How far up the Thames with a bradwell 18ft can I get good overnight spots

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steve yates

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I posted this on the east coast forum and it was suggested I ask the question in here, which makes sense :)..

Hello, I have just moved down to Benfleet from cumbria, tho my business is still there and I will commute.
My wee boat is in Stranraer at the moment, once I sail her back to Maryport in cumbria, I will probably trail her down here and find a mooring somewhere. I can see loads of exploring across to Kent and around the Essex rivers,plus over to Ostend etc, but I am intrigued, since I am a country bumpkin from the far north, with the idea of pootling up the Thames right through London.

Can this be done? How far could I get, she is 18ft long with a lifting keel, so draft can go down to 40 cm.

Anyone done it? Can you get into any canal systems and explore further inland? Though dropping the mast would be a pita. Any reccomendatioms for places to overnight on the trip, and good pubs to visit nearby. Can you leave a boat unattended or will it be knicked or sunk?

What should I look out for? Any rules or regs I won't know about? My only sailing experience is the Irish Sea and the west coast of Scotland. Rivers and lots of traffic are all new to me.

Thanks.
 
If dropping the mast is a pita I would suggest you keep it down and invest in an outboard. Once you've done that the world of the Thames is your oyster as far as you want to go, eg Lechlade or slightly above. Canals are available, Grand Union, Kennet and Avon, Basingstoke via the river Wey. Plenty of pubs, towns and villages to stop off at. Generally boats are safe on the river but at 18' it may well be eminently nickable unfortunately. Plenty of options for you.
 
She already has an outboard, and as she will be down in essex the mast will definitely be up. I "could"drop it, but am more interested in how far I can get upriver before I have to. It's just by way of something different for me, a pub crawl by river if you like :)
 
steve yates said:
She already has an outboard, and as she will be down in essex the mast will definitely be up. I "could"drop it, but am more interested in how far I can get upriver before I have to. It's just by way of something different for me, a pub crawl by river if you like :)
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If you drop the mast about 125miles past Teddington, if you don't then London Bridge on the tideway depending on the state of the tide :D
 
steve yates said:
She already has an outboard, and as she will be down in essex the mast will definitely be up. I "could"drop it, but am more interested in how far I can get upriver before I have to. It's just by way of something different for me, a pub crawl by river if you like :)
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You tell us the length of the boat but the "air draft" is more relevant as far as bridges are concerned

See http://www.pla.co.uk/Safety/Thames-Bridges-Heights

and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/river-thames-bridges-locks-and-facilities-for-boaters

There are ways to reduce the air draft:-

 
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If you can get your air draft down to 11', you will be fine all the way up to oxford. Passage making under sail is difficult on the Thames - there generally isn't enough width for sensible tacking without getting in every bodies way (the rowers will love you...!!)

There are lots of dinghy sailing clubs on the upper Thames, but they only mess about in restricted reaches where the river is wider.

Drop the mast, fire up the engine and off you go. Probably plan to spend some time exploring the upper river to make it worth dismasting?
 
If you look at the Cornish Shrimper owners website you'll find the log of a Smrimper which started on the Thames, went down the canal to Bristol and then back round the South coast to the Thames.
 
steve yates said:
My wee boat is in Stranraer at the moment, once I sail her back to Maryport in cumbria, I will probably trail her down here and find a mooring somewhere. I can see loads of exploring across to Kent and around the Essex rivers,plus over to Ostend etc, but I am intrigued, since I am a country bumpkin from the far north, with the idea of pootling up the Thames right through London.
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If I'm correct in thinking that a Bradwell 18 is 6'3" (Mk1) or 6'5"(Mk2) beam you should be able to do the whole trip by canal - I can't see any issues for you at http://www.canals.com/canaldata.htm

Out of Maryport, turn left, left again at Barrow, into the canal system at Glasson Dock and off you go!
 
Definitely wants the mast down. There is a lot of water to be explored by a small boat with low air draft and a lifting keel. As has been mentioned sailing is almost pointless on the River anyway due to it being too narrow.

I noticed that the Thames Barrier insist on boats being motored through - not sure what happens if you have a sailing boat with no motor?

