Can I take my (small) boat on the tidal Thames?

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ThamesBoater

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Hi all

Have been lurking on this forum for a while, and would like some advice if anyone can help?

Can I take my boat on to the tidal Thames? I have a 1970s Fairline 20 with a 9.9HP outboard. The wife and I are taking a week or so off work and are looking to cruise from where we moor in Oxford down towards London and maybe down through to Tower bridge to see the sights before turning around to head back.

Can I do this or is my boat too small or under powered for a trip through London and back?

Any advice would be appreciated!


Thanks

Mark
 
Mark, the boat will be fine as long as you have the nerve, the lack of power means you will
have to work the tide all the time and wait for it to turn to come back up the tidal section.
You will also have to register your boat at Teddington as a Thames boat with a mooring to go to because of the Olympics.
With your boat, I would suggest you leave Teddington at the top of an early morning ebbing tide, you will then have to wait at or around Greenwich yacht club/ the barrier for the tide to take you back up to Teddington. The reason for the long day is that there is nowhere to stop on the tidal once you pass Putney until you get to Greenwich Y. C. and at present the police wont let you, again, the Olympics.
Go for it, you will be fine just under powered, the canal boats do it with their low power so why not you.
 
Thanks for the advice very helpful!

I said a week or so, length of holiday time is somewhat flexible :-) not really looked at exactly how long I would need. I take it that I would need much more?
 
Make sure you have a visitor mooring booked in advance in Central London as most of them are full up at the mo!
 
A LARGE Bucket of cold water.......................:)

"Thanks for the advice very helpful!"


Hi,and welcome.Am just about set a very large pussy loose among the dickie birds.
The trip through central London can be extremely uncomfortable even in a 37ft 10 ton 300hp twin screw motor cruiser.
Thats with the tide,doubt your engine would even make way against it.
Personally would not even think about doing it in your boat unless you very very familar with strong tides,30 knot Fast cats and trip boats/joy riding ribs/police targas and 500hp tugs towing 1000 tons of rubbish causing wash.
Yes get it right and its fine get it wrong and you ladyfriend/possibly you will never boat again.
Go with somebody experienced first...then make up your mind.
 
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That little Fairline should do 8kts with 9.9hp!

No Regrets will do 6 on it's 11hp aux engine, and 9 on the main one...

Therefore the Fairline is not grossly underpowered.

Uncomfortable in the Pool of London sure....:eek:
 
Thanks everyone, some really useful advice. I had thought that mooring in London would not be possible or would be ridiculously expensive! But it looks like its not and it sounds like the boat might be capable of doing it too.

I think we will put this off for another time though as I think we will need more time than the wife wants to spend on the boat (its a bit small for more than a week she says) and if I can book mornings it might be worth staying for a couple of days at least.
 
And you'll need plenty of spare petrol on board unless you fancy spending precious time locating gas stations.

A week on a 20' boat is easily doable - I've just spent three weeks on the Broads on a Viking 20 with wife and dog.
 
I used to go into London for fun in Seaspray ( 18ft'r )
Get the tides right and you go out on it and come back on it . Get them wrong and you tie up to a rubbish barge and get a gun stuck in your face at 6 am :eek:
 
No Regrets said:
That little Fairline should do 8kts with 9.9hp!

No Regrets will do 6 on it's 11hp aux engine, and 9 on the main one...

Therefore the Fairline is not grossly underpowered.

Uncomfortable in the Pool of London sure....:eek:
Click to expand...




Yep all fine up on the mirror smooth glorified duck pond that is above Teddington.:)
However given a 4 knot ebb, a lightweight boat being thrown around due to wash with its prop probably not in the water half the time and a less than experienced crew on board !
Imagine,holding against the tide outside St Kats with the tripboats and fast ferries going past,perhaps trying to pick up a waiting bouy and being stuck outside for an hour due to congestion going into lock.
Imagine losing that engine due to rubbish in fuel or hitting debris.:(
 
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Take a trip on a passenger boat downriver to London from Hampton Court so you can see what the river's like for yourself.

