Space for your boat at Hermitage? (None!)
There are no vacant berths at Hermitage, the co-op membership is full. Unfortunately vacant berths rarely become available, as usually when a member leaves they sell both their vessel and their membership. See Current Availability section for berth+boat availability.
Temporary Membership
If a member goes on a trip with their vessel (eg across the channel to France) for a period (up to 18 months) then a Temporary Membership is potentially possible for a suitable incoming vessel whilst they are away.
Short Term Berths
Hermitage has a visitor berth for very short stays (up to two weeks and depending on availability) which is sometimes extended in the winter months low season. See menu Hermitage River Projects, tab visitor berths for more information.
Current availability:
At the moment there are no vessels at Hermitage on the market, and no memberships available, needed to allow long term residential mooring of a vessel. Please note, as under the top of the page, that vacant berths almost never become available, so we don’t even have a waiting list.
The regular Open Days (March, June & Sept) are a good time to find out more from members about routes to becoming a member. Open Days & Events – Hermitage (hermitagemoorings.com)
Background
Hermitage is a co-op, owned by its members, and has 19 residential berths for live-aboard vessels.
The price for Membership, which gives the right to a berth, is in the region of £8,000 per metre (inflation linked, exact figure calculated each year) and that is the price that the incoming member pays to the exiting member for the berth (multiple per metre price by length of berth to find cost of Membership). Exiting members recoup this membership fee from the new member taking their place when the transaction is completed.
Berths range from about 18m to about 32m.
There is an annual service charge per membership of around £7,000 pa, that covers communal running costs (insurance, maintenance etc) and PLA licence fees.
Membership requirements
Members must have a Day Skipper licence or better, and have a VHF operators licence. Members need to be resident at the moorings as the co-op relies totally on the input of members for its efficient running and general vitality.
If you would like to see the details of our contract, a copy of our Residential Berthing Agreement template is here.
Boat requirements
Boats here must be fully navigable, and have a Boat Safety Certificate. They must also fulfil the Hermitage criteria for vessels, which broadly means pre 1965, ex commercial barge, preserved in outward appearance much as was when last trading. Vessels need to be flat bottomed and limited to 1.5m draft. There are detailed requirements for the classifications of vessels and outside modifications permitted.
Vessels and/or memberships for residential berths for sale
It is important to note that, as a co-operative, there are two things involved in having a vessel berthed at Hermitage.
Firstly any vessel is wholly owned and operated by the individual.
Secondly, the individual is a member of the co-operative. You must have Membership of the co-op in order to berth a vessel at Hermitage. We do not ‘sell berths’ but the Membership provides the right to moor.
Memberships become available as when a member leaves, and a new member may buy a vessel as well as buying the Membership associated with its existing berth if all the conditions are met.
In this way, we separate the value of a vessel from the value of a Membership (defined above). While we encourage asking the question ‘how much is a vessel worth’, independent of the value of the Membership, it is entirely up to the seller and buyer of any vessel to agree a price and Hermitage takes nor assumes no role in this transaction. As part of the Hermitage process, incoming members will be interviewed by its Membership Team to discuss practical experiences of living afloat and the membership requirements (listed above).
Contact
If you want to enquire about membership or whether there might be any boat on the market please email the Moorings Manager on manager@hcmoorings.org with as much information as you wish. That said, the section above “current availability” is usually kept up to date and is the best place to look Your enquiry can be forwarded to any member who is selling their vessel and / or printed to the membership enquiries file.
There are regular Open Days in March, June & Sept and if you interested in finding out more, direct from members, it is a good time to do so.