richrt Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 Hi, has anyone got through from Reading to Bristol with an air draught of 7ft 10" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Brooks Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 12 minutes ago, richrt said: Hi, has anyone got through from Reading to Bristol with an air draught of 7ft 10" I have seen yachts transiting with the mast down on a sheer-leg on the stern but that would pass under teh centre of an arched bridge. We need to know the beam, or more exactly the width of the roof at its highest point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 As Tony suggests, the acceptable air draft depends on beam - if you are a 'fat boat' the usable air draft will be lower on arched bridges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmr Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 I think the lowest bridge is the footbridge just down from Hungerford by the pumpout. Its a flat rather than arched bridge so no scope for any "negotiation". Its height should be on the CRT website. There is a bloke on the K&A with a small ship. He claims he gets his wheelhouse up to the bridge then applies a lot of power to pull the back down a bit. ? Potential for much embarrassment if that goes wrong. Its quite a long pound and always has moored boats so you would be unpopular if you lowered it. ..............Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmr Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 CRT say 7 foot 10 and they are usually a bit conservative. I reckon you will just do it. Get a couple of big plastic barrels to take on a bit of extra weight if required, there is a (very slow) water tap right next to the bridge. There is another low one down the Western End but I think a fraction higher. Again I think its a flat one. .............Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmr Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 and another thought...... High Bridge (joke name) in Reading is low, arched, unprotected, skewed and on a bend on a fast flowing bit of river. You should be OK going up, but if its a return trip then you would be wise only to do the downstream trip at a time when the flow is low. You will need to get a big road bridge swung to get into Bristol. Check that its not closed for maintenance before heading that way. ................Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schweizer Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 (edited) Someone I know got an old Dutch Barge with a high non-removeable wheelhouse under the Hungerford Footbridge some years ago, by deploying the "power on" technique to lower the stern - It worked. I have no idea what the air draught of the boat was, but it was certainly more than the bridge air draught. Edited December 14, 2020 by David Schweizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murflynn Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 6 minutes ago, dmr said: You will need to get a big road bridge swung to get into Bristol. Check that its not closed for maintenance before heading that way. surely only if you want to progress to the western part of the harbour (SS Great Britain, Marina, etc.) ? 37 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said: As Tony suggests, the acceptable air draft depends on beam - if you are a 'fat boat' the usable air draft will be lower on arched bridges. is that bridge in Bath ? I don't recall the high rise blocks or the poor visibility ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmr Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 1 minute ago, Murflynn said: surely only if you want to progress to the western part of the harbour (SS Great Britain, Marina, etc.) ? The bridge is at the entrance to the main part of the harbour just before the turn off to the moorings in St Argustines Reach. As far as I know there are no visitor moorings upstream of this bridge. We Just go under if we take all the chimneys down, ..............Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 3 hours ago, dmr said: You will need to get a big road bridge swung to get into Bristol. Check that its not closed for maintenance before heading that way. Yes that's the one I remember. I've never had to crouch quite so low when going under a bridge. Although my boat is 12ft wide I think the airdraft is less than 6ft at the highest point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lewis Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 6 minutes ago, blackrose said: Yes that's the one I remember. I've never had to crouch quite so low when going under a bridge. Although my boat is 12ft wide I think the airdraft is less than 6ft at the highest point. From Last Year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmr Posted December 14, 2020 Report Share Posted December 14, 2020 I would say about 6 foot too, but the water level in the harbour is variable so its always a stressful moment going under it, usually have an audience too. ..............Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sur145 Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 So many thanks guys! I have discovered that she is just under 9ft air draught at the centre of the cabin (motor cruiser). So I will look again as going around the south coast again is not an option for me. Thank you again your input is invaluable! Merry Christmas all Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) I had a similar dilemma in 2019 moving my motor cruiser from Newark (Nottinghamshire) to North Wales. I could have gone around the coast (1000+ miles) taken (probably 2 or 3 weeks - as it was October and the weather is not the best at that time) or take it on a truck. It was cheaper to use a truck and only 2 days. It was only 200 miles but the size meant they could only drive limited hours, and also had to have escort vehicles. What is your overall height (keel to highest point with everything folded) ? I had to get a very special truck that had a hydraulic trailer that could lower down to 4" (100mm) off the road so it could fit under road bridges - I then had 2" (50mm) of bridge clearance. What are your offshore skills / experience ? Coastal cruising is VERY different to Rivers & Canals. My boat on the truck. Edited December 15, 2020 by Alan de Enfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calara Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 We brought our barge across last year. We are 2.55m (8' 5" ish) with the wheelhouse up. We took it down for High Bridge in Reading and Newbury Bridge - both of which were high enough but awkward with the river. We were close in several other places - at Marsh Farm I doubt we'd have got a rizzla between the bridge and the roof, and a few at Devizes needed the pounds dropping a bit. I'd say at 9' you'd have no chance unless you can get your boat down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted December 15, 2020 Report Share Posted December 15, 2020 3 hours ago, sur145 said: So many thanks guys! I have discovered that she is just under 9ft air draught at the centre of the cabin (motor cruiser). So I will look again as going around the south coast again is not an option for me. Thank you again your input is invaluable! Merry Christmas all Richard Are you richrt ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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