Suitability of Sealine S34 for Thames

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briandum

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After many years coastal boating we are considering a move to the Thames.
I would welcome comments on whether my current boat (Sealine S34) is suitable. I would imagine that there are not too many boats with planing hulls on the river.
 
briandum said:
After many years coastal boating we are considering a move to the Thames.
I would welcome comments on whether my current boat (Sealine S34) is suitable. I would imagine that there are not too many boats with planing hulls on the river.
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There are loads of boats with planing hulls on the Thames. Probably around half I would guess.

The boat will be fine, the engines won't like it but for a season or two no problem. If it is a permanent move, maybe take the S34 there, see how you get on and trade it for something that you think is more suitable later on.
 
Your boat will be unsuitable for the upper Thames for a variety of reasons, but far from unusable, it will also be a very good vessel if you want additionally to explore the tidal Thames on anything like a regular basis.

As Neale says, come and explore for a season or two and see if you like it, if you do then maybe consider something more appropriate, if you miss the thrill of opening the taps and emptying your wallet then you still have an excellent boat.

R
 
briandum said:
After many years coastal boating we are considering a move to the Thames.
I would welcome comments on whether my current boat (Sealine S34) is suitable. I would imagine that there are not too many boats with planing hulls on the river.
Click to expand...


Loads of totally inappropiate boats on the Thames much bigger than yours and with vast amounts of horsepower,everybody appears to manage just fine and amazing place to boat.
Only thing to watch is the need to keep water under you,especially if you have outdrives,when mooring up.
Definately worth a season or two to see if its your cup of tea.
The sort of relaxing boating that coastal folks can only dream about with no worries about tides,weather,breaking down etc.
In fact boating for wossies and whimps and armchair admirals.

Please do not let anybody know I said this,as they tend to regard themselves as brave adventrous souls,a cross betweeen Indiana Jones and Scott of the Antartic,whereas in actual fact they go into meltdown if the lock keeper has nipped off for 5 mins for a quick wee. :)
 
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What engines do you have?
As others have said ,Thames is a great place to boat and there are indeed a great many of over-sized and over-powered boats up here to keep you company. However ,there can be an issue with some of the larger Volvo units running continually at low revs. It applies to KAD44s and KAD300s specifically (maybe others, Im not sure). If you need advice on this , DB Marine are the main Volvo guys up here, very well respected and they also have a mod they can do to address the known issue too.
Good luck and hope you enjoy our move to the Thames. :)
 
Worth a go

Thanks to everyone for your comments. We will definitely give it a go for a couple of seasons. May turn out to be a bit tame after force 6 off South Stack and Scottish waters but looking forward to a different experience. Now I have to find a suitable mooring......

PS The boat has twin KAD43s - at lowest revs we do about 4 knots - I will check if there is a problem with running these engines for long periods at low revs.
 
Four knots is ideal for Thames,you may have trouble keeping up with some tho at that speed,as the mini "Grand Prix" between each lock does get a bit competitive ?
Can recommend any of the MDL Marinas and most have a very active club and cruising scene.
Bray CC come round to the exalted Medway every year which gives them all a chance to blow the cobwebs out of the exhausts.
MDL also have a thing where if you moor at one of their marinas you get free nights at their other marinas elsewhere.
Pretty sure my mates Fairline Brava 37 in Bray has got the 43s and he has certainly not reported any problems at all.
 
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oldgit said:
Four knots is ideal for Thames,you may have trouble keeping up with some tho at that speed,as the mini "Grand Prix" between each lock does get a bit competitive ?
Can recommend any of the MDL Marinas and most have a very active club and cruising scene.
Bray CC come round to the exalted Medway every year which gives them all a chance to blow the cobwebs out of the exhausts.
MDL also have a thing where if you moor at one of their marinas you get free nights at their other marinas elsewhere.
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And Bray CC have their (our) annual Cruise Planning meeting this coming Saturday evening at 8pm. You'd be very welcome to come along, without any commitment to join of course(!). Feel free to PM me if you'd like more details... :)
 
I think there are at least 3 Sealine 34s on my marina, you will be fine as the others have said. The only thing is to watch out for the stern drives, however it is useful being able to raise them to get into shallower moorings!

I would also recomend MDL marinas, I am at Windsor and would also recommend TWYC (Windsor Yacht Club) just to balance out the Bray lot here! :)
 
Grand prix

Thanks for the info Oldgit, we usually cruise at about 25 knots but can do 35 if pushed - hopefully we will not be behind too many 'reverse baseball cap admirals' if this is the normal behaviour between locks.


If you need to be there in a hurry take a train - not a boat.
 
Brayman said:
If only more boaters had that attitude!
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Once had a word with the 'lockie' at Shepperton about a boy racer who had been overtaking all before him. Got second lock from then on all the way to Windsor. Chugged slowly past us at Windsor - I think he got the message:)
 
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