JV44

We moor at the island by the cunning man pub and its a 2 hr stint from the Thames normally ,The island to say the Rowbarge is normally about 5 1\2 houyswithout delays

With travellers causing mayhem just below that bit I wonder how long the Genny will stay put ,to heavy to lift out will be it’s saving grace I guess

Port meadow is beautiful but shallow on the edges ,easy to run aground admiring the view ,if you don’t need supplies Child Beale is a beautiful spot to moor Bell and Dragon mooring if you eat their is free in Reading but ring up to book it We did Kings to Goring in a day so Child Beale is only another 1/2 hour on from there Days lock bookable mooring gives you the chance to walk up Wittenam Clumps for the panoramic view if you have time

Yes boat sunk but waiting for surveyors so Tuesday at earliest to refloat I heard ,live locally so going to take a drive over for a look later

If its headed upstream then the islands just above Moulsford railway bridge is a good spot to hide

what dog have you got out of interest? we have a young Shepherd pup ourselves so a gentle first holiday up the Kennet is called for until she knows what is expected of her

Many of my boating friends live aboard and the ones I know personally are all nice folks ,as said earlier the terms of the lease stipulate no liveaboard it is a great base for weekend boaters to give easy access to the Thames without Thames mooring rates ,as has been said clubs can be clicky or backward looking but I like to think this new committee is forward thinking and trying to make it a great place to be It will not suit everyone but if anyone feels it may then please get in touch and come and have a look round

The new guard would prefer peeps to want to engage in the socials and work parties ...not necessarily every one but to build team spirit if you will ,we want to change stuff for the better of everyone and use carrot rather than the old stick

Members of other clubs affiliated to AWCC which we are can moor therefor a donation whilst they are in the areaway pre booking with our mooring secretary providing boats are out and there is space at the time of asking ,reciprocal for our member if they are traveling top north for eg with other boat clubs in the scheme

Mike I won that last year with a majestic throw into the canal lol ,we are working at trying to get a understanding committee in place and at the end of the day it is cheap moorings coz we do the work ourselves Understanding is improving about circumstances of non attendance work parties or socials and to be 'legal' then 3 of 6 work parties and half of the socials will see you safe Socials are now along the lines of race nights/film nights/silly games and beer ... The strictly no live aboard thing is the terms of our lease and well it is what it is Been their nearly a decade now and its prob a lot friendlier than some remember ,we are trying to make it less autocratic Anyone interested why not apply come and have a look round and see what you feel then ......

Numbers wise you will catch more fishing small paddle tail shads around an inch long on a 3 gram jig head jigged across the bottom ,twitch and wind and stop watch the line most plucks on the fall of the lure Yellow coloured braid helps see the pick ups better and 8 lab bs braid is a good starting point ,floor trace to jig hook and if Pike become problematic then a wire trace in say 15lb soft wire is better Let the jig settle properly after casting before retrieving ,HTO Rockfish ul lure rod to a 1000 size reel and your away I have done a lot of UL lure fishing in the last few years and drops hotting just doesn't compete number of fish wise with Jigging on the canal imo

Naughty cal we have seen a fair bit of antisocial behaviour on that bank by the swimming pool with the local roofs ,esp after dark when the break in to go swimming and drive the wardens buggy around at stupid speed ...just a heads up

The Ubique on the Thames has stayed between Pangbourne meadows and Goring for the past couple of years mainly downstream end of Child Beale

Pete that one turned up left at Goring lock waiting in the summer supposedly broke down ,locky got it moved to wall moorings and its engine was running fine when charging batteries after lock hours He was up in court for no licence the next day and they wouldn't let him continue using Unique as someone else had taken the name in the 2 years he was unlicenced ...he was not happy but Karma in action He has upset the new manager on Child Beale through constant overstaying and been thrown off Goring field bits by the fishing bailiff a few times for overstaying ,goes to work every day as a gardener i believe just don't like paying and his sort will see mooring gone at even Child Beale eventually i believe i bailiff that bit of river for the fishing club [Child Beale ] and as many fishermen are anti boating they will use examples like this fella to cajole land owners to ban mooring ,the fishing syndicate at Cleve lock area certainly did....not that they needed to try hard after that boat did what it did Steve Unique not Unique doh slap head icon

George i make you right but then the miscreant would be on here or facebook saying how he was picked on for no reason ....roll eyes icon

Said boat also left a load of crap behind on the bank sadly ,straw that broke the farmers patience

Deep joy hope they aint the scumbags from there that tried to raise martins boat when it sank in Fobney lock ,old bill only managed to stop them on criminal damage to the lock that they had it strapped to Shared a lock [caversham] with some of the unregistered heaps and the lock said nothing to them as they have been told not to upset them...well challenge them at any rate ,watched a couple of the twats in a blue tiny cruiser with a wood burner in it decide to light a fire under Goring bridge and then give lock abuse when asked to put it out ,fishing with some mates up there and we convinced them it would be preferable to swimming if they didn't Costing money everywhere on the Thames mooring wise now not mentioning the loss of places like Cleve lock area to mooring thanks to unpaying overstayers

A word of warning a mate of mine wanting to move his widebeam from loop North down onto the Thames used a fella he got through a site where hauliers id for your job ...the feedback seemed ok so my mate booked the crane and with boat in slings and no Lorry spent a couple of hours onohone chasing to be told the guy wouldn't be coming ...the fellas t&c were payment in advance and he didn't show and now legal stuff ongoing this chaps name isPaul Gillett and the haulier who saved the day a week later was a fella called Ray Bowen use the second don't touch the first My mate is ex para so he has messed with the wrong guy whatever the legal outcome just a word to the wise go on any recommendations rather than price Steve

I have a mate with a wide beam on a full residential mooring and is paying circa £850 a month ,he islooking to move down this way but as said learn the language Still have mates living aboard in T&K and elsewhere rule of thumb keep yer head down don't cause grief and they leave you be but it is pricey Enforcement fairly hot on K&A if you haven't got a home mooring

AllanC having seen affect it has had on Martin I make your first take right pref with the scum aboard

It was a weed hatch issue and no bulkhead from engine into main boat not helping once the lid had come off the hatch ,boat is now back at its mooring on our island

It was a weed hatch issue as the boat is now back on our island ,the unauthorised raising was from some of the colourful chaps from Tesco mooring in Reading after salvage Police were called and as its a grey area only stopped them on threat of criminal damage to lock ladders used to strap boat up for raising attempt The owner called Police on 4 occasions where peeps were inside the boat rooting for anything they could find ,damaged rudder and props haft in there attempts to raise it in there Micky mouse manner The owner has just had a health issue and was coming back from a few easy days on the Thames to recuperate,not sure if they will continue boating as the hassle with scumbag twats looting and damaging the boat may be the straw that breaks the camels back Really nice couple who are having a rotten run of luck

If it's the guys that are normally at the lock they look worse than they are ,in fact we often have banter with them and they are happy to help open the gates Was the boat a red one ex hire ? If so he shot past the island on his way down midnight on Saturday ,spent Sunday pressure washing his boat there ,seemed friendly enough had a massive mastif type dog ?