Temporary Thames licence

Reptile Smile

Reptile Smile

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 Feb 2012
Messages
539
Location
Bristol
Visit site
Hi all,

All being well, I should pass through Teddington next weekend as I bring a boat back from Kent to Bristol via the K&A.

Can anyone advise me whether I can just get the licence by rocking up at Teddington Lock - is it the same price as buying in advance? (C&RT seem to charge more for buying in person rather Han n advance, but don't know about the EA) Do I need to bring anything else with me - insurance certificate, etc?

Thanks
 
Reptile Smile said:
Can anyone advise me whether I can just get the licence by rocking up at Teddington Lock - is it the same price as buying in advance? (C&RT seem to charge more for buying in person rather Han n advance, but don't know about the EA) Do I need to bring anything else with me - insurance certificate, etc?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can buy a visitors licence at Teddington Lock and I am pretty sure its the same price as buying in advance.
Full details of Visitors licences here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/river-thames-visiting-launch-short-period-application
 
Reptile Smile said:
Hi all,

All being well, I should pass through Teddington next weekend as I bring a boat back from Kent to Bristol via the K&A.

Can anyone advise me whether I can just get the licence by rocking up at Teddington Lock - is it the same price as buying in advance? (C&RT seem to charge more for buying in person rather Han n advance, but don't know about the EA) Do I need to bring anything else with me - insurance certificate, etc?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Presume a narrow boat ?
 
The reference to Cart must be a giveaway - 'course could be something a but broader.

To the OP and others - see what a superior service you get on the Thames.
A paid flunky to extract money from you, and work the lock for you (though there may not be anyone in attendance at other locks...
Yes you'll need a copy of the insurance cert AND the BSS cert as well.
 
I've been taken to task, for a temporary licence you:-

Do not need to produce a copy of your insurance certificate - just need to declare you're insured
Ditto BSS - you can claim your boat complies with all aspects of the requirements - how you can properly do that without having one is beyond me, but there you go.

If you're registered - or will be - for CaRT waters, or even taking out one their STL's you'll need (proof of) those two items anyway - so it's a bit academic.
 
You sign to say you comply with the requirements of the BSS , not that you have a current certificate. I believe the requirements can be found online to check if you are compliant.

You also sign to say that you have the requisite insurance. I wouldn't know a home made home printed insurance certificate , just like I wouldn't know of every insurance company in the land so wouldn't have a clue what I was looking at if someone presented me with one.

Far better that the onus is on the boater to tell the truth than he lock keeper to be the judge of whether something is legit or not.
 
Reptile Smile said:
An Achilles 24, but dismasted in Gravesend. 3' 9" draft. The theoretical minimum is 4' 1" in one of the locks in the Caen Hill flight. Have done it before in a boat of 2' 9" so am keeping fingers crossed...
Click to expand...

Methinks you're pushing it a lot (perhaps will be pushing it...).
You may get reasonable depth in the locks ('cos the bottoms don't get silted), but in the channel, 'twill be variable and you may have challenges to moor - get an extra long gangplank.

OTOH as the K&A is solid with liveaboards - you'll be able to breast up midstream.....
 
Reptile Smile said:
An Achilles 24, but dismasted in Gravesend. 3' 9" draft. The theoretical minimum is 4' 1" in one of the locks in the Caen Hill flight. Have done it before in a boat of 2' 9" so am keeping fingers crossed...
Click to expand...

Is the 3'9" in salt or fresh water? The standard advice on the Crinan Canal is that you float about 4" deeper in fresh water ...
 
Chris_d said:
??? Its not April 1st is it :) I know saltwater is more bouyant but 4" !
Click to expand...

That's what they say. The Crinan Canal Skipper's Guide is online at http://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/media/356903/crinan sg 2012 web version.pdf:

MAXIMUM CHANNEL DIMENSIONS
26.82 metres (88 feet) long; 6.09 metres (20 feet) beam. Please
note wider craft may require to be traffic managed between
Locks 13 and 14 and extra time should be allowed.
Maximum 2.7 metre (8 feet 10 inches) freshwater draft (add
10cms (4in) to your normal draft as craft sit lower in the fresh
water of the canal than they do in salt water).​

I suspect that figure is for larger vessels, like fishing boats and puffers. Seawater has a specific gravity of around 1.025, so a rectangular boat would need to float approximately 5% lower and so the 4" difference would apply to a boat drawing around 7' ... of course anyone drawing less than that doesn't have to worry about depth anyway. In the case of the OPs Achilles 24, it would probably be wise to reckon on an additional 2" in the canal.
 
Reptile Smile said:
An Achilles 24, but dismasted in Gravesend. 3' 9" draft. The theoretical minimum is 4' 1" in one of the locks in the Caen Hill flight. Have done it before in a boat of 2' 9" so am keeping fingers crossed...
Click to expand...

3' 9" - You'll be lucky to make it into the first lock at Blakes, if you succeed, it won't be long before you really have problems!
 
I took a single outdrive cruiser as far as Newbury once that drew about 3', bottomed out lots of times but I was able to raise the leg to get through.
Good luck though, always wanted to do the Southern ring but there aren't many suitable boats that can do the whole trip comfortably.
 
https://www.waterways.org.uk/waterways/canals_rivers/kennet_avon_canal/kennet_avon_canal

I'm not so worried about the locks - this is fairly explicit, and is repeated in lots of places. I don't doubt there will be fair bit of bottom-touching <insert gag here> but I'm more worried about the canal than the locks. In my last boat, I didn't touch bottom once (albeit a foot more shallow)...

