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River Trent navigation charts.


tosher

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Hi all, we are planning a trip next month from Trent Lock up to Torksey then on to Lincoln and Boston. Any advice on the best charts to use on the Trent and any other tips in general would be very much appreciated. Many thanks.

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The Trent Charts!

 

You can buy them from most of the marinas en route or Cromwell have them.

 

Worth having as the channel doesn't always follow the route you assume it will. You often see boats high and dry on the wrong side of the river.

 

What's with everyone visiting the Witham this year? It's full of bloody narrowboats already at the minute!

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Nicholsons guide is good enough from Nottingham to Cromwell but you will need a "Boating Association Trent Chart Series Chart No2" for detailed cruising notes from Cromwell onwards

I beleieve they can be purchased in advance from

Brad Wilson 0777 four 824 eight 23

 

Although the commercial gravel boats are no longer about a VHF (channel 74) is useful to call ahead to the lockies to get the lock ready for you.

 

Each lockie will notify the next lockie of your details and ETA at the next lock

 

(also if you do run aground you can call them up and tell them so they do not send out the emergency services to look for you when you do not arrive at the next lock)

 

Lifejackets

Anchor (of a suitable size) and rope/chain

 

You probably wont run aground but just to be safe - ensure a couple of days capacity in the toilet and a couple of days water.

 

The 'sunken Island' at Normanton stakes (near the water Ski club) that seems to catch many people out appears to have moved a bit closer to the left handside bank (when going downstream) it is shown on the charts as a narrow channel but I believe it has narrowed even more. We were within about 15 foot of the bank, the boat with us was about 15 foot further into the river and he felt the bottom (he should have know better as he ran aground there last year on the way to a wedding in Lincoln which he missed as they didnt get floated off until late the next day)

 

Lat week there was approx a 2mpg mph flow, time it right with the Cromwell Lockeeper and you can ride the ebb tide up to Torksey.

 

Electricity (card from Lockeeper) and water on the visitors / overnight pontoons at Cromwell, showers, elsan disposal and toilets at the lock itself.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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CaRT licenced waters so expect narrow boats !

There just seems to have been an influx this year already!

 

Saxilby was nose to tail narrow boats on Sunday. Many of which were locked up and unattended. This isn't the norm for the Fossdyke really. It's generally fairly cruiser orientated instead.

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certainly wasn't two summers ago...from memory in all the time I was at Saxilby there was one nb moored and locked up on the off side and I think there was only two nb's visiting for a short while, but a continual procession of cruisers.

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certainly wasn't two summers ago...from memory in all the time I was at Saxilby there was one nb moored and locked up on the off side and I think there was only two nb's visiting for a short while, but a continual procession of cruisers.

Which is what it has been for the five years we have been there.

 

Mooring on the Witham is already proving tricky as there are only limited moorings on the floating pontoons which some don't seem to be appreciating leaving big gaps between boats.

 

I suspect our anchor and dinghy will be getting a lot of use this summer.

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......... limited moorings on the floating pontoons which some don't seem to be appreciating leaving big gaps between boats.

 

 

We had that (at the only busy mooring we found) last week.

 

Bardney Lock - the visitors pontoon was 'full', however after we managed to get the pointy bit in, and moving up the four boats on the pontoon we managed to get a 45 footer and a 58 footer in quite easily.

 

Why do people leave 20-30 foot between boats ?

 

It used to be great when we had a 30 footer - we'd often get in right next to the bridge / pub / supermarket / mooring rings or whatever when people thought they had managed to squeeze out any 'neighbours', longer boats may have had to go 'miles' to get to the end of the moorings - little boat benefits !

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They were fully updated a couple of years ago. The current ones have pretty pictures and cost more!

 

The only bit that really shifts is between Burton Stather and Trent End so checking the ABP website before you head down there is wise, they survey this section every two weeks and update their online chart catalogue to suit.

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How do you ensure you have the latest and most accurate versions of these charts, and how often are they updated?

 

 

The "worse bits" (those prone to a lot of shifting)- primarily the last few miles of the Trent and Ouse) are updated on a monthly basis by (and available from) Associated British Ports at Hull.

