gloucester via canal

[Kerenza]

does anyone have difinitive info on depths please?
would love to do the Easter trip but worried about stopping on the way and what is feasible at Gloucester.
beam 3.7m draught 2.5, length 12.5m

thanks
k

 

[john_morris_uk]

I haven’t transited he canal for few years but quite big vessels use it.

The maximum boat size that can navigate the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal is:
length: 213' (65 metres) - Bends in the canal (the lock at Sharpness is over 240' long)
beam: 30' 5" (9.3 metres) - Fretherne Swing Bridge
height: 124' 8" (38.0 metres) - Electricity pylons at Sandfield and Park End
draught: 11' 6" (3.5 metres) - dredged channel on bridge approaches

See also https://www.waterways.org.uk/gloucandhereford/gs_boaters_guide

 

[Kerenza]

i know there was a large yacht trapped there last year due to silting and the depth near the banks are around 1m.
so the question is can I raft up on the bank and is the docks clear yet?

https://www.google.com/search?q=glo...ndroid-huawei&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

 

[RNW]

Gloucester Docks currently being dredged. Average depth before dredging began 2 weeks ago was 1.4m!!
Typical CaRT crisis method of management! Work expected to be completed mid March.
Gloucester lock currently also out of action but should be fixed soon?
I have a 50ft ketch with a beam of 4.5m and draught of 2.1m ( full bilge keel) currently at Sharpness waiting for CaRT to finish dredging the docks so I can move up to Gloucester for work on my boat by Tommy Nielsens yard.
I do not anticipate any problems navigating the canal to Gloucester, much bigger boats than mine do it all the time.
Although the depth of the canal can be as little as 1m at the edges, I have found that it quickly drops away and that the curving shape of my hull allows me to get alongside in most places.

 

[Kerenza]

thanks for some up to date ingo.
i would infer that if I buddy up with someone I should be able to raft with them ad stop on the bank.
transiting the canal I assumed wouldnt be a problem, but good to get that info.
just leaves the parking in Gloucester, which seems to be work in progress,
thanks again
k

 

[oldmanofthehills]

You can moor up just in the ship canal before Gloucester docks near supermarket and walk the rest of the way. We waited on the final bridge opening there. On our last visit it was only the far end of the inner dock that was silted. Didn't worry us as only draw 1m but some of the fin keelers touched putty so glad its being dredged. The trick as ever is to go dead slow if you think it might be too shallow, then retreat vigorously astern if you touch.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Do you have a BSS certificate? Without I don't think you can make the transit.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Do you have a BSS certificate? Without I don't think you can make the transit.

BSS certificate not needed and done trip a dozen times, its theoretically an internationally accessible ship canal. You need licence from the Canal & River Trust and agree to the terms and make the appropriate declarations, pay the Sharpness lockmaster etc. It possibly be might be different if you were living aboard at the marina at Saul Junction

 

[Graham_Wright]

BSS certificate not needed and done trip a dozen times, its theoretically an internationally accessible ship canal. You need licence from the Canal & River Trust and agree to the terms and make the appropriate declarations, pay the Sharpness lockmaster etc. It possibly be might be different if you were living aboard at the marina at Saul Junction

! I applied in person at the office in Gloucester Docks and, despite my protestations, they declined to accept my application for a licence without the BSS certificate.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

! I applied in person at the office in Gloucester Docks and, despite my protestations, they declined to accept my application for a licence without the BSS certificate.

The Navigator thinks without a BSS there was a time restriction. Certainly as part of our trips from Portished CC or Lydney YC they didnt want separate certification for long Easter weekend.

 

[Graham_Wright]

The Navigator thinks without a BSS there was a time restriction. Certainly as part of our trips from Portished CC or Lydney YC they didnt want separate certification for long Easter weekend.

I'll bounce this off their officers in the docks. I only want a few months or even weeks for engine and "sea" systems commissioning.

 

[Graham_Wright]

The Navigator thinks without a BSS there was a time restriction. Certainly as part of our trips from Portished CC or Lydney YC they didnt want separate certification for long Easter weekend.

The Navigator is right. One month seems to be the maximum - for me (33') £108.

 

[david_bagshaw]

Last autumn Gloucester basin was shallow, including both sides of Lanthony bridge, however passable with a 2mtr draft motor yacht.

Dredging is going to take place, along with fixing Gloucester lock.

as to licencing , if having work done by one of the boat yards, such as Davis, they can use red registration plates,which act similar to trade plates on cars.

 

[Graham_Wright]

The Navigator is right. One month seems to be the maximum - for me (33') £108.

You can apply on line although it is a bit weird. The options in the drop-down boxes don't appear until you suggest somewhere the form recognises. When I answered "usual mooring?" with Leucate, France there was no response. The only way I could progress through the questionnaire was to declare "my vessel is normally ashore" or words to that effect.

Be aware of the shallows to the edge of the canal. If yours is a bilge keeler, approach cautiously. I grounded big time with one keel and the ruder firmly wedged! That was in the stretch between Sharpness and Purton.

(You might like to read my "engine problem" post on PBO sail).