Riverside Moorings: A Small Canal Marina with Big Ambitions
How PayCamp supports canal marina operations — from residential liveaboards to visitor berths and boat hire.
Life on the Cut
Note: This is an example story based on our demo data, showcasing how PayCamp supports canal marina operations. For a real-world example, see how Milton Keynes Marina transformed their boat hire with HireHelm.
Riverside Moorings sits on a beautiful stretch of Welsh canal, home to 35 narrowboats of every description. From weekenders to full-time liveaboards, this canal basin is a community as much as a marina.
Diverse Community
Home to 35 narrowboats including weekenders and full-time liveaboards.
Tailored Management
Different needs for residential, leisure, and visitor moorers are all handled.
Revenue Growth
Visitor berths generate significant, tracked income for the marina.
Compliance Simplified
BSS certificate tracking and reminders ensure all boats are compliant.
Tap a craft to view details · tap a status badge to cycle it
The Mix of Moorers
Canal marinas are different from coastal marinas. At Riverside Moorings, the berths divide into:
12 Residential Moorings
Liveaboards who call the marina home.
18 Leisure Moorings
Owners who visit weekends and holidays.
5 Visitor Berths
Passing boats stopping for a few nights.
Each type needs different management. Residents need annual contracts and postal addresses. Leisure moorers need seasonal billing. Visitors need quick turnaround.
Adding Boat Hire: Lessons from MK Marina
Some canal marinas are discovering that boat hire can be a significant revenue stream alongside traditional moorings. Milton Keynes Marina on the Grand Union Canal is a perfect example — 150+ berths for moorings, plus two day boats (Mary Jane and Meadowlark) that carry up to 10 people each.
For years, their hire operation ran through a legacy ASP.NET system that was clunky, didn't work on mobiles, and required months of developer emails just to update seasonal prices. When they switched to HireHelm (PayCamp's boat hire module), the transformation was immediate:
- Online bookings completed in under 2 minutes by customers on their phones
- Walk-in bookings processed on a quayside tablet with the same system
- Digital waivers signed on-screen — no more paper forms
- Live fleet status visible to all staff at a glance
- Price updates in 30 seconds — no developer required
If Riverside Moorings were to add a hire fleet, the same tools would apply — whether it's narrowboat day hire, kayaks, or SUPs.
Managing the Community
When you live on a boat, your marina is your address. PayCamp helps manage:
Resident records
Emergency contacts, next of kin, postal delivery preferences
Compliance documents
BSS certificates for every boat
Community communications
Notices about water stoppages, events, maintenance
Visitor Berths: The Secret Revenue
Those 5 visitor berths might seem small, but they're consistently busy. Cruising narrowboaters need somewhere to stop, and a well-managed marina with a good reputation fills visitor berths all season.
PayCamp tracks visitor arrivals and departures, calculates nightly fees automatically, and logs services used (electricity, pump-out, water). Over the summer, visitor berths generate surprising revenue — and the system makes sure it's all captured.
See Yard Manager in Action
Discover how marinas and boatyards streamline operations with PayCamp's purpose-built tools.
Electricity on the Water
Every berth has an electric hook-up, and every narrowboat has different needs. A liveaboard running heating all winter uses far more than a weekender.
PayCamp handles quarterly meter readings and generates individual invoices. Fair billing, no arguments.
Tap a craft to view details · tap a status badge to cycle it
BSS Compliance
Every narrowboat needs a valid Boat Safety Scheme certificate. PayCamp tracks certificate expiry dates, sends automatic reminders to boat owners, accepts document uploads via the customer portal, and shows compliance status at a glance.
💡 Real-World Trust Signal
Milton Keynes Marina — a real canal marina on the Grand Union — is now live on PayCamp processing boat hire bookings daily. Read their story →
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Explore Riverside Moorings Demo
See how PayCamp handles canal marina operations. Our demo includes all 35 berths, resident records, and visitor tracking.
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Key Action Items for Your Marina:
- ✔ Evaluate your current mooring management system for efficiency.
- ✔ Consider adding boat hire as a revenue stream — see how MK Marina did it.
- ✔ Optimise visitor berth tracking for maximum revenue capture.
- ✔ Explore PayCamp's demo to see these features in action for canal marinas.
Managing canal moorings? See our canal mooring guide or marina software overview.
Milton Keynes Marina
Grand Union Canal · Open Year-Round
150+
Berths
15mi
Cruising
24/7
Security
Milton Keynes Marina
The Heart of the Waterways
Mooring Availability
3 places available for upto 62' WideBeam boats
2 places for Narrowboats upto 70'
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See Yard Manager in Action
Discover how marinas and boatyards streamline operations with PayCamp's purpose-built tools.