I did end up contacting Boaty Ball about the improvement that George suggested and after hearing their response I understand why they have chosen to stick with a noon check out/check in to their balls. Basically they said that when they first launched Boaty Ball the check in time was 2 pm because they felt the same way George does and wanted to allow use for lunch visits. However, what happened in reality is that some boats that came for lunch often times decided to stay after going to the bar. By the time they needed to leave the ball at 2, all the first come first serve moorings were taken and they did not want to move. When they moved check in and check out to noon this problem was significantly reduced. Also, many people who reserve moorings like to show up before 2. I know we do. Our standard operating procedure when we are down there is to get up early and off to our next destination to enjoy our day.

They are working on trying to find a method for being able to cancel a ball if you aren't going to use it. They did bring to my attention that although I might see an empty ball in a bay, it might not have been a reservable ball as they take the balls off the reservation system if there is any issues that need to be addressed with the ball, ground tackle, etc. This actually made me feel better about the quality of the Boaty Balls.

This information is by no means put here to incite a Boaty Ball debate. I said I would follow up and I did so wanted to share the information.