London on water, by water

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2013PrincessV39

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Hi All,

Princess treated us to a wonderful day at the London On Water boat show this weekend, and it was smiles all around as we sat in the beautiful St. Katherine's Dock; A new discovery for us all (as 4 year old boaters!) with drinks out as soon as midday!

The thought crossed my mind about bringing our own boat up the Thames and into St. Kats during August, but as a Londoner, I feel there must be some sort of catch....

Obviously there's no boaters congestion charge, but to do Southampton to London seems like it may involve a special license/permit and several other unique requirements.

Has anyone made this trip and could they let me know if they think it's worth a try?
 
The trip up the Thames is one journey every boater worth his salt must do at least once in life time.
Forget all those dull Solent round the Needles to Studland and back to the Marina jaunts. And as for those Med trips to the Cala and back on automatic mention no more.:)
Liquid history. Nothing else compares expecially if you actually manage to get your boat into St Kats. harder to get into than to escape from a high security prison. :)
Mix it with RoRo ships ,giant container ships overtaking you at 25knots,tugs leaving holes in the water the size of houses,the Woolwich Ferry ..is it leaving or not, London VTS,which gate was it again, and mixing it with Thames Clippers/Police Targas, Trip boats and those blimming Ribs. Add in a nice mix of wash bouncing off the banks and that just about sums up the situation.
A bit boring in the lower reaches,just mud and more mud really but it all kicks off going under the M25(take time to admire the standing traffic on
QE bridge.Greenwich with the Cutty Sark and Observatory. Canary Wharf,All the notorious river side pubs at Wapping on the Port side,then Tower Bridge,then the Tower ofLondon, and on into the heart of the city, London Eye,the Houses of Parliament, MI5 building etc etc etc.
The man who is tired of London,is tired of life.:)

All you need is a bit of Planning.
Easy Bit will be from Solent to North Foreland, little bit of care across North Coast and into Thames at South End.Just stick the shipping channels.
Need to make some decisions if you are 30 knot all in day man or a easy hop from base to Ramsgate ,then mebbe Queenborough/MDL Marina and then short final hop up to St Kats skipper.
 
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oldgit said:
The trip up the Thames is one journey every boater worth his salt must do at least once in life time.
Forget all those dull Solent round the Needles to Studland and back to the Marina jaunts. And as for those Med trips to the Cala and back on automatic mention no more.:)
Liquid history. Nothing else compares expecially if you actually manage to get your boat into St Kats. harder to get into than to escape from a high security prison. :)
Mix it with RoRo ships ,giant container ships overtaking you at 25knots,tugs leaving holes in the water the size of houses,the Woolwich Ferry ..is it leaving or not, London VTS,which gate was it again, and mixing it with Thames Clippers/Police Targas, Trip boats and those blimming Ribs. Add in a nice mix of wash bouncing off the banks and that just about sums up the situation.
A bit boring in the lower reaches,just mud and more mud really but it all kicks off going under the M25(take time to admire the standing traffic on
QE bridge.Greenwich with the Cutty Sark and Observatory. Canary Wharf,All the notorious river side pubs at Wapping on the Port side,then Tower Bridge,then the Tower ofLondon, and on into the heart of the city, London Eye,the Houses of Parliament, MI5 building etc etc etc.
The man who is tired of London,is tired of life.:)

All you need is a bit of Planning.
Easy Bit will be from Solent to North Foreland, little bit of care across North Coast and into Thames at South End.Just stick the shipping channels.
Need to make some decisions if you are 30 knot all in day man or a easy hop from base to Ramsgate ,then mebbe Queenborough/MDL Marina and then short final hop up to St Kats skipper.
Click to expand...

Wot he said. It's amazing. Plan a longer trip and head up to the non-tidal part for a couple of days so you get to do the stretch from Tower Bridge to Teddington. You just need to apply for a short term licence at Teddington Lock
 
All very straight forward, the only 'London' factor are the berthing charges are somewhat higher then Port Solent. You really need to do it over 3 days to make it pleasurable Eastbourne, Ramsgate and Chatham as you have to arrive at St Kats around high water to get in and no real place to wait in the river. The Thames and it's barrier are straight forward and you can get be pamphlet from the web http://www.pla.co.uk/

stkats3_zpshwv2korg.jpg
 
I used to be based in Chiswick.

As a one off its fine but it is a commercial waterway that is very unfriendly. The London eye threatened to have us arrested if we dropped off a passenger ( bluster I am sure ). Not being able to stop other than the locked marines is a shame.

