Thames Mooring

[boatone]

During my summer cruise up and down the Thames two key issues repeatedly disturbed my tranquility...lack of mooring space and shallow water bankside making mooring difficult with my massive 1 metre draft. I also noticed that many boaters have adopted the habit of dropping their anchors even when moored up just in case some little toe rag decides to have a bit of harmless fun cutting or removing mooring lines while they slumber (I must say this has never happened to me on the Thames tho it did happen on one occasion when I moored on the delightful National Trust's River Wey Navigations and I received a delightful (everything about the NT's River Wey Navigations is 'delightful') phone call from one of those delightful ladies they employ to tell me my boat was 'floating around by New Haw lock' and would I get down there and do something about it !)

Anyways, this combination of mooring and anchoring has got me wondering as to whether or not it might be the solution to my aforementioned two key issues.....to wit Bow-In Mooring and the stern held offshore by a kedge anchor, thus ensuring that the boat does not ground. The mechanics seem quite straightforward - a sort of reverse mediterranean moor if you get my drift and a signicant reduction in the amount of mooring space needed hence room for more boats.

It now strikes me that this is such a brilliant idea that it just has to be seriously flawed. Would anyone care to discuss? .......silly question ........

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[Andrew_Fanner]

I don't think its silly at all, but I'd request finger pontoons, the possible consequences of the kedge dragging and the "domino effect" along the bank at Windsor or wherever are a possible issue.

Mind you, if your boat was not involved, it might be rather funny to watch, bait for hooligans?

There are fingers in some places, below the bridge at Henley comes to mind.

<hr width=100% size=1>Two beers please, my friend is paying.

 

[apollo]

Its what they do in Holland and works very well for them.

The only slight difference is they have a series of piles spaced along the bank about 25feet from the bank, normally about 4M apart.

You approach via a couple of piles, loop your aft lines over as you go through and these lines can adjust the boat to be just off the bank on the bow.

A very simple Idea and would enable more people to moor up at our favourite spots for not much outlay.



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[alpha]

Hmmm,

You're right about the depth. A disgrace that no dredging is carried out, and where landowners want to dredge, the EA forbids it.

As an anti-theft/setting free device, an anchor only works if you put out the usual 3-5 times the depth in chain, which no-one seems to, so it's a visual deterrent only. Better to put two mooring stakes in, at 90deg to each other, with the tops meeting just above ground, then padlock them together and padlock the anchor chain too. Anyone meaning harm will have to either dig one stake out (very noisy and time-consuming) or get a decent bolt-cropper onto the chain.

You can anchor in the channel, subject to the appropriate rules etc, though this has caused an exchange of verbal blows with one rowing club, and will get you odd looks... A peaceful way of passing the night though, and if you have a tender, very convenient.

All in all, the standard of 'rivermanship' is often sadly lacking, and reflected in very poor management by the EA.

I'm going for the best answer of all, and taking the boat off the river.

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[miket]

A lovely idea, but.....
I have serious doubts as to the level of competence of many boat owners, and their ability to moor bow on using a kedge. I don't see our friends from the canals going a whow on it. Now there's a thought.

Certainly something needs to be done by Envag to improve the standard of moorings if they are serious about encouraging people back on to the river.

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[SlowlyButSurely]

Last time we came up the Thames was in 1990. Went up as far as Caversham. Our draft is 5ft and anchoring the stern out was the only way we could moor to the bank in most places. We only hit the bottom seriously in two places. Halfway between Monkey Island and Bray lock, right in the middle of the river, there was a hard gravel bank. The other place was just outside the bottom gates at Boulters lock. From what you say it doesn't sound as if we'd get up the river at all now.


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[alpha]

One further thought.. I have moored bows to, stern out, by a careful catenary of warps. It takes time and judgement to get the angles right, but avoids having to lay a kedge. It's probably quite dependant upon having the fairleads in the right places on your boat, too.

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[oldgit]

Crunch Crunch Donk....

One and only minor whinge during recent Thames trip was a problem re getting along side the river bank in a couple of spots.At Windsor there was no prob at all but Hampton Court/Staines Town centre/just above Teddington was a propellor crunching experience.With legs down we draw 1m.
Curious that on upper Medway,getting right alongside does not appear(famous last words)to be difficult.
My concern is just how much do you "modify" a natural watercourse before it turns into some sort of nasty sterile wildlife free canal.

