More bodies than beds - help wanted please

[Cliveshep]

I'm taking our tub up either the Wey or lower Thames later when the weather improves (it will improve,........won't it?). Problem is, an Ocean 30 has 6 beds in 3 cabins and even using the floor and the cockpit floor we just have too many bodies and not enough space to put them. Unlike Crippen it is definitely infra dig to chop them up and stick them in a locker, their mum & dad (our dear friends) would definitely be against that, so I'm looking for a place bankside where I can arrange to either put up a tent for 4 kids or park up a caravan a day beforehand and thus avoid national headlines.

This is for a weekend cruise only, maximum aboard will be 9 so all legal that way and plenty of space during the day. Unfortunately sleeping bodies tend to fall over so they cannot be stacked in a corner either. I need a place within one day's range of my mooring in Weybridge, so anywhere between Weybridge and Guildford on the River Wey, or anywhere up the Thames to, say Cliveden Reach/Cookham at the most (and that would be pushing it).

Can anyone help please? I want to pre-arrange this, meaning with owner's permission, and not just wing it and hope for the best. The National Trust do NOT permit camping on any of their land BTW. Thinking caps on please, this may well be the last chance for our friends to stay over as they are emigrating at some point. Many thanks.

 

[No Regrets]

If you moor up at Bray marina, give me a few days notice, and your spares can sleep aboard Nephthys as long as they leave her ship-shape. I'll leave a key with some kind soul...

/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Captain Coochie]

Could you not sleep three in the cockpit ? I often sleep out there in the summer as its cooler . I assume you are meaning the summer .

 

[Cliveshep]

No_Regrets - pm sent, and public thanks for the offer.

My Ocean 30 is the ex-hire "mickey mouse" version with the after cabin (single) taking up most of what would otherwise be cockpit on the twin screw version. It has room for one air bed. My son has just pointed out that his old man can't count and we might sleep nine using all the floor space. At least if it got cold we can run the Eber. This'll want some more thinking about I guess.

 

[Captain Coochie]

Ahhhhh . Another thing that may be worth some thought is extending the beds you have . I dont know your layout but the last person that owned Cuchilo extended the dinette table / bed so it extending across the whole cabin . Its like having a kingsize bed in there which is handy if i get lucky /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I was thinking about dropping a board inbetween the vberth to make that one big bed aswell .

 

[BarryH]

Pick up a copy of the Thames guide by Chris Cove-Smith. It lists camp sites, many on lock islands/bankside or pubs offering B&B.
I've used it for kayaking up the Thames and it proved invaluable....

 

[Cliveshep]

I've inspected the fore cabin to look at a loose board between the v-berths there as I did on our previous dutch steel cruiser. Unfortunately, Ocean Adventurer is a bit like the dear old Queen Mum was, a grand old, lady but extremely broad in the beam. My board would be spanning about 1200mm at the widest point so would present considerable central support and then day-time stowage issues. The dinette is opposite a built in sofa berth and filling in the gap would prevent access from the fore cabin to the heads and also again where do I stow all the bits? It looks like air beds on floors will be the answer although I have a recirculating hot air system off the eber with inlet/outlet grills in the saloon and galley floor so I'll have to be careful not to block those! Elsewhere there are vertical grills so not such a problem.

 

[bradtarga34]

You might be able to moor up at The Boathouse pub in Chertsey, right on Chertsey Bridge. Not sure if they allow overnight mooring, although I am pretty sure they do, and Chertsey Caravan and Camping ground is right next door.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

How close you get is very draught dependant. Its a good place to take my disabled mother in law but we can't get right up to the pub, sit on the sort of hammerhead just at the entrance to the backwater, props and rudders are in water but we are more or less grounded (not wobbly for the less spry) at the bow and aft as far as the centre of the boat...