Broads01

For hire boats, engine restriction is an interesting issue. Would it cause any problems to restrict all hire boats to 6mph?

Good news in my view. Some folk really do charge around with the throttle fully forward. I think it's always been like that but I'm pleased action is being taken.

Very enjoyable tale, thanks for sharing. Why don't you bring your doggie with you?

I think the river end of Upton Dyke is a nice spot but I always think it's a grey area as to where the short term moorings border with the long term ones, if indeed short term moorings officially exist. I love the peace and setting of the Upton Staithe end and tend to favour that.

What a fantastic mooring Johnny Crowes is.

Was the state of the quay heading at Potter so bad they had to do the work in the summer?

Indeed I last hired it in 2022, Silverline's final season. The only issue I had with it was the common problem of the warm air heating hardly reaching the fore cabin but that's unlikely to be a problem this time of year.

Enjoying your tale, thank you. I thought St Olaves might be hard work with the air draft and I won't be attempting Ludham either. I actually had Regal Star booked initially but then changed it to Belmore TC when my daughter gave me a pleasant surprise by telling me she wanted to come too. I couldn't be dealing with sleeping in the saloon nowadays- been there, done that. Look forward to the rest of your tale.

I've hired Silver Mirage twice. Silverline added electronic bits over the years (sliding roof, mudweight, thrusters) and it's a brilliant value for money boat.

Enjoying your tale. I'm intrigued to know why you go for moorings for electric - are you needing the heating?

I've been passed on the inside fairly often, dayboats being the worst culprits. I try and maintain an awareness of what's going on behind and if there's somebody gaining on me keep well right to force them.to overtake on the outside. I've been caught out though and missed someone, especially on forward steers where the view astern is pretty poor.

I love The Lion, it doesn't surprise me at all you enjoyed the food.

I'll be interested to know how you get on with Regal Star as I have Belmore TC in September (and coincidentally I was on an Encore in March). Intrigued to know how you get on with those high side decks and how it is squeezing it under bridges like St Olaves.

A hire boat to work through? Sounds interesting 🤔.

A few words about the boat. I think the layout of Marquis has stood the test of time well and it was very comfortable for the 3 of us. I was in the stern cabin which was configured as a twin but the berths can be pushed together to make a double if needed. Storage was reasonable. The central cabin has fixed twin berths and there is a separate shower/toilet with a wooden slatted floor which dries quickly after a shower. There's no washbasin in the toilet (which aids the space) but instead both cabins have a washbasin in a quaint, old style hotel room kind if way. The galley runs down the corridor which is OK but is narrow. Kitchen equipment includes a microwave and an unfortunately small fridge which has a large freezer compartment taking more than it's share of the space. The central saloon has a large u-shaped sofa and an equivalently large table which makes access to the long part of the sofa awkward. The table is removable but it's so large as to be impractical to do so. There's a very spacious double ensuite cabin in the bows with a reasonably generous double bed. The sliding roof is winch-operated and straightforward to lower and raise. The engine is a stern-mounted Beta Marine one which I believe is 39hp and whilst it's quiet it did feel under-powered at times. The interior is far from recent and fairly original I think although the upholstery has been replaced at some stage and is comfortable. The carpets in the cabins are perhaps an acquired taste but have actually worn well. The single beds were all sprung divan which made them very comfortable. I've already mentioned the handling which was a challenge to keep the boat in a straight line and I did miss having bow thrusters.

