Hello MandyM,

I am also a member of the “Fantastic CUTWEB Club”.

I agree with you wholeheartedly.

I want to say “Thank You” for alerting me to something I had not considered in my 6 years of being a member of this superb club.  It is so useful and “Money Saving” and I had completely overlooked the fact that diesel can be purchased at a more competitive price from AWCC member clubs!

The CUTWEB club has other good points too! The annual club social get-together, (Called G-I-G, or Grand Internet Gathering) the fact that Cutweb members keep in touch with each other, via the Internet, there is a wealth of information within the club. and members are always ready to pass on the answers to problems and the best place to get them fixed etc – all you do is ask –

Cutweb members often have mini-gigs, mainly a pie and a pint in a pub and the chance to chat all night if you want to.  It is a wonderful social aspect to the social side, if and when you want to take advantage

Welcome to the club, ~Allan~ (And Toni and Mr Biggles (Jack Russell) on nb. Snowdrop)

That club sounds great – we must look it up. What a horror story about the father and daughter. 

We suggested to my daughter that we could move our boat to Sheffield and she could live aboard whilst at University…..it was a joke as she thinks that it is roughing it is when she finds that only has her second best hair straightners in her bag !!!

My advice to anyone buying a boat is to research, research, research. The internet has such a huge amount of information. Before we bought we did make the mistake of asking a couple of friends who had had multiple holidays on boats,  what they would think was essential on a boat. However they kept mentioned things that my hubbie and I would never use …………. ‘lots and lots of kitchen cupboards’……..and missing out on the things that we think are essential – two good stoves, one either end !

If there was one tip that you could give to a boater, what would it be an why? This is my tip: We have just joined The Cutweb Internet Boating Club. The advantage of joining an AWCC registered club, is in order to make our extended 8/9/10 month cruises easier. In the cruising season it’s  possible to leaving one’s boat on moorings at affiliated AWCC club sites. CIBC is a ‘virtual’ boating club, with no moorings, club house, etc. But still affiliated to the AWCC. Thus, the ‘virtual’, Internet based, CIBC became a good option for us. The only requirement for membership is an Internet Account and a subscription to the Cutweb Internet Boating Club. The subscription is £10 per year. We have called into a few places on our cruise this year. Once to leave the boat in a secure location. (this year we left our boat in Birmingham for two weeks free of charge)  Other times have been to get access from time to time to shore power for the washing machine. We also use the sites for cheap diesel, gas bottles and pump-out facilities. We save a small fortune plus we get to meet many new people this way as well.
Aha! This was going to be my top tip, but you beat me to it! I totally agree. The Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs provides a way for inter-club contact giving practical help to boaters and also offering safe, overnight moorings if a berth is available at clubs around the system. Cutweb is the perfect solution if you are not based in one area so can’t join a local club.
Baddie