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some help needed for cruising the Kennot and Avon. Is there a strong current? When does it flood? and more????


lucyboatgirl

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9 hours ago, Graham Davis said:


Has she realised how hard Caen Hill might be for her?
 

I was single-handed and helped by a very kind band of volunteers at Caen Hill. I think it was on a Sunday morning - I'm not sure if they're there every day?

19 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

is this yet another case of a newbie asking a question and then not being around to clarify things like the timing, type of boat, etc.?

Probably...

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10 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I disagree.

But your later posts in thisthread suggest you actually mean the tidal Thames downstream of Teddington. 

Well Yes. As the OP said they were travelling from London to Bristol, I assumed they would have to cruise on the tidal section of the Thames from London to Teddington. If they are  entering the Thames upstream of Teddington they are not really travelling from London, but from semi rural Middlesex

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1 hour ago, blackrose said:

Maybe it was. Spring 2013 all the way from Laleham on the Thames to Bristol. But on my boat it was a LOT harder to go upstream on the Kennet than the Thames.

But that is probably because the Thames is much wider so the displacement of water passing the hull is significantly less. If I remember correctly, you have a wide beam, and the Kennet being quite narrow would inevitably make progress upstream more difficult.

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11 hours ago, dmr said:

ok, but you are talking about the tidal Thames here. A fair few years ago we did Teddington to Brentford on a spring tide, doing a boat delivery of a very under-powered boat, turning into Brentford was a reallyt dodgy as there was serious tide flowing. Have done it several times in our boat but always go Brentford upstream.

We have been on the Thames on Red Boards (a miss-calculation rather than intention) but still reckon the Kennet in heavy flow is the hardest river we have ever done.

Going upstream I reckon Woolhampton is the hardest bit, though the lock landing below County lock can have a nasty eddy. Up through Newbury is intimidating but is actually ok as long as you have enough power and steady nerves. Going downstream Woolhampton is a bit scary, the tight bends a little way up from the Cunning man are very tricky in a full length boat, but that horrid "high" bridge at the bottom of Reading is by far the scariest bit of all, potential for a very serious accident.

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

Entering the Brent from the Thames upstream is notoriously difficult, and most people end up going past the entrance. turning, and entering the Brent upstream.

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22 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

Entering the Brent from the Thames upstream is notoriously difficult, and most people end up going past the entrance. turning, and entering the Brent upstream.

You mean downstream????

The boat we delivered was under-powered and the gearbox was intermittently slipping. We crossed the Thames, hugged the (Brentford) bank and crept round the corner going downstream, getting a telling off from a man in the marina as we did so. If we had overshot, turned, and approached upstream as is usually recommended I reckon we would never have made headway against the tide.

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

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11 hours ago, Graham Davis said:

I think I am more concerned about the OP not realising that most of this trip is along a canal, not rivers.

Do she have any experience of what she is going to be doing?
Will she be able to work the locks on her own?
Has she realised how hard Caen Hill might be for her?
How much experience of single handing has she got?
Has she realised how difficult it might be for her to get fuel for her outboard?

Usually some very competent volunteers on Caan Hill, and its really not that difficult, I find it a lot easier than Hatton, and its lovely. You only need to do the centre 16 in a single hit so can have a rest before the top and bottom sections. If going down we do the whole lot in a day then do half of the Seend flight too so that we can have a few beers at the Barge at Seend.

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

11 hours ago, David Mack said:

I wouldn't normally suggest this, but if you need to get to Bristol quickly, and there are stoppages en route, then for a 20 ft cruiser it shouldn't cost that much to get it taken by road.

Pay money to go on the back of a lorry?

Cruise from London to Reading on the Thames (a fantastic and very fascinating bit of river), then cruise the entire length of the K&A?

Let me think....this is a really difficult decision. :D

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

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6 hours ago, Murflynn said:

is this yet another case of a newbie asking a question and then not being around to clarify things like the timing, type of boat, etc.?

She came onto the forum 2 hours ago, but hasn't bothered to respond, let alone thank contributors for their advice

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4 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

Entering the Brent from the Thames upstream is notoriously difficult, and most people end up going past the entrance. turning, and entering the Brent upstream.

