Advice for a newbie to the Thames

Steve_Jones

Steve_Jones

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Hi All,

We are contemplating a house move which would get us a house fronting on to the Thames in Reading (Purley on Thames) with its own mooring. We currently have a 27" yacht in Gosport but it would seem sensible if we make the move to sell the yacht /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif and to buy a mobo of some sort (SWMBO is delighted as she likes the idea of being upright and no waves!!).

Being completely new to the idea I have no idea how much a decent mobo would cost, how much to run and where best to look for a good second-hand boat. I'll raise iro £15K by selling the yacht, what does this get me that would be suitable for the Thames. I'll be looking to make regular trips to Henley, Marlow and Windsor, but again have no idea of likely trip times, fuel costs etc.

Any help and advice gratefully received!!!


Thanks guys!! (and gals??)

Steve
 
Steve, first real decision you have to make, is are you going to use the boat purely on the non tidal Thames, or will you later on want to make trips to the tidal Thames or even coastal trips, as this will affect the type of boat you need, and the engine power.

How many berths as well?
 
Brendan,

How quick was that response!!

I would imagine that we'll stick to non-tidal, I guess this extends to London or so (told you I was new to this!!). We'll only likely need a double berth for myself and SWMBO but if our budget would stretch to another couple this may be useful for the odd long-weekend with friends.

Thanks!
 
London itself, downstream of Teddington Lock, is def tidal, so if you were thinking of taking the boat into London to visit St Kats or similar, you'd need to be thinking of a boat with a suitable engine (though the River can flow quite strongly in the non tidal parts, you can always avoid going out when it's flowing strongly, and you can possibly time trips into London to avoid the worst of the tide, I'd prefer a boat with the engine power to cope, and probably a higher freeboard than a purely river boat).

My experience of boating on the Thames is limited compared to many here, so I'll leave possible choices of boats to their more experienced input, but just thought I'd start the ball rolling.
 
Steve. London can be very tidal in both range and speed, any purely river craft with a little BMC 1.5 will need to work the tides carefully or risk making almost no progress at all. Having said that, hundreds of boats with that sort of engine do make the trip regularly. Henley would be an easy day trip from Reading, depending on your idea of a day, its a couple of hours or so if you are at the Kennet end, rather more at the Mapledurham end of Reading. Windsor (I like the place) would be a good weekend trip. Teddington is of the order of 7 hours from Windsor, maybe less if you get a move on and get lucky with the locks.

As for boats, the choice is huge but you do want something easily worked through the locks by two of you I guess, but want the option of a second couple. There are aft cabin boats in your budget but may of the aft cockpit ones may have limited privacy if that is important to you, not all divide into cabins by anything more substantial than a half height bulkhead and curtain. Compared to a sailyboat you may find that you ratlle about a bit and there's a distinct echo:-)
 
With your budget you should pick up a nice 27' Freeman which will suit you admirably. Make sure you get deisel as this is readily available on the Thames where-as petrol necessitates a walk to a garage with cans. Incidentally there is life upstream of your new home too.
 
Running costs on a river mobo are negligable. Other costs such as licensing (That you may not be used to as a sea going forumite), and getting the boat to standards required can cost a great deal, so factor that in, if not already included in the boat you buy

This forum can talk you through all the necessary details.
 
I like our Freeman 24 (my "floating caravan") and now only slightly regret not buying a very well equipped 27 we viewed when buying...
 
Birchwood 25
Freeman 24 or 27
that sort of boat ...??
Have a think about the comfort/ space you want (just overnighting or longer cruises ?) also there is wonderful cruising upstream of Oxford but because of low bridge at Osney not all boats can pass. Clearance is 7ft 6 in which might point towards a softop boat if you wanted to cruise up there. recommend you look at brokerages at Penton Hook, Bray and Windsor for starters.
For reliable low cost cruising perhaps think in terms of diesel engine with shaft drive (outdrives need expensive servicing).

At max 5mph on the non todal Thames Thames your fuel costs will be very low . Biggest costs are marina mooring (which you wont have with a river garden mooring) and servicing. Then there is 4 yearly boat safety certificate (about £80) river licence say 250 , insurance maybe another 250 per annum. Overnight riverbank moorings (where not available free) prob £5 or 6 a night.
 
A dayboat?

What about a day boat?
There are some super characterful dayboats around now that might suit your needs if you are living by the river.
Just a thought. Obviously no use if you need to stay on board over night.
 
The lockkeeper at Mapledurham has retired and the plant shop is unfortunately closed for refurbishment, not totally sure what that means. They weren't even selling ice creams last time we went through in mid-June. I'll have a look next week.
 
I would go for a Freeman, ideal for the Thames, well made and will be able to sell it again for very much same as you paid for it.

But as others have said, make sure you get one with a diesel.
 
There is a Birchwood 25 with diesel on shaft at Penton Hook Marine Sales. (Diesel Birchwood 25s are quite rare).

It has a Webasto heater & a fridge too.

Make a low bid though, they have had it quite a while! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

(Its name is Kingfisher VIII).
 
Some good advice on types of boat. Have a look around the brokers to get a feel for what is on offer. Thames & Kennet is the nearest to you, but I suggest you work your way down river and visit them all.

Purley is a pretty good spot for exploring the Upper Thames. Just as a personal preference I would tend to go upstream as it is much quieter and there are some beautiful stretches, but you will certainly want to see Henley etc. Just don't expect to get too far in a weekend. The lomger we have been on the river the shorter the trips we have tended to do. We had a (fairly leisurely) four or five day trip last year and only got from Reading to Abingdon and back. A similar trip downstream a few years ago got us as far as Windsor.

Let us know how you get on with your search
 
Thanks everyone for the excellent advice!!

It looks as if we are going ahead with the move, offer accepted, so we are now planning for the new boat!!

I get the feeling that Narrow Boats are not liked on the Thames, have I picked up the vibe correctly??

Also, just to add another dimension, what's the feeling towards 'sports cruisers' such as Bayliners etc?? I have to ask as my son thinks they look pretty cool. Me, being a sober and mature father would obviously prefer something a little less 'poseur'ish' /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

And finally, if anyone out there has contact details of contractors who build/maintain riverbank moorings I would very much appreciate it, cheers!

Thanks again!!
 
Nothing wrong with SportsCruisers but you will struggle in the locks as most of them have a distinct lack of "Decks" to walk along and they tend to wander a lot.

Also a lot are petrol, and thats very difficult to obtain on the Thames, so invest in a couple of Jerry cans to visit Tesco every week.
 
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