chuckaduck
Active member
BY the river flow
Yesterday after beefing up the security by our mooring I set out with Miniskip and his chum Ian for a potter about , the weather was good and we hadnt been out for a while.
Before this picture we had previously come from our mooring and had a quick blast down syon reach to brentford to clear the cobwebs from the hull and outdrive
on the way back up suddenly the engine lost power surging as if the fuel was being starved so we slowed to tickover and went back to the mooring there i revved the engine and the symptoms were of fuel starvation ,i was about to call it a day but then I popped the fuel filter cover off and looked at it it was a bit dirty so I replaced it and fired here up again pulled the engine revs up again and all seemed ok so I asked the crew if they wanted to go out again and they were in agreement so off we went !
As we came out we passed some neighbours embarking out on a dingy
I decided to go upstream just in case we had more problems and soon we are at richmond
as you can see the flow is fierce at least 6 knts in my opinion
these pictures are at richmond bridge and show how fast the river is flowing the dangerous bit is at the bridges which is ok for us in our 22 footer but not for smaller vessels
Past richmond bridge and up towards eel pie we pass the notorious river dwelling which is normally moored center stream but must have been moved to the bank due to the flooding
then past some pontoons where I think another forumite keeps his boat
also we had a bit of light hearted banter with some fishing folk
AND THEN DISASTER STRUCK !!
Just before Eel pie the engine started to lose power again I took the helm and miniskip pulled out the oars and boat hook
As we were carried back down stream with the engine at idle we could continue but the engine kept cutting out
so miniskip and chummie kept us on course with the oars until i could restart the engine which would run again but not for long
we continued precariously with the engine stopping and re starting and luckily we came through the bridges at richmond without mishap
the last bridge passed before our mooring and we are in sight I decided to keep to port as if the engine failed again then we would have some chance of grabbing hold of one of the houseboats there
as we near the engine stops and refuses to start the flow is very strong and I know we only have one chance before being carried away towards the ait I take the hook and the crew prepare the lines I catch a houseboat with the boathook but it only slows us so we all grab hold and luckily we get a line
soon we are secure
A resident appears who we know and comments that the woman wholives on the boat we have moored to is nervious about strangers to which I reply we didnt have a choice as we had broken down !!
he offers us a tow in which we accept but I knew that given 10 minutes the engine would start and run to get us in
later we start the engine and under the eye of our helper we were able to moor up successfully
This was believe it or not a good trip why ?
well it showed me how well the crew coped with a potentially dangerous situatuion, they were exellent and did not panic and they did exactly what i asked them to do so the net result was good
well it was certainly an adventure and definitley not dull
What I can say is that every time we go out it is an adventure this is due to where we are ie the tidal thames we can go down or up it can be dangerous but there is a safety net ie you are not far from a bank or boat
On a note of safety we carry first aid inshore flares have vhf ( see arial ) an anchor etc
Yesterday after beefing up the security by our mooring I set out with Miniskip and his chum Ian for a potter about , the weather was good and we hadnt been out for a while.
Before this picture we had previously come from our mooring and had a quick blast down syon reach to brentford to clear the cobwebs from the hull and outdrive
on the way back up suddenly the engine lost power surging as if the fuel was being starved so we slowed to tickover and went back to the mooring there i revved the engine and the symptoms were of fuel starvation ,i was about to call it a day but then I popped the fuel filter cover off and looked at it it was a bit dirty so I replaced it and fired here up again pulled the engine revs up again and all seemed ok so I asked the crew if they wanted to go out again and they were in agreement so off we went !
As we came out we passed some neighbours embarking out on a dingy
I decided to go upstream just in case we had more problems and soon we are at richmond
as you can see the flow is fierce at least 6 knts in my opinion
these pictures are at richmond bridge and show how fast the river is flowing the dangerous bit is at the bridges which is ok for us in our 22 footer but not for smaller vessels
Past richmond bridge and up towards eel pie we pass the notorious river dwelling which is normally moored center stream but must have been moved to the bank due to the flooding
then past some pontoons where I think another forumite keeps his boat
also we had a bit of light hearted banter with some fishing folk
AND THEN DISASTER STRUCK !!
Just before Eel pie the engine started to lose power again I took the helm and miniskip pulled out the oars and boat hook
As we were carried back down stream with the engine at idle we could continue but the engine kept cutting out
so miniskip and chummie kept us on course with the oars until i could restart the engine which would run again but not for long
we continued precariously with the engine stopping and re starting and luckily we came through the bridges at richmond without mishap
the last bridge passed before our mooring and we are in sight I decided to keep to port as if the engine failed again then we would have some chance of grabbing hold of one of the houseboats there
as we near the engine stops and refuses to start the flow is very strong and I know we only have one chance before being carried away towards the ait I take the hook and the crew prepare the lines I catch a houseboat with the boathook but it only slows us so we all grab hold and luckily we get a line
soon we are secure
A resident appears who we know and comments that the woman wholives on the boat we have moored to is nervious about strangers to which I reply we didnt have a choice as we had broken down !!
he offers us a tow in which we accept but I knew that given 10 minutes the engine would start and run to get us in
later we start the engine and under the eye of our helper we were able to moor up successfully
This was believe it or not a good trip why ?
well it showed me how well the crew coped with a potentially dangerous situatuion, they were exellent and did not panic and they did exactly what i asked them to do so the net result was good
well it was certainly an adventure and definitley not dull
What I can say is that every time we go out it is an adventure this is due to where we are ie the tidal thames we can go down or up it can be dangerous but there is a safety net ie you are not far from a bank or boat
On a note of safety we carry first aid inshore flares have vhf ( see arial ) an anchor etc
