Trip from Limehouse to Allington Lock, River Medway.

[Dave1963]

Hi there, i'm contemplating a trip to the River Medway as i now work in Kent. I know a few people have taking there boats through the Thames Estuary and to the Medway and survived the outing. I have a pilot in place who will meet me at Limehouse to guide me through, with all the necessary things we need on board like radio's, lifejackets, etc.

I know we will have to wait for the right conditions to make a safe trip. What is worrying me though engine wise is, i have a 22hp Kelvin j2 with a hydraulic gearbox. I have been told that maybe my engine won't be powerful enough to pull through the currents, as the hydraulic box takes some of the horsepower away from the engine. I'm in a bit of a dilemma as to which way to approach this. I have had a quote for transportation by road from where my boat is moored on the Grand Union, including craning from its current position to Allington Lock on the non tidal side of the Medway. The price of transportation by road including craning either side isn't cheap but, of course a vintage Kelvin engine would be much more to replace. What are your views on this and has anyone done the trip before ?

[Giant]

What is the boat?

 

Unless your boat is a very large barge indeed I don't see much reason to worry.

 

Plenty of Sheffield size boats (61'6" x 15'6") still powered by 21hp Lister JP2s and move themselves around tidal waters just fine. We have the luxury of a third cylinder in ours.

 

Any tidal trip should be planned so that you are working with the flow rather than against it, anyway.

 

I'd worry much more about the state of your fuel tanks - bumpy water tends to dislodge gunk in the bottom of the tank which then clogs the system.

[Alan de Enfield]

 

 

I'd worry much more about the state of your fuel tanks - bumpy water tends to dislodge gunk in the bottom of the tank which then clogs the system, and then the size of the engine is irrelevant as it wont be working.

[Scholar Gypsy]

A convoy of narrow boats did this trip last year - including some of the time with Goodwill (Giant's boat). Some info here: https://nbsg.wordpress.com/medway/

 

You'll need to leave as soon as possible from Bow (ie an hour or so before High Water, and not Limehouse) and keep gently moving in order to get to Sheerness around low water.

 

If you want a very relaxed trip then you can stop overnight at Gravesend (and even Queenborough as well), but with a pilot that may not be practical. We made about 3.5 knots through the water, stopping at Gravesend, we would have wanted to get closer to 4kts if we were doing it in a single hop. Bow to Allington is of course a very long day - 59 nautical miles, 68 land miles - but it is certainly doable (two boats did it in May).

Edited January 13, 2017 by Scholar Gypsy

[Bee]

As Giant says - fuel is important. Having had a right performance with dirty fuel last spring I would take a kit of parts, 5 gall container of clean fuel and all the fiddly pipes and hoses needed to connect the engine to it. Either that or give the fuel tank a really good clean. Oh, a nice big anchor or an old engine block tied to a long rope to chuck over the side if needs be. I was going to do that trip a while back but we plonked the boat on a lorry and went to France instead.

[blackrose]

Are there any parts of the trip where you actually have to turn against the tide? If not then as Giant says, I wouldn't worry about the size of your engine as you'll be going with the current. The fuel tank/system cleanliness would be my main concern.

[Nightwatch]

My eldest lives in Maidstone and we thought a couple of years ago weather this trip was possible. As I'm a squinny, we decided against it.

 

As an aside, my sons ex father in law owns the boatyard just the tidal side of Allington Lock.

 

Martyn

[Scholar Gypsy]

Are there any parts of the trip where you actually have to turn against the tide? If not then as Giant says, I wouldn't worry about the size of your engine as you'll be going with the current. The fuel tank/system cleanliness would be my main concern.

 

The ideal passage plan is:

 

• set off from Bow locks an hour or so before High Water, pushing against the last of the rising tide as you go down Bow Creek, getting to the O2 dome at High Water.
• go out with the ebbing tide, arriving at Southend at low water (see photo below of us rounding the corner into the Medway). That's 34 nautical miles from Bow Creek mouth, with LW Southend 5 1/2 hours after HW Woolwich. So you need to average about 6 knots over the ground.
• Use the rising tide to push you up the Medway to Allington, or Queenborough or Rochester if you want to break the journey. It's a pretty normal stretch of river upstream from Rochester, but the lower estuary is pretty wide and you can get lost if you are not careful!

[blackrose]

I think the OP said he has a pilot. I would worry about the qualifications of any pilot who got lost.

[Nightwatch]

Timothy Spall got lost in the entry to the Medway in his 'all at sea' series. That was a good programme.

[Peter X]

Timothy Spall was pretty experienced in coastal waters by then, because it was at the end of his trip around Britain (well most of it, as he wisely used the Caledonian Canal to avoid going round the top of Scotland). I don't think he had a pilot on the Medway (or anywhere much), and he was doing it as darkness fell, eventually anchoring overnight for safety because he couldn't reconcile the shore lights he was seeing to his chart.

[Nightwatch]

Timothy Spall was pretty experienced in coastal waters by then, because it was at the end of his trip around Britain (well most of it, as he wisely used the Caledonian Canal to avoid going round the top of Scotland). I don't think he had a pilot on the Medway (or anywhere much), and he was doing it as darkness fell, eventually anchoring overnight for safety because he couldn't reconcile the shore lights he was seeing to his chart.

That all seems to be correct. I hope you don't think I was. Being critical of Mr Spall. Just seen a clip of him on Andrew Marrs Sunday programme. He has lost a fair amount of weight.

[ditchcrawler]

Timothy Spall was pretty experienced in coastal waters by then, because it was at the end of his trip around Britain (well most of it, as he wisely used the Caledonian Canal to avoid going round the top of Scotland). I don't think he had a pilot on the Medway (or anywhere much), and he was doing it as darkness fell, eventually anchoring overnight for safety because he couldn't reconcile the shore lights he was seeing to his chart.

I don't know why he did it, he seemed to get so up tight about things and worry. I dont think it would be worth the stress if thats what boating does to you, or may be its a price worth paying for the rest of the time afloat.