But we'll see and you may well be right - I'll givr it a go, and see what happens...
 
You are a braver man than me:),good luck, please let us know how you get on!

Similar but different...a friend of mine had a large steel unique boat/barge built in Bristol to a size and spec that it would be able to make its way onto the Thames via the K&A.Poured over bridge heights/depths etc.Got very very stuck and cost him 20k+ to extract himself from the situation he found himself in,crane/lorry/crane!
Luckily he could afford mistakes:)
 
Reptile Smile said:
But we'll see and you may well be right - I'll givr it a go, and see what happens...
Click to expand...

You should be able to gain quite a bit if you do like the racing boys and strip out everything you don't need for the trip across. Anchor, chain, rigging, books, all but one Fray Bentos pie - stick it in a van. Empty the water tanks and carry a couple of bottles. And so on.
 
I figured I might post my progress and experience on here for those wondering if they might try something similar...

My route went:
Gravesend to Greenwich
Greenwich to Teddington
Teddington to Chertsey
Chertsey to Marlow
Marlow to Kennet & Avon (Fobney)

You could of course split it differently. I used a two-stroke 4hp throughout.

I suspect everyone who frequents the Thames forum will know fine well what I'm about to say, but this is more for those sailors who are wondering about bringing back a keelboat from the East Coast.

So - Gravesend Sailing Club were the most amazing bunch of guys ever. I'm quite seriously thinking about joining them as a country member. If I were going to start from scratch and design a sailing club, I'd design something like Gravesend. I can't say enough good things about them, and how hospitable they were in helping me, and sheltering me from some fairly inclement weather.

The PLA, were, also, I thought, tremendous. Twice I did things out of order (not staying close enough to starboard bank, and not informing them of approaching the temporary repairs on Battersea Railway Bridge) and both times they were brilliant, courteous, and professional throughout in correcting me.

The journey through London is magical, unforgettable, and quite insanely choppy due to commercial traffic - the fast Clipper catamarans, and the RIBs (which drove me spare). It was just about staying well over to starboard and staying the hell out of everyone's way. Once you get to Vauxhall area, the traffic calms down massively - all the excitement is in about 2 miles. I arrived at Richmond about 10 min early, and had to wait for the weir to be raised. Timing this well is key - last time I did this trip (in a 2' 9" draught boat - this time in a 3' 9" boat), I got to Richmond too late, and was fighting the tide as it turned when I got to Tedders, so this time I was happy to wait a moment.

Teddington were brilliant and couldn't have been more helpful. Wonderful chaps, even though it was a stupidly busy day in roasting sunshine.

The Thames part was easy, but I grounded out twice. Once in Fulham - randomly - completely unexpectedly, but I thought I was plenty far enough out as I went past Craven Cottage, and a little further up from them, I grounded. Tide was rising, and it wasn't too bad. The second time was both during a stop in Windsor (grr, commercial boats being difficult again. Once remonstrating me for having the temerity to have appeared when he did, and he wanted me to - I don't know, teleport out? - while he turned his boat. I tried but couldn't find anywhere to actually get out of his way. In the end, I just decided he was an idiot...) but stopping in Windsor, I didn't find easy. The depth at the edge was *just* grounding me, but I did manage to briefly stop, and crack into town in order to by more coffee! and also, more significantly, the horseshoe bend as you come up to Windsor racecourse, where I was in the middle, but you need to be properly on the outside of the bend. But freed myself quickly.

So the Thames was wonderful - a brilliant experience, and having lockkeepers, and the possibility of navigating in the dark, were both very much appreciated.

I got to the K&A, and - predictably - it all went South.

Just after passing under High Bridge (beginning of C&RT jurisdiction) I hit something in the middle of the channel. No idea what it was, but it was substantial, but I bounced off it and carried on. I then proceeded as slowly as I dared.

County Lock was a nightmare (and was the last time I did it too). I grounded on the way into the landing stage, which probably wasn't a bad thing because I would have hit it hard, and then went through the poxy little lock, and then coming out groundfed badly. A local youth at this stage started to shout advice, and - incredibly - was right. He suggested I tie off the stern to the wooden barrier between me and the weir, and then pull myself off from a bow rope from the front of it. I did. It worked, but the rope didn't free and meant that I could turn the circle, and ended up wedged on the weir barrier, having smashed into the quayside, and bending (I think) my pulpit a little. I could get off at the bow, so pulled it forwards from there, straight on to another sandbank, and got stuck again. Not pretty. Pulled it back towards the weir, and finally got free. I then carried on very cautiously!

Fobney is next: it's a ridiculous disaster of a lock, and I don't see how it's possible to get into it without smashing into something. In a boat as light as a GRP cruiser, the cross flows make landing on the landing stage single-handed all but impossible (though I suppose I might have managed it with crew), but in the event, went under the bridge, crashed into the wall, hadn't realised the lock was emptying, crashed into the other wall, crashed into the gate. Brilliant. Yay me.

However - I am now on the other side of Fobney. I think it's looking unlikely that I'll get back, and my hope is to proceed until I get at least past a yard with a crane, as I REALLY don't want to have to go back through County Lock. But for now, am safe, and have sufficient water. More to follow...
 
Wow what an adventure hope you make it, although I fear there is more grounding to come it was Fobney to Newbury where I touched the bottom the most :(
Is that 4hp an inboard or outboard?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top