List of Boats that can get under Cookham footbridge

[alan-w]

Has anyone ever put together a list of boats that can get safely under Cookham foot bridge?
The bridge itself is curved, so using the maximum clearance of 12.6 ft as a guide seems a little risky.
Using the manufacturers airdraft figures is not necessarily useful either, as boats on the river often have some degree of modification to cope with bridges. e.g. folding light mast, radar arch etc.
I have not seen any information about modification and new heights.


I am particularly interested in flybridges around the 38 to 40 ft mark, as I am thinking of getting a bigger boat.
Thinking of the usual suspects, Sealine, Fairline, Princess etc., but it would be good to have a resource that everyone could use, whether they be visitors, or thinking of staying for a while.
Maybe a list of boats that cannot make it, a list that can with modification, and those that never will at normal river levels.

Any help much appreciated

 

[oldgit]

A Transocean 36 which is currently for sale will go under that bridge. Also my chums Brava 37 will go under with arch down.

 

[boatone]

I doubt you will have much luck in compiling such a list - just too many variables.

Suggest you would do better just to decide which boats are on your wish list and then rule out any that clearly have too great an air draft. Anything that passes that filter you will need to consider on a case by case basis.
Bear in mind that river levels, and therefore clearance, can vary anything between -3inches to +6 inches during normal conditions.

 

[oldgit]

The Princess Heritage site is useful for airdrafts.
http://www.princess.co.uk/about-us/princess-yachts-heritage/
Scroll down to bottom reveals real world boats

 

[Actionmat]

The Project 31 has LOA as 64ft according to that page!

 

[Chill]

All Sealines under 50' will go under but you will have to drop the radar tower. some are already hinged.
Have a look at the boats in Bray, Windsor and at Harleyford will give you an idea of what to look at.

Check with the lock keeper before going under as at plus 5" we cant get under.

 

[macnorton]

The Project 31 has LOA as 64ft according to that page!

And 34'000 Kg. no wonder it needs twin D13's?

 

[alan-w]

Thanks, thats a helpful resource. It looks as though the Princess 380, 38 and 40 will be worth checking out. We also need to be able to get the dog on and off, and need to consider the ease wit which that can be done.
Do you know of anything similar for Fairline?

 

[alan-w]

i'll update my spreadsheet with the new info!

 

[alan-w]

yes, I have seen quite a few F43's about. I was told that the F42/5 would not go under without quite a bit of modification.
I had a broker tell me that it would get under, hence things get confused.
The same broker also told me that a Phantom 42 would get under. I know someone who has tried and it definitely would not without the river level being dropped.

 

[alan-w]

I doubt you will have much luck in compiling such a list - just too many variables.

Suggest you would do better just to decide which boats are on your wish list and then rule out any that clearly have too great an air draft. Anything that passes that filter you will need to consider on a case by case basis.
Bear in mind that river levels, and therefore clearance, can vary anything between -3inches to +6 inches during normal conditions.

Yes there are a lot of variables. Thats why I thought that it would be a good idea to have a resource that people can use as a starting point. I am sure that most of the boaters on the Thames have gone through the same process at one point, or another.
I will put my findings in a spreadsheet. If anyone wants it later, they are welcome.

 

[Blackfeather]

Having gone through this process it's a PITA.

Firstly getting the radar arch hinged (at significant cost) and then deciding that it was unsightly, unwieldy and i kept clonking my head on the radome, so took it off completely. it is still possible to put it back on with a couple of hours work if we want to venture back to the coast.

We are small flybridge and, even with the arch off, Cookham bridge is a challenge. Having done the run down to Windsor recently for the YBW Thames cruise, when the water was at its lowest, I still needed to slick my hair down to get underneath it. Anything above minimum would have made it impossible.

The above is a pic before the arch was removed. It's a Rodman 1120 with an airdraft of 12ft, allegedly.

 

[Wavey]

I would suggest you take any published figures regarding air draft and bridge heights with a pinch of salt. I bought my previous boat on the basis of the air draft we actually measured which was different to that in the brochure. We should have been able to get under Cookham with 2 inches to spare. At summer levels we couldn't even get close and had to dismantle the fly screens to do so which was a right pain in the you know where every time we wanted to go up river.

 

[Chill]

http://youtu.be/_drHN0TBIIs

 

[alan-w]

I would suggest you take any published figures regarding air draft and bridge heights with a pinch of salt. I bought my previous boat on the basis of the air draft we actually measured which was different to that in the brochure. We should have been able to get under Cookham with 2 inches to spare. At summer levels we couldn't even get close and had to dismantle the fly screens to do so which was a right pain in the you know where every time we wanted to go up river.

Agree, published figures are misleading. I did measure the bridge height, checking the maximum in the middle and then again 4ft either side to check the effect of the curve. 12ft does seem to be maximum (assuming flybridge is no more than 8 feet wide.
Does anyone know if the Fairline Phantom 38 (circa 1998) gets under? I have seen one for sale at harleyford, but again , thats no guarantee!

 

[alan-w]

http://youtu.be/_drHN0TBIIs

Looks pretty straight forward then. Just need a good crash helmet and a jar of vallium.
Which boat is that?

 

[Chill]

Its a Sealine T46

 

[captain tomas]

The river levels will vary, however, I know a Fairline Turbo A/C, with GRP arch will just creep under at
plus four inches on the Lock cut gauge.
You would need everything folded down, leaving the standard helm seat as the high point.

Hope this is helpful , however all boats vary, fuel,water, number of crew, so check on every occasion before transit.

 

[Cashbuyer]

Regularly saw a Phantom38 at Cookham which must have squeezed under. Harleyford have also recently sold one and delivered it downriver, so that one made it through. Good idea to take a look at the boats moored along the lawn at Harleyford. Plenty of tall stuff moored there. Make sure you have hydraulics or at least gas struts fitted to anything that needs lowering. Apologies if that sounds a bit obvious. First time under, in a Broom 10/70, we discovered that even the ensign pole had to come down.

 

[alan-w]

Regularly saw a Phantom38 at Cookham which must have squeezed under. Harleyford have also recently sold one and delivered it downriver, so that one made it through. Good idea to take a look at the boats moored along the lawn at Harleyford. Plenty of tall stuff moored there. Make sure you have hydraulics or at least gas struts fitted to anything that needs lowering. Apologies if that sounds a bit obvious. First time under, in a Broom 10/70, we discovered that even the ensign pole had to come down.

Many thanks for the info. I did see the Phantom 38 and Harleyford, but it was own the the sales walkway at the time. It stood out, as just about everything else up there is a Broom ( is someone collecting them?)
Its an eye opener that you needed to take down your ensign pole!