London cruising regular or gold license

[magnetman]

I disagree about going in convoy. If you are confident your boat is OK then good. The last thing you need is someone breaking down who you may then have to tow.

 

This happened once to my mum she towed another boat from Wandsworth to brentford because he was overheating. The result was that her weed hatch leaked and she had several inches of water in the boat when arriving at Brentford.

 

The boat with the poor cooling system did not suffer any damage at all.

[WJM]

I disagree about going in convoy. If you are confident your boat is OK then good. The last thing you need is someone breaking down who you may then have to tow.

 

This happened once to my mum she towed another boat from Wandsworth to brentford because he was overheating. The result was that her weed hatch leaked and she had several inches of water in the boat when arriving at Brentford.

 

The boat with the poor cooling system did not suffer any damage at all.

I dont think you can blame the leaking weed hatch on towing another boat. Sounds like the seal was on it's way out and the extra load only highlighted the problem.

[magnetman]

It was the towing. Yes OK it may have been a problem anyway but towing alongside at high engine load is obviously going to hammer it more. If she hadn't been towing the floor would have stayed dry...

[OldGoat]

It is a 'special' negotiated by some of the Brentford boaters to facilitate 'shopping weekends' in Kingston. I don't think it is published on the website, you just have to ask the lock-keeper on arrival at Teddington.

 

The Crown Estate moorings opposite Kingston town centre and at Hampton Court have alway managed to avoid becoming continuous mooring slums. They seem to operate the way that visitor mooring are supposed to operate, there is usually plenty of room, they are clean and tidy, you can stay for a day or two before moving on. I don't know how they achieve it but they are a fine example of real visitor mooring unspoiled by scruffy freeloaders.

 

Thanks for that.

It's a tribute to boaters' enterprise to get something extra out of the 'authorities'

[Nightwatch]

You need a licence to use it,to prevent causing problems for yourself and others(i.e.blocking chanel 16). For a fixed set,you also need a licence for the vessel. If the boat is used in exposed situations,then the current type of digital V.H.F. will be linked to gps. This saves emergency services a lot of grief as pressing the emergency button will give them boat name and position.This may seem O.T.T. for a narrow boat,but remember,scrambling emergency services costs a fortune and may place other peoples lives on the line .Bearing in mind the cost of a boat,then an investment of just over £200 for radio and G.P.S, .a boat call sign for the cost of a stamp, and circa £100 and a days tuition for an operators licence does not seem a bad investment.

I only want to shout help down it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joke. I know these things are serious.

[Captain Zim]

Sort of on topic, can I ask if anyone can fill me in on the rules for anchoring on the tidal Thames? I'm thinking if you were on the way down and caught out for some reason. Ta

[Scholar Gypsy]

Sort of on topic, can I ask if anyone can fill me in on the rules for anchoring on the tidal Thames? I'm thinking if you were on the way down and caught out for some reason. Ta

 

There is some guidance on emergencies on the website I mentioned earlier, here.

 

I can't lay my hands on the PLA guidance on anchors but basically for the Diamond Jubilee Pageant we all had 15 metres of chain and 35 metres of warp. The challenge for me is to:

 

• find a way to store the chain and warp, so they do not get tangled in a big mess when you need them

• make sure your crew's feet, arms and other appendages do not get caught when you chuck the anchor over the side

Based on my experience when crewing on another boat where the engine gradually failed (fuel line blockage) I cannot stress too much the key messages:

 

• as soon as you think you may have a potential problem, get on the radio and call for help. Don't wait to see if you really have a problem.

• if the engine fails suddenly then drop the anchor first, and then call for help -- unless there is another boat with you that can get a tow line attached and get you under control before you hit the next bridge (or something larger - see here!!!)

For the particular incident mentioned above, a passing rubbish barge gave us some assistance to get tied up alongside a mooring barge. 15 seconds after we tied up the engine conked out, as the fuel filter was completely dry.

 

Anchoring is allowed at certain locations, but (and I may have misunderstood your posting) you should not anchor except in an emergency - not least as you may well not get your anchor up out of the mud. If you get caught short in transit I would pee over the side.

:

Edited February 28, 2014 by Scholar Gypsy

[Captain Zim]

So even in the locations anchoring is allowed, you can't just stop overnight for the fun of it?

[Scholar Gypsy]

So even in the locations anchoring is allowed, you can't just stop overnight for the fun of it?

 

I really don't think that is a good idea. As far as I can from the various regulations and other PLA documents:

 

• all the designated anchorages are downstream of Limehouse
• until you get down to Earith they can only be used for up to 2 hours at a time
• you need to maintain a continuous listening watch on your VHF, "by a suitably qualified person,

  capable of communicating effectively in English".

As others have pointed out, there are limited visitor moorings (to buoys or to pontoons) eg Chiswick. Personally I would rather be off the tideway and in the pub.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Scholar Gypsy