The rules
From the Canal & River Trust, canalrivertrust.org.uk/continuous-cruising. Read 23 October 2026.
"The law does not stipulate how far you must cruise or how often you must move, but you should be on a continuous journey, not just moving backwards and forwards along one stretch of water."
"As with all our licences, you must not overstay anywhere. This generally means no longer than 14 days on most of the network or less where signs indicate."
Keeping a cruising log
From the Canal & River Trust, how we monitor boat movement. Read 23 October 2026. Use your browser's print command for a clean A4 copy.
"We recommend that all boaters, particularly continuous cruisers, maintain a cruising log. This helps if there is ever any concern about our sightings. A cruising log should record the locations where you moor your boat and should be evidenced by photographs with date and location data."
"Most smartphones allow you to record the location and date information within the photograph file."
"We may accept other documentary evidence of cruising, but only if we are satisfied with its suitability."
"Without evidence to support a written cruising log, we may not accept any additional cruising recorded in it."
This would be your own record. The Canal & River Trust decides what evidence it accepts: in its words, 'only if we are satisfied with its suitability'.
Not endorsed by or affiliated with the Canal & River Trust. Not legal advice.
Sold by eXtreme Coding Ltd trading as Helmworks.
A tidy record from your dated photos
A free iPhone app already offers 14-day reminders. This would be different: it turns the dated, located photos you already take into one tidy record you can print or send if a sighting is ever in question.
This is not built yet. No payment is taken. Pressing counts interest only and records nothing about you: no location, photo, email or identifier.