PGD
New member
Hi, can anyone suggest any good moorings on the tideway through London other than St Cats dock, thinking of give my boat a bit of a blast and wanted some options just in case.
thanks
thanks
Thames Tideway Moorings
- Thread starter PGD
- Start date
Chris_d
Well-known member
South Dock and Chelsea Harbour are the only other real options, but why not St Kat's its by far the best.
A word of warning though, if your thinking of giving your boat a blast, if you go above 10knots before Sea reach you run the risk of upsetting the PLA.
A word of warning though, if your thinking of giving your boat a blast, if you go above 10knots before Sea reach you run the risk of upsetting the PLA.
G
Guest
Guest
When are you thinking of going and from where? I was thinking of doing the same thing tomorrow. Mind you, a bit of a blast for my boat is unlikely to upset the PLA as top speed about 9 knots.
G
Guest
Guest
At a push you could stay on the pontoon at Chelsea, rather than lock in to the basin, which I find very cramped and the facilites there were a bit sparse, the last time I was there in October of last year! South Dock is through the City centre but again not too much going on! If you don't want to stay at St Cat's maybe you should avoid staying in London altogether.
Why not catch the top of an early tide at Teddington or Richmond, assuming you can clear Hammersmith Bridge, and allow it to take you down through the City and the Barrier before starting to open up. Be careful with your speed/wash as they can track you with Radar!!! you can then adjust your speed to arrive off Sheerness, maybe via the swatchway at close to Low water, before allowing the incoming tide to take you up the River Medway to Rochester.
Charts 2484, 1185 & 1834 will get you there. Have fun!
Why not catch the top of an early tide at Teddington or Richmond, assuming you can clear Hammersmith Bridge, and allow it to take you down through the City and the Barrier before starting to open up. Be careful with your speed/wash as they can track you with Radar!!! you can then adjust your speed to arrive off Sheerness, maybe via the swatchway at close to Low water, before allowing the incoming tide to take you up the River Medway to Rochester.
Charts 2484, 1185 & 1834 will get you there. Have fun!
PGD
New member
hi, and thanks to you all for the up to date info, last time I was on the tideway was 2 years ago in a friends Birchwood 25, not more 8 kts and a bit hairy I must say.
Air draft not a problem, I'm in a Fairline Holiday but top speed - well she'll do 30Kts so thanks for the notes on Radar - I was under the impressiopn that it was about 8- 11 Kts to Wandswoth then safe speed based upon river conditions and traffic. If I have to go past the Barrier then my insurace company will need to know about it, not a real problem I'm allowed 30 day on tideway.
St Cats - lovely place just wanted a couple of options if I couldn't lcok in - and would not need a full tide to get thought Richmond could get away on Low water Springs, only need 3ft to be safe and have done it before, but not with my boat - as above.
Any other tips greatly received.
Thanks again to you all.
Would welcome some more info about the options - Sheerness area - sounds like a great advanture but would probably want someone to hold my hand a bit being a fresh water fish and not a salty sea dog!
cheers
Air draft not a problem, I'm in a Fairline Holiday but top speed - well she'll do 30Kts so thanks for the notes on Radar - I was under the impressiopn that it was about 8- 11 Kts to Wandswoth then safe speed based upon river conditions and traffic. If I have to go past the Barrier then my insurace company will need to know about it, not a real problem I'm allowed 30 day on tideway.
St Cats - lovely place just wanted a couple of options if I couldn't lcok in - and would not need a full tide to get thought Richmond could get away on Low water Springs, only need 3ft to be safe and have done it before, but not with my boat - as above.
Any other tips greatly received.
Thanks again to you all.
Would welcome some more info about the options - Sheerness area - sounds like a great advanture but would probably want someone to hold my hand a bit being a fresh water fish and not a salty sea dog!
cheers
trev
New member
I went down the tideway to Chatham last month - can't say I can recommend Chatham Marina- anyway - I was requested by Woolwich Radio to keep my speed down to 12 knots all the way down (Max 8kts from Richmond down to the barrier) due to various vessels berthing, discharging or working on the tideway (normally run at 22 kts).
As far as moorings go you have the various old dock marinas, St Kats, South Dock, Limehouse, Chelsea, Brentford etc. but then nothing unless they let you have a buoy at Grays or one of the other sailing clubs. Further down you can always slip into Holehaven creek and anchor.
I would recommend Gillingham Marina on the Medway.
