A brilliant year on the Thames!

No Regrets

No Regrets

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Well thats about it....all the Club cruises completed, from Osney bridge to St Kats (Twice!) with just about every worthwhile town in between, 380 miles shown on my Sumlog display and around 170 hours on the Volvo Penta display.

Astonishingly we experienced nearly 100% bankside mooring availability (After a little rafting, shuffling and waiting) during every one of around 20 cruises with four or five vessels (10 full club events usually with 10+ vessels) only one tiny mechanical issue which was a leaking exhaust, soon fixed, and great food and drink along the way.

The weather has certainly been kind, with less than a handful of days of rain during our cruises, no floods, water shortages or significant lock issues.

Whats not to love!?

Looking forward to getting even close to this experience for the 2018 season kicking off on March 24th with our fitting out cruise..... :encouragement:

I hope your own experience has been just as good :D
 
Sorry I missed you Fred! I would have said sound your horn, but we're used to that :p

112 views, only one reply, looks like we had a better year then 111 others then :ambivalence:
 
Have to agree with you. We've had a fantastic year on the Thames with more use and covering more miles than previous years, mainly due to no longer working Saturdays. :encouragement:
I think we still have a few more trips before we pack up for the year.
Despite the weather being really good most of the time, I was surprised by how few boats were around.
Already looking forward to next year. :cool:
 
I don't know how many miles I've clocked up this year, but with a 180 mile round trip to Abingdon under my belt it must be over 400 in total. That's nearly Scotland. The Thames is much prettier. The locals are friendlier too:D:D:D
 
Not a bad year but been mega busy with work so not been away on boat as much as I would of liked.
Had a great time with great weather for the Henley Festival week, shame about the quality of performances.
Fantastic 10 days upriver in August and yes always managed to get a bankside mooring,
No damage to my props due to the addition of the stern thruster.

Yes 2017 has been a good season, will get in a few more weekends.
 
Definately appeared not to be as much activity on the water as usual.Straight into most locks and no real problems getting a mooring at some very popular spots.
 
I agree! After some restoration effort, finally got my first owned cruiser in the water at the end of July. Since then it's been just joyful exploring the places I used to go hunting. There has been mainly good weather, low flows, no breakdowns, cheerful folk in the marina, merry quips and banter with the lock staff, The Bounty, the Cliveden reach as the trees turn autumnal, an electric blue flash of a kingfisher, the friendly wave from a speeding boater as his goffer-like wash breaks over the bow of my old girl (time to name and shame?) I'm staying in the water for the winter, a cold, sunny day is a delight with a woolly hat and a wobbly coffee.
 
No Regrets said:
Sorry I missed you Fred! I would have said sound your horn, but we're used to that :p

112 views, only one reply, looks like we had a better year then 111 others then :ambivalence:
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Or perhaps they don't think that anyone else would be interested in what they've been doing.
My wife and I have had a great year cruising The Thames. We're still doing it and will carry on through the winter, especially as it's so mild at the moment. We don't add up our miles but it must be several hundred every year.
 
Changing times. ?
Perhaps with more modern materials and devices to make all year round boating more comfortable,the "season" can be extended indefinately ..
A cold damp wooden boat marinated with diesel, heated by paraffin and lit by a tilley lamp are thankfully distant memories.
The main complaint expressed today would be a lack of a decent digital TV signal and how on earth are you supposed to to survive without updating your face book page every 30 secs (you know who you are :)).
 
oldgit said:
Changing times. ?
Perhaps with more modern materials and devices to make all year round boating more comfortable,the "season" can be extended indefinately ..
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I fitted a diesel heater 10 years ago so we could use her all year round. I didn't understand the season concept, as we were paying for twelve months, why not use it for twelve? That plan has only worked twice in ten, thanks to floods and the annual lock closures.
 
And why not! We plan to use the boat either in the Marina, on the frontage or perhaps a few lucky trips on bright days!

At least you get guaranteed prime moorings in the Winter :encouragement:
 
Actionmat said:
I fitted a diesel heater 10 years ago so we could use her all year round. I didn't understand the season concept, as we were paying for twelve months, why not use it for twelve? That plan has only worked twice in ten, thanks to floods and the annual lock closures.
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Somewhere on here is a post from myself which talks about casting off in the winter only to find the steering cables were frozen solid! I had no heating but a very good sleeping bag - anything above -10 was fun and it was noted that the Thames is very beautiful in the depths of winter.
 
