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Down the Thames from Reading.


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Third night on the Thames now from Reading and people, including narrowboaters seem different. Dare I say a little miserable? Definitely not as friendly. Seemed fine on the Thames above Reading and all along the K&A. Is this usual or have I been naughty without knowing it.. Ian.

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The canals are smaller and safer, the locks are all manual, and the boats are all largely the same. So a sense of commonality prevails. The river is more hostile, the locks are big and manned, and the boat types very diverse. So you can expect it to be a different experience. A bit like the difference between living in a village or a city.

 

 

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26 minutes ago, ianali said:

Third night on the Thames now from Reading and people, including narrowboaters seem different. Dare I say a little miserable? Definitely not as friendly. Seemed fine on the Thames above Reading and all along the K&A. Is this usual or have I been naughty without knowing it.. Ian.

The Thames is situated too close to London for people to be able to smile. The thought of paying those prices for wishy washy beer is enough to make anyone miserable.

  • Greenie 2
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29 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

Just keep your dirty black bitumen hull away from the shiny white cruisers, :captain:

It's not the Cruisers.. It's the narrow boaters . 

22 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

The Thames is situated too close to London for people to be able to smile. The thought of paying those prices for wishy washy beer is enough to make anyone miserable.

Beers not so bad..

42 minutes ago, WJM said:

The canals are smaller and safer, the locks are all manual, and the boats are all largely the same. So a sense of commonality prevails. The river is more hostile, the locks are big and manned, and the boat types very diverse. So you can expect it to be a different experience. A bit like the difference between living in a village or a city.

 

 

Was ok above Reading on Thames..

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38 minutes ago, ianali said:

It's not the Cruisers.. It's the narrow boaters . 

Beers not so bad..

Was ok above Reading on Thames..

They're all miserable 'cos they're dead scared of the Dangerous River, or the huge cost of marina moorings - although there aren't many nbs in them. We shout and wave at everybody and wear inappropriate ensigns - just to stir things up. They' re still miserable.

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We were on the Thames the other week.

We thought there was a competition going on.

How many fenders can be hung from a shiny white plastic boat.

:)

The Thames itself is lovely. It's a shame that a lot of those using it have their snoot turned up to 11!

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We recently did the Severn and the Avon. Lots of plastic around and a few nods in our direction.

it does seem that we are slightly superior and envied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(there are some very attractive cruiser around)

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People always talk of a North-South divide with friendly northerners, but West country folk are friendly too, so I conclude its a closeness to London thing, people just generally become less friendly as you get closer to London.

............Dave

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23 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

We were on the Thames the other week.

We thought there was a competition going on.

How many fenders can be hung from a shiny white plastic boat.

:)

The Thames itself is lovely. It's a shame that a lot of those using it have their snoot turned up to 11!

Therein lies a reason why many of them are so miserable; concentrating so hard on steering their unstable gin palaces and not scraping their gelcoats - quite expensive to repair..

You should see their expressions when an NB slides seamlessly between them and the opposite lock wall with inches to spare, getting their lines for and aft (no messing with "well we usually manage with a centre line") straight onto the appropriate bollards. It shows them up. NBs Rule OK? 

Give 'em a cheery wave. We're better.....

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2 hours ago, OldGoat said:

Therein lies a reason why many of them are so miserable; concentrating so hard on steering their unstable gin palaces and not scraping their gelcoats - quite expensive to repair..

 

exactly.

is there a competition for how ridiculous you can make a supposedly aesthetically pleasing boat appear to be by hanging big plastic balls all round?

I had never realised that you can't steer a twin screw boat-shaped boat when entering a lock or mooring up.  Apparently you have to pretend to be a cross-channel ferry and use bow and stern thrusters to achieve the necessary vectors.  Reminds me of that ludicrous 'royal barge' used for the Windsors during the Thames pageant, which could only take up station in the parade by moving sideways..

Edited by Murflynn
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3 hours ago, OldGoat said:

You should see their expressions when an NB slides seamlessly between them and the opposite lock wall with inches to spare, getting their lines for and aft (no messing with "well we usually manage with a centre line") straight onto the appropriate bollards. It shows them up. NBs Rule OK?

Indeed.

I made the mistake of entering a Thames lock while there was still a boat inside, faffing about and not coming out.

Bags of room, didn't touch the lockside let alone the non-exiting boat.

Dearie me, did I get a telling orf! (What's the hurry, where's the fire, etc etc)

Don't get me wrong, the Thames is lovely, but the Wey knocks it into a cocked hat.

 

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9 hours ago, Victor Vectis said:

But then you might get your fender covers dirty!

:o

Don't worry the butler washes those every night.

We are in big plastic territory at the moment Trent/Fosdyke/Witham, and I do enjoy they different types of boats which does make a nice change from the canals of the midlands where all the boats are basically the same.

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Well as I said I was talking people in general, thinking about it narrowboaters seem the worst of them. Plastics, even big ones haven't been as bad. I have moored between two narrowboats and next to one the last couple of days and hardly got a reply when saying hello. Very miserable people! Ian.

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Having gone up the Thames from Brentford to above Oxford, I can't say I've noticed severe or widespread attitude problems. I did have to have words with one chap who overtook us on the near approach to a busy lock, with the effect that he got a place and we had to wait, but he turned out to be a septic on a hireboat, so what can you expect?

 

Bought fuel from Ozzie the fuel boat in Reading. For those not in the know, Ozzie's setup is not an elegant, or even a battered, old working boat. It's a 45' cruiser stern with OCD-levels of crap piled on the roof, and a pontoon bolted on the front for the diesel and gas and  the honey-sucker. Ozzie did say that he's never sold diesel to a white boat. Odd that!

Cheers,

MP.

ETA.  Anti-narrowboat feeling in plastics is far worse on the Bedford Ouse than on the Thames, in my experience.

 

 

Edited by MoominPapa
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7 hours ago, MoominPapa said:

 

ETA.  Anti-narrowboat feeling in plastics is far worse on the Bedford Ouse than on the Thames, in my experience.

 

I'm surprised to hear you say that - I've had the opposite experience. I am quite careful where I moor, and like wild moorings...

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1 hour ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

I'm surprised to hear you say that - I've had the opposite experience. I am quite careful where I moor, and like wild moorings...

Maybe I've just been earwigging on the GOBA forums too much......

 

MP.

 

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