Options along Medway river. - Chatham berth expires end oct and i cannot afford the renewal cost

[UK-WOOZY]

Im leaning towards Gillingham marina. my boat was there last year for repair from July-Nov. And I enjoyed my time there but didnt like the lock on the day i brought the boat, it was windy and tricky to use but i had never used a lock or marina much before that apart from a couple times at limehouse or once at St Kats. I chose Chatham to enjoy the area for a year at least i thought but love the medway river so want to stay for now. I also got to practice and get more used to the lock and berth manourvering at chatham due to the space. I love the lock how the sides raise and lower with the boat. The staff are great. But my boat was out for 8 weeks getting a new shaft and prop and the yard at chatham is horrible, the worst i have seen. High up so catches the wind, the ground is stoney and very dusty so walking onto the boat is like having sandpaper on your feet and it gets on cloths, in bolts etc. Whoever chose the surface is a twot, also the music that comes from the Copper Rivet Distillery wound me up, had very annoying "jazzy music with bad singing" blaring towards the yard. Apart from that i love Chatham but you dont get much for your money though the points system can help save some money. I didnt need the fuel ponton as i fill jerry cans on the way to the marina at garages. My boat is 9m but were charged for 10m as thats all they had when my boat was finished at Gillingham's workshop. But they said they would charge for 9m on the 10m pontoon i am on which is kind but still too much money for us again. So am thinking about Gillingham again now they also have a newly opened restaurant and nice bar and the people are nice, and they are making improvements to the marina and have a pontoon availabe for my boat in oct. The are using extra pumps too to keep the basin deeper and cleaner and are removing the pilings. The yard is better too, but the lock is of course tighter than at Chatham and unlike Chatham isnt 24/7 access though i doubt i need that. The other option is Medway yacht club but at the time of looking last week all they had was a bow to stern mooring right down the other end of the river which i dont fancy when all i have to use my boat is the weekend, i have been to medway yc numerous times and love it and the people are fantastic as well as the staffed bar and restaurant and professionally maintained moorings but the mooring they have puts me off for now. that then leaves upnor but i heard it is more basic than the basic club i came from originally, Erith yc and again upnor seems mostly bow and stern moorings no swing, Medway cruising and Seagas only have mud moorings which i dont want with my recently coppercoated boat and it being lift keel, plus am then also restricted by the tide. I am leaning towards Gillingham which is £500 cheaper than chatham as I love stepping on an off the boat as that saves time from going out to and from the boat on a trot boat or ones own dinghy. I heard there is Invicta pontoon within the historic dockyard but cant find much information on that apart from the owner is had to deal with reading forum posts. Another plus with Gillingham is the on site chandlery though i usually use Pirates cave, but had Asda next door. im unfamilair with whats around medway yc for amenities .

 

[R.Ems]

Does Gillingham still have the tidal mud basin? I spent a few months there. Cheap relatively, friendly neighbours, step ashore.
And no locking,just tidal restriction of course.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

i dont fancy having my recently coppercoated boat on the mud plus its a lifting keel so mud etc will get in the slot

 

[Pye_End]

You get used to the lock fairly quickly. Easy with 2 on board, but usually straight forward single handed - especially if you start with a midships cleat. Sometimes harder coming down if you can't reach the wires, but a single line on the bollards works ok as there is little stress on the boat coming out.

 

[Concerto]

Gillingham needs to fit narrow floating pontoons in the lock rather than the big inflatables. Those chains are a right pain to grab single handed.

 

[RivalRedwing]

Gillingham is fine, we had many happy years there, you just need a plan A and a plan B for berthing, especially with a NE wind.

Better to ask this on the EC forum; or even better, ask the mods to move it

 

[Parabordi]

Im leaning towards Gillingham marina. my boat was there last year for repair from July-Nov. And I enjoyed my time there but didnt like the lock on the day i brought the boat, it was windy and tricky to use but i had never used a lock or marina much before that apart from a couple times at limehouse or once at St Kats. I chose Chatham to enjoy the area for a year at least i thought but love the medway river so want to stay for now. I also got to practice and get more used to the lock and berth manourvering at chatham due to the space. I love the lock how the sides raise and lower with the boat. The staff are great. But my boat was out for 8 weeks getting a new shaft and prop and the yard at chatham is horrible, the worst i have seen. High up so catches the wind, the ground is stoney and very dusty so walking onto the boat is like having sandpaper on your feet and it gets on cloths, in bolts etc. Whoever chose the surface is a twot, also the music that comes from the Copper Rivet Distillery wound me up, had very annoying "jazzy music with bad singing" blaring towards the yard. Apart from that i love Chatham but you dont get much for your money though the points system can help save some money. I didnt need the fuel ponton as i fill jerry cans on the way to the marina at garages. My boat is 9m but were charged for 10m as thats all they had when my boat was finished at Gillingham's workshop. But they said they would charge for 9m on the 10m pontoon i am on which is kind but still too much money for us again. So am thinking about Gillingham again now they also have a newly opened restaurant and nice bar and the people are nice, and they are making improvements to the marina and have a pontoon availabe for my boat in oct. The are using extra pumps too to keep the basin deeper and cleaner and are removing the pilings. The yard is better too, but the lock is of course tighter than at Chatham and unlike Chatham isnt 24/7 access though i doubt i need that. The other option is Medway yacht club but at the time of looking last week all they had was a bow to stern mooring right down the other end of the river which i dont fancy when all i have to use my boat is the weekend, i have been to medway yc numerous times and love it and the people are fantastic as well as the staffed bar and restaurant and professionally maintained moorings but the mooring they have puts me off for now. that then leaves upnor but i heard it is more basic than the basic club i came from originally, Erith yc and again upnor seems mostly bow and stern moorings no swing, Medway cruising and Seagas only have mud moorings which i dont want with my recently coppercoated boat and it being lift keel, plus am then also restricted by the tide. I am leaning towards Gillingham which is £500 cheaper than chatham as I love stepping on an off the boat as that saves time from going out to and from the boat on a trot boat or ones own dinghy. I heard there is Invicta pontoon within the historic dockyard but cant find much information on that apart from the owner is had to deal with reading forum posts. Another plus with Gillingham is the on site chandlery though i usually use Pirates cave, but had Asda next door. im unfamilair with whats around medway yc for amenities .