The boat should be capable depending on weather and local conditions but your competency and comfort of crew will be the bigger issue.
 
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Yes, it is possible, but...:

London is scary first time out. The tides can rip very fast, the commercial traffic is coming through whether you're in the way or not, and it CAN get very, uncomfortably rough, especially in the pool of London by Tower Bridge and st. Kats.

Tide timing with a notionally under powered boat is critical, or you will end up going backwards. Again, not a massive problem as long as you can get to the side and catch a mooring to wait it out, but it is very frightening.

In terms of mooring up for sightseeing, there are very limited opportunities for that. Your best bet would be Imperial Wharf, as it's very easy to get on and off and it's right in the middle of town. In case of emergency, you can tie up temporarily just about anywhere, but you must be wary of running out of water as the tide recedes, and be prepared to contact London VTS or the police (VHF ch14 - you will have a radio, won't you?) cos they WILL want to know a) What you're up to and b) if they can assist.

London by boat at night is very special if you can do it, and you can overnight easily at Imperial Wharf or more complicatedly at St Kat's or Limehouse etc..

PS have a spare engine... Small OB just to get you to the side if nothing else...
 
rosssavage said:
Yes, it is possible, but...:

London is scary first time out. The tides can rip very fast, the commercial traffic is coming through whether you're in the way or not, and it CAN get very, uncomfortably rough, especially in the pool of London by Tower Bridge and st. Kats.

Tide timing with a notionally under powered boat is critical, or you will end up going backwards. Again, not a massive problem as long as you can get to the side and catch a mooring to wait it out, but it is very frightening.

In terms of mooring up for sightseeing, there are very limited opportunities for that. Your best bet would be Imperial Wharf, as it's very easy to get on and off and it's right in the middle of town. In case of emergency, you can tie up temporarily just about anywhere, but you must be wary of running out of water as the tide recedes, and be prepared to contact London VTS or the police (VHF ch14 - you will have a radio, won't you?) cos they WILL want to know a) What you're up to and b) if they can assist.

London by boat at night is very special if you can do it, and you can overnight easily at Imperial Wharf or more complicatedly at St Kat's or Limehouse etc..

PS have a spare engine... Small OB just to get you to the side if nothing else...
Click to expand...

After Old Gits advice you've certainly frightened the pants off the poor chap now!!!
 
Lol, that's not the intention!!

London is great by river, and especially I think at night. But it's not to be undertaken lightly if your only river experience is the non-tidal upper Thames.

My first time I was single crewed and missed the last locking into St Kats, and my brilliant planning did not include a plan B.

I had a great time bumbling around after dark looking for somewhere to moor (I actually did...) as it was a great adventure, despite getting shouted at by a commercial skipper for some not too hot boat handling. Ended up illegally moored up under Battersea power station, having managed to come alongside and get a line on in a ripping ebb by myself.

But, this was in a near 40 footer boat with twin 300hp engines.

Getting it wrong in a twenty footer with 10hp is a different matter, and whilst I would be bold enough to state it shouldn't be considered dangerous, you DO need to know what you're getting yourself into. Things can happen fast and the river is not so forgiving there.

I would say go for it, but KNOW what you're doing first.

Wear lifejackets.
Have a VHF.
Have a plan B.
Have a spare engine.
Wear lifejackets!!!

Enjoy it, but be prepared... :)
 
A silly suggestion - perhaps

If you really, really MUST go down to London in a (very) small boat, it is technically possible to do it by canal.
In at Brentford and stop at Limehouse, return the same way.
A fair number of locks - all DIY and some heavy.

I wouldn't do it (I feel canals are best for lumps of tin), but I do see a number of - umm - small cruisers on the Oxford and broader canals, so it is done.

You'd need a CART licence but mooring in Paddington basin (to visit the West End) or Limehouse is free.

Worth a thought and some research perhaps??
 
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