St Kat's trip,Friday the 13th!!

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Flynnbarr

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Hi all,newbie here plz be gentle!have been lurking for ages now need all of your combined wisdom!

I am planning on going to st Kat's next Friday.will be escorting a woodie drawing 3'6",I draw 4'.
High tide Richmond is 08.46.st Kat's window is 0600 to 0905.when is the earliest time I can leave Richmond 2 get to st Kat's?woodie speed of 4-6 knots going against tide.not done this trip for many,many years having gone aground near Harrod's depository once resulting in damage I always go with the flow avoiding london and head straight down to queen borough or Chatham.speed is not a problem for me,the speed limits are!
Off to the boat now to report for varnishing duties,make her look her best for st Kat's.
Thanks.
 
If that was me, I'd transit Richmond at high water, go to imperial wharf and wait there for the evening tide to get into st kats.

Other option is to go through Richmond as soon as the sluices open in the morning (HW-2?) and leg it to st kats in one go. Every chance you won't make it in time though, specially if you throw some rowers into the mix!!
 
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Just checked - st kats have an evening locking on the 13th (1805-2030).

Go to imperial, go shopping, have lunch, meander down to st k at the appropriate time. VERY much more relaxed doing it this way!!
 
We have in the past gone through Richmond lock as soon as the lock keeper will allow in order to get to St Kats.
Gives you a respectable head start over waiting for barrier to lift.
Would have thought you could have made it without drama.
 
Also done it that way a few times OG, but tbh I got fed up dragging my props through the mud with the sounder showing 0.1 feet below the keel. When imperial wharf opened we've always done it on two tides..

You'll also be punching the tide, and the op's draft is six inches greater than mine.
 
That works with a shallower draught OG, but as Ross says, you'll have an easy ride in many ways using Imperial Wharf.
 
rosssavage said:
Also done it that way a few times OG, but tbh I got fed up dragging my props through the mud with the sounder showing 0.1 feet below the keel.
Click to expand...

PAy no heed to OG's ramblings, he's a bit of a tightwad and regards running along the bottom as a cheap alternative to a lift and scrub! I remember the first trip I was "treated" to on his P33 when he entertained us with a brief introduction to the upper Mudway. As we scraped along the bottom he delighted in pointing out how accurate the fish finder was ! (Dubious vintage device with some weird display he kept referring to as a CRT, whatever that means.)

Couple that with the simultaneous experience of virtually zero headroom under various bridges and you can begin to realise why he has such a strange view of the waters most of us frequent. :D
 
Thanks for replies,it's imperial wharf then on down later.i expect st Kat's has changed since last time I was there in the early 80's as a kid!
 
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