Moving boat to Bristol

[seedog]

I have just moved to Bristol and this is my first post to the BC forum, though I have been reading posts here for a couple of months. I have a 22' trailer sailor that I will be moving down in April and hoped I might get some advice on where to put her in the water for the summer.

I've had a look at Portishead marina and that is currently top of the list. However was chatting to someone in floating harbour who said he thought it a bit unfriendly. I also looked at Portishead CC at Pill. Though my boat can happily take the ground mud gets up the keel case and is a pain to clear out. I dismissed floating harbour as being too far from the sea but having watched the tide go out perhaps that isn't the case. Anybody got any other suggestions and also any thoughts on what I need to consider in making a decision.

Also if anybody has need of a willing crew member (available most days of the week until the end of April) I'd welcome the opportunity to learn a bit about the channel as I have not sailed in this part of Britain before. Please PM me for contact details.

 

[Who]

I am new to this boating lark, but I can speak very highly of Portishead Marina.

Everyone has been very very helpful, accommodating me and point me in the right direction. All the staff are fantastic and you never feel like a pr**t asking daft questions.

Unfriendly... you are joking! Every time I walk down the pontoons, everyone is very polite and chatty.

Yachts or Power , everyone takes to you. I felt very welcome.

A criticism would be there is no club house. I know there is one at Pill, but its not Portishead next to the marina. I guess when the restaurants/bars get built things will change and there will be a more social atmosphere. Bound to be one bar that stands out /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

If you have any questions regarding Sailing I am sure "Damo" will help. He is always on here somewhere. (I don't understand all those sails, too complicated)

Bristol Harbour will be half the cost, but with one tide per day, you are only going to get out for half an hours sail before its time to go back in. You just cant nip out easily for a quick sail, its a 2 hour window. Too restricting for me, but lots do it and the mooring costs are much lower than Portishead.

If you are going to attend the Bristol Harbour festival, get your name down ASAP. Its a great weekend.

 

[graham]

Welcome on the forum Seedog.

We keep our boat in Cardiff but visit Portishead a few times each year .I also have allways found the staff at Portishead helpfull and friendly. Even Damo /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bristol is no good if you plan to sail the boat a lot for the reasons allready given. It takes a couple of hours to lock out and get down the river each time.great place to visit though.

Are you positive your boat wont cope with drying out in the mud? I have had a few different lifting keel boats over the years and they all have been dried out in mud. I think the problem occurs on boats that arent used much as the mud gets time to harden in the case.

I have heard of someone pulling an old cockpit dodger under the boat on ropes to stop mud going in the keel case.

 

[wotayottie]

If you need to keep the boat afloat to avoid mud, then the alternatives are limited to Portishead marina and the floating harbour / marina in Bristol. On this side of the water there is Cardiff bay, but bridge tolls and mileage make this unattractive to a Bristolean.

Watchet marina would likely be too far away.

have a look at Thornbury sailing club - dries but a nice set up.

 

[Allan]

I agree with the comments about Portishead being friendly. The PCC weekend was great last year. However I dont agree that Cardiff is unattractive. I live near the centre of Bristol and am a member of CYC. When I joined I was living in Trowbridge which was another half an hour away. I can be on the boat in an hour and through the barrage in less than two. Even with the roadtoll in is far cheaper than Portishead.
Allan

 

[Sneds]

Portishead Marina, staff and boaters, all very friendly and helpfull, Portishead Cruising Club full of nice people aswell, Bristol Floating Harbour is cheap and access is a bit restricted but we have been there for 4 years now and love it.
The money saved allows us to spend loats of weekends at Portishead and enjoy its larger window, or us it as a stopping point to or from Cardiff.
Whereever you go I'm sure you will be made to feel very welcome,

 

[seedog]

Thanks to everyone who has replied, there is certainly food for thought, especially Cardiff which I'd never considered. Regardless of where I put the boat it is really encouraging as it sounds like there are some friendly places to visit and lots of good sailing is coming my way.
Thanks again for all the replies so far.
Graham's suggestion about using a dodger under the raised keel is interesting as I found myself thinking on similar lines. I bought the boat last year and it was the previous owner who had the problem on a drying mooring. Are there any drying moorings that are sand or gravel rather than mud.

 

[NickiCrutchfield]

I would suggest that gravel is one of the worst things to get on your keel box. Does that sound rude to anyone else or is it just me? Oh b**gger, I am definitely losing it it.
More seriously, it really depends on the mud. Sand, in my experience, is not a problem.
Nicki

 

[graham]

I dont think theres anywhere in the upper reaches of the Channel that doesnt dry to mud. Minehead harbour drys out to sand with mud here and there mixed in(I believe theres a waiting list there anyway.). As far as I know its all mud East of Minehead .

 

[john_filer]

Hi
As a member of PCC I'd like to invite you to visit the clubhouse. It's open every Wednesday from 8pm onwards. The bar is manned by a committee member so just introduce yourself. We have a considerable experience of mud moorings. I have a 32' yacht with a lifting centre board inside a relatively short keel. Once the boat has been on the mud for a while it creates a wallow of very soft mud on which the boat floats when the tide is out. I've not had any problems with the mud sticking in the keel box. But where I have had problems is that the area of the opening in the keel is larger than the opening at the top of the keel box and as the boat goes down in the mud water is pushed up the keel box. I spent a year sailing from the floating harbour, navigating the Clifton gorge is a great way to start the day, but getting to and from the sea severely restricts the amount of time available for sailing, especially on high springs when stop gates are put on at Cumberland basin to stop the water backing up into the harbour. The stop gates can delay you getting in by at least an hour. It once took me three hours to get from Avonmouth to my mooring near the Watershed.

 

[seedog]

Thanks John and I am looking forward to taking up your invitation at the earliest opportunity. Not sure of my plans for next week but hopefully it will be soon.