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

lydiamight said:
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.
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where do you get the boat lifted fow winter? one of the marinas?
 
many thanks for info. yeah they have a very long wait list for membership and swing mooring.

I had a new shaft and prop fitted while at Chatham so hope not to have to come out again but boats being boats have their own ideas. good to see theres options. many thanks, much appreciated
 
I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but having the boat in the river compared to either of the marinas, fouling will be a big issue regardless of your new copper coat.

This year has been particularly bad, we’re scrubbing off monthly, some of the waterline weed grows to 18’’ long in 4 weeks!

I’d lean toward a facility with scrubbing facilities if I were you.

Regarding getting a mooring at MYC, the only way you’ll get a swinging mooring is to join, get involved in club activities, volunteer for a few bits, ‘who’s that new member?’….‘that’s UK Woozy, he/she’s really helpful etc,’

Come mooring allocation time, (members need to commit to 2023 by end of January), they’ll know what spares they have and I reckon your participation in club activities will have an impact on how successful you’ll be.

A well trodden path is accept a fore and aft for a year, get involved in the club and you’ll be at the front of the queue.

I can’t imagine there’s a list of non members in the office that want swinging moorings that’ll get a phone call to join when one becomes free.

When you look at the age demographic, a couple of people sell up and retire every year so it’s not exactly dead mans shoes territory.

The other option would be swinging mooring at REYC or RNSA, opposite/adjacent to Chatham MDL, although I don’t know contact details for these.
 
I'm pretty sure that MCC has a few newly laid swinging moorings going spare. We also have a very well equipped boatyard, though you will need your own trolley to use it. There may be something suitable available second hand, or one can be built on site. Our fees are very reasonable too. The only drawback is that we don't have a pontoon landing.

Heading off topic; I haven't found the fouling to be too bad this year, though I've heard others complain about it too. We've only scrubbed off once, about a month ago, and that was just slime. We used Hempel Cruising Performer a/f and are moored towards buoy 26.
 
Interesting thread and similar to the OP I’m leaving Chatham MDL at the end of contract.

MDL are increasingly looking to the larger yachts and motor boats, with a corporate feel and/or those with plenty of money to berth with them. Over the last couple of years, it’s become ever clearer to me that the smaller guys, like me, sailing on a restrictive budget are systematically being priced out. Lots of small guys leaving. If you’re on a tight budget, then these corporate marinas are not financially viable anymore, for some of us.

I too am looking at a swinging mooring on the river and a ‘winter deal’ arrangement where I can get the boat in somewhere for five or six months and have her hauled out for a few weeks for maintenance etc. I’ll save 50% at least on what I had been paying.
 
shortjohnsilver said:
Interesting thread and similar to the OP I’m leaving Chatham MDL at the end of contract.

MDL are increasingly looking to the larger yachts and motor boats, with a corporate feel and/or those with plenty of money to berth with them. Over the last couple of years, it’s become ever clearer to me that the smaller guys, like me, sailing on a restrictive budget are systematically being priced out. Lots of small guys leaving. If you’re on a tight budget, then these corporate marinas are not financially viable anymore, for some of us.

I too am looking at a swinging mooring on the river and a ‘winter deal’ arrangement where I can get the boat in somewhere for five or six months and have her hauled out for a few weeks for maintenance etc. I’ll save 50% at least on what I had been paying.
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Ramsgate do a very cheap winter 6 months, I've done about 5 years there in the past, approximately £1200 for 11m.
 
Yes, I’ll be making my enquiries down there too, thanks. Obviously adjustments will be needed, but needs must, if I want to keep sailing. Sailed there a couple of times and not too onerous and if coupled with a stop off at Harty Ferry an absolutely lovely couple of days. Good call thanks again.
 
If you don’t mind taking the ground, Swale Marina at Conyer Creek is worth a look. Beautiful scenery and nice facilities. The mud is soft so even fairly large fin keelers sit upright. Downsides are lack of access (1.5 hours ish either side of HW) and hauling out is expensive. Sitting in the mud means you get very little fouling, just a very thin, hard layer of mud.
 
shortjohnsilver said:
Yes, I’ll be making my enquiries down there too, thanks. Obviously adjustments will be needed, but needs must, if I want to keep sailing. Sailed there a couple of times and not too onerous and if coupled with a stop off at Harty Ferry an absolutely lovely couple of days. Good call thanks again.
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It's gone up a bit £139 per metre October to April. I've not been there for about 3 years but you could split it into 6 monthly payments without paying a penalty.

Ramsgate Royal Harbour Permanent Berths - Ramsgate Royal Harbour
 
@UK-WOOZY Did you find Gillingham to be that much cheaper than Chatham? When I first chose Chatham, the difference was no more than £150 over the year, which seemed worth it for the better lock and 24 hour access. Interesting if Gillingham's prices are more competitive with Chatham's now.
 
MattS said:
@UK-WOOZY Did you find Gillingham to be that much cheaper than Chatham? When I first chose Chatham, the difference was no more than £150 over the year, which seemed worth it for the better lock and 24 hour access. Interesting if Gillingham's prices are more competitive with Chatham's now.
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The other benefit Chatham has is the water is colder due to being deeper, has virtually no mud in it and is less saline meaning weed does not grow as easily.
 
MattS said:
@UK-WOOZY Did you find Gillingham to be that much cheaper than Chatham? When I first chose Chatham, the difference was no more than £150 over the year, which seemed worth it for the better lock and 24 hour access. Interesting if Gillingham's prices are more competitive with Chatham's now.
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Gillingham is £350-400 difference for my boat. though MDL did make a better offer after i accepted Gillinghams offer of an extra month free on top too, but chatham was still just over £100-200 more. It was a tough decision but I like whats happening at Gillingham and the yard at Chatham was horrible to use when i had the shaft and prop changed and did some painting and GRP work. Granted the lock is less accessible at Gillingham but i thought id give it a go for a year. Wasnt many other choices to choose from in the end.
 
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Concerto said:
The other benefit Chatham has is the water is colder due to being deeper, has virtually no mud in it and is less saline meaning weed does not grow as easily.
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was loads of it in the the basin this year, was almost all around the boat and some was sucked into the engine water inlet.
 
i also was annoyed that MDL on the Pageant weekend stuck a large motor cruiser in the berth next to my boat and literally wedged my boat in, took me and 2 other friends to push my boat out the berth manually as was wedged in, and putting the engine on full throttle is what made the coupling come loose off the shaft.
 
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