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Limehouse to Teddington


larryjc

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Anyway, it sounds like you've already made up your mind and won't take any advice despite asking for it. It's your boat so just do what you want.

Actually I haven't 'made up my mind anyway' I was actually asking for advice. Please credit me with the desire for a dialogue rather than just taking one answer as gospel - especially when there is conflicting advice around. In fact the arguments for a bow anchor seem sound now that several people have offered their opinion.

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I'd always anchor from the bow end in a tideway or strong stream. A heavy mud weight preferably ball shaped can be used as a drag to slow you down or even stop you if the currents not too strong from over the stern and is easy to retrieve. Wind speed and direction have a lot of influence on inland types of boats and shallow draft boats with lots of top hamper and needs to be always taken into account.

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Actually I haven't 'made up my mind anyway' I was actually asking for advice. Please credit me with the desire for a dialogue rather than just taking one answer as gospel - especially when there is conflicting advice around. In fact the arguments for a bow anchor seem sound now that several people have offered their opinion.

 

Up to this point it sounded like you had taken one answer as gospel.

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We are planning to go from Limehouse to Teddington next Saturday. To be honest I'm cackin meself. Have I good reason? Getting life jackets today, anchor up and running, engine sorted but still worried about it.

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A wheeze. If anyone thinking of going on a tideway and is worried about muck in their fuel tank stopping their engine an emergency spare fuel tank can be made.

First of all you need to get a serrated .nozzle fitting that will screw into your engines fuel micro-filters inlet port. Get a clean say 5litre oil can and a length of flexible rubber type fuel tubing. Punch a hole in the cans bottom a tight fit for the tubing to be pushed in a little way, quickly undo and remove the filter units inlet pipe and move it clear, fit the nozzle fitting into the port and push on the rubber fuel tube. Hang the can up above the engine and fill with fuel. You now have a can of fuel connected with the tubing between can and fuel filter unit to gravity feed your engine. Done quickly you probably won't have to bleed anything. It is also handy if you have electric fuel pump failure. I talked a friend through how to do this on the phone last year when he broke down through dirt in his fuel tank at Brentford luckily, right after he'd come from Limehouse and it kept him going until he got the tank cleaned.

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I very much doubt this would be an issue for you, but take into account your engines power. Ours is 10hp and took about 3.5 hours to get to brentford.

 

Fortunately we left an extra hour early so just made it in time.

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A wheeze. If anyone thinking of going on a tideway and is worried about muck in their fuel tank stopping their engine an emergency spare fuel tank can be made.

First of all you need to get a serrated .nozzle fitting that will screw into your engines fuel micro-filters inlet port. Get a clean say 5litre oil can and a length of flexible rubber type fuel tubing. Punch a hole in the cans bottom a tight fit for the tubing to be pushed in a little way, quickly undo and remove the filter units inlet pipe and move it clear, fit the nozzle fitting into the port and push on the rubber fuel tube. Hang the can up above the engine and fill with fuel. You now have a can of fuel connected with the tubing between can and fuel filter unit to gravity feed your engine. Done quickly you probably won't have to bleed anything. It is also handy if you have electric fuel pump failure. I talked a friend through how to do this on the phone last year when he broke down through dirt in his fuel tank at Brentford luckily, right after he'd come from Limehouse and it kept him going until he got the tank cleaned.

Like it - and will do that before we go - I know the bottom of my tank is 'crunchy' cos if I push the dip stick in too far it feels horrid.

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We are planning to go from Limehouse to Teddington next Saturday. To be honest I'm cackin meself. Have I good reason? Getting life jackets today, anchor up and running, engine sorted but still worried about it.

Read the guidance in particular the tideway guides (you can find them on thamescruising.co.uk) and you will be fine. Forecast is for a great day - we are actually going out at 5am that day down to the Barrier with the St Pancras Cruising Club, then up to Teddington and probably back down on the afternoon tide.

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We are planning to go from Limehouse to Teddington next Saturday. To be honest I'm cackin meself. Have I good reason? Getting life jackets today, anchor up and running, engine sorted but still worried about it.