Friday 24th May Dave from CBS arrived at 0830 as they'd arranged and we were soon on our way upstream with Dave at the helm. As we arrived back at Marsh lock I was grateful it was Dave helming as we bobbed back over the strong weir stream and he kept a good amount of throttle on to guide us in to the layby. Inevitably the lock was on Self Service and I opened the gates, watched Dave pilot in and then took the rope from Mum. The weather was bright and I was able to relax away from the helm for a change and let Dave take us back. He kept us entertained with his sense of humour and considerable local knowledge about what had gone on with various riverside properties and such like. He evidently enjoyed his job which involves anything from painting boats to diving underneath to clear propellers. I asked him if he thought Marquis was tricky to handle in comparison to other boats and he agreed it was which he put down to the hydraulic drive. Like me he needed constant correction to maintain a straight course. There was one other tricky moment en route which was keeping control as we approached the narrow arch of Sonning Bridge with a strong weir stream hitting us from the right and trying to push us off course. Dave explained that when the stream is strong lock keepers open weir sluices further so water drains faster and encourages conditions to return to normal. We arrived back at the boatyard around 11-30 and having topped up with water and with conditions having improved I was free to take the helm once more and leave Dave behind. We continued upstream, eventually through Mapledurham Lock and to Pangbourne Meadow where we stopped for a break and enjoyed the sunshine. Suzie wore her little legs out as she raced along the bank, one of many good dog walking locations by the Thames. The Meadow is peaceful and feels rural but it's only a short walk to the road and the pub and village if you want it. Later we took our final afternoon cruise, zipping along with the stream back through Mapledurham lock and eventually to a mooring just opposite the boatyard for our final night. Saturday 25th May All too soon it was time to unload the boat and return it just across the river. We'd used £100 of diesel which I thought was reasonable considering our cruising hours and use of the heating. I said goodbye to Mum and Mike at the station and then plodded home in the Bank Holiday traffic. Overall it was a really enjoyable holiday, with the challenges we experienced somehow making it more satisfying. I'm hoping you've not been reading this thinking it was a typical Thames trip and that the Thames is at all scary because I don't think it was typical at all in my experience and the Thames isn't really that scary (alright, maybe just a bit!).

Caversham Emperor, Neil, yes and I hired it way back in 1999 when it was Thames Moonlight from Bridge Boats (later taken over by CBS). It would have been a similar price to Marquis but the internals on the website put me off together with the "cupboard" bunks cabin which I suffered on Lady Kristina two years ago. That said, there's only a single internal photo of Marquis online so taking it on was a bit of a gamble and not good for their business.

I'd agree Dan and yes I'll talk about the boat at the end and I do have some photos. I share your concern. They're lovely, helpful people but I worry under-investment could be their downfall. Nowhere near. There was no space to be had at their space and we saw a few out and about but not many. I got the impression because it was 5pm on a Sunday they weren't contactable. Fair play to CBS for not waiting around for them to open up on Monday morning but make plans to come early from Reading.

Thursday 23rd May Today turned out to be the morning after the day before in terms of experiencing the effects of the previous day's rain on the stream conditions. We'd already noticed that downstream navigation had been akin to the Broads when with the tide and this morning was the same only more so. With the engine only purring at very modest rpm we were whooshing along at 7mph. Fortunately we had lock staff to assist today, including unpaid volunteers who were working for the fun of it. Having negotiated Sonning Lock and one of the few narrowish bridges just below we found ourselves in the pretty section towards Shiplake where islands are centre of the river and the navigation channel is either side. Shiplake lock was straightforward and then another pretty section past the impressive properties of Wargrave to Marsh lock just above Henley-on-Thames. Approaching the Marsh Lock lay-by, we got into a right pickle. The lay-by is to the right with the weir to the left. There was a boat about to emerge from the lock and I was anxious to get in to the layby out of their way..Imagine trying to moor, in the same direction as a strong stream when you wish you were against it, combined with the effects of a fierce weir pulling you in the opposite direction. It was like trying to moor with the tide at Reedham only worse. I made repeated attempts but nothing was going to get our stern to move anywhere near the quay. I even tried reversing all the way back out of the way of the boat now waiting to leave the lock but I just couldn't gain sufficient control. Fortunately we were rescued by the lock keeper and a lady from the crew of the oncoming boat whom we managed to throw lines towards. The lock keeper advised we would have benefitted from getting the stern roped up first and then bringing the bows in on the engine - I'll try that next time. This morning all the locks had amber warning boards "Caution - stream increasing" and the lock keeper advised us there was a chance this would later turn to a red "Strong Stream" warning. If that happened, we wouldn't be permitted to continue navigating on a hire boat and would need to phone our boatyard for further instructions. As I moved us out of the lock, the lock keeper warned us about the turbulence below the weir and said "Once you're past that tree, put full throttle on and aim towards that crane." This I did and it was fine albeit I could feel the weir wanting to push us to the right. We moored at Henley just afterwards and had lunch out at the Angel just above the bridge. The food there was ordinary at best unfortunately. Our plan later originally had been a short cruise to overnight at Medmenham but instead we opted for an out and back cruise so as to finish up in an accessible place in case conditions meant we needed to be piloted back to Reading. After lunch we continued downstream through the bridge and to the Regatta course with preparations in full swing for early July. On arrival at Hambleden Lock, the lock keeper checked our plans as the warning boards had by now turned red. We advised we were doing a quick out and back to Medmenham which he was comfortable with but in the end when we exited the lock and I saw the downstream weir stream I turned straight around and back in to the lock - it wasn't worth it. Soon after as we were just about making 4mph at full throttle CBS phoned about the red boards and we agreed Dave would pilot us back the following morning. We moored overnight back at the same spot above the bridge we'd been at lunchtime. Mum and Mike were happy to stay aboard whilst I walked back to the Angel with Suzie and enjoyed a drink.

