Is east Kent too far for a NB?

[arcticwind]

I would absolutely love to live aboard a narrow boat. And I'm at a stage of my life where I can actually make it happen.

But, after some very brief research, I don't know how feasible it would be considering the location.

I would have liked to have had a resident mooring as close as possible to Faversham, for work. But as far as i can tell, the Medway river is the closest realistic place I could moor at.
I am trying to find as much info as i can about pretty much everything. Marinas, if the river  is suitable, availability on boating services for things like blacking. And whether there are people that do live along the Medway river. But i just can't seem to find any info.

 

I fear the canals and rivers that most people live on are just a little too far out of reach for me.

 

[Bee]

If I were you I would drive around all the moorings, creeks and boatyards and see what there is in the area. The Medway is a bit adventurous for a narrow boat but certainly possible. Narrow boats tend to be kind of long and you might find moorings charged by length are not good value. A lot of moorings dry out at low tide and getting to and from the boat can be awkward, OK if you don't live on the boat but not if you do. I think you might find that a narrow boat is not the best choice for the Thames estuary but then again, its all down to luck.

[alias]

1 hour ago, arcticwind said:

I am trying to find as much info as i can about pretty much everything. Marinas, if the river  is suitable, availability on boating services for things like blacking. And whether there are people that do live along the Medway river. But i just can't seem to find any info.

 

I fear the canals and rivers that most people live on are just a little too far out of reach for me.

Moorings here:http://allingtonlock.co.uk/permanentmoorings.php

 

I've seen very few narrowboats on the Medway. It is mostly GRP cruisers on the upper river, with sail/motor yachts on the lower river together with a number of (apparently static) barges. There are a number of large boats that look residential on Faversham Creek. 

[sueb]

Watch out for flooding on the Medway

[Phil.]

2 hours ago, arcticwind said:

I would absolutely love to live aboard a narrow boat. And I'm at a stage of my life where I can actually make it happen.

But, after some very brief research, I don't know how feasible it would be considering the location.

I would have liked to have had a resident mooring as close as possible to Faversham, for work. But as far as i can tell, the Medway river is the closest realistic place I could moor at.
I am trying to find as much info as i can about pretty much everything. Marinas, if the river  is suitable, availability on boating services for things like blacking. And whether there are people that do live along the Medway river. But i just can't seem to find any info.

 

I fear the canals and rivers that most people live on are just a little too far out of reach for me.

 

If you want to be close to Faversham you would actually be looking for a mooring on the Swale which is the bit of water off the Medway behind the isle of Sheppey. There are a number of creeks that run from the Swale towards Faversham and Teynham which you can moor in, but it is tidal and the creeks will dry.

[Machpoint005]

17 hours ago, arcticwind said:

I would absolutely love to live aboard a narrow boat ... I don't know how feasible it would be considering the location.

 

The fact that there aren't any narrowboats on the waters you mention is a huge clue. A NB is (probably) just not suitable for the job. 

 

 

Just as an eight-foot-six beam yogurt pot is useless on a narrow canal. Horses for courses!

 

 

[Tracy D'arth]

The clue is in the name    "Canal boat"

[Guest]

Its not unknown for a flat bottomed boat to stick to the bottom when the tide goes out and stay stuck even when the tide returns. I'd be wary of mooring a flat bottomed NB in that sort of setting.

[Boaty Jo]

Wide Beam??

[arcticwind]

I thought as much really. I think I would have to move away from Kent to live this way of life. Perhaps in a few years I will look back into it.

[TheBiscuits]

12 hours ago, arcticwind said:

I thought as much really. I think I would have to move away from Kent to live this way of life. Perhaps in a few years I will look back into it.

 

Try looking at "proper" boats.  Go and see what types of boats are moored where you would like to be based, and talk to the people on them.

 

You get a lot more boat for your money with a seaworthy boat suitable for the conditions than with a narrowboat anyway.

[OldGoat]

31 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Try looking at "proper" boats.  Go and see what types of boats are moored where you would like to be based, and talk to the people on them.

 

You get a lot more boat for your money with a seaworthy boat suitable for the conditions than with a narrowboat anyway.

Absolutely!

If you go down to the creek(s) you'll see a number of pontoon moorings with various types of 'proper' boats all seemingly moored happily - at least the one Google earth picture I found looked good.

As parts of Kent are popular caravan sites - I don't expect that a mooring will be cheap.

[Ronaldo47]

Re#8 this sort of incident was mentioned a few years ago in a "Waterways World" article by an old bargee, who said it could be a problem on the Thames in London. An unsticking method that usually (but not invariably) worked was to drop a rope over the bows and, with a man on each side holding the ends, drag it back under the boat to break the seal. It was usually only a problem affecting fully-laden barges.

Edited September 26, 2020 by Ronaldo47
Typo

[GUMPY]

On what used to be tidal moorings behind Three Mills a rope was attached to the handrails fore and aft and passed under the boat then attached to the pontoon. The theory being if the boat did stick then the rising pontoon would tip it a bit and  pull it free.