Bear in mind tides when entering. The Thames can be really moving and trying to get a big boat into a small lock with the tide running can be difficult other than a slack tide. I had some sort of tequnkque with a constant running now thruster and quite a bit of power

If you do visit then make a trip of it and head to the upper Thames which is delightful.

Since I left they have also imposed speed limits making it quite a long slog. The position was always a bit odd as there was no speed limit below Wandsworth bridge but there was an arbitrary wash limit imposed by the police ( and the pla ) at random will so I was always being stopped even when going slowly.

Also watch out for debris. There are quite a lot of car wheels etc floating about.
 
join the PLA users club FOC.
They send you as part of the free stuff,a decent sized colour laminate chart with a simple to
comprehend easy to follow stage by stage instructions for the entire trip,detailing everything you will need to know and ensuring you stay out of their way. Radio channels,speed limits etc.Also indicates small vessel track in lower reaches.
Just follow the map,although is mentions NOT for navigation,not unknown for some folks not to refer to other charts during the entire journey.
Goes from No1 Sea Reach to Teddington Lock.
As others have mentioned if you have got the time make the trip up above Teddington Lock La La Land of the Upper Thames where time has stood still, will even bring back memories of a time when the AA man saluted as you went past.
The lockeepers virtually wait on the locals hand and foot as they are incapable of working the locks themselves,gentlemen and players etc. . :)
Please do not mention I said this.

https://www.boatingonthethames.co.uk/Join-the-Tidal-Thames-Navigators-Club
 
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I used to keep my old Merry Fisher 925 at Imperial Wharf in Fulham for a couple of years. TBH, whilst it was exhilarating to sail past the Houses of Parliament into the heart of London and up to Tower Bridge and back, it was bloody dangerous, indeed total carnage negotiating the previously mentioned hazards. And the River Police - with little else to do - constantly looking for a reason to pull you over for some infringement or other. Mind you, they were much appreciated when - on what turned out to be my very last ever trip - my single prop was fouled off Chelsea with a builders sack and we were being swept out of control along at 5 knots towards the bridge! All in all, it can assure you it is far more relaxing and less stressful on the Med! :peaceful:
 
I used to walk this way daily and yes the debris is shocking. So is the river on the flood or ebb..no wonder it is rnli busiest location.
No..cant say I can see the attraction of having my own baot there...use the tourists boat for a day and be done with it !!
 
Hi,

I am actually looking to do this trip at the weekend in a Princess V39.

Does anyone have a passage plan I can use as a back up to the one I have created?

Thanks
 
The thought crossed my mind about bringing our own boat up the Thames and into St. Kats during August, but as a Londoner, I feel there must be some sort of catch....
Click to expand...
No catch at all and its a brilliant trip. We used to bring our boat down on to the tidal Thames when me moored at Shepperton many years ago and then when we moved to the Solent we cruised to London a couple of times, including spending an amazing Millenium Night moored between 2 temporary PLA buoys opposite the Houses of Parliament right in the middle of all the fireworks and celebrations. For me there is no better way of seeing our capital city than from the water and there's no better place to berth than St Kats which is very central for many of the London attractions

You do have to be aware that the Thames is a dangerous river when the tide is running hard and its best to time your arrival at any of the marinas for HW slack and as jrudge says watch out for debris in the water. Make sure you've got plenty of fuel as well because, at least when we cruised the Thames, it wasnt easy to find fuel
 
As others have already said it is absolutely doable but take the river seriously and plan just as much as you would any sea passage. We have done it twice and the second trip is covered in a cruise report on page 3 of the 'Forum Cruise Reports' at the top of the mobo forum page. We did the non-tidal Thames too on that trip so it will give you a flavour of what to expect.

Central London on your own boat is a 'must do' if it is within cruising distance of your base. Yes, you have to keep your wits about you but it is okay. We were boarded by the Met on the first occasion, which was really a CT operation and they were very friendly, not looking for any transgressions and just wanted to ensure that we were legit. We hope to do it again someday.
 
Need to book St Kats as far ahead as possible.
The other marinas are OK (ish).
South Dock cheap but in the middle of nowhere
Chelsea Marina .... inside sterile with tiny lock.
Outside .You will get bounced around by by passing traffic
Limehouse sort of OK if your not too fussy about semi industrial surroundings
Heritage moorings..not if you value your boat or your life :).OK for 100 tonn ex coasters and tugs and even they get thrown around by wash.
Wapping High street is full of interesting historic pubs, and personal recommendation to eat at asensible price is Il Bordello at the far end towards the police station.
 
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