Low air draft motor cruiser

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bozlite

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Looking for advice, please! We're looking for a cruiser which is going to be mainly used on rivers but would also be happy in coastal waters. To give you an idea of the sort of boat I'm after, we recently saw a Fairline Mirage 29 with twin 130hp diesels which was just the sort of thing we were after. Just the right sort of accommodation, too; nothing lavish but comfortable for two. However, we'll want to keep the boat in Nottingham and therefore have to get it under an eight-foot bridge. The Mirage has an air draft of 8'5"! Can anyone point us in the right direction, please?
 
bozlite said:
Looking for advice, please! We're looking for a cruiser which is going to be mainly used on rivers but would also be happy in coastal waters. To give you an idea of the sort of boat I'm after, we recently saw a Fairline Mirage 29 with twin 130hp diesels which was just the sort of thing we were after. Just the right sort of accommodation, too; nothing lavish but comfortable for two. However, we'll want to keep the boat in Nottingham and therefore have to get it under an eight-foot bridge. The Mirage has an air draft of 8'5"! Can anyone point us in the right direction, please?
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Have a look on the Dutch sites, they have some low height motorboats that you should find acceptable...... unless you want one that bounces off waves. Most of their boats are steel.

Tom
 
There are quite a few Fairline Mirages on the Thames without the hardtop and just windscreens which fold down, these versions get under Osney on the Thames which is only 7'6", keep looking:)
 
bozlite said:
Looking for advice, please! We're looking for a cruiser which is going to be mainly used on rivers but would also be happy in coastal waters. To give you an idea of the sort of boat I'm after, we recently saw a Fairline Mirage 29 with twin 130hp diesels which was just the sort of thing we were after. Just the right sort of accommodation, too; nothing lavish but comfortable for two. However, we'll want to keep the boat in Nottingham and therefore have to get it under an eight-foot bridge. The Mirage has an air draft of 8'5"! Can anyone point us in the right direction, please?
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Check with the locals first about the bridge height.

If its a modern railway/motorway bridge than chances are the charted air draft will be correct however if its a traditional bridge there will be an arched element to its design and a charted airdraft of 8ft will be the lowest height at the edges of the bridge which means you could easy *'safely'* navigate a 12ft boat through as long as you stay in the middle.

*watch out for getting trapped in rising flood water between bridges.
 
DAKA said:
Check with the locals first about the bridge height.

If its a modern railway/motorway bridge than chances are the charted air draft will be correct however if its a traditional bridge there will be an arched element to its design and a charted airdraft of 8ft will be the lowest height at the edges of the bridge which means you could easy *'safely'* navigate a 12ft boat through as long as you stay in the middle.

*watch out for getting trapped in rising flood water between bridges.
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One of the bridges is as flat as can be, I'm afraid:

1891227_b8fa6647.jpg
 
low air draft

You would not use that principle on some of the arch shape bridges on the Upper Thames..up there it is best to go on your beam ends to get through..:rolleyes:
 
if your thinking coastal.why not look at newark area for moorings?
you wont have to worry too much about airdraft on the trent.
plus nottingham is making the run to the sea a longer trip.
 
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