You've had a letter from CRT about your cruising. What happens next?
A first letter is usually a warning that your recorded movement doesn't yet satisfy the Trust — not a decision. You normally have time to respond with your own evidence of where the boat has been, and that evidence is what the decision turns on.
Receiving one of these is frightening, particularly if the boat is your home. It is worth being clear about what the letter actually is. In most cases it is an early warning: the Trust's records of where your boat has been sighted do not yet show what it expects, and it is telling you so before your licence comes up for renewal.
That distinction matters, because at this stage the picture is still built from the Trust's data alone — and you are entitled to add to it.
How the Trust builds its picture
Licence compliance officers record boat index numbers as they patrol the network. Those sightings are assembled into a movement history, and when a licence without a home mooring comes up for renewal, that history is what gets assessed — overall range, pattern of movement, and any overstaying.
The weakness is obvious once stated: a sighting record is only as complete as the patrols that produced it. A boat that moved twice between visits looks identical to one that never moved at all. Boaters' organisations have documented cases where incomplete sighting data led to enforcement against boats that had in fact been cruising.
What evidence the Trust accepts
The Trust's own guidance points to several kinds of supporting evidence:
- —A personal log of your movements, ideally with GPS coordinates
- —Dated photographs of the boat at recognisable locations
- —Receipts from boatyards, marinas and services along the way
- —Letters from people who saw the boat where you say it was
A record kept at the time carries considerably more weight than one assembled after a letter arrives. That is not a technicality — it is the difference between a contemporaneous account and a reconstruction, and anyone assessing evidence will read it that way.
What to do this week
- —Read what the letter actually asks for, and note any deadline
- —Gather what you already have — photos on your phone carry dates and often locations in the file itself
- —Write down the moorings you remember, with dates, while they are fresh
- —Start logging every mooring from today, so the record from here on is contemporaneous
- —If enforcement is already under way, get advice — the National Bargee Travellers Association runs volunteer caseworkers for exactly this
CruiseProof is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. If your licence or your home is genuinely at risk, speak to someone who can advise on your specific case.
Keep a record as you go
CruiseProof logs every mooring with a date and position, counts the days from when you arrived, and produces a cruising log you can send when you are asked for one.
Start your log — free