Medway marina advise

[jb1963]

Hi all
Ive just moved to the area and have been looking at marinas on the medway to moor my boat. so far it doesn't look very promising.
medway bridge marina. seemed an awfuly long walk from the carpark down to the pontoons. the mrs didn't like the look of the bar in the carpark and wondered if it gets noisy or roudy of an evening. liked the security.
port medway marina. staff weren't overly friendly or helpful and this vibe seemed to follow us down the pontoon. no one smiled or chatted to us. nothing realy wrong with the marina just didn't feel it.
cuxton marina. this was by far the worst of the bunch. the main pontoon appeared to be held together by lorry straps. talking to a local maintenance seemed to be a low priority they said the new building was a toilet block but has been built for the last 6 months. didn't bother stopping for a price list.
chatham and Gillingham both seemed very nice but are way out of my league. the other yards seem to be clubs which Im not really interested in.
going to look at Gravesend over the weekend as it is nearer to me but I don't really fancy the thames as I think it will get to rough for the wife.
am I doing these marinas an injustice or have I missed any jems?
thanks
John

 

[byron]

Hello JB and welcome to our merry band of boaters. No doubt our resident Medway Scallywag 'Old Git' will give you chapter and verse but he will be away right now on his Tub so hold your breath until after the Bank Holiday.

 

[Double arvor]

Hi JB you could try Conyer although you are restricted with the tide, and it is in the Swale Chatham is the best on the Medway.

 

[lynall]

Weve been at Port Medway a couple of years now with no issues.
Micheala in the office during the weeks as good as gold
Judy in the office at the weekends again as good as gold
Darren the huge scruffy yard guy is also very helpful.
Theres a few liveaboards which appealed to me as onsite security.
I would say pop down at the weekend and see Judy.
I wouldnt say its a chitty chatty marina, rather a place to park the boat and work on it when needed.
Ive also heard good things about Cuxton but didnt like the look of it, but to be fair most of the marinas in the area are much the same.
Mate of mine used to live at the Bridge marina but he was bit of a hippy, it is a very long way down the pontoons!
Theres another up river from Cuxton, but for the life of me I cant remember what its called!

 

[Double arvor]

I forgot the marina up river to Cuxton used to called Elmhaven and was always nice and quiet and small but has tide restriction's.

 

[lydiamight]

Try Victory Moorings at Thunderbolt Pier in The Historic Dockyard at Chatham. All tide access, no lock to go through like Chatham Marina, power and water on the pontoon and toilets at the top of the walkway.
Security is good as it is within the Historic Dockyard.
Tony Moss is the guy you want to talk to about mooring availability.
Don't have his number but a Google should reveal all.

 

[oldgit]

Hi John and welcome to the forum.The Medway has always been a bit rough and ready regards motorboating. It is only fairly recently that the "la de da world of poncy marinas" and 50gb wireless has reared its ugly head. Mainly caused by Thames and Solent sailors cruelly driven out of their home grounds by eye watering mooring charges and chaps in lurid matching "technical" Musto ..
The attire of choice for a Medway skipper was usually a boiler suit.
We down here,never ones to miss a trick for easy pickings, decided that a marina or two would not go amiss,so Gillingham and MDL Chatham were set up to relieve chaps with enourmous glassfibre boats with fancy names in large letters on the side of their hard earned.It is rumored that both have actual showers with hot water.
The folks who moor there can pretend ,while inside, that they are in either Cowes or Nice
The rest of the boat yards are exactly that, boatyards, to a greater and lesser extent.Most will have a social scene somewhere and sorry that you could not find somewhere that you where happy with.
If you do not have any luck finding somewhere you are keen on then let me know,there are couple of places you have not mentioned and might be able to point you in the right direction.
Modesty forbids me from mentioning my boat club with very active boating and social agenda but a tiny fly in the ointment is a 3 year waiting list for a club mooring.
www.rochestercc.co.uk/
However many folks join the club and moor elsewhere.
Have you considered mooring up at Allington,above the lock for more tranquil boating.
Wonder what boat you have ?