--- In [email protected], Brian on Harnser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Bruce Napier explained on 30/11/2008 : > > On 30 Nov 2008, at 13:31, Michael Clarke wrote: > > > >> ifor Barton wrote: > >>> Perhaps the group should instigate a campaign to report all those > >>> that are > >>> on the cut without a licence. I believe that there is a BW phone > >>> number > >>> these days for this purpose but maybe boaters should be > >>> encouraged to use > >>> it. It might be doing BW job for them but it might be in our own > >>> interest > >>> to get everyone 'legit'. > >> > >> Not only to report them but to follow up two months later asking BW > >> what > >> they have done about it. > >> > > Indeed. There's now a website* where you can report them; we've used > > it a few times, but in the absence of any feedback at all when you do > > so, it's very hard to keep going. > > > > *http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/license-it/license-it-or-lose- it/ > > online-boat-checker > I was told that if BW have to waste time following up the reports us > boaters make they can't spend it on chasing the boaters without > licences they all ready know about > I have to agree with Brian's comment about the time following up on reports of apparently unlicensed craft. For every complaint and report from good people like yourselves I have to spend time composing a suitable response having completed an investigation involving the team on the ground. Quite often the boat is actually licensed but not displaying. This time could possibly be better spent progressing enforcement cases. I can genuinely hand on heart say that there is not a single unlicensed craft in my patch that we do not know about and that is not on our active case list. Each case takes a huge amount of effort and as fast as you get rid of one, another two or three seem to appear in their place, especially as more and more people are using boats as cheap housing and don't intend to continuously cruise the way most of us interpret the rules. There must be well over a 100 new boats in my area over the last 12 months who are doing this.
However, the information is always useful to my team which is why the on-line boat checker is there. I've only had one unlicensed craft in my area come through the online checker and it was already on our case list but it had moved position. The report through the on-line checker enabled us to locate the boat within 24 hrs and stick a Section 8 on it. The boat is now about to be towed away and crushed. So please use it as it is a useful tool. Just don't ask me about the amount of time it takes to get rid of some people and their boats. I and many others would like it to be faster but we have to follow the correct legal process or it would all be thrown out in court which would waste time and money. We don't have time or money to waste. Most of our cases are all liveaboards .... D feeling very down and fed up tonight, must be national boat check blues