I once met a bloke up near Shillingford who was punting a nice little broads sailing boat along. Probably about an 18 footer. I asked him if he had an engine he said no. No sign of an outboard bracket. Said he had come from Essex.

I did wonder of he had a sneaky seagull for emergencies .

Is it particularly difficult to get the mast down?

I've travelled most of the UK canal system in narrow boats - I would not particularly like to do it in a small GRP or wooden boat. It would get very scuffed unless very well fendered. People do it to be fair.

If its under 6ft beam you could do narrow canals (I know the official width is 6'10 but I'd like to see at least 4 or 5 inches of rubber fendering all around on non-steel vessels just to prevent damage. Obviously that would make the boat wider.

The thames is great. If you like exploring bring a small dinghy along or a kayak and there are loads of backwaters and tributaries to be investigated.
 
JumbleDuck said:
If I'm correct in thinking that a Bradwell 18 is 6'3" (Mk1) or 6'5"(Mk2) beam you should be able to do the whole trip by canal - I can't see any issues for you at http://www.canals.com/canaldata.htm

Out of Maryport, turn left, left again at Barrow, into the canal system at Glasson Dock and off you go!
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That looks like a bloody great wee escapade :)
 
Its doable on the canals but I'd say road transport down to Benfleet is best then come up river and put the mast down somewhere below the pool. Limehouse marina is an option for that. Then motor up the River. Petrol can usually be found fairly close to the River once you get above Teddington (3 or 4 hours from Limehouse with the tide). If you have a modern 4 stroke ~5hp engine its not going to use a lot.

The Thames is wonderful.
 
Personal recommendation for security would be do not leave anywhere isolated just pick a popular spot and you will be surrounded by fellowboaters.
 
Probably worth putting any outboard motor inside the boat if left unattended.

I'm not sure about the theft risk but I suppose there are some places it might occur. Would depend how long the boat was left for.
There are some really good gps trackers available for not much money some of which will send you a message if the tracker/boat moves. Also handy if the mooring lines break or the boat is set adrift.
 
steve yates said:
It's a mariner 6. 4-stroke with a 15l external fuel tank and another 20l in cans in the locker, so from full she should be good for a 100 miles a time at half throttle.
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For luggable quantities there are some filling stations landside along the route - a small folding trolley would help.

An idle thought perhaps - but a dropped mast can be a complete Pita, especially in the narrower reaches. Could you not remove it and leave it for safekeeping with a rowing club (Heavens forfend...) or for the sake of good order a sailing club? Upper Thames SC at Bourne End has lots of space, Henley SC somewhat less, Goring SC similarly. Above that it gets narrower and the locals wont like you filling the lock with a sharp pointy bit.
The Upper-upper Thames is lovely so well worth making an effort. You could probably get to Lechlade, though not with a mast, too many tight bends with boats roaring down against you.....
 
Also might be worth talking to Thurrock yacht club and Greenwich yacht club both which are below London. I suspect that you would want rid of the mast before you got to the bridges. Storage does seem a good idea to me.

If you can do 100 miles on stored fuel then you will have no problems at all. There are plenty of places where you can walk and get 5 or 10 litres in a can within a few minutes of the River. I think some of the marinas do petrol as well but not sure which ones and obviously they put a 'convenience' premium on it.
 
The official British Marine Federation app - River Thames Guide - lists moorings (and any combination of locks, marinas, food/lodging, pumps out, fishing, RVP and more on the interactive map) and provides bridge headways plus Journey Planner, lock details, current weather, current river conditions and much more.
Available for Apple (iPhone, iPad, iPod), Android (smartphone and tablet) and Amazon (tablet).
Full details and download links here
 
I once met a bloke up near Shillingford who was punting a nice little broads sailing boat along. Probably about an 18 footer. I asked him if he had an engine he said no. No sign of an outboard bracket. Said he had come from Essex. I did wonder of he had a sneaky seagull for emergencies . [/QUOTE said:
That sounds to me like it might have been Charles Stock http://shoal-waters.moonfruit.com
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I think it could well have been
was about 20 years ago. The boat was definitely something very similar to that I assumed it was a broads sailing yacht.
 
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