Cardiff Bay Link Road Bridge

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rgsmg53

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Please forgive me if this is a stupid question but I can't find the answer anywhere.........

Does anyone know the navigable height under the Cardiff Bay Link Road Bridge (where the Taff enters Cardiff Bay)?

Having retired from 'big' boating, I'd like to teach the grandchilden to sail in my little Post Boat and there is a nice-looking slipway at the Channel View Leisure Centre / Cardiff Rowing Club but it's upstream of the road bridge. I'm happy to lower the gaff to shoot the bridge but I don't want to faff about with the mast.
 
Brilliant! Many thanks.

I'm currently 'between chart plotters' having sold my last one with the previous boat. I was going for an app-based approach this time with a dayboat but evenso I'm not sure many charts have data for this particular bridge.
 
The height of water in the bay varies quite a bit so any figures on the chart will be approximate.

. I had a 14 foot voyager trailer sailer which I sailed under the bridge several times.

The mast was a couple of feet longer than the boat plus about 3 feet above the water on deck so the air draught of my boat would have been approx 19 feet.
 
ANDY_W said:
If this is the A4232 bridge, Navionics chartviewer gives the clearance as 5.3 metres.
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Question is, is this clearnce about chart datum or osgb datum and for springs or what. Apparently, and I was surprised to learn this, chart datum often changes as you go up river
 
Birdseye said:
Question is, is this clearnce about chart datum or osgb datum and for springs or what. Apparently, and I was surprised to learn this, chart datum often changes as you go up river
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I was taught many moons ago that bridge/wire heights over tidal waters were the minimum value to be found during spring tides. Neap tides gave a bit more room. However in this case, the waters are non tidal so will be subject to any variations by the water management company or the affects of weather.
As ever, be guided by the information on the chart but use your eyes and any other sources of information.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately my mast is too tall whichever way it's calculated.

It seems odd that there are no public slipways into the Bay.
 
I just checked and the air draft of a Wanderer is about 7m. I've launched one at Channel View Leisure Centre and sailed it under the bridge on several occasions. You can pay to use the slipway for a day there and there's good parking etc. I went under the highest point on the bridge, there's a fair curve on it, and although it looked tight it didn't brush my burgee so there must be a bit over 7m in reality.
 
Yes, it was the pay per use and good parking that prompted me to ask the question.

My air draft is just short of 6 metres so I might be in with a chance. I guess I need to take courage in both hands and nose up to it. Thank you.

What worries me now is any variation of the maintained height of the Bay. Presumably because it is continully fed with fresh water from the Taff and the Ely, the level is fairly easily controlled via some sort of weir under normal circumstances. The locks are huge though so I can see them causing most of any variation.

It's a few years since I last vistited so I feel a reconnaissance trip coming on.
 
rgsmg53 said:
Yes, it was the pay per use and good parking that prompted me to ask the question.

My air draft is just short of 6 metres so I might be in with a chance. I guess I need to take courage in both hands and nose up to it. Thank you.

What worries me now is any variation of the maintained height of the Bay. Presumably because it is continully fed with fresh water from the Taff and the Ely, the level is fairly easily controlled via some sort of weir under normal circumstances. The locks are huge though so I can see them causing most of any variation.

It's a few years since I last vistited so I feel a reconnaissance trip coming on.
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I have an infrared measure, you could use one of those to check. They're not expensive now. If you ring the locks they will tell you the present height. A fat bloke sat on the side reduces the air draft quite well, unfortunately I'm away at the moment!
Allan
 
There's a huge weir on the barrage to the left of the locks as you look out to sea. I don't think the level rises and falls by much.
I would say go for it and I have every confidence you'll slide right under. Aim for the high bit of the arch and maybe have the peak halyard ready to drop in a hurry!
The problem I had was beating out under the bridge in the very fluky winds around all the apartment blocks.
 
Allan said:
I have an infrared measure, you could use one of those to check.
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What I wonderful idea. The only problem is I must employ pythagoras live as I approach the bridge! I can easily provide the necessary ballast as a fat bloke though.

MisterBaxter said:
and maybe have the peak halyard ready to drop in a hurry!
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Not quite that simple as she is a Loch Broom Post Boat with the mast fore stay attached to the for'ard end of the bowsprit - not somewhere I can reach safely when afloat and trying to helm the boat. I guess I could attach a block and run a line back but then I would need to shorten the fore stay. Dropping the sail and having the outboard idling ready to go hard astern seems the way to go.

I'll probably go for a recce in the next couple of weeks then take the plunge (hopefully not literally) after that.
 
I was thinking more of just lowering the gaff, not the whole mast - assuming that the gaff is higher than the mast top, that is... I'm pretty confident you won't have a problem though, a Wanderer has got to have more air draft than a gaff dinghy of similar length.
 
I had always assumed I would have to lower the gaff as per my OP. The gaff is significantly higher than the mast top. The issue is whether I can get the mast under. Certainly your view is more positive than the earlier data suggested. I have only ever previously viewed the bridge from a much bigger boat in the Bay when it was out of the question and so I never paid it much attention.
 
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