CX54WEK
Well-Known Member
Moor along side em I say!!
They would soon move with your fenders rubbing on their portholes!!
They do have their uses these flat beds.
They keep our props well away from the shallows bankside
Now back from an excellent Thames trip.....BUT !
- Thread starter oldgit
- Start date
They do have their uses these flat beds.
They keep our props well away from the shallows bankside
CX54WEK
Well-Known Member
Will just add it did backfire once when we came back from the shops to find a 40ft flatbed rafted too us......
macnorton
Well-Known Member
3 step plan to get a mooring.
1.Moor alongside a sewer-tube.
2.Break out smarties and j20 to junior crew.
3.Stick some Hawkwind on loud.
If this fails keep the outboard and the barbie ready for deployment.
1.Moor alongside a sewer-tube.
2.Break out smarties and j20 to junior crew.
3.Stick some Hawkwind on loud.
If this fails keep the outboard and the barbie ready for deployment.
boatone
Well-Known Member
Absolutely, and when I had the deeper draught Pedro I made use of that several times!They do have their uses these flat beds.
They keep our props well away from the shallows bankside
However, they are not really suitable for rafting cruisers to and tend to get a bit miffed if your sink outlet lines up with one of their open windows !
watson1959
Well-Known Member
However, they are not really suitable for rafting cruisers to and tend to get a bit miffed if your sink outlet lines up with one of their open windows !
......or the air vent from your holding tank
Greg2
Well-Known Member
Must admit that during our recent Thames cruise many NB owners seemed to be either selfish or it simply hadn't crossed their minds that rafting makes absolute sense for them. Our first night saw three narrow boats rafted together out of necessity (they arrived late and there was only one spot) and together they were narrower in the beam than us!!
All our experiences in the locks were excellent bar one, where we encountered a very rude individual who did a lot of ignoring and then shouted aggressively when I did something that didn't fit with his view of the world. He was the exception but was an out and out idiot.....overtly unfriendly on the way upstream and very aggressive and rude on the way downstream. The rest were very friendly, helpful people who made the lock experience an absolute pleasure.
All our experiences in the locks were excellent bar one, where we encountered a very rude individual who did a lot of ignoring and then shouted aggressively when I did something that didn't fit with his view of the world. He was the exception but was an out and out idiot.....overtly unfriendly on the way upstream and very aggressive and rude on the way downstream. The rest were very friendly, helpful people who made the lock experience an absolute pleasure.
watson1959
Well-Known Member
Yup....that's the one......he certainly manages to make himself noticed.Thankfully I believe the gentleman in question is a temporary addition to the calm beauty of the Thames and exceptionally helpful lock-keeping team (and I mean that sincerely).
dash300
Well-Known Member
Our first night saw three narrow boats rafted together out of necessity (they arrived late and there was only one spot) and together they were narrower in the beam than us!!
You certainly have a beamy boat!!
oldgit
Well-Known Member
It would appear that the Thames seems be the ultimate destination for most of the UK canal boat population during the summer months and when winter threatens ,its back to the canal network .
boatone
Well-Known Member
…….there is an issue to be addressed here with the increasing number of continuous cruisers taking to the rivers as an economic alternative to 'terra firma'. As I have said in previous posts the number of Dutch Barge replicas has increased markedly on the Thames and traditional leisure boaters are in danger of being squeezed out in the more popular areas for lack of mooring space. And I haven't even mentioned the river pikeys! Oh so I did
I'm not sure how real the idea of a major increase in people taking to the river as an alternative to living in bricks and mortar is. I do agree that we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of NB's and barges in recent years but the EA will tell you that they bring a significant slice of income in the way of registration/visitors fees which is sorely needed. Also, the number of power boats has declined from around 15,000 in the 1970's to the 10,000 or so that are registered annuals today. Hire craft alone have dropped from around 800 to barely 100 or so.
Contributions to funding from local authorities disappeared as the river moved from TC to NRA to Thames Water to EA and, in todays terms, that would be worth several hundred thousand pounds a year.
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oldgit
Well-Known Member
" I do agree that we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of NB's and barges in recent years but the EA will tell you that they bring a significant slice of income in the way of registration/visitors fees which is sorely needed. "
Perhaps it would be even more helpful if a 50ft narrow boat paid the same amount of money for a licence as 50 ft cruiser ?
This probably is the reason that the Medway has not been suffering the same fate as the Thames,everybody has to pay the same.
Perhaps it would be even more helpful if a 50ft narrow boat paid the same amount of money for a licence as 50 ft cruiser ?