<hr width=100% size=1>Stupid place to leave an island anyway......

 

[boatone]

On a couple of occasions I did moor with the stern canted out by hardening up on a headline and a spring around a well placed bow fender. Worked reasonably well but stress on lines and cleats (and skipper) is quite high in this scenario and idiots causing excessive wash made it a fairly unpleasant experience.

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[alpha]

I did it differently... Two bow lines, one led each way, to hold the bow where you want it. Then, a spring from the midships cleat on the near-bank side to aft of the stern. Next, a spring led forward from the off-side midships cleat to well forward of the bow. Get the angles right and it works a treat. But it shouldn't be necessary!!!

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[tripleace]

surely all that is needed for the idiots who cannot control their boats is a huge fender (triangle shaped) this could be inflated by a 12volt thing same as ribs.

this could then be placed between bank and boat and thus boat would be at 45% to bank and create more room. Mooring lines could be secured in a fairly normal manner against the inflatable triangle.



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[boatone]

I agree the dutch approach with piles would work well as would finger berths but both require the liberal application of summink called cash! All the indications are that any solution rquiring any thing other than minor expenditure (any expenditure?) are probably never going to get anywhere and I was really looking for a simple solution to what I personally percieve to be an increasing problem. I can implement the kedge anchor approach myself with no need for approval or outlay by anyone else - and, who knows, others might just latch onto it and start a customer led seed change.


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[apollo]

Tony

With skills like that you should be entering the ATYC boathandling competition!

Mike



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[boatone]

Not sure how idiots not controlling their boats came into the picture but the idea of triangular shaped inflatable minipontoons sounds just the ticket. Suspect they'd need to be quite large though...say 12 feet long or so to be effective...really just an extension of my earlier comment re hardening up around a bow fender. Wouild be really nice way of using all those not quite long enough spaces that seem to be frequently available...'dont mind me chaps, Ive brought my own pontoon...great!

Whether you do something like this or follow the stern anchor approach the major risk arises when passing boats cause excessive wash. There is also little opporunity for long anchor chain scopes and ideally kedges from each quarter might be required/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif


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[boatone]

Yea Yea ! Afraid me being a maverick that doesnt belong to a boat club I'd be excluded /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

So with all your expertise in that area Mike what sort of anchor do you think would be best suited. Would have to use shortish chain attached to warp I think....cant see me splashing out on stern winches to handle heavy chain arrangements /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

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[apollo]

I carry a plastic crate (well old washing basket to be precise!) with the kedge (plough), 20feet chain and a warp with sliced eye neatly laid out across the top.

Then to use it, carry crate to back quarter, put the sliced eye over the cleat and start letting the kedge out.

I keep it under the lazerette when not in use.

Has always worked well.

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[boatone]

Actually, might be quite something to see a dual kedge laying followed by bow mooring as a set piece at competitions....or do you do that already?

Last time I did it was in reverse laying dual anchors forward and stern mooring to a bloody great buoy somewhere off Libya.......a loooooooong time ago........

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[apollo]

At the TVR we did a bow-in all by ropes.
Started off alongside, then moved boat round by ropes to end up bow in.
Closest to 90degrees got the marks.

We also had another one where we had to end up 45degrees to bank and we used kedge of that one.

Thats it, off home now!!

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[boatone]

Nah.......thats cheating.......you're effectively moored up already.........
What u need is a competitition for coming in from mid stream, dropping spaced kedges and finishing with bow moored to bank and stern nicely middled between kedges. There....that should sort em all out nicely for next year!

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[Andrew_Fanner]

Tempted to try that in a couple of weeks, moored at Windsor to visit Legoland. Watch the news for stories of some prannock impeding the trip boats belting past/being upset by their wash etc

A cunning but pointless variant might be to hold bows in with a single kedge and get another boat to make a T across your stern. Other boat anchors fore and aft and you attach ropes to her bow and stern cleats. Might give a better angle for the stern anchor point.

<hr width=100% size=1>Two beers please, my friend is paying.