Going nontidal

alruss

alruss

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My boat is 26 ft, 9'9" beam and 2' draft on two outdrives. I am thinking of having a look at
the nontidal Thames for a couple of weeks. I do not drink, but I do eat. I will be doing this on a limited budget. My boat is petrol powered. I have a Porta potty that I can use.
Suggestions for an itinary are sought. I am at present on the tidal Thames at Putney.
Many thanks for the input.
 
apollo said:
Buy Some Jerry Cans....
Click to expand...

Meaning that petrol can be a bit difficult to get hold of at times. Once through Teddington you could easily get up to Oxford and back in your two weeks cruise, at Thames speeds your Osborne shouldn't guzzle too much gas. Lots of places to eat alongside the river but if you're on a budget why not buy and heat or cook for yourself? Apart from what you'll load aboard at Putney, there's a Tesco plus loads of other shops at Staines, with easy free moorings by the town. More shops at Windsor, although you've got to hoof it through the town from wherever you can moor and they charge for moorings there, and same again at Marlow, Henley etc. Free mooring outside Tesco Extra at Reading, lock your boat there, but would advise not stopping but move on upriver a bit.

Got an anchor or two? We prefer to anchor up at night although you'll need your all-round white anchor light. Saves paying out £5 or more to the extortionists. Loads of free Elsan disposal and water points along the river.
 
We`re on petrol as well and its not as bad as people make out. Coming up river there is a petrol station a couple of minutes from hampton Court bridge, just past staines bridge on the left there is a wooden jetty where you can moor and its again a few minutes walk to a sainsburys petrol station. Plenty of "cheap eats" in staines as well. Beyond staines the next "easy petrol is maidenhead bridge which again is only a couple of minutes walk. Its a lot better downstream than up stream. We recently went up to Oxford and beyond, once past Abingdon and Osney Bridge petrol is very sparce.
 
Upstream Petrol

Once above Reading the only dockside petrol I am sure of is in Abingdon (Red Line - only open during the week) and above Oxford at Eynsham/Oxford Cruisers. Don't think there is any in Henley, and I don't think Benson do petrol. Suggest you fill up at Tescos in Reading - we do!
 
Redline don`t have any petrol until next season now, was up there a couple of weeks ago and had to go to the BP garage near the park. Its only a short walk from the river. Eynsham do have petrol, altho it is good old 4 star at £1.80 a litre !!! There is a garage in walking distance from Osney Bridge, we moored at the Watermans and it was about a 10 minute walk. There is riverside petrol at Henly just past the bridge on the right, altho from memory it was quite expensive even comapared to MDL. Racecourse Marina at windsor also have riverside petrol as does Walton.
 
what size is your fuel tank and what consumption would you expect per engine at 4 to 5 mph ? Before I re-engined I cruised non-tidal with 2 x Volvo twin carb guzzlers and I dont remember having any real supply problems. Admittedly marinas like Shepperton charge a wad for petrol (1.30?) if you have time and a trolley and dont mind a walk to top up I wouldn't be too concerned. And if you alternate engines, running on one, between locks you will slash your consumption.
Coordinating your potty tip out stops might be more important in practice.

You might need to be creative in finding free mooring as most of the places you are likely to want to overnight attract a charge. However if you are not looking for a pub and are self catering then you can overnight 'out in the country' where there are no charges.

As far as itinerary is concerned thsi is reall ya product of your ideal cruising day. There are those people that like to cruise until early afternoon, moor up, go for a walk, get the barbie going etc etc etc ... and others who like to crack-on and do the miles and moor up later in the evening. If you are not a regular on the non tidal Thames you might prefer a more sedate cruise so you can take it all in.

Oxford and back is a nice ride - I do recommend it.

I am sure this forum can give you more info about free mooring sites .. also the cruising hours to Oxford .. I am guessing here but ... say 35 hours from Teddington ???
The Thames book by Chris Cove- Smith is very good.
also www.visitthames.co.uk lists the EA moorings which are all free
 
When are you thinking of taking the trip?

Bear in mind that if the answer is "soon", then the river has lots of closures from 2nd November to next February.
You can't get above Bray after 2/11/09
 
My range is not a problem, but closed sections are likely to be. Does True Blue's post mean that you can not really use the river in the winter? Seems strange, some of my best trips have been in the winter. Again thanks for info.
 
alruss said:
My range is not a problem, but closed sections are likely to be. Does True Blue's post mean that you can not really use the river in the winter? Seems strange, some of my best trips have been in the winter. Again thanks for info.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately it is a sad fact that certain Locks are closed for repairs and refurbishment at certain times through the winter, this is a necessity. You will find the list here :-
http://www.visitthames.co.uk/uploads/lock_imp_notice_ 09-10_Issue1.pdf
 
Yes, its a great shame that so much of it is closed. Can remember last winter trying to move my boat from windsor to Reading. We missed the deadline of going before the closures and I think cookham was closed from nov through till march. Luckily there was a window over Xmas where they would open the locks for a week or so so did it then. Freezing cold but what a great trip, the day was bright and sunny and we didn`t see any other boats. Every lock keeper was helpful and called ahead to let the next lockie know we were on our way. The upshot was a great trip and managed to do Windsor to Reading with ease in a day.
 
Don't bank on it -

heron said:
Luckily there was a window over Xmas where they would open the locks for a week or so so did it then.
Click to expand...

A window over the Christmas holidays are not certain. Last year I asked P.Power and he said definitely NOT, but then something changed and there was a window. Nobody told me.

The explanation for the total shutdown was that it was uneconomic to tidy up and move plant out of the way. As there are usually so few boat movements in the winter season, that I didn't make a fuss. Plans made not to use the boat, I was somewhat annoyed (!) to find that the river was open...

Usually the schedule changes nearer the time and there are a flurry of amendments determined by the weather, progress on existing works and so on.
Thus it's worth keeping an eye on Visitthames.
 
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