Winding below County Lock, river Kennet

[MtB]

We occasionally wind the boat in the weirstream immediately below County lock in Reading town centre, on the Kennet.

 

This can be quite exciting as it seems a tight fit and there is no going back once committed, especially the first time we tried it! The technique iwe use is to pull the bow out from the lock wall and push it into the weirstream, where the current catches it and swings the boat rapidly around to face in the opposite direction. I stay at the tiller and give it some serious welly in astern during the wind to keep the stern tight to the bank to minimise the chance of the bow hitting the opposite bank wall, but I've no idea HOW tight it really is though. We are 68ft.

 

Now from the boat the river looks precisely same width as our length and I'm also told it's a tight fit by my mate who stood in the bow once when we did the turn. So, I'm wondering, does anybody know the true distance between the bank walls immediately below County Lock please?

 

My concern is that with the much reduced power in astern with the 'new' K1, if we try this again we could end up bashing the bows on wall on the other side as we swing around. My guess is it's about 80ft wide but I may be miles out. I'd like to know just how much spare width there is available there before we do it again. I walked along the towpath the other day to assess it from the far bank and it looks plenty wide enough but it certainly doesn't seem like it from the boat!

 

Is it possible to measure the river width using a 'laser tape measure' perhaps? The river banks on both sides are vertical brick-built walls.

 

Thanks for any info...

 

Mike

[Tim]

Hmm, not tried turning there, I always use the prison loop.

[Tony Brooks]

We occasionally wind the boat in the weirstream immediately below County lock in Reading town centre, on the Kennet.

 

This can be quite exciting as it seems a tight fit and there is no going back once committed, especially the first time we tried it! The technique iwe use is to pull the bow out from the lock wall and push it into the weirstream, where the current catches it and swings the boat rapidly around to face in the opposite direction. I stay at the tiller and give it some serious welly in astern during the wind to keep the stern tight to the bank to minimise the chance of the bow hitting the opposite bank wall, but I've no idea HOW tight it really is though. We are 68ft.

 

Now from the boat the river looks precisely same width as our length and I'm also told it's a tight fit by my mate who stood in the bow once when we did the turn. So, I'm wondering, does anybody know the true distance between the bank walls immediately below County Lock please?

 

My concern is that with the much reduced power in astern with the 'new' K1, if we try this again we could end up bashing the bows on wall on the other side as we swing around. My guess is it's about 80ft wide but I may be miles out. I'd like to know just how much spare width there is available there before we do it again. I walked along the towpath the other day to assess it from the far bank and it looks plenty wide enough but it certainly doesn't seem like it from the boat!

 

Is it possible to measure the river width using a 'laser tape measure' perhaps? The river banks on both sides are vertical brick-built walls.

 

Thanks for any info...

 

Mike

 

 

This is not much help over width but I have often winded JennyB there (many times when publicising the IWA National to the shoppers). What I have found is tat there is a rather nasty back eddy close to the lock/weir wing wall and if you get too close it blows your bow back into the bank. However once you get over that they go round well, don't they. Personally I think a full length boat would go round there but I would do it manually with a stern rope ashore and someone with a bow rope on the lock island to pull the bow across and give it a good shove into the weir stream. That way the stern could be held close to the land side lock wing wall until the boat was a good 2/3 of the way round. At least that way if the worst came to the worst you could let go the stern so the current pushed it back downstream.

[Steilsteven]

I've turned the trip boat 'Lancing' ( 71'6'' Large Northwich ) there in the past without any problem.

I agree about taking a line from the stern though and not relying on using reverse as there can be some strong eddys around the lock island.

 

Keith

[WJM]

You can measure it using Google Earth. Just pick two points and it will tell you the distance between them.

 

I make it about 75 feet using Google Earth

 

You need to be careful winding there when the river is up, there can be a very powerful back eddy under the landing stage.

[Keeping Up]

I would also recommend the stern rope technique - watch out for the rudder as it turns (ie make sure there's enough slack in the rope) and hold on until the boat is well around.

 

When turning a sailing boat in this way on the Norfolk Broads once, the person delegated to hold the rope let go of it too soon, so the sail filled with wind and we shot across the river putting a large hole in the boat below the waterline against some old submerged piling on the other bank. As a punishment we made him sit in the hole to keep us afloat until we could get to a boatyard!