What's the Thames like?

[HowardB]

What\'s the Thames like?

Last year I was based in the Solent with its expensive crowded but interesting waters. Now I'm on the East coast which is choppier, shallower, and with fewer places to go. (Got fed up with the M25 car park each time I tried to get to the boat) What is there to see on the Thames for MOBO users. Are there many and good marinas? What's the speed limit. Will an Almanack tell me all of the answers?! How far could I expect to go up the river in a weekend?
Thanks in anticipation

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[mainshiptom]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

It really depends where you go?

We really like St Kats; it is like having a flat in London for a week!

Any further up the Thames and you get speed restrictions and rowing boats and locks and get charged but having said all that it really up to what you are looking for!

We are heading to Holland this year but a run up to London even just for a weekend could be very nice!


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[boatone]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

Probably the best book to read is: River Thames Book Author: Cove-Smith, Chris
ISBN: 0852886209 Price:£ 10.00 Complete guidebook tpo the river with maps etc.

The maximum speed limit above Teddington is 5kph (thats kilometres, not knots!)

We dont do marina hopping like wot you coastal types do cos there are many places where you can overnight on the towpath , riverbank or town quayside for a fiver or less (but no leccy(at all} or water points on a per berth basis.
Me and er indoors like meandering up and down with overnight stays at such delightful places as Henley, Marlow, Sonning, Goring, Cookham, and Oxford (furthest up you can get in a 'bigger' boat - which definitely includes you!).

Water can be quite shallow in some places and you may need to lift legs occasionally and definitely take care when mooring up tho centre of river usually over 4feet and can be much more.

The tidal Thames (below Teddington) is bereft of places to stop with exception of a few marinas in central/east London but driving your own boat through the centre of London under Tower Bridge and past the H of C etc is a real pleasure.

I may be wrong but I suspect you may find the whole experience rather restrictive if you like winding up the revs and getting from A to B in short order. However, if you can wind down several notches and slump into a slow and leisurely exploration of the non tidal Thames there is much to be enjoyed and a lock to negotiate every few miles adds to the interest.
HTH
TonyR




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[AJW]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

Whereabouts on the East Coast are you? Theres lots to do and places to go IMHO although it is a place where 6ft of water is regarded as an elegant sufficiency!
So bit puzzled by your assertion that there is nowhere to go?

Thames upto and through London is a great trip. Stay at St Kats & no speed limit til Wandsworth. (although its wise to take it easy around the PLA launches and the police.) Almanac and PLA website have all the info <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.pla.org.uk>http://www.pla.org.uk</A>

HTH,
AJ




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[HowardB]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

Currently at Shotley / Ipswich / Harwich. Had a bad experience in Southwold coming noisily (ouch) against a wall in fast rising tide at the entrance- which puts me off a bit. Lowestoft was nice- and we were well looked after by the yacht club there. Haven't tried south of Harwich- hence this enquiry. Thanks for the thoughts.

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[HowardB]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

Sounds great. Previous boat was a Freeman Mk 3. 1972ish, and good for river pottering- so I can see the attraction of taking it easy. Past H of P etc is the plan really. We have some S.African friends who would get a great buzz out of joining us for the trip.
Cheers
Howard

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[oldgit]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

You could come just a little further south before longish run up to St Kats.
Moorings in Queenborough Harbour about fiver a night and nip ashore to
Old House at Home at top of causeway for a fish dinner at prices that would not buy you a glass of water in St Kats.
If feeling in a explorational mood,two hours up the Medway will bring you to Gillingham or Chatham Marina.Half hour further takes you to centre of town but no visitors overnight moorings.
A decent day can be spent in the old dockyard(inc RNLI museum) with a visit to Rochester castle or Cathedral(if your sort of thing)to follow.

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[BrendanS]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

There are some truely beautiful stretches of river, with wonderful scenery, and some equally lovely houses.

You have to just potter along and take things as they come, sometimes on sunny weekends you simply can't get as far as you'd like, due to queues at locks. Some of the busy ones, like Marsh lock at Henley, it's common to queue for 30 minutes to an hour, and sometimes longer.

This is fine when you do it the first time, as there is plenty to look at, but when your option is to head right or left from your home base everyweekend, there is a great desire to bypass the home turf and head further afield.

This means taking the boat as far as you can in the weekend, leaving it there, and organising transport home, then returning the next weekend to carry on.Not always safe, unless you leave it in a marina, and these are limited. Most overnight moorings tend to be bankside, and there are quite a few which are free for 24 hours.

