Boat Relocating Advice

[Mr T]

Good evening, can anyone advise me on whether or not to move my boat down river before levels rise any further.

I have recently purchased an 8m cruiser at Gunthorpe on the river Trent and have obtained a mooring in a marina about 10 mile downstream of its current mooring.

The current mooring is in an area where the river is rising and begining to flow quicker than normal.

Can anyone advise me if it will be safe to power downstream or should I leave it where it is,

Kind regards

Mark

 

[Flynnbarr]

Bump.
If they don't see your post a pm to MartynG or CX54WEK may help as they are up that way I believe.
Failing that ask on www.canalworld.net,a lot of their members have experience of the Trent.

 

[Mr T]

Thank you Flynnbarr

 

[rafiki_]

If the river is in flood, then it will be very challenging to move the boat. Best to ensure she is safely moored, warps long enough to cope with the rise in water level, then look for a better mooring when the river has abated.

 

[volvopaul]

Good evening, can anyone advise me on whether or not to move my boat down river before levels rise any further.

I have recently purchased an 8m cruiser at Gunthorpe on the river Trent and have obtained a mooring in a marina about 10 mile downstream of its current mooring.

The current mooring is in an area where the river is rising and begining to flow quicker than normal.

Can anyone advise me if it will be safe to power downstream or should I leave it where it is,

Kind regards

Mark

You should be ok if your going to Farndon or Newark Marina, however of your going to Kings you have to negotiate the bridge in the town which may cause a height problem .
If your going to either other 2 pass the entrance to both then turn against the current to enter the basin .

 

[Dutch01527]

If the river is in flood, then it will be very challenging to move the boat. Best to ensure she is safely moored, warps long enough to cope with the rise in water level, then look for a better mooring when the river has abated.

Agreed. We have a boat on the River Severn so have some experience in similar circumstances. Big rivers like the Trent and Severn do not flow especially quickly so look reasonably safe. However, they do wash down lots of heavy material such as fallen tree trunks.

These often float virtually under the surface. Moving the boat would have a high risk of hitting something very heavy or fouling the propeller.

Better to stay where you are if possible and double up on warps and use as many different cleats as you can. Our experience is that as long as you can adjust for the river level rising (we have a floating pontoon but long warps would also work) the situation was pretty undramatic.

Perhaps the most dangerous time is when the river level falls again if you are moored alongside a sloping river bank because you can get stranded on the bank. You may need to use a kedge anchor to pull the boat a bit into the main stream. Our neighbours got caught out like that in 2014.

 

[rafiki_]

We too were on the Severn for several years, and were very wary of the river in flood. The current may look relatively slow, but will be incredibly strong, and make it very difficult to manoeuvre a boat.

 

[dash300]

https://youtu.be/ZZ4dlAIW8so

Thames in flood Chertsey Bridge. Music annoying however.

 

[Mr T]

Good evening and thank you to everyone who has responded, I will take your advise and stay put for the time being,

kind regards and Happy New Year