There is a bit of water about

[Outinthedinghy]

Hopefully everyone has their Boats in safe locations and if not they are attended to and well tied up.

not nice to see Boats on weirs.

Apparently up near Abingdon it has all gone a bit mad and water was flowing straight over Culham lock.

The River is bigger down here at Cookham so the effect will be less severe. Even so there is some water coming.

Nature at its finest.

 

[Chris_d]

There sure is a lot but thankfully no more rain and its started to drop now at all locks from Benson upwards, just got to get that hump of water out.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

Bell Weir is fully drawn. Big weir.
Jubilee river running 80 cumecs which is just under half its capacity.

More water coming but it was mainly an upriver event so probably won't do a lot below Reading.

Might take a while to get back to yellow boards though.

3rd week of April?

 

[Chris_d]

3rd week of April?

I
If only you were really joking, I was hoping for a new years day cruise at least.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

Jubilee now running nearly 110 cumecs !

Thats definitely a big lump of water coming down.

 

[Chris_d]

Looks like it is peaking now at Henley, upstream all flatlined or dropping, so hopefully the hump is passing.
Doesn't look like Maidenhead and Bray have taken their fair share yet

 

[oldgit]

Item on BBC . Berkshire.
A Thames resident complaining that the water washed away his boat from mooring at the bottom of garden in Wraysbury
I blame the EA.

 

[Chris_d]

Item on BBC . Berkshire.
A Thames resident complaining that the water washed away his boat from mooring at the bottom of garden in Wraysbury
I blame the EA.

Ummm River Thames flooding: 'My boat was swept away after Storm Bert'

He's not had the worse of it yet either we're sending more down from further up.

 

[dunedin]

Ummm River Thames flooding: 'My boat was swept away after Storm Bert'

He's not had the worse of it yet either we're sending more down from further up.

In the picture before loss, didn’t look like it was very well tied up. No bow line leading forward, just a single breast rope. No mid ropes or springs. Can’t see what is at the stern.

 

[oldgit]

In the picture before loss, didn’t look like it was very well tied up. No bow line leading forward, just a single breast rope. No mid ropes or springs. Can’t see what is at the stern.

Wonder if insured, somebody will want paying to collect the bits ?

 

[Outinthedinghy]

One thing people might not think of is that ropes degrade. Sunlight can kill rope really quickly.

I add a length of stainless steel chain to my mooring lines in winter. Does not need to be particular strong chain. Its just that a chain won't break unless it is subjected a very high shock load. So the Boat might sink if you are not looking after it but it will be in the same place when you come back to it.


Obviously I live on my Boat so can usually respond quite quickly unless hospitalised but for people who leave their Boats unattended I would say 3mm long link 316 stainless steel chain is useful.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

Wonder if insured, somebody will want paying to collect the bits ?

It was a freeman and got gobbled up by Bell Weir apparently. There will be some bits and pieces and probably a Morris Vedette or a Watermota in the weir pool. Bell Weir is a big one and quite fierce.


9 large radials if I remember right and they are all fully drawn. Not a toy weir.

 

[Boathook]

In the picture before loss, didn’t look like it was very well tied up. No bow line leading forward, just a single breast rope. No mid ropes or springs. Can’t see what is at the stern.

I wouldn't even tie my boat up like in a marina or for a temporary time, let alone a flowing river.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

I wouldn't even tie my boat up like in a marina or for a temporary time, let alone a flowing river.

It is a bit odd really. The area below Old Windsor weir is well known to be prone to severe flooding. Its not new and ever since the MWEFAS Jubilee river was constructed it has arguably got worse.

Levels always rise more just below locks than just above locks so a Boat kept somewhere like that needs to be moored up very well against long poles or there will be problems..

The pictures and videos circulating on facebook show an almost entirely submerged vessel which apparently did not hit any others on its journey.

So it must have sunk at the mooring then broken free.

Chain can stop the journey happening. Not am anchor just a a length of 3mm or 4mm proper DIN spec chain secured to a strong point and led to the bankside a long way in front of the Boat.

It was interesting to see the effect on the Nelson line piles when it collided with them above Bell Weir. A lot more movement on the metal I beam piles than I would expect. I wonder how deep these are embedded.

 

[oldgit]

The pictures and videos circulating on facebook show an almost entirely submerged vessel which apparently did not hit any others on its journey.

"So it must have sunk at the mooring then broken free."**
It was interesting to see the effect on the Nelson line piles when it collided with them above Bell Weir.

Those piles were certainly "flexing" when impacted by boat.................

An interesting comment.**
Only the weight of the boat and those bits of light line probably sufficient to keep boat secured to river bank under most flow conditions ?
Add a few months rainwater, a bilge pump and flat battery or if on a shaft, a weepy stern gland.
Cannot spot any shore power cable, looks to be clean cared for little boat as well.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

Yes the stern gland and spinning propeller is a potentially nasty one. It could degrease the stern tube.

I have shaft locking pins. Basically a hole drilled in the output couplings and a steel band bolted to each side of the engine bearers going over the couplings with a hole in the same place. Drop small brass pins in from above and put a note by the engine starter keys to remove propshaft locking pins. They will shear if you forget.

Without these the props on that particular Boat would spin freely in elevated flow conditions. Not good.