Jesus would be easier to read with a bit of punctuation! exhausted

 

[xyachtdave]

Nothing wrong with either marina. Gillingham’s lock is tidally restricted, not a problem if time is on your side, Chatham is 24/7 with 1.5m draft.

Unfortunately if you want walk on/walk off access it comes at a cost.

MYC is the most expensive club but it has the best facilities on the river, scrubbing, lifting, storage ashore and a trot boat to ferry you about. Budget a £1k less than Chatham MDL all in.

The cheaper down the scale you go the less you get, there’s no silver bullet solution to cost vs facilities.

Set your max budget and accept the inconvenience it brings.

 

[Medway Matt]

Medway Cruising Club and Segas both have deep water swinging moorings.

 

[Misterbreeze]

Never had a problem with mud and a lifting keel, just don't lift it all the way so you can work it up and down a little if need be.

 

[oldgit]

Motorboat or Yot ?
plenty of stuff above bridge.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Medway Bridge Marina might suit you ; believe they have some pontoon moorings ??

 

[UK-WOOZY]

Medway Bridge Marina might suit you ; believe they have some pontoo moorings ??

not for sailing yachts though due to the bridge

 

[UK-WOOZY]

Motorboat or Yot ?
plenty of stuff above bridge.

as per my avatar and signature, sailing yacht

 

[UK-WOOZY]

anyone know about thunderbolt pontoon?. he said there is an outside berth available from end oct

 

[xyachtdave]

anyone know about thunderbolt pontoon?. he said there is an outside berth available from end oct

There's no lifting, scrubbing or winter storage there, it's not fantastically cheap and in wind over tide the outside will be a bit lumpy.

So you'll save on cost versus the 2 marinas but have to pay for the above elsewhere so unlikely to be much of a saving.

I'd do a tour of the clubs mentioned above and get yourself a mooring,

 

[Capt Popeye]

Might suggest that you investigate facilities to suit yourAnnual requirements , ie , berthing , scrubbing off , winter storage , ease of access etc etc ; so why not take the best mooring offered /available , join a club MYC? that has similar friendly Boat folk plus these facilities available to Club Members ; maybe moor up at weekends sometimes , to use the Onshore Facilities , Restaurant , Bar , etc

Getting a reasonable Mooring with Step Ashore is a Gold Mine ,
Best of luck in your searches and decisions

 

[UK-WOOZY]

Thanks all. I am so far likely going to Gillingham. MYC had no room. Hoo and Upnor only have fore and aft moorings which i dont like the look of. So will re-investigate options again when Gillinghams year is up. I may join MYC wile i am with Gillingham later next year and go on a waiting list thought truthfully maybe not as it isnt cheap for basic membership either. so may even join another club. Thunderbolt pontoon as others said seems to be bad in winter with the boat possibly banging againsts the pontoon when theres bad weather. I hopefully wont need to take my boat out for a year at least now too as it was out for 8 weeks at chatham having a new propeller and shaft and the bottom looked good and clear as had coppercoat applied 2 years ago during covid.

Appreciated for all input and advice

 

[lydiamight]

I moored our Dehler 36 on Thunderbolt Pier for many years and never had a problem. We were on the outside of the pontoon, although to be fair we did take the boat out of the water each winter. It is run by a guy called Tony Moss and we never had any problems in dealing with him , although I believe that he can understanderbly get a bit grumpy when boats just turn up and moor without pre arrangmenrt . The pontoon is very secure and access is by key. Parking is easy by the top of the walkway down to the pontoon and there are toilets and hot water there as well. All in all we were very happy to be on a "step/step off" pontoon with both power and water available, no locks to go through, all tide access and no damp dinghy trip to our boat.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

is it easy to get onto and off the pontoon

how do you get to it via car? I assume by the security gate by the historic dockyard carpark? I had set on Gillingham for now but could still look at thunderbolt, would he be around the weekend if i turn up to look?