I am in a dilema

G

gary3029

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 Jul 2005
Messages
251
Location
Poole Dorset
Visit site
I live in poole and keep my 24ft wooden boat here. I may have to look at moving to watford because of work. That presents a problem, where shall I put the boat....no wise cracks!! Are there any good places on the east coast which looks about an hour travelling from watford. I currently pay £1700 for swinging mooring with yard storage for winter if I want. Are costs cheaper on the east cost?
 
I do know one thing, the east coast is cheap for moorings/mud berths and there are lots of places. Plus its a great cruising ground, especially for small shoal draft boats. But as to actually where to go, I dont know, but I bet there will be a few along shortly who do!!
 
Hello, i think your biggest problem is finding somewhere to be happy in Watford! I live just up the road in Hemel hempstead and i just cant imagine leaving Dorset to come and live here. Anyway, i keep my boat at Titchmarsh Marina at Walton on the Naze. It takes 90-120mins to cover the 94 miles. For a Pontoon berth with water and electric costs me about £2400 pa for a 28ft boat. The weather is crap, the sea is too shallow but the people are friendly. You will be hard pushed to make it to the east coast in an hour from Watford.!!
 
We live just West of Watford and use the A41 to pick up the M25. Takes us 2 hours to get to Gosport (give or take). Watford would be at least 25mins quicker.. We have a swinging mooring from Gosport Boat Yard which is serviced by water taxis. Suits us very well.
 
I dont know how you guys can stand being so far from your boats, it takes me 20 mins to walk to the boat, 10 on a bike and 5 in the car.

I just could not live away from her!
 
Hi. I live in Barnet which is quite near to Watford and keep my boat in West Mersea, the mooring is swinging most of the time except for very low tides!

Costs me around £500 year, I can get to West Mersea from Barnet in about 1.5 hours, sometimes less!
 
Try the Crouch. Some cheap boatyards and posher marinas and swinging/drying moorings - a big range of costs, but generally a lot cheaper than Solent and probably much else on the S Coast. Good river sailing and places to go in both directions outside the river (Kent, Essex and Suffolk rivers are all within an easy days sail). From St Albans, the drive takes us about 70-80 mins. When I was looking for a place to moor the boat, I did a search for everywhere within 2 hours drive, using various sites to find moorings/marinas/boatyards and RAC or AA to find driving times. A couple of places on the Thames were shortest in driving time, but we liked the Crouch for relaxing sailing better. The Blackwater was a bit too tide-limited. The Orwell/Stour were getting towards the top end of the driving time.
 
Hells Bells. Barnet to West Mersea in 1.5 hours!!!. This must be ...
a) 2am on a Sunday night
b) in a helicopter

It certainly isn't on a Friday evening even in a helicopter. It takes 1.5 hours from Braintree.
 
Have thought about keeping her at poole, but have you ever seen the traffic on the M27 trying to get in and out of dorset at weekends? As a local I don't drive anywhere if I can help it during the holiday season at weekeends.
I thnik the vast savings on moorings from what I have already seen on the east coast will swing it that way.
 
I am on the waiting list at Brightlingsea as I am soon to be a resident there. Been on for a year, three more to wait.

If you can take the mud, drying moorings are more readily available.

Good luck.
 
Maldon's probably closest, but the Crouch is a good bet. Tollesbury 15 minutes extra but a superb marina. 27 footer cost us £1700 in the marina, half that on the saltings.
 
You LUCKY LUCKY LOT .. Takes us about 3.25 Hours to get to the Deben from Nottingham .. We have fun getting in and out Deben .. Titchmarsh is a nice sail and a friendly marina so is Brightlingsea .. We also use the Orwell and poach a mooring for the night .. Ipswich is not bad but you waste a good couple of hours locking in and out and getting down the Orwell to Wolverstone
 
I live with a 4 miles of watford and keep my boat at bradwell in Essex on the blackwater. I looked at the south coast but realistically you are looking at Southampton maybe portsmouth to remain within 1.5 hours of the boat. The mooring costs lead me to look at the east coast. I would suggest tidal restrictions at the western end of the blackwater means that for day sailing you need to be at the eastern end or directly on the water (eg marconi) J17 M25 to Bradwell normally takes about an hour and 20 minutes. For different type of sailing at a similar distance I would also consider the Crouch. West Mersea or Brightlingsea is going to add another 30 minutes to your journey at least.

If you need to store the boat near home there is a boat yard at the canal basin between croxley and watford. When I enquired the cost of keeping my boat on the hard there was as much as a southcoast mooring! There is also 'marina' near Denham which is about 20 minutes from Watford but I don't know if they have dry storage or if it is just canal boats. There is however a small and friendly chandlers there who serviced by Honda outboard.

Hope that helps, Watford only feels like the end of the world. it could be worse, it could be Slough.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I am getting worried....is watford really such a bad place to live and work?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, yes .... but it is easy to get out of.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top