Mr. Wharf

Hi. I'm not sure I'd have to go and take some better photographs. I did find this paddle point very near but doesn't really look that suitable for a boat with a motor. I'll work it out I'm sure. Thanks for the help everyone.

I would definitely want to be able to do it singlehandedly on occasion. Maybe could have one type of vessel for solo journeys and another for team efforts. Maybe an inflatable kayak with out board electric motor for lone excursions and a larger inflatable dinghy with bigger motor for multi person adventures. That way I could eliminate any dragging. I'm just a bit concerned an inflatable kayak/canoe with electric motor will be quite slow but I'll have to look into it.

Ah OK. Thanks for clearing that up.

Hi. I have seen them about. I wonder if you can fit a motor to them and how fast they could go. Will have to do some research.

Thanks. Looks good but I don't think I would need a trolley as my house is about 15 foot away from the water. I'd just need to be able to get the dinghy in and out of that bank pictured. So I'm thinking I would - carry the dinghy and plop it in the water and somehow secure it to the bank, Then take the motor down and mount it. Then do the reverse while retrieving the dinghy. Not sure I could achieve this without some sort dragging. I guess I'll only know for sure once I've tried it. Good to know something will in all likelihood be possible. Just seen the pic of the trolley. Maybe something like that could be useful. I do have a back problem so that is worry for getting a dinghy like that in and out of that bank. Maybe the winch idea is worth exploring.

I think I misunderstood your original post because I'm not familiar with all the terminology. I thought it involved making adjustments to the bank but reading it again I think you are just referring to adjustments or specifics on the boat. I probably could bolt a winch down on the courtyard of my property to drag an inflatable out when I think about it. So in this case the method would be to lower the motorised inflatable into the water and remove it with the winch, but in order to do this without flooding the boat or damaging it, I'd have to make alterations? Or can I purchase an inflatable that would be already suitable? Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the warning. I already ruled that out in the post above yours. I'm happy with the fastest most heavy duty dinghy and motor that I could launch and retrieve from the bank outside my property. Hopefully I'm able to do that anyway.

Thanks Guys. Point taken! I'll stick to the river ways and canals then. Still plenty to explore though and I'd still want a motorised dinghy for day trips as I'd love to be able to visit leigh woods via the water. So The main issue I'd have is getting a dinghy with a descent motor in and out of the water right outside my back gate. Thanks Tony this is what I'm really interested in. Ways of getting a boat with a motor in and out of the water and what type of boat it should be. Thinking about it, I doubt I would get away with building anything on the bank as it may well be a conservation area. I could use a winch but that sounds like more infrastructure is needed. I guess I'd be using an inflatable boat light enough to carry to the water (unless there is another way that hasn't been discussed) but heavy duty enough to secure a mid range motor to. I think a kayak/canoe with a small electric motor would work well but I'd like something that went a bit quicker as those motors seem to be quite slow. Be interested in any suggestions or examples of a dinghy and motor pairing that might work. Thanks for the replies.

Hi. I could probably get away with building something there as long as it didn't obstruct the path obviously and wasn't ugly. That cycle path is actually tucked away and quiet. Quite far away from the Bristol to Bath Railway path cycle path you are thinking of. As I said don't own any of the riverbank unfortunately.

Beeses is a nice pub. I'm not far from there. Not sure why she was banned thought. People are always swimming in that part of the river. Over the next couple of day it'll be full of people swimming that's for sure. She must have just got unlucky!

Hi David. No I don't own the land on the edge unfortunately. There is a small cycle path between my garden and the river you will see in the pictures. My back garden and garage would be right at the fence you can see on the lower left hand corner so just a few feet away from the bank. It's certainly convenient that I'll be able to launch from there (hopefully). I would just like to know a descent dinghy/motor combo that I could take out for long distances and that would be easy to get in and out of the water on my own at the bank in those pictures. I suppose it would need to be quite light weight or maybe there is some tricks to getting it in and out with minimal fuss or effort.

Thanks for the reply and the info. I'd definitely want to pay all the yearly fees and get licensed etc because I like to be around the river a lot practicing photography. I did look into it before all seems fairly straight forward. I didn't know about the sea lock though, I'll have to look into that. That is interesting that the river is still tidal, I don't plan on mooring but I would like to know the best sort of boat I could launch from the bank I posted. I'll be doing stand up paddle and kayaking but they seems fairly straight forward. I was hoping I could launch some sort of motorised dinghy straight from the pictured bank and cruise upstream to Bath or out to sea possibly when my confidence builds and I know what I'm doing a bit more. For this I'd need a pretty descent inflatable with a motor that I could store in the garage and that i could put launch on that bank and also get it out relatively easily as well. So was just wondering if that would be possible and what boat would suit that plan. Would love to try some sea fishing.

I don't have much experience with boats apart from kayaking trips and owning a dinghy when I was younger that I would take out on lakes a lot in Germany. I live in Bristol and am moving into a property that is right on the banks on the River Avon. I've attached images so you can see the river bank my back gate will lead directly to. Due to my lack of experience I'm not really sure what is possible. I'd imagine I can launch kayaks from there easily enough but I'd really like to be able to launch a motorised dinghy so I could travel further, faster on the river and even out to the sea if that is possible? I'd just like to know how any enthusiasts would play it if they lived here as I don't know where to start. I'll have a garage, a small courtyard and space right next to the river for kayaks. Thanks for any tips, advice or recommendations. What would you do?