I gather you have more than just a day to give the boat a blast - in which case a trip to the Medway and back would be the thing. the navigation bit is dead easy - just buoy hopping- a handheld GPS is the thing with the buoys in as waypoints, plus the necessary charts, you can see the buoys at about two miles ahead, however the lower tideway can be a bit daunting for a first time, especially if the wind is against the tide, it kicks up a nasty short chop which is uncomfortable in a small boat.
If you only have a day then perhaps going out with the ebb and back with the flood is the way to go, with a call into Limehouse for lunch, and a break to wait for the flood. You would need to judge the tides to suit your speed and allow this against the lock in/out times of the marina.
Good luck and enjoy it.
Trev
As far as moorings go you have the various old dock marinas, St Kats, South Dock, Limehouse, Chelsea, Brentford etc. but then nothing unless they let you have a buoy at Grays or one of the other sailing clubs. Further down you can always slip into Holehaven creek and anchor.
I would recommend Gillingham Marina on the Medway.
I gather you have more than just a day to give the boat a blast - in which case a trip to the Medway and back would be the thing. the navigation bit is dead easy - just buoy hopping- a handheld GPS is the thing with the buoys in as waypoints, plus the necessary charts, you can see the buoys at about two miles ahead, however the lower tideway can be a bit daunting for a first time, especially if the wind is against the tide, it kicks up a nasty short chop which is uncomfortable in a small boat.
If you only have a day then perhaps going out with the ebb and back with the flood is the way to go, with a call into Limehouse for lunch, and a break to wait for the flood. You would need to judge the tides to suit your speed and allow this against the lock in/out times of the marina.
Good luck and enjoy it.
Trev
PGD
New member
Hi, I was starting to get the bug to give the boat a bit of a run, but probably won't go down untill next summer. My mate has got a Sealine 290 and he wants to do the same thing.
I would welcome the company if you're going out regularly, I may even give it a go this Spetember but my wife Lisa is a bit worried about us going it alone.
My main worry now is the PLA and how hot they are going to be about me doing the odd short blast between two bridges then cooling it, the last thing I want is them on my back. Just want to see what she can do with the new engine set up.
I would welcome the company if you're going out regularly, I may even give it a go this Spetember but my wife Lisa is a bit worried about us going it alone.
My main worry now is the PLA and how hot they are going to be about me doing the odd short blast between two bridges then cooling it, the last thing I want is them on my back. Just want to see what she can do with the new engine set up.
eddieperkins
New member
HI,
Just came back from a fortnight on the Thames yesterday. I used Galleons Point Marina as a staging point as the wife does not do 'going to sea'. You need to keep your speed down below 8 knots from Teddington to Wandsworth Bridge, after that there is no speed limit but you must not make excessive wash, 10 knots is advised (If you want to see excessive wash just go through the pool of London amongst the trip boats and tugs!!!!). However once past the barrier you can do 12 -16 knots, usually with no problems but it depends on vessel movements. I went down river (against the tide) at 16 knots with no problems. If you feel the need to open her up just ask Woolwich Radio for permission to do engine trials on an empty streach of river. I have been told that you can usually spend the night on Greenwich yacht clubs pontoon and that Limehouse is ok. Much past the barrier and the Medway is pretty much your only option though. At 8/10/16 knots its about 3.5 hors to the barrier and about a further 2.5 down to the Medway entrance so you could go out on the ebb and back in on the flood.
Have fun,
Eddie
Just came back from a fortnight on the Thames yesterday. I used Galleons Point Marina as a staging point as the wife does not do 'going to sea'. You need to keep your speed down below 8 knots from Teddington to Wandsworth Bridge, after that there is no speed limit but you must not make excessive wash, 10 knots is advised (If you want to see excessive wash just go through the pool of London amongst the trip boats and tugs!!!!). However once past the barrier you can do 12 -16 knots, usually with no problems but it depends on vessel movements. I went down river (against the tide) at 16 knots with no problems. If you feel the need to open her up just ask Woolwich Radio for permission to do engine trials on an empty streach of river. I have been told that you can usually spend the night on Greenwich yacht clubs pontoon and that Limehouse is ok. Much past the barrier and the Medway is pretty much your only option though. At 8/10/16 knots its about 3.5 hors to the barrier and about a further 2.5 down to the Medway entrance so you could go out on the ebb and back in on the flood.
Have fun,
Eddie
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