Draw Off and transiting Teddington

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Lower Limit 1909

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Apart from the obvious stuff like not being able to reach pontoons / bank etc. outside of the window of opportunity, usual tidal currents etc., and being especially careful about the usual shoals (e.g; upstream end of eel pie island) near the outside of the window is there anything not obvious that I am missing about using Teddington Lock and heading down/up stream in the period approx. 1.5 hrs before and 1.5 hrs after HW with up to (say) 1 metre draft?

It might feel a bit lonely in the barge lock if the regular one now offline for maintenance but apart from that I can't see that it would be any different to business as usual within this window? Am I missing anything important?
 
I don't believe so; possibly make a call to the Richmond & Teddington lock keepers to talk through any other considerations? Can't hurt to hear it from them directly. Progress might be slowed if it takes a while to fill the barge lock; not sure if the mid-gates are in operation.

james
 
Thanks. Checking with the lock keepers is useful advice. I'd really hope the mid gates are in operation during the launch lock closure.

I'm familiar with the level being maintained to a minimum of 1.72M above ODN and this 1.72M figure is typically the chart datum that is used on the PLA hydrograhic surveys etc. What I can't find (and probably because it's not a fixed figure so could be misleading) is how much the depth is typically reduced by at low water during the draw off. I appreciate this will depend on fluvial flow and my own observations suggest it's approx. 0.8M - 1.2M lower typically but it would be interesting to know if there is any 'proper' source for this figure or if anybody can improve on my 0.8 - 1.2M observations from years gone by?
 
The reduced level does indeed vary quite considerably. I will measure it for you today fairly accurately by looking at the wear marks on my piles. (As Julian probably said to Sandy....)
 
Thanks Alan. That concurs with my observations from previous years. PLA Survey chart suggest more caution needed around the downstreamm entrance to the barge lock than the launch lock so a different proposition to previous years.

My reading of the charts/tables (occasionally about as reliable as my reading of tea leaves) suggests the level will be above the normal maintained LW level from about 2.5hrs before HW to about 4hrs after HW but that doesn't fit in with my recollection so my working assumption ATM (exercising more caution on an ebb tide) is that there is about a 1hr before HW and 1 hr after HW window for transiting the barge lock with 1M draft.

As jct1982 pointed out the lock keepers should be able to advise and will presumably stop anything completely stupid.
 
Lower Limit 1909 said:
Thanks Alan. That concurs with my observations from previous years. PLA Survey chart suggest more caution needed around the downstreamm entrance to the barge lock than the launch lock so a different proposition to previous years.

My reading of the charts/tables (occasionally about as reliable as my reading of tea leaves) suggests the level will be above the normal maintained LW level from about 2.5hrs before HW to about 4hrs after HW but that doesn't fit in with my recollection so my working assumption ATM (exercising more caution on an ebb tide) is that there is about a 1hr before HW and 1 hr after HW window for transiting the barge lock with 1M draft.

As jct1982 pointed out the lock keepers should be able to advise and will presumably stop anything completely stupid.
Click to expand...

My observations last year - low freshwater flow, low water springs - suggested the level was about 5-6 feet below normal between Richmond and Teddington. I was quite tempted to try fording ..

https://nbsg.wordpress.com/2017/11/18/what-happens-if-you-leave-the-paddles-open/
 
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