Is it, I think I managed every time including the first

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36 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Is it, I think I managed every time including the first

I guess that most experienced boaters would be able to achieve it without too much fuss, but less experienced people might find it a bit of a challenge. It also depends whether you entering it on the ebb tide or the flow tide. On the flow tide you are pushing against the incoming tide which enables you to go slowly with good steerage, so entering the Brent shouold be comparatively straightforward. But on the ebb tide you are carried down the river at a fair pace, and it is easy to be drawn past the entrance before you realise it is there. The trick is to start turning well before the entrance, and make a quick dash for it before you actually reach it.

Edited by David Schweizer
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There have been ongoing intermittent stoppages around Crofton for quite a few weeks due to low water levels. Check the CART site and register for emailed updates if you want the latest. Also a stoppage due soon in Bath for a new bridge across the river.

If you are thinking of stopping in Bristol Harbour you have to pay quite a bit everyday. It is not part of Cart. I believe that a long waiting list exists for moorings, the harbour master is on the ball and will rapidly move you if in a wrong place.

Few places to safely stop on the river now as most are occupied longterm. On the K and A you will have to move regularly unless you have a paid for mooring. Most of the popular places are heavily occupied even without the large number of hire boats during the summer. If you want an easy life try and find a paid mooring, although this will be difficult. 

 

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I've just been down to Bristol, the only part that we found difficult finding free moorings was between Bath and Bristol, had to do this bit in one hit. Had no trouble finding visitors moorings, lots of spaces with electric hook-up and water.

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2 hours ago, F DRAYKE said:

I've just been down to Bristol, the only part that we found difficult finding free moorings was between Bath and Bristol, had to do this bit in one hit. Had no trouble finding visitors moorings, lots of spaces with electric hook-up and water.

Not sure if the winter moorings have started yet, they will wipe out many of the mooring spots. Assuming they have not started then just now its the end of the boating season so I would expect a lot of space to be available.

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

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I normally like to give someone new to the site asking seemingly daft questions the benefit of the doubt, but this one does seem a bit like a wind up.

Did she really name her boat "puke"?

And although the teaching of geography may not be what it was, wouldn't anyone know that London to Bristol couldn't be uphill all the way, both being sea ports? The clue is in the canal name, i.e. the Kennet flowing east into the Thames and the Avon flowing west to Bristol.

 

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On 06/10/2017 at 15:07, ditchcrawler said:

Is it, I think I managed every time including the first

 

We had to blast the horn, Klaxon and everything to alert a wonderfully excentric <foolhardy> old (circa 70 years old each) couple in a Springer/no anchor/no lifejackets that had missed the turning. They really struggled to get back up but they did it.

Edited by mark99
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On 08/10/2017 at 21:07, Peter X said:

I normally like to give someone new to the site asking seemingly daft questions the benefit of the doubt, but this one does seem a bit like a wind up.

Did she really name her boat "puke"?

And although the teaching of geography may not be what it was, wouldn't anyone know that London to Bristol couldn't be uphill all the way, both being sea ports? The clue is in the canal name, i.e. the Kennet flowing east into the Thames and the Avon flowing west to Bristol.

 

 

I think you're right about this bit in particular, and we have therefore all been 'had'...

Edited by Mike the Boilerman
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Actually, having taken a look at the OP's profile, I see she's engaged in some perfectly normal discussion, particularly seeking advice on sanding and repairing a GRP hull and responding to the advice offered in a sane manner. So I think she's genuine, the occupation and boat name are just her not wanting to give that information and therefore being flippant (fair enough), and the question about the K&A is either real ignorance, a drunken post, or someone in her household posting in her name.

So if the enquiry is genuine, I'd say go for it, but do fix any known problems with your boat before you start, take the right safety equipment for going up the Thames and Kennet and seek and listen to advice from lockkeepers about the rivers.

There's still three weeks until the Blakes Lock closure, and river levels were normal when I was out there this last week.

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hey thanks you lot. loads of very helpful and conflicting advice! Thanks for really valuable info davidsscheizer! Mega helpful but then a bit contradicted in terms of the strength of the flow by blackrose and dmr. Dmr i think you might have actually talked me out of it completely by talking about how strong the current can be. And yes i did totally get the stoppages wrong ha ha! just using internet in the pub and trying to type too quickly and get all my internet done before i had to leave.

