Newbie Question: windy weather?

[watson1959]

So....I've left Akamas in the water for this first winter just so that I can experience the Thames all year round.

Today was a horror round here with trees down and fences damaged. The boys were due to go back to Uni today but delayed due to the dreadful road conditions D).

Even so I did wonder what it would be like to be on the water in it....safe? dangerous? manageable or simply foolish?

What do you think?

 

[Captain Coochie]

Wind is the tuperware navys worst enemy It blows us about like a feather and makes us look really silly . Its great fun though .

 

[No Regrets]

Only a problem in confined spaces as far as the upper Thames is concerned.

Trick is to take a look at things like Flags ahead of you to gauge the wind direction, and imagine whats going to happen to your boat given what you see.

The results might make you reverse into a space rather than nose in, certainly dropping canopies might help a bit, and running auxiliary engines can be a good move to aid manoeuvrability.

Or, just back off and go elsewhere

Doing something slowly doesn't always help either, you might need to gain stability and steerage by gunning the throttle, but don't get it wrong!!

 

[watson1959]

Wind is the tuperware navys worst enemy It blows us about like a feather and makes us look really silly . Its great fun though .

hmm...that's my gut feeling.

Yesterday my 18yr old handled the boat whilst I did the lock at Reading....coming downstream its a narrow channel which the wind howls through. He did a great job and it did wonders for his boat handling skills and confidence.....managed to hold her pretty steady mid-channel instead of tying up at the side and waiting...but it was substantially lower wind than today lol

 

[watson1959]

Only a problem in confined spaces as far as the upper Thames is concerned.

Trick is to take a look at things like Flags ahead of you to gauge the wind direction, and imagine whats going to happen to your boat given what you see.

The results might make you reverse into a space rather than nose in, certainly dropping canopies might help a bit, and running auxiliary engines can be a good move to aid manoeuvrability.

Or, just back off and go elsewhere

Doing something slowly doesn't always help either, you might need to gain stability and steerage by gunning the throttle, but don't get it wrong!!

OK, thanks......I did find it easier yesterday leaving canopy windows open rather than creating too much drag with it all closed up. However had we been out today I suspect we'd have been bombarded by tree-carp had we left it all open.....still: beats sitting indoors

As for 'gunning the throttle'.......we also did that.......and still felt like we were crawling upstream LOL.

 

[Deefor]

Are you berthed in a marina?

Getting off your berth can be the easy part but getting back in is another question. Try phoning the marina when you'e about 5 minutes away on your return and the staff should be more than pleased to meet you at your berth to give you a hand with the mooring lines.

This is something we always used to offer at Bray and Windsor marinas but many owners were too proud to ask for assistance and then the mayhem set in .

 

[watson1959]

Are you berthed in a marina?

Getting off your berth can be the easy part but getting back in is another question. Try phoning the marina when you'e about 5 minutes away on your return and the staff should be more than pleased to meet you at your berth to give you a hand with the mooring lines.

This is something we always used to offer at Bray and Windsor marinas but many owners were too proud to ask for assistance and then the mayhem set in .

Yes I'm at T&K...the staff there are fab so if I were single-handed I wouldnt be at all embarassed to ask for help.

As things are at the moment, with so many boats out of the water I would struggle not to moor even in a strong wind. Fortunately our berth is in a great, relatively sheltered location and the prevailing wind blows us towards our berth: so as long as the wind is from the N or NW life is good

 

[jecuk]

Or you could just get a heavier boat. At 13 tons windage isn't as much of an issue for us. I think the comments above re planning ahead and anticipating what is likely to happen are key.

 

[Sulley]

Watson, I know what you mean with our canopy up it effectively acts like a huge sail as we only weigh 3.5 tons!

As others have metioned look at flags, trees and the water. I find the water in open areas helps as often it will go from smooth to ripply where the wind is hiding especially useful approaching locks and moorings if there are no flags. You can then adjust your throttle to compensate, I am always for slow is better except when there is some wind then you do need a bit more.

If you can now that the river is quiet try and find some space and play to see how your boat reacts in the wind. I did this and it gave me a lot more confidence and how she behaves.

In a very strong wind with all my canopies up I can get my boat literally pushed from one side of the river to the other! Frightened the life out of me

 

[watson1959]

Watson, I know what you mean with our canopy up it effectively acts like a huge sail as we only weigh 3.5 tons!

As others have metioned look at flags, trees and the water. I find the water in open areas helps as often it will go from smooth to ripply where the wind is hiding especially useful approaching locks and moorings if there are no flags. You can then adjust your throttle to compensate, I am always for slow is better except when there is some wind then you do need a bit more.

If you can now that the river is quiet try and find some space and play to see how your boat reacts in the wind. I did this and it gave me a lot more confidence and how she behaves.

In a very strong wind with all my canopies up I can get my boat literally pushed from one side of the river to the other! Frightened the life out of me [/QUOTE]


Yup......been there and done that one too .......fun though, when there's no risk of hitting another boat

 

[SimonA]

In a very strong wind with all my canopies up I can get my boat literally pushed from one side of the river to the other! Frightened the life out of me

A couple of years back I was out in windy conditions, it wasn't too bad until I came around a corner to an exposed part of the river. The force of the wind pushed me sideways across the river and into the bank. It all happened so quickly I didn't have a chance to do anything about it. Luckily no damage done.

The hardest part for me is getting back in the marina in windy conditions, I always seem to get a side on wind that makes it very difficult to get back in.