Cruising Inland

[Cruising James]

I have been cruising in my Freeman 22, 23 and 24 for many years on the River Severn, due to change in circumstances, I am looking to broaden my horizons. I am looking to purchase a 30 foot boat to cruise the inland waterways, e.g Thames, Broads and other rivers . I will also consider moving to cruise the inland waterways of Europe in time. Could any body give some ideas of a specific height to stay under (airdraft) with screens or roof lowered. I have yet to purchase a boat so some ideas in that area would be greatly received. Love the Severn but need more variety. Thanks in advance.

 

[CX54WEK]

As low as you can get will mean that you can cruise as far as is possible.

Can't comment for the Thames but for the upper reaches of the Trent you need to be under 8ft.

 

[oldgit]

You probably need to decide on your cruising area first and then if you want a boat with a flybridge or not.
To get absolutely everywhere you can rule out a flybridge, a command bridge ,ie Broom will limit you a bit less and a basic cabin cruiser will allow you to get virtually anywhere but under the lowest bridges where only narrowboats venture.
Bear in mind to access many waterways there will be no internal route and going offshore will be your only course of action.
One of our club members has just taken his Turbo 36 down to the Med via the canals.
For extended trips you do need a decent sized boat in order not to get cabin fever,would def. suggest at least 30 feet plus.
For gods sake no wibbly wobbly tent boats and avoid outdrives if humanly possible.

 

[CX54WEK]

Old Git has some strange aversion to outdrives, don't let him put you off. They do offer several advantages over shaft driven boats but need to be well maintained to make them reliable.

 

[oldgit]

They do offer several advantages over shaft driven boats .

merely one would be nice !

 

[AuntyRinum]

I have been cruising in my Freeman 22, 23 and 24 for many years on the River Severn, due to change in circumstances, I am looking to broaden my horizons. I am looking to purchase a 30 foot boat to cruise the inland waterways, e.g Thames, Broads and other rivers . I will also consider moving to cruise the inland waterways of Europe in time. Could any body give some ideas of a specific height to stay under (airdraft) with screens or roof lowered. I have yet to purchase a boat so some ideas in that area would be greatly received. Love the Severn but need more variety. Thanks in advance.

This website will give you air drafts, minimum drafts and widths for UK canals and rivers.

http://www.canals.com/canaldata.htm

 

[Cruising James]

As low as you can get will mean that you can cruise as far as is possible.

Can't comment for the Thames but for the upper reaches of the Trent you need to be under 8ft.

You probably need to decide on your cruising area first and then if you want a boat with a flybridge or not.
To get absolutely everywhere you can rule out a flybridge, a command bridge ,ie Broom will limit you a bit less and a basic cabin cruiser will allow you to get virtually anywhere but under the lowest bridges where only narrowboats venture.
Bear in mind to access many waterways there will be no internal route and going offshore will be your only course of action.
One of our club members has just taken his Turbo 36 down to the Med via the canals.
For extended trips you do need a decent sized boat in order not to get cabin fever,would def. suggest at least 30 feet plus.
For gods sake no wibbly wobbly tent boats and avoid outdrives if humanly possible.

merely one would be nice !

 

[534l4rk]

Airdraft 3.4 M (11'2") will get you thru' France to Med and most Belgium Holland

 

[CX54WEK]

Airdraft 3.4 M (11'2") will get you thru' France to Med and most Belgium Holland

But would leave you somewhat restricted in inland UK waters!

It does very much depend just how much cruising and where you intend to cruise as to what air draft you need.

 

[vette]

Airdraft 3.4 M (11'2") will get you thru' and most Belgium Holland

Sounds very interesting.
France to Med

As a ball park figure, how long would it take.
I am guessing 30 days?

Gra

 

[oldgit]

As a ball park figure, how long would it take.

..........our intrepid club member estimated 3 weeks with a bit of luck
Due to various rivers being flooded on his original passage plan ,a move to alternative canals has added considerably to this.

 

[Steve Grubb]

On the Thames Osney Bridge at Oxford is the lowest at 7'6", this was a deciding factor in our decision to buy our Viking earlier this year. We wanted something large enough to leave a bed made up and still have a dinette, to be fairly stable when moving around, and to still get under Osney Bridge. We decided narrowboats aren't for us, we wanted a cruiser. With these criteria our choice was a bit limited, more detail on my blog if you're interested.

 

[CX54WEK]

On the Thames Osney Bridge at Oxford is the lowest at 7'6", this was a deciding factor in our decision to buy our Viking earlier this year. We wanted something large enough to leave a bed made up and still have a dinette, to be fairly stable when moving around, and to still get under Osney Bridge. We decided narrowboats aren't for us, we wanted a cruiser. With these criteria our choice was a bit limited, more detail on my blog if you're interested.

Its a difficult choice isn't it?

We never really gave air draft a thought when we bought our S23 but luckily for us it was an easy modification to get our arch to drop and get our air draft down to 6'6" which means we can get pretty much anywhere we want to get on the UK inland waterways system.

We can reduce our (water) draft down to about 1ft with the stern drive lifted which has enabled us to explore some interesting stretches of water e wouldn't otherwise have considered.

Whilst some would protest that a single engined stern drive planing boat isn't ideal for inland waters, it does also give us the chance to head out onto the coast. We have just got back from a two week trip which took us from Lincoln down the Witham to Boston, then out onto the coast to Lowestoft. We then headed inland onto the Norfolk Broads for a week before heading back out onto the coast to Southwold, Wells next the Sea and then back inland at Boston and on to Lincoln.

Add to that the boat being a trailable size, (next summers holiday is a trip to the Caledonian Canal and West Coast of Scotland) and we have a boat that suits OUR needs fairly well but wouldn't be ideal for someone who never intended to head to sea or trail their boat.