Home

We all know that boating can be expensive, but where does it all go?  Tony Jones crunches the numbers.

Aspiring boaters often ask about the financial aspects of boating.   Despite my stock response being “An arm and a leg and your first born child!” it is a difficult question to answer given the enormous variety of boats and boaters and the various different types of waterways.  I asked a handful of boaters to keep track of their boating related spending for a whole year, listing everything from the mandatory licence fee, right down to the last fire-lighter, windlass and emergency repair bill.   Here is a summary.

Licence

Most canals and rivers in the UK are managed by either British Waterways or the Environment Agency and can be navigated upon purchasing a Gold Licence .  A handful of navigable waterways are managed by other organisations and so not covered by the Gold licence, a list of which can be found below.  A Standard Licence covers all of the canals and rivers specifically managed by BW, covering a choice of either England and Wales or Scottish waterways.  This licence is sufficient for vast majority of boaters, and any occasional forays outside its range can be covered by short term licences from the appropriate authority.  (See below for example costs.)  Boaters who are happy to restrict their cruises to just BW owned rivers can buy a Rivers Only Licence and these cost less than the others listed above.

The length of your boat is used to calculate the cost of the licence (the beam width is not a factor here) with discounts applying for prompt payment and a surcharge of £150 if payment is received late. For more information visit , but here are a few examples.

Read more...