jack4000

Thank you all for your insights. Yes the water level should be fixed, but as you say, stuff goes wrong (or wet/dry weather!), and it varies a lot. I'm hoping a few low water days will aid me at some of the tighter bridges. Wow that Marsh Farm bridge looks very low! But if that one is 2.4m then hopefully that means the bridges in Reading are higher and I won't get stuck.

Hi dmr, thanks for your reply. Yes the bridge you're referring to is Station Road bridge in Hungerford and it is the lowest or equal lowest between Reading and Bath at 2.4m. I can't find a CRT listing of individual bridges but this particular one is mentioned in various places. Thanks for the info about 'High Bridge'. Did you note it to be particularly low in the centre? Or is it more the navigation of it that's the problem? As mentioned above, my issue is height, but from experience a lot of listed heights seem to be safe estimates and with water level changes I sail under a lot of bridges that on paper I shouldn't.

Wide - 3.6m. But my max height is only down the middle of my boat for 1.3m and then the walls slope quickly - the profile of a regular trapezium.

I've just travelled from Mile End in East London, along the Regents, along the Paddington Arm and down the Grand Union to Brentford and onto the Thames. Just thought I'd add my experience to this topic in case it helps someone in the future. At a pretty tall height of 2.45m my boat cleared all the bridges easily and I would say that even at the lowest bridges there was a good 15cm+ to spare. CRT's updated dimension data does now show a max height of 2.67m on all those waterways so I'd say this is pretty accurate. Also, the water was pretty much at its highest. Worth mentioning though that I'm only at 2.45m tall down the middle - I have the profile of a regular trapezium! This means arched bridges aren't a problem for me, but if your boat is the same height all the way across and you have a wide beam then you may have some troubles. Hope this is helpful to future researchers!

Hi All I've been cruising the Thames and South East canals for a year or so but have decided to head west down the K&A for the summer. I have a pretty tall boat, and with my fixed solar panels I'm at 2.45m/8'1. I'm finding mixed data regarding the bridge clearances in Reading and beyond. CRT say 2.4m max but from experience they're pretty (rightly) conservative, and also water levels vary drastically. Also worth noting that my roof slopes quickly, so arched bridges aren't usually a problem - just max height in the middle. Anyone with tall boats have any experience with the bridges and water levels at Reading? I'm happy to wait for a low water day to get through! Cheers!