Thames or not

[towzer]

My O/h wants to move the boat to the Thames for the summer. After reading the thames forum on here I’m starting to wonder if there any point. Between lack of mooring ,slum boats apparently at every turn of the river, escalating cost everywhere it doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. Should I bother?

 

[boatone]

What boat do you have and where are you currently boating?
Yes, it does seem as if it’s dire but it’s not that bad, really, and many of us thoroughly enjoy the non tidal Thames in spite of the odd difficulties.

 

[towzer]

We have a Broom 39 , which we keep on the Trent

 

[AuntyRinum]

My O/h wants to move the boat to the Thames for the summer. After reading the thames forum on here I’m starting to wonder if there any point. Between lack of mooring ,slum boats apparently at every turn of the river, escalating cost everywhere it doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. Should I bother?

Best not. The less newcomers there are the more pleasant it is for those already there.

 

[Mark26]

Ignor all the moaning on here.
Very few people post about the positives.
Like most walks of life, most only post when they want to get something off their chest.
Do come, it is beautiful.
You,ll love it.

 

[No Regrets]

Very few of the regular moaners actually do any serious amounts of boating so ignore them, in real life the River is great, there are plenty of moorings and the handful of slum boats are no more intrusive than the odd Traveller filled lay-bys you occasionally see.

We cruised over 200 hours a year in recent years and have had very few lock failures, no issues with other boaters, cost price Diesel with MDL Marinas and most costs largely unchanged.

There are very few issues, just a very few people who use this forum to try and appear interesting :encouragement:

Look forward to seeing you if you're in or around Bray!

 

[oldgit]

My O/h wants to move the boat to the Thames for the summer. After reading the thames forum on here I’m starting to wonder if there any point. Between lack of mooring ,slum boats apparently at every turn of the river, escalating cost everywhere it doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. Should I bother?

"Doing" the Thames is something everybody should try once in their boating life.
An opportunity not to be passed if the a chance arises.
Unfortunately some of the local curmugeons tend to forget how fortunate they are and do tend to go on (and on ) a bit about the financial penalty of choosing to boat in just about the most expensive part of the country that you could possibly live.
FX.....insert sounds of violins about here........
It is also a excellent place to enjoy with friends and family.
Personally the opportunity to come into the Thames from the estuary via central London is as good a reason to go as any other.

So much to do and so much to see.

 

[No Regrets]

...and you can pop up the Medway to see Oldgit on the way in and out :encouragement:

 

[oldgit]

Absolutely the perfect boat for both the coastal bit and with the arch down, Windsor and beyond.
Loads of online info about Thames.
....... and can recommend this.

http://www.pla.co.uk/New-Thames-guides-are-river-user-must-haves-for-2019

The free chart alone is worth the bother.

If you fancy pushing the boat out, St Kats marina is the place to break the journey (and the bank) or perhaps consider Queenbourgh to overnight break.
Usual plan for most is, off Southend around low water and catch the flood , be it St Kats or direct onto Teddington

 

[Wavey]

I had a Broom 42cl on the non tidal Thames for a while before I moved to the coast. No problem but you do need to be able to easily drop the radar arch for bridges, ideally you need hydraulics.

As for the negatives you’ve read about, as with most rivers, the further up river you go the better it gets, although there are some gems like mooring outside Hampton Court which are a must.

 

[miket]

Go for it.
We had a Broom Ocen 38 based at Sonning.
Is your 39 from the 1990’s or 2000’s? Earlier ones draw a lot more and is more problematic but not terminal. Later ones no problem to Abingdon/ Oxford.
I think the real river starts at Windsor. Below is a bit suburban (tin lid in place)!
I hate the liveaboards but actually they are still hugely in the minority.
Feel free to stop over at UTMYC at Sonning. Excellent for the Watermill Theatre. Let me know first. Or moor on the Great House moorings.
It is the most beautiful river.

 

[No Regrets]

Ooh I dunno Mike, there are a few pleasant places below Windsor, such as Lady Lindsay lawn, a quiet mooring, close to Shepperton, pleasant enough, Hampton Court, undeniably pretty and with the huge park just a few yards away....you need to cherry pick a bit though!

More to see upriver but there's a lot more of it if you exclude the tidal bits, which are good to see but with infrequent moorings these days :ambivalence:

 

[CJL]

The Thames is an amazing river but it does have it's faults. That said I feel the positives far outweigh the negatives and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you to visit.

We are probably afloat every other weekend at a variety of locations across the UK as we trailer our boat around but it does give us a fairly wide set of alternative venues to compare against - plus we are under 50 years of age!

In the last ten years or so we've taken part in loads of events on the Thames including swimming, sailing, SUP, rowing, traditional boat festivals, Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Olympic Torch Relay, Magna Carta Pageant, Bluebird K3 at Henley, Barge Races, the Great River Race, the Boat Race, Kayakathons, Traditional Rowing, the Tudor Pull, the Queen's Baton Relay, food festivals and I think I've visited most of the riverside pubs!!!

I honestly wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to you!

Give it a try and make sure you let us know how you get on.

CJL