Mooring type / costs / advice

[Athy]

16 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Must be some sort of retro movement. I don't think I've played a cassette tape since about 1986.

Different strokes for different folks. Most of our tapes which were simply cassette versions of L.P.s have gone, but the stack of cassettes in my office includes quite a few interviews with musicians, which can be a useful source of information, and quite a few of my old radio shows, which have sentimental (and, dare I suggest, entertainment) value. i suspect that a lot of people who keep their cassettes do so for such private reasons; it is one of my regrets that I never recorded my late parents' voices, but I have heard that people do so.

[Alan de Enfield]

22 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Must be some sort of retro movement. I don't think I've played a cassette tape since about 1986.

There was a report on the 'News' the other day about a huge resurgence in 'cassettes' as apparently the music industry has found that the quality of the sound is 'more original' than that on digital CD's.

 

And yet the cassette is back. Sales in the U.S. grew 23% in 2018, according to Nielsen Music, with 219,000 tapes sold in 2018 compared with 178,000 in 2017, Pitchfork reported. That was after a 35% increase in 2017. In the U.K., sales were up 112% year-on-year in the first half of 2019, even if that means only 36,000 cassettes were sold.

 

 

 

It would appear that Vinyl (records) sales are also increasing 

 

Vinyl accounted for an estimated 9.7 million album sales in 2018, says an annual music consumption report from BuzzAngle. That's up roughly 12% from 8.6 million in 2017. Vinyl album sales accounted for 13.7% of all physical sales, up from 10% in 2017 and 8% in 2016.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[Athy]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

 

 

It would appear that Vinyl (records) sales are also increasing 

 

 

Over the past six or seven years, I'd say. Ten years ago, almost 100% of the records which were sent to me for review were in the CD format. Around 2103 a few vinyl ones started creeping through. Now about 25% of my review copy albums, and 100% of my singles ditto, arrive on vinyl. I don't think it will ever be teenagers' medium of choice again, as it was for many of us on here (down to thew record shop on a Saturday morning and come back with a square, slim paper bag) but it's developed into a substantial niche market.

[OldGoat]

13 hours ago, Jamie Marley said:

 

Thank you old goat. 

 

I think I will try and find a nice marina in London that will give me access to the K&A if possible 

You will be a able to get to the K&A from any marina in the London area provided it's on CaRT waters or the Thames, but the connecting travel will take you two to three days cruising.

 

OTOH if you moor at Caversham, the entrance is opposite. You will need two sets of licences, one from the EA (Thames) and the other from CaRT

[Jamie Marley]

Thank you 

 

And this is all easily done route wise in a 57x10 widebeam? 

[OldGoat]

17 minutes ago, Jamie Marley said:

Thank you 

 

And this is all easily done route wise in a 57x10 widebeam? 

Thames locks are all 'broad' (though somewhat bigger than the canal system's broad locks). A little more care in navigating is neede on the canals.

The Thames locks are wider and longer than the K&A and the River is nicer to use than the canals especially if you have enough engine power. Depends on the boat.

[Jamie Marley]

wow thank you, just the advice I am looking for! would you say routes along the Thames Locks are still scenic in places from your experience? 

[OldGoat]

2 minutes ago, Jamie Marley said:

wow thank you, just the advice I am looking for! would you say routes along the Thames Locks are still scenic in places from your experience? 

Definitely - especially as our boat is  based on the River....

There's very little in scenic terms to offer on the London Grand Union canal. The upper reaches of the Lee and Stort are quite nice, but depending on where you are in Kent could be a pain to get to, as well as being easily exhausted - in terms of variety, as they're quite short. 10 - 20 miles?

The Thames - being longer has much more scope. Teddington to Lechlade is around 100 miles (guess) and being a river is much more scenic.

I suggest you get a copy of "The River Thames Book" by Cris Cove-Smith (Amazon have several copies). lots of pictures and with a lot of details.

[Jamie Marley]

This truly is the best feedback and information I have received on here to date. 

 

So we live near Maidstone in Kent but have spoken to Allington Lock and you can only get as far as Tonbridge wells, its quite restricted.

 

Based on the info you have been providing so far which ticks all the boxes, now even more so with the Thames river, we have been looking at Marinas in Caversham, there is a Tingdene one and it has excellent access to the Thames and K&A as we have had several NB holidays in Bath and its very scenic as you know, hopefully BATH is still doable with a WB. 

 

The boat will be a weekends only and not a liveaboard so hopefully the Marina option is the best option? 

[OldGoat]

1 minute ago, Jamie Marley said:

This truly is the best feedback and information I have received on here to date. 

 

So we live near Maidstone in Kent but have spoken to Allington Lock and you can only get as far as Tonbridge wells, its quite restricted.

 

Based on the info you have been providing so far which ticks all the boxes, now even more so with the Thames river, we have been looking at Marinas in Caversham, there is a Tingdene one and it has excellent access to the Thames and K&A as we have had several NB holidays in Bath and its very scenic as you know, hopefully BATH is still doable with a WB. 

 

The boat will be a weekends only and not a liveaboard so hopefully the Marina option is the best option? 

A marina / managed moorings are your ONLY options - it's not practical to leave a boat on a river - because the level changes quite often and mooring lines need checking regularly. In a marina many/ most moorings are on pontoons which float up and down and / or are checked daily.

 

IMHO the Thames end of the K&A is not particularly scenic, the railway runs near / alonside and you have at least a day's cruising to get away from it all - then it's time to turn around and go home.

If you took a mooring with one of the Thames marina groups, you can visit one of the other locations and leave it there (for a short while and by arrangement). That extends your range - though not by much! Examples are Shepperton and Harleyford.

MDL- Penton Hook and Windsor and Bray, Tingdene - Caversham and Pyrford (river Wey)

 

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Jamie Marley said:

 

So we live near Maidstone in Kent but have spoken to Allington Lock and you can only get as far as Tonbridge wells, its quite restricted.

 

Probably true for a widebeam narrowboat.

But you could get a cruiser which is capable of making the estuarial passage between the Medway and the Thames and able to traverse the canals (or at least the wide canals) of the main connected system.

[Jamie Marley]

I think I may go with the Tingdene Caversham, that way we can get down to Bath when we want and also get back into London, sounds perfect! 

[OldGoat]

1 hour ago, Jamie Marley said:

I think I may go with the Tingdene Caversham, that way we can get down to Bath when we want and also get back into London, sounds perfect! 

In your dreams -

A very quick calculation from Canalplan produces -

79 miles

100 locks

that's 51 hours = 7 days at 7 hours per day

 

Do you have very long weekends?????

Boats do around 3 mph on canals and 4mph on the River

You will ether two licences or a Gold licence to use the Thames and the K&A.

Methinks a bit more research is required.

If you haven't already done so - have a look  at the videos from Minimal List on YouTube which will give you some idea of the scenery