Mirror Painter said:
Somewhere on here is a post from myself which talks about casting off in the winter only to find the steering cables were frozen solid! I had no heating but a very good sleeping bag - anything above -10 was fun and it was noted that the Thames is very beautiful in the depths of winter.
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That sounds too much like camping to me! God bless Mr Eberspacher:D. Cliveden minus 6 is the coldest I remember, the coiled ropes were like a couple of frozen pizzas and the roof was sparkling with ice on a crystal clear morning.
Yes I agree, the Thames is absolutely beautiful at times during the winter.
 
I, too, have had a generally enjoyable season on the river and have to recognise the efforts the EA have made to try and maintain the look and feel of the river in reduced circumstances. .
However, many boaters will not share your rose tinted spectacles view of the current state of river maintenance and services. I recall the description of a duck - calm and unruffled on the surface but paddling like hell underneath !

The many boaters caught up in public power failures certainly didn't enjoy the experience and I know that from the beginning of June to the end of September there were over 50 reported instances of EA staff needing to attend unattended locks to rescue boats and restore passage. I am advised that 80% of these were due to boaters not following the instructions and/or pressing buttons repeatedly and confusing the systems.

Those caught up in long delays at Temple Lock on the August Bank Holiday weekend certainly didn't enjoy the experience. The lock was unmanned on the Saturday and Sunday and suffered one of the above recorded failures on the Saturday afternoon.

Those delayed by the problem at Caversham a few weeks earlier where the lock was out of service for almost 6 hours didn't enjoy the experience either.

Those inconvenienced by the collar failure at Chertsey and the restricted headroom at Culham Lock Cut (ongoing) wont have been very pleased either.

Don't get me wrong, in some of these cases the EA response has been excellent and the disruption kept as short as possible.

I could go on but I won't. I continue to try, as do others, to engage with the EA to find ways of increasing funding and making best use of what resources are available, but the fact is that these issues are going to get worse unless there is a major rethink on funding.

Don't think the impending increase in registration charges will solve anything. The river budget has lost over £10million per annum since 2012 and a few percent on registration charges isn't going to fix that.
Nor is there likely to be any early relief from a possible transfer of waterway management to the C&RT - if, indeed that is the direction where salvation lies, and the jury is still out on that.

I am aware that, by posting this, I risk opening up a can of worms but it is time for a reality check. Please don't shoot the messenger.
 
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We have had a brilliant year so far but it is far from over yet. Another two months of 2017 to go at yet and hopefully get our mileage increased. We are well down on miles travelled so far when compared with previous years, despite having been the furthest afield we have yet to venture when we went up onto the Caledonian Canal and the West Coast of Scotland.

We are looking forward to 2018 as we are venturing onto more waters new with a two week summer trip to the Thames and an autumn trip to Brittany. But we won't wish away the rest of this year just yet.
 
Well I’ve clocked up around 250 nm this year, spent 15 nights onboard. Most recent trip was last week, sailed from Oxford to Abingdon, stayed overnight- was the only boat moored below the bridge. Tuesday at Abingdon Marina where she was put on a trailer and then by road to Walton Marina. Ray from central boat haulage was fantastic and took care of everything.
A short sail across the river to Shepperton Marina, her new home, and job done! I now have luxury of mains power available so have installed a small heater for the winter- really useful! Hoping for a few more days out weather depending.

“Sweete Thames, softly run”
 
Viking23 said:
Well I’ve clocked up around 250 nm this year, spent 15 nights onboard. Most recent trip was last week, sailed from Oxford to Abingdon, stayed overnight- was the only boat moored below the bridge. Tuesday at Abingdon Marina where she was put on a trailer and then by road to Walton Marina. Ray from central boat haulage was fantastic and took care of everything.
A short sail across the river to Shepperton Marina, her new home, and job done! I now have luxury of mains power available so have installed a small heater for the winter- really useful! Hoping for a few more days out weather depending.

“Sweete Thames, softly run”
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You went by road to Walton? Such a lovely river trip from Oxford to Shepperton by river, well worth taking your time to do it. Maybe next time!?
 
Ah, this was plan B due to Bell Weir lock works. Though they are delayed now. Did the full trip in August,
5 days of gentle cruising there, and 4 days back.
 
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