 

The Cromwell to Torksey part - I dont know about frequency of updates.

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The "worse bits" (those prone to a lot of shifting)- primarily the last few miles of the Trent and Ouse) are updated on a monthly basis by (and available from) Associated British Ports at Hull.

 

The Cromwell to Torksey part - I dont know about frequency of updates.

 

The lockies will advise you if anything is seriously misplaced from the location shown on the charts.

 

Just be sensible and if the chart shows a big shoal give it a wide berth.

 

Another tip even on the straight bits. If the bank is gently sloping as at Goose Gaps for example, that gentle shelf will continue at pretty much the same angle along way into the river. Dont want to teach anyone to suck eggs but thats a bad spot for people running ashore.

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Thanks for all the advise being given here. We have charts but they are a few years old. I was told that the newer (more expensive) ones are not as "good" as the old ones. I got the impression that by "not as good" the person was saying the format of them was not as good? I am reluctant to replace them unless necessary. My reason is that while I appreciate the charts are going to be useful I have actually done the tidal Trent once before.

 

We did it 14 years ago on an Anglo Welsh hire boat. At that time the total extent of our boating experience added up to around 3 weeks and Anglo Welsh were fine with us doing The Trent and told us just to do exactly what the lock keepers told us to do and we would be fine. We did not have any VHF or charts then. Just Nicholsons. I don't believe we were especially "lucky" not to have had a problem but ever since I joined this forum and started listening to boaters who see to liken doing the tidal Trent to a Christopher Columbus expedition where they may, if not very careful sail off the edge of the world it makes me wonder at just how naive we were 14 years ago. Or were we?

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Whilst we are at it - lets frighten the OP a little bit more :

 

Quote from the Charts :

 

"A Tidal bore (known as the Aegir) may be met between Keadby and Torksey. This is a tidal wave - anything between a few inches and five feet high and breaking along the river banks. The Aegir is normally only seen on Spring Tides "

 

Here is a video of a 4 foot Aegir

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo6eyq2AwWg

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Naughty Cal, on 13 May 2014 - 1:30 PM, said:

And heres what happens if you are moored up when one arrives!!

 

Predictions for the aegir are online.

 

http://www.owston-ferry.co.uk/2014_Trent_Aegir_Predictions.pdf

 

They obviously hadn't read the recomendations from the Boating Association

 

"If moored make yourself fast to a barge or other large craft, stow loose objects"

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They didnt even know the aegir existed!!

 

Its a good job they moored 'pointy end' into it or it may have had a slighty different result.

 

So - what else can we tell "Tosher"

 

1) You'll get stranded on the sand-banks

2) You'll get drowned in the tidal wave

 

or maybe theres the Wiels disease we should mention (no maybe not), the Glory Hole that'll knock your chimney off, and of course the lack of moorings on the Witham and the weed that'll choke the engine and block the weed-hatch up solid - but on the bright side 'Tosher' can continue my survey on "The Telegraph Poles Of The Witham"

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The Stamp End Guillotine Lock at Lincoln regularly fails, drops and cuts boats in half.

 

The Lock at Bardney takes hours to empty as it leaks at the topgate almost as much as it empties with the bottom paddles up (just a slight exaggeration)

You need to kick the top gate to shut it at Bardney!

 

that's the ones that haven't closed down

Most of them have reopened recently!

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Sisson's River Trent charts are regularly updated, I understand, to account for the continual movement of the river bed. A must.

Tide tables, a must.

Life jackets, a must.

Telephone numbers of Lock Keepers, a must.

Now you are as safe as can be.

Enjoy it.

James

Edited by JamesWoolcock
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That depends what you count as regular.

 

The chart we bought three years ago is still current.

 

The shoal at Trent End has shifted many times in this same amount of time. I wouldn't dream of heading down to Trent End without checking the current ABP charts yet the upper reaches stay really very stable. The shoals may grow after winter flooding but they don't really shift position.

 

The bars across the locks were dredged last year so are not too bad at the minute.

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