This probably is the reason that the Medway has not been suffering the same fate as the Thames,everybody has to pay the same.
macnorton
Well-Known Member
We have that on Anglian waters and it does not put them off, the CRT are clamping down on constant cruisers /liveaboards and a lot of these are heading to the rivers as a soft option as the EA are not as proactive with enforcement.
boatone
Well-Known Member
Suspect the main reason you don't see many of our canal cruising friends on the Mudway is because its nowhere near as easy for them to pay you a visit as it is to slip into the Thames via Brentford or Oxford.
As for everybody has to pay the same you must be joking. The whole licence fee structure needs a major overhaul but it ain't going to happen anytime soon and if, and when, it does the likely outcome is that it will get more expensive for everybody. The EA are now consulting with user groups (nationally, not just the Thames) regarding the proposed increase in licence fees for 2014. Todays announcement that the CPI for JUly was 2.8% means we will likely be facing a 4.8% increase - CPI for July + 2% which was the formula agreed two years ago to last for three years including 2014. That will mean a 4.8% rise for all licences and lock side services etc with the exception of the hire and passenger trades whose rates were frozen.
We tried to get the +2% element rescinded last year and failed so don't hold your breath about this years "consultation". I will be contacting TMBA members to seek their views in the next week or so. Other user groups should be doing the same and responses are required by the end of August.
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Greg2
Well-Known Member
Our first night saw three narrow boats rafted together out of necessity (they arrived late and there was only one spot) and together they were narrower in the beam than us!!
You certainly have a beamy boat!!
Yep, 13'6" to be precise!!
On a serious note we we aware that we took up quite a bit of space and rafted with the people we were cruising with where necessary. We are also quite proactive in moving the boat to close gaps and make space for people. I simply can't understand why some others won't do this or do so grudgingly when asked.
CX54WEK
Well-Known Member
Absolutely, and when I had the deeper draught Pedro I made use of that several times!
However, they are not really suitable for rafting cruisers to and tend to get a bit miffed if your sink outlet lines up with one of their open windows !
Stern to stern with the cruisers bow line either tied off on their centre ring or a mushroom vent on the roof. How more ideal do you want?
Note: Do check where heater exhausts are located though, dont ask how we know this!!
CX54WEK
Well-Known Member
And not before time as well.
CRT are IMO doing a sterling job of clamping down on the p%£s takers and long may it continue.
CX54WEK
Well-Known Member
Same on CRT moorings.
People dont seem willing to share rings/bollards with other boaters. Perhaps they think they may catch something if their ropes accidentally touch
As we have a small boat we can usually squeeze into the gaps that some boaters (and not just narrowboaters) leave between boats. If the gap isnt quite big enough have enough goes at "making it fit" and someone usually shuffles their boat back a few feet. Never fails
boatone
Well-Known Member
People dont seem willing to share rings/bollards with other boaters. Perhaps they think they may catch something if their ropes accidentally touch
I realise that CRT dies have responsibility for some rivers but on most canals, where most of the NB's are based, there is rarely need to raft and, indeed, canal width may dictate that you should not do so. As mooring is permitted towpath side almost everywhere there is little need to do so anyway. Result is IMHO that canal based NBers are used to being able to have their own bit of bankside and don't see why they shouldn't enjoy the same when they visit the Thames.
The EA had a half hearted attempt to encourage "Welcome to Moor Alongside" but there was no real effort to shift attitudes and it pretty much failed.
You may see a few stickers around but as you were only given one it could only show on one side of the boat which was a bit pointless if it was the other side !
Paddingtonbear
Well-Known Member
I have a foot in both camps as we own A Grand Union motor and butty and a Dunkirk Little Ship. The problem does not only apply to the Thames but to the Grand Union as well. There has been a proliferation of half wits with no boating experience buying what are referred to as wide beams (up to 14' wide) which are generally like floating bungalows and move very little at all and with no prior thought at all as to the consequences of their actions. On a recent cruise on our motor, when we went to the IWA National at Watford we came across several of these monsters stuck fast on bends etc. including one just south of a 200 year old bridge complaining bitterly that he could not get his boat through, it was 14' wide, and saying that it was stupid!!! to have built the bridge too small and they should knock it down. I gave him 'words of advice' in no uncertain terms!!!. Unfortunately the lunatics have truely taken over the asylum.
watson1959
Well-Known Member
.....he must have been the same one who was moaning about how close to Heathrow they had built Windsor Castle.