Wednesday 22nd May Today was a complete washout in terms of the weather but we weren't going to be put off from doing what we wanted to do. Where we'd moored overnight was awkward for Mum and Mike to step off so I made the mistake of telling them I didn't need help with mooring ropes. As I released the bow, the boat spun around 180 degrees in the strong stream and I ended up almost losing control of the stern rope. Luckily I was able to scramble aboard without Mike having to become emergency helmsman (with virtually no helming experience). The rain was hammering down as we negotiated Cleeve and Goring locks, both manned thankfully. Our initial destination today was CBS in Reading for pump out and water. Our cruise there via Whitchurch and Mapledurham locks was uneventful and when we arrived at CBS Gavin dealt with our pump out without fuss, filled us with water without me asking and attended to one of the showers which hadn't been draining. We remained at CBS for a lunch break. They had a lot of boats not on hire unfortunately and mentioned there were only 4 due out the following Saturday which is worrying for them. We'd cruised a lot this morning and so with the rain still heavy we had a short afternoon cruise to Sonning, via a stop at Tesco which is conveniently situated adjacent to some moorings. We only just squeezed in at Tesco however as the moorings there aren't unusual in having multiple liveaboard residents. On arrival at Sonning, I asked Mike to step ashore to assist me to pull the boat up but alas he misjudged the drop and landed painfully on his side. Mum and I were concerned given his physical issues but happily he got away with a bruised rib and a grazed knee. The location just above Sonning lock is peaceful and lovely and I enjoyed a walk with Suzie down to the lock and beyond.

What was your technique for checking your boat would fit, Kate, trickle up slowly for a check and then reverse up?

Ouch, that seems a big change since Howard's photo a week yesterday.

Tuesday 21st May Decision time this morning - do we continue upstream to Oxford or return downstream. Oxford had been the original plan in my head having not cruised above Abingdon for some years but we opted to return downstream. We didn't want the following final 3 days to be all about a lengthy return journey and feel under pressure to do a certain distance each day. This way, we would have time to cruise below Reading as well which appealed to us. The weather was no longer summery alas, being grey and chilly. I reminded Mum and Mike about the additional hazards of locking downstream, namely don't let the deck catch on the quay as the level drops and board the boat well before a deep lock will have you marooned above. Culham lock was manned this time and the lock keeper was apologetic in tone about the absence of staffing. Clifton lock next ahead was on Self Service and for the first time we were the only boat around. Mike played the lock keeper managing the gates and sluices and taking the stern rope from Mum when we entered. Our exit required me to pilot out and then pull in to the lower lay-by while Mike closed the gates before reboarding. Everything went OK even if it did take a little longer overall. Days Lock was also on self-service and by this time rain had started and remained with us for the rest of the day. We took a break for some food back at the same spot we'd stopped the previous morning and then continued, past the disaster location of Sunday afternoon. No action had been taken to mark the location despite the fact CBS had advised the EA of the What 3 Words location. Benson lock was the 3rd successive on Self Service and we negotiated successfully donned in our rain gear. We continued most of the distance towards Cleeve and Goring to stop overnight in a wild spot on the starboard bank. The top picture below is Benson and as you can see there's a boat marooned on the weir.

Very disappointing news. It seems like they've only been open 5 minutes.

You were unlucky to have rain all day yesterday. I drove back from Reading to South Wales and saw zero rain until 8pm.