Dear Fudd

 

I have done this trip several times as an experienced crew (with radio etc), which I think reduces stress levels for the skipper concerned! I may be able to do next Saturday - we would need to leave Limehouse about 1015 (BST). If you are interested please email me on sg (at) judgefamily.org.uk

Edited by Scholar Gypsy
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Dear Fudd

 

I have done this trip several times as an experienced crew (with radio etc), which I think reduces stress levels for the skipper concerned! I may be able to do next Saturday - we would need to leave Limehouse about 1015 (BST). If you are interested please email me on sg (at) judgefamily.org.uk

Thanks for that. We are going out Saturday morning with another couple of boats so we won't be alone. It's really only a concern because its our first time on the tidal bit. If you are there wave to us. Hunter is the boat. Long green thing with red along the roof.

Steve P.

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Read the guidance in particular the tideway guides (you can find them on thamescruising.co.uk) and you will be fine. Forecast is for a great day - we are actually going out at 5am that day down to the Barrier with the St Pancras Cruising Club, then up to Teddington and probably back down on the afternoon tide.

I hope we don't bump into each other!!?
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Well we made it. We are moored up at Hampton Court. Must admit I didn't like the first bit. As we left Limehouse a big ship went past and the wash came over the stern half way up my leg. After that I got used to it and I wouldn't have missed it. Ther was no wind at all but it was still scary.

Steve P

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I still have butterflies on the Thames tideway but your story shows just how well a properly prepared and well driven narrowboat can cope with the tideway.

 

I think you were probably a but unlucky as I think that wash seems to have been really bad this weekend, but it was fantastic to see this great river so well used. We went down to the barrier, up to Teddington and then back down to Limehouse. The first two legs were great, it was like a mill pond, the last leg had us getting into Limehouse just after 5pm and we got well beaten up, worse bit probably was when we got overtaken by 5 speed merchants just above Limehouse, you turn away to ride the wash but by the 5th boat you run out of river! We had to wait for a few minutes for a gap in the traffic before we could cross and even then we were a bit cheeky - well worth having VHF!

 

Do the journey again and you will be amazed at how much you missed seeing first time round! I had the role of ballast till we got to Blackfriars and just loved the view you get from the river. The Ducks look well scary.

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For all those interested I have just updated my Blog (see my signature block) - there are a load of photos and a few reflections on what we thought of the trip. But in summary it was one of the best trips in a boat I've ever done and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.

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Not really - just call 'Battersea Control' at the previous bridge, they had two arches open anyway. The river isn't anything like as busy by the time you get there.

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Glad to hear you had a good time!

 

Here's a plug: at 1030 on Saturday 20th July at the IWA National Festival at Cassio Park, Watford, there is a presentation on “Safe and enjoyable tideway cruising”.

 

It features Andrew Phasey from St Pancras Club, David Phillips of the PLA (his name is at the bottom of all their notices), and Sue of Indigo Dream (RichardN's better half).

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I believe that Limehouse Lockie Jeremy also has a speaking part so a good selection of speakers talking very practically about the tidal Thames

 

Last time David Phillips talked the room was packed with people peering in through the door. Get there on time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We had the calmest, fastest trip ever on Saturday morning.

 

We left Limehouse at 8.30, made it to Blackfriars bridge precisely as the workers were covering up the 3 red blobs to re-open our arch, and met only one other boat on the entire trip (a "rib experience" boat that of course made a bit of wash to wake us up). We had a lovely tide behind us that saw us reach Richmond in only 2 hours 15 minutes, so we had half an hour to wait below their barriers (doing doughnuts in the middle of the river, just for fun) which was great because I'd never had the chance before to sit and watch it being lifted.

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We had the calmest, fastest trip ever on Saturday morning.

 

We left Limehouse at 8.30, made it to Blackfriars bridge precisely as the workers were covering up the 3 red blobs to re-open our arch, and met only one other boat on the entire trip (a "rib experience" boat that of course made a bit of wash to wake us up). We had a lovely tide behind us that saw us reach Richmond in only 2 hours 15 minutes, so we had half an hour to wait below their barriers (doing doughnuts in the middle of the river, just for fun) which was great because I'd never had the chance before to sit and watch it being lifted.

I had it coming over the back up to my knees. There was no wind at all, only wave after wave of big passenger boats. Then after Westminster dead flat calm. Glad we did it but I didn't think it would be so rough.

 

Steve P

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