I would really love to do this trip but i think i might have just left it too late before the stoppages and then if i hit any problems i would be stranded for months. I think i'm changing my mind.

Thank you so much to you all for taking the time to answer this question you are so helpful and truly appreciated.

I do find it a bit weird that because I have not been on line for a few days that there became such a chat about my profile and calling my character into question. I use this website very sincerely and if my question comes across as ignorant then maybe that's because it is, thus why I am seeking out some information and knowledge about the subject. I took so long to reply because I was researching all the info given to me and looking at maps as it is not a part of the world i know anything about. I am sorry if you felt like you had taken the time to answer my question and that I was being unappreciative. This is totally not the case and I genuinely am thankful for you taking the time to answer and I think you are all helping folks out and sharing your knowledge and i think it is brilliant.

Stay positive and strong together out there my boating brothers and sisters x x x x x x

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The flow is very variable, if you go for it now you should be fine. Typically the flow builds up over winter then eases off by April or May. If we have a dry winter then the flow stays low, but then if we have a lot of rain in summer the flow can go right up. It usually takes a fair bit of rain over a few days to make it bad so the odd shower won't hurt.

If you do go for it then I am sure somebody in Newbury could check the River Kennet flow for you, in fact my wife is in Newbury right now visiting her daughter.

If you have very little boating experience then I would keep off the Kennet, but then again hire boaters do it all the time!

My bigger concern is what arrangements you have made to moor in Bristol, its not easy. This is partly because Bristol is such a great city. What about getting the train over and having a look at the harbour in Bristol then going up to Bath (short train ride) and having a look at the canal and River Avon to get a feel for it all?

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

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47 minutes ago, lucyboatgirl said:

hey thanks you lot. loads of very helpful and conflicting advice! Thanks for really valuable info davidsscheizer! Mega helpful but then a bit contradicted in terms of the strength of the flow by blackrose and dmr. Dmr i think you might have actually talked me out of it completely by talking about how strong the current can be. And yes i did totally get the stoppages wrong ha ha! just using internet in the pub and trying to type too quickly and get all my internet done before i had to leave.

I would really love to do this trip but i think i might have just left it too late before the stoppages and then if i hit any problems i would be stranded for months. I think i'm changing my mind.

Thank you so much to you all for taking the time to answer this question you are so helpful and truly appreciated.

I do find it a bit weird that because I have not been on line for a few days that there became such a chat about my profile and calling my character into question. I use this website very sincerely and if my question comes across as ignorant then maybe that's because it is, thus why I am seeking out some information and knowledge about the subject. I took so long to reply because I was researching all the info given to me and looking at maps as it is not a part of the world i know anything about. I am sorry if you felt like you had taken the time to answer my question and that I was being unappreciative. This is totally not the case and I genuinely am thankful for you taking the time to answer and I think you are all helping folks out and sharing your knowledge and i think it is brilliant.

Stay positive and strong together out there my boating brothers and sisters x x x x x x

Two questions. Are you really a stripper.?Do you charge by the foot? 

Edited by rusty69
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hey thanks dmr,

I have a few years boating experience but only on the canal and a little experience of the thames (mostly downstream).

But you reckon that the mooring spots in bristol are hard to find? I am aware the canal doesnt go into bristol and am happy to moor up out of town and cycle in. Some folk told me it was possible but do you think i will struggle to find a few spots to hop around over the winter?

 

Thanks for your advice dmr you have been very helpful x

 

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5 minutes ago, lucyboatgirl said:

hey thanks dmr,

I have a few years boating experience but only on the canal and a little experience of the thames (mostly downstream).

But you reckon that the mooring spots in bristol are hard to find? I am aware the canal doesnt go into bristol and am happy to moor up out of town and cycle in. Some folk told me it was possible but do you think i will struggle to find a few spots to hop around over the winter?

 

Thanks for your advice dmr you have been very helpful x

 

Bath to Bristol is the river Avon not a canal. I think you would struggle to find many moorings in that section other than the few marinas.

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