Gloucester Sharpness Canal

[Lewisdb]

Hi guys and thanks in advance for your help.

I'm exploring options to become a full time live aboard but as yet have zero experience so bear with me!

Part of my plan would be to spend the winter on the sharpness canal as a continual cruiser. I've read the guidelines and feel fairly confident I can meet the criteria for doing so.

My main concern with this is the practicality of mooring the boat safely on the canal securely without damaging the hull.

I also need to add that I'll be sailing solo on the canal.

I realise this would take a great deal of practice and would plan to stay in a marina until my skill levels were good enough.

What do you all think? Is it doable or should I go back to the drawing board?

The boat would be something like a westerly corsair 36

Thanks

John

 

[Sneds]

The Sharpness canal isn’t very long, continuous cruising may be an issue?
I would by a narrow boat, more geared up for domesticity and go anywhere on the system

 

[chanelyacht]

It probably depends on what you want the boat for - is it a home that happens to float, or is it a boat that you happen to live in? The Sharpness canal (and the Stroud arm) are lovely places to be, but if you have a narrowboat even the trip southwards can be...er... interesting (I've rescued a few there when on the local lifeboat crew) but you've got good inland cruising accessible upriver. If you're planning to do a lot of sailing in the times you're not just living on it, then a yacht would be a better choice and there's some great cruising from the Bristol Channel.

There are good parts to the Sharpness - though a couple of really exposed windy spots too - and a wander up and down shows a really wide range of boats already on there.

 

[TwoHooter]

To answer your principal points directly:

1. As a former Westerly owner (Konsort duo) I would say all Westerlys have very strong hulls and you should be able to work out a way of mooring that doesn't damage the hull if (and only if) you have sufficient depth of water at the towpath for your fin keel. Most canals are shallow at the edges anywhere that doesn't have piles. Perhaps a bilge keeler would be better. But IMHO yachts are pretty horrid places to call home. On most of them the accommodation is down below, the insulation is rubbish or non-existent, you can end up feeling you are living in a damp cave with tiny windows, and the sails and rigging cost a fortune to keep in good order. Take a walk around the marina at Sharpness and look at the green mould on many of the boats.

2. You can single hand on a canal (or anywhere else), it just takes practice (lots). And you don't need to sail on the canal, you will motor. You'll rely on your engine a lot anyway, to generate electricity, unless you have shore power. In your budget do not underestimate the cost of electricity. When you live on a boat you quickly become acutely aware of energy (electricity and gas), water, and sewage disposal, they are constantly on your mind. Does a Corsair have a black water holding tank?

3. If you have zero experience you MUST budget for professional training, probably up to RYA Day Skipper. We did that with an instructor on our own boat and that was brilliant, we learned a huge amount and also knew what more we needed to do after the course.

A small practical point: If you keep a seagoing vessel on a canal you will need different anodes. Zinc doesn't work in freshwater.

And no masted vessel can get above Gloucester. I looked into this very carefully because I wanted to take our boat up-river, and it turned out the published bridge clearance heights are just plain wrong (or at least they were when I was looking).

I echo chanelyacht's question - do you fancy yachting and are just looking for somewhere to keep your yacht in the winter, or is it the liveaboard lifestyle you're after and you think a yacht would be more fun than anything else, in which case the Liveaboard forum is probably your best bet .

Final thing, hope you don't mind, most forumites are indeed "guys", but at sea or on the canal the sexes are equally represented, and it's best not to assume that you're talking only to "guys"! Don't be offended, just something to bear in mind.

 

[ryanroberts]

Lots of winter CC's pay for a CRT organised winter mooring in winter, as legit navigation is difficult due to repairs, floods, stuff freezing etc. I'd forget the cut as anything other than a novelty in a yacht of any sort of size unless you have a tabernacle and like being grounded. Unless you are sure you and your boat are up for 6 months off grid in freezing weather potentially miles from somewhere you can empty a porta potty or pump out your tanks I'd plan on staying on a nice pontoon with a plug. Or get a narrowboat designed for the job.

 

[chanelyacht]

The other thing is you don't say where you need to be near for work, etc - if you really want a yacht, Portishead Marina would be a better option from a living viewpoint if the geography would work for you.

Have a look at something like a Fisher 34 for combining living and sailing potential.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Um!
I launched my (sailing) boat in Sharpness.
There are don't dos galore.
First, you cannot sail. Don't hoist anything bigger than a flag or someone will be on your neck.
To obtain a licence for a three month period, I had to pretend my (9 tonne boat) was a trailer sailer lifted out at the end of each something or other (difficult to define).
If you want a permanent licence, you will need a Boat Safety certificate.
I predict you will find that very hard to obtain if your predicted vessel is any where like mine in terms of complication.
The CRT (not to do with television - Canal & River Trust) based in Gloucester Docks is full of lovely ladies who are, well, lovely. It is difficult to obtain accurate information (in my experience).
In terms of the practical bits, you can moor anywhere - for two weeks. Then you must move on. This is rarely enforced (in my experience).
If you have a bilge keeler, you might need a long plank to get ashore.
Contrary to the above, you can go up the river Severn beyond Gloucester as far as Tirley but it does depend on your mast height. (There was a discussion on here concerning a large air draft boat who did pass Gloucester.
The CRT do not allow/approve of live-aboard. The exception seems to be for those who have a permanent mooring.
You cannot discharge into the canal (or river) (legally).
There are pump-outs and water is available. Shore power is few and far between.

After all those negatives, I would suggest you contact Sharpness marina who might have berths available and there are certainly live-aboards there.

 

[Allan]

Can I add a couple of points to the above.
1. Having a sailing boat seems to indicate you wish to lock out of the canal and head down the Severn. Now I love that area, I'm sat on a boat in Cardiff now, but it's not for the faint hearted.
2. Every time I've been through Sharpness lock it's been in an organised group at discounted prices. I believe it's expensive as a single boat.
3. I visited on a 33foot Westerly bilge Keeler. I found it difficult to find places to moor. Much more difficult than fin keelers that were with us.
Allan

 

[TwoHooter]

Seems I was wrong about bilge keelers on a canal!

But we are talking amongst ourselves, the OP has sailed away into the sunset....

 

[Graham_Wright]

2. Every time I've been through Sharpness lock it's been in an organised group at discounted prices. I believe it's expensive as a single boat.

£25 for my exit.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Seems I was wrong about bilge keelers on a canal!

But we are talking amongst ourselves, the OP has sailed away into the sunset....

If he has been discouraged, it is probably a good idea. A sailing boat on a canal seems a misfit.