One of the delights is just mooring up at a quiet stretch of bank for the night (can be done further upstream, and if you know where, you can spend an undisturbed night with a few friends and a bankside campfire in almost complete rural isolation)

To my mind, the best stretches of the rivers are upstream from Maidenhead, which would require a good few days boating, and then several more to go up through to Oxford. Especially if you do it sunny summer weekends.

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[Nick2]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

We have gone from the Thames to the Solent and agree with Boatone regarding the charming places to moor bankside for the night. I guess that whilst we get a real buzz out of being on the Solent we do miss the tiny unspoilt villages and the general peace and lack of commercialism of much of the upper Thames.

For us the thames was far more relaxing than the Solent with a far slower pace (having said that it was a bit too slow at times for us hence the move) . Before my newly found Solent pals say unfair we are still very much finding our feet on the South Coast and may not have found that totally unspoilt haven yet - although we have two weeks off next week so things may seem different during the week as opposed to weekends.......

Whilst I don't think that we would from choice swap back (economics may force our hand however) we do intend to visit the Thames again over the next couple of years for a "holiday".

For me the real differance is the peace of the upper reaches of the river which can be achieved close to civilisation which thus far has eluded us on the coast. That is not to say that this is not outweighed by the challenges and excitement of being at sea but its just err..... differant....

Hope this rambling helps a bit and I also highly reccommend Chris Cove Smith's book which is the Thames equivalent of an almanac and pilot guide.

Nick

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[HowardB]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

Thank you. Sounds idyllic.
How far can a beamy (12foot) and high air draft (?12 foot) boat go up river. Are the locks wide enough. I live on the Nene, which limited my boating because of the low bridges and inland there are ?7 foot wide locks.
Howard

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[byron]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

If your boat is genuinely 12' high and not 'roughly 12' maybe a bit more' you will be able to get up as far as Oxford. The queues at Locks are a thing of the past unless there is an 'event' on that stretch of the river because the Environment Agency have chased thousands of boats off the river & hire boats are down by 80% (I think). Moorings are much cheaper than say the Solent. If you have a Freeman still then you have a true Thames Motor Boat. The nicest thing on the Thames is the Riparian owners, they are so handsome and intelligent. The worst thing is an influx of canal boats who seem to take a delight in being pig ignorant about all matters maritime and simple courtesies. Indeed so much so that people that own moorings are being forced to lay down rules and make charges that have never been needed before (i.e. Hampton Court}

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[tripleace]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

your S37 is basically a new version of my 365 (slightly narrower).

You will have no problem getting up river, almost to oxford as byron says.

are you 12ft with or without radar on the arch?



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[boatone]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

Byron, I am ashamed of you.........
Here am I trying to build bridges (see thread on more Thames moorings) and you go and stick the deck shoes in with an ill tempered and prejudiced rant about ditchcrawlers that undoes all my good work. I see from the time of your post that you are not sleeping again so I shall be a little empathetic.

Your comments re Hampton Court are also a little unkind as I understand the main reason for introducing charges is to raise revenue, at least some of which, I am told, will be used to improve the mooring area.

I am sending you your honorary membership certificate for the Maritime Meldrew Association and I understand a few members are already considering inviting you to stand for President next year.

Also, if you'd read Howards post correctly he said: Previous boat was a Freeman Mk 3 so he hasnt got it any longer.

Oh, nearly forgot.........unfortunately queues at locks are still a feature of weekend boating on the Thames....unless you are classing good weather as 'an event'/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Have a nice day.........

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[byron]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

<font color=green>Your comments re Hampton Court are also a little unkind</font color=green>

Only repeating what I was informed. Also Narrowboats are a nuisance, taking up moorings for weeks on end, moorings that are supposed to be overnight only or in the case of the ones at Caversham two hours only... with Narrowboats blocking them literally for weeks and weeks on end.


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[miket]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

I think you'll find that is 5mph (8kph) and approx' 4.5kts.

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[boatone]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

Absolutely right, of course!
Now how did Byron miss that....../forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

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[tripleace]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

no problem up to about 13 ft width but air draft of about 12ft is the max working height

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[byron]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

I make it 4.8 knots some might even argue 4.9. What particularly amuses me that in their wisdom they set a speed limit in KMs instead of Knots. When they initially did it they cleverly did every sign on the Thames as 8k and couldn't understand why everyone read that as 'knots' (same as it means on the P.L.A. signs below Teddington), they then had the expense of changing everything.


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[Chris_d]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

5kmh = 4.3Knots, those speed freaks doing nearly 5 always spill my beer!

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[byron]

Re: What\'s the Thames like?

OK! If we are going to be really accurate
8km = 4.3173232 knots which only reinforces the stupidity of the Environment Agency putting speed limits in Kms instead of in Knots.

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