I am an avid critic of boaty ball. If the program runs as currently envisioned I feel it’s a good thing and certainly endorse it. My fear however is that once established the rules will change. Perhaps there are some rules in place to avoid that. I was one of the first to post that boaty ball would lead to rising costs and they would establish a priority program with high fees. They did exactly that with the 500 plus dollar program. Realistically you need a max of 3 boaty balls on a charter. That puts the cost in excess of 200 a ball if you want priority. My last two charters we also had issues with squatters on reserved balls. That’s probably only going to get worse unless they have a manager on site at each mooring field. I don’t see that happening. First come, first served should be the rule for all balls.
This does not even touch on the free use of balls for day stops. This has caused me to not make lunch stops at several locations.