Thames escapees.

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oldgit

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Our recent bank holiday trip ditchcrawling up the Medway to Yalding revealed an unusual sight.A Thames based Broom 38 was found clogging our river.We spoke to the very nice couple on the boat and they were from around Abingdon or thereabouts.
As we accompanied them back down river while chatting at the locks,it turned out they were actually heading for France but the rubbish weather caused a minor diversion at Sheerness.
 
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If it can get under Cookham foot bridge it can get to Abington.

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What about the little footbridge just after Clifton Hamden? Surely that is lower.
 
Theres a 38 in Abingdon marina and a Sealine 37, must be very tight though as you say, I always have to hold my vhf aerial down under that bridge.
 
Headroom isn't the problem, anyone who can get under Cookham footbridge is ok for Abingdon. The main reason people don't go up are the shallows at Clifton Hamden, I have 4' draft and have always managed to get up for the last 7 years.
 
My little chart of bridge heights shows Culham Lock Cut Bridge to be the lowest before Folly Bridge at 12'5". This compares to 12'6" for Cookham Lock Cut and 13'4" for Clifton Lock Cut.

I am not sure how accurate these measurments are and of course it depends upon the state of the river. I can get under Sonning Bridge without taking my canopy down, but at Henley which should be an inch higher I always drop it.

The trouble with Henley is that it is rather public so any misjudgement there would probably be greeted with howls of derision from the terarce of the pub there. I am just not brave enough to risk it.
 
I judge them from my canopy, which I never lower unless the river is up, it is always Windsor and Cookham lock that give me the most concern. Admittedly the Culham lock one does appear low on approach but maybe I have a false sense of security as it's only an old wooden bridge!
Most books also show Marlow bridge being lower than Cookham lock which is pure rubbish.
 
They would have had to remove the screens and radar arches to get under Aylesford
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But even tighter would be East Farleigh.
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No problem right up to Oxford so long as you can reduce the air draught to around twelve feet - Cookham lock cut is the decider, and there are lots of Broom 38s in Harleyford.
Are you perhaps refering to Arlington at the beginning of the non tidal Medway? - that must have been a hard call with the low clearance, needing low tide, and the shoaling bottom.
I bottomed out there a few years back with an old Phantom Mk1.
I guess with the screens down the Broom would be OK - must have been, cos they were there.
 
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