Wide beam cruises from sawley

[Rob & julie]

I am getting a boat,mooring at sawley, but dont know weather to get wide or narrow beam, how far could we go on a wide beam cruiser, any help on this will be very much appreciated

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, Rob & julie said:

I am getting a boat,mooring at sawley, but dont know weather to get wide or narrow beam, how far could we go on a wide beam cruiser, any help on this will be very much appreciated

An ideal location for a widebeam. You can go for miles especialy if you go thro Nottingham and up the Trent and Ouse right up to York or across the Aire and Calder to Leeds and along the Leeds and Liverpool  etc etc also loads of other locations such as the Soar. If you wish to cruise a hell of a lot of other places then you need to go narrow but if you moor at Sawley then its a perfect spot for a comfy boat.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Rob & julie said:

I am getting a boat,mooring at sawley, but dont know weather to get wide or narrow beam, how far could we go on a wide beam cruiser, any help on this will be very much appreciated

Not very far in either a Westerley direction (ie only to around Burton-on Trent) and 'Southerley' to only roughly Leicester. all only about a day's travel.

 The only option for cruising a fat-boat is down the River Trent.

If you stick at 7 feet then all options are available.

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

An ideal location for a widebeam. You can go for miles especialy only if you go thro Nottingham and up the Trent and Ouse right up to York or across the Aire and Calder to Leeds and along the Leeds and Liverpool  etc etc also loads of other locations such as the Soar. If you wish to cruise a hell of a lot of other places then you need to go narrow but if you moor at Sawley then its a perfect spot for a comfy boat.

I have made a small but significant amendment to your post.

[mrsmelly]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Not very far in either a Westerley direction (ie only to around Burton-on Trent) and 'Southerley' to only roughly Leicester. all only about a day's travel.

 The only option for cruising a fat-boat is down the River Trent.

If you stick at 7 feet then all options are available.

I have made a small but significant amendment to your post.

Well your amendment is very Norty  if the boat is going to be used and not just marina parked then theres a hell of a lot of distance oop north. If its only to be used for the odd weekends away then again theres plenty of places for a weekend jaunt. Yes I agree only a narrowbeam can cruise proper extensively inland in the uk but plenty of people don't go far anyway so moored at sawley a nice comfy widebeam is ideal. There are loads of 57 foot narrowboats for instance moored here that never go out for longer than a week yet in this area 57 foot restriction simply isn't needed.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

Well your amendment is very Norty  if the boat is going to be used and not just marina parked then theres a hell of a lot of distance oop north. If its only to be used for the odd weekends away then again theres plenty of places for a weekend jaunt. Yes I agree only a narrowbeam can cruise proper extensively inland in the uk but plenty of people don't go far anyway so moored at sawley a nice comfy widebeam is ideal. There are loads of 57 foot narrowboats for instance moored here that never go out for longer than a week yet in this area 57 foot restriction simply isn't needed.

Yes YES YES.

There are 100s of miles 'up-norf' but from Sawley they can only be accessed via the River Trent - there is very limited cruising in any other direction as Sawley is almost 'on the edge' of the widebeam 'patch'

If they plan to have a mooring at Sawley they will probably not be travelling for weeks on end (supposition) and when the Trent is in flood and the flood gates closed cruising is very limited. What happens when they are 'coming back to Sawley' and the Trent floodgates are closed (at say - Newark) they cannot get back, and there is no room in Kings marina for another fat-boat.

If they only plan to cruise odd weeks and weekends in the Summer and are happy to pootle over the same ground week after week then Sawley may be OK.

 

Personally if having a widebeam (which don't forget I do have) I would not be basing myself at Sawley, far better to base oneself in the 'centre' of suitable cruising areas and that would be somewhere in Yorkshire.

[Rob & julie]

Thanks for your replies, it has given us more questions to ponder over, I will be back

 Thanks again

[Tonka]

From any point on a canal you can go around the world

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Tonka said:

From any point on a canal you can go around the world

That's as maybe, but not cruising on a boat

[WotEver]

5 minutes ago, Tonka said:

From any point on a canal you can go around the world

 

[J R ALSOP]

You could buy a map

[Alan de Enfield]

27 minutes ago, J R ALSOP said:

You could buy a map

To whom is that statement aimed ?

[Tonka]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

To whom is that statement aimed ?

Obviously to you as you do not know how to go round the world by boat.

 

Joking aside every one has forgotten about the Erewash canal

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Obviously to you as you do not know how to go round the world by boat.

Could you explain how to get, by boat, from Talybont on the 'Mon & Brec' canal to (lets say as a start of the world trip -) Nottingham

[Tonka]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Could you explain how to get, by boat, from Talybont on the 'Mon & Brec' canal to (lets say as a start of the world trip -) Nottingham

And how would his wide beam get there

[Naughty Cal]

5 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Yes YES YES.

There are 100s of miles 'up-norf' but from Sawley they can only be accessed via the River Trent - there is very limited cruising in any other direction as Sawley is almost 'on the edge' of the widebeam 'patch'

If they plan to have a mooring at Sawley they will probably not be travelling for weeks on end (supposition) and when the Trent is in flood and the flood gates closed cruising is very limited. What happens when they are 'coming back to Sawley' and the Trent floodgates are closed (at say - Newark) they cannot get back, and there is no room in Kings marina for another fat-boat.

If they only plan to cruise odd weeks and weekends in the Summer and are happy to pootle over the same ground week after week then Sawley may be OK.

 

Personally if having a widebeam (which don't forget I do have) I would not be basing myself at Sawley, far better to base oneself in the 'centre' of suitable cruising areas and that would be somewhere in Yorkshire.

I would agree with this.

We are based on the Fossdyke which is a bit more central in the northern wider waters area.

We have moored here for 9 years and still have plenty left to explore. 

[Momac]

There's a widebeam i know of moored at sawley last winter or two but spends the summer up and  own the Trent. I think they may be in Kings now. 

Not sure how far they go downstream but guess not everyone wants to go long distances. 

As for being restricted when the Trent is in flood - that's not unknown but not exactly a frequent event .

[Alan de Enfield]

9 hours ago, Tonka said:

And how would his wide beam get there

How do most boats 'get on the canal' ?

The Mon & Brec boats are generally built to suit the Mon & Brec and are widebeams. at 9 foot beam.

The statement was "From any point on a canal you can go around the world"

My reply was "That's as maybe, but not cruising on a boat "

No mention by either party of the boat 'specification' - however, I would not be prepared to 'go around the world' in a boat which could easily transit the narrow canals.

Edited July 27, 2017 by Alan de Enfield

[Alan de Enfield]

8 hours ago, MartynG said:

 

As for being restricted when the Trent is in flood - that's not unknown but not exactly a frequent event .

Frequently enough from September to April (obviously weather dependent)

I have been 'stuck' at Sawley for 2 weeks in September trying to get back to my mooring, & I have been unable to move for weeks during the winter, and as soon as the restrictions are lifted, they are back on again).

A 4 foot rise at Newark, in the Winter is not that uncommon.

My mooring is on the Trent so I tend to see the river at its best & worst.

[Momac]

I must have been lucky as can only recall a few occasions when we might have wanted to go out from Farndon but could not due to the river being in flood.

The wife doesn't do winter boating other than in the marina with the heating on.

 

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, MartynG said:

The wife doesn't do winter boating other than in the marina with the heating on

Ok - that would explain why you have rarely been affected by the river being 'closed'.