when is it returned?
Get the answers that matter in writing. Mooring contracts explained covers how these turn into contract clauses.
Step 5: Visit before you commit
Always visit, and see the specific berth rather than the site in general. Photographs do not show noise, wash from passing traffic, pontoon condition, how exposed the berth is to wind, how far it is from the car park, or what the community is like.
If you can, visit twice — a weekday and a weekend, or summer and winter. Things to check on site:
Pontoon and bank condition, cleats, and the state of the electrics.
How much wash the berth takes from passing boats.
Actual walking distance from parking to the berth, carrying shopping.
Water depth at the berth, especially on tidal or shallow stretches.
Whether the site is gated, lit and maintained.
What existing moorers say when the office is not listening.
Red flags
Verbal agreements only, or reluctance to provide a written contract.
A price far below the local market with no explanation.
Vagueness about planning consent, licensing or residential status.
Pressure to pay a deposit immediately, or before you have seen the agreement.
No inspection of the specific berth before signing.
Poorly maintained pontoons, broken services, or long-abandoned boats on site.
No written cancellation or notice procedure.
Existing moorers who are evasive when asked how the site is run.
Step 6: Plan the timing
Popular sites work on waiting lists, and berths turn over seasonally — spring and autumn tend to be the busiest for changeovers. Start looking three to six months before you need the berth, register interest at more sites than you need, and keep a shortlist warm. If you are buying a boat, secure the mooring before you complete, not after.
Start your mooring search
Filter by boat dimensions, waterway, facilities, contract length and price across live UK listings.
Sources and further reading
Every rule and fee quoted above comes from the navigation authority or government page that sets it. Check these before you commit to anything — fees change annually and licensing rules do change.
This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Where money or occupancy rights are at stake, take your own advice.