Best West Wales Marina with decent River Cruise

[D and G]

Hi All,
Fingers crossed we will be getting a river cruiser next month. We did plan to try and find a mooring on the Thames the furthest West the better so any suggestions for that fire away, we have also considered bringing the boat to West Wales, my wife is very nervous of the sea but enjoys river cruises, so harder than what I thought to find info on what Marina has the longest river cruise from the berth, so far reddings Boatyard, Milford Haven and Nayland have caught our eye so we could cruise the river Cleddau, so looking for info on how far we could cruise the river Cleddau in a 25 foot cruiser?

 

[tico]

What sort of river cruising are you looking for? and what's the boat?
The Daucleddau is a wide river below the main road bridge (think over a mile wide) with a large tidal range (7m at springs) and no locks on the river.
You can take a 25' cruiser up to Cresswell or Haverfordwest or Slebech for an hour or so at big springs but then it's turn round before the water level drops. Not really like river/canal cruising on the Severn / Avon or similar.
Above the bridge its still wider than the upper Thames until you get above Lawrenny.
Think you mean Rudders boatyard ----- All Swinging moorings
Neyland is a nice marina with easy access upstream
Milford is another 5-6 miles nearer the sea.

 

[D and G]

Thanks for your reply Tico, just what I wanted. The boat is a Princess 25, it was Rudders Boatyard, could consider the Severn,nearly bought a Bayliner there last year, but same as the Coronet with the seized engine in our other post, got beet to it. We like countryside and wildlife so think the Cleddau would provide that but thought it would be the same as the Severn/Thames so good job you warned me. Having trouble getting insurance quotes, all want to put it to the underwriters, not sure if it's her age (1974) or the swing mooring I proposed that is upsetting them or maybe they all do that?

 

[SP2]

Can be good to build confidence on a river like the Thames (I did so on the Medway many decades ago!) but you could find it restricting after a while. The Cleddau is a lovely river and I’ve been in Neyland five years now but as Tico says it’s a wide stretch of water and anywhere downriver of Neyland you’ll be encountering some very large ships. I’d be looking at upper Severn and Avon as a possibility. A friend has a 23 footer which he cruises up to Stratford. Hope you get insurance sorted. With older boats insurers can be nervous and ask for surveys but you wouldn’t want to be heading out onto the water without knowing the vessel was sound so a survey is part of a safety regime.

 

[D and G]

Can be good to build confidence on a river like the Thames (I did so on the Medway many decades ago!) but you could find it restricting after a while. The Cleddau is a lovely river and I’ve been in Neyland five years now but as Tico says it’s a wide stretch of water and anywhere downriver of Neyland you’ll be encountering some very large ships. I’d be looking at upper Severn and Avon as a possibility. A friend has a 23 footer which he cruises up to Stratford. Hope you get insurance sorted. With older boats insurers can be nervous and ask for surveys but you wouldn’t want to be heading out onto the water without knowing the vessel was sound so a survey is part of a safety regime.

Thanks for your reply,agree the survey is a good idea so viewing the boat tomorrow. Got no replies from approx 5 places I emailed for mooring on the Thames so looking at leaving it at the current marina then look for boat moving options,so will post that to see what people suggest hire a skipper or move by road.
Cheers
Geoff and Denise

 

[SP2]

Thanks for your reply,agree the survey is a good idea so viewing the boat tomorrow. Got no replies from approx 5 places I emailed for mooring on the Thames so looking at leaving it at the current marina then look for boat moving options,so will post that to see what people suggest hire a skipper or move by road.
Cheers
Geoff and Denise

Good luck with the viewing.