BC20/23 & Inland waterways

[PYoung]

Hi all. Not sure how this will go down, but here we go.

I wondered if anyone has had any experience or thoughts about using a BC 20/23 as a inland waterway cruiser?

The Thames is near me and was contemplating dropping in on the Thames for a brief period either at the start or end of my sailing season. I was thinking of removing the mast completely and just motoring around for a week.

It would be great to hear if anyone has done this already. Also how the boats handle under motor with minimal or no centreboard.

Btw I am hypothetically speaking as I am still yet to 'own' a BC, but I have placed a deposit on a BC23!

Any thoughts appreciated.

[Julian Merson]

What I like about these boats is their versatility- much like my previous Drascombe.  Plenty of people like using those to explore inland waterways, so absolutely no reason why a BC shouldn’t do the same.

You would need some centreboard - the hull shape is such that the boat slides around under outboard with no plate.  The rudder is also quite deep, so it may be necessary to lift that in the shallows, which will make it heavier and less efficient.  And you'd need a good set of ear plugs to drown out the engine.  But, those things aside, why not - sounds like a great plan!

[Matthew P]

Using a BR20 as a river cruiser is very pleasant for a picnic party on the Dee.

The hull is stable, especially with water ballast of course but as Julian says, needs a small amount of centre board exposed for directional stability.  It might be worth making a simple shallow-draft rudder blade that doesn't stick up or out so much.

An electric outboard would be nice.

Matthew
BR20 Gladys
   

[Graham W]

I want to do this up the River Medway, 12NM from Upnor to the first lock at Allington.  And perhaps beyond on the non-tidal part to Tonbridge in the heart of Kent, probably about the same distance again.  All electric, of course!

The Thames under Hammersmith Bridge is closed to all river traffic for the time being.  They're saying that it will be up to six years before road traffic across the bridge is restored.

[Djillings]

I think a couple of years ago somebody launched their BC23 at my club at Shepperton (where I keep my BC23 over winter) and motored down the Thames and away.  Obviously it is mast down until St Katherines.  As has been noted, passage to river traffic under Hammersmith bridge is closed at the moment and we are not even allowed to row underneath it (this year's Boat Race has been moved to Ely I believe).

[boehm.reichling]

Hello,

we are lucky owners of a BC23 since 2019. During the season we have her moored at a lake near munich , bavaria.
For our first trailer boating vacation we took her to France and traveled up and down the river Lot. It worked out very well. We have a electric propulsion so the noise from an outboard engine , that has quite some resonance volume in the BC23, was not an issue.

[Rob Johnstone]

I fully endorse the need for some centre board to show on a BC23 to make it steer. With the centre board up, the boat handles like a tin tray - it ignores any rudder input completely.

[Julian Swindell]

I launched my BC20 on the Thames a few years ago. We used the slipway at Lechlade and motored down to Kelmscott and back. To be honest, i wouldn't do it again. The deep rudder is constantly hitting things. The banks of the river are quite high so there is practically no view of the surroundings. It's very slow. You could walk as quickly and see the view from the tow path. We only went through one lock, which was interesting, but slows your actual average speed down even more. I guess river and canal cruising isn't really my thing.

[Chris and Sandra]

Sandra and I had a notion to try getting from Balleek to Limerick on the Erne Shannon system. That would would involve  a lot of river  but also plenty of sailable  loughs.  Not sure how we would get on putting the mast up and down. Its hard enough on dry land with our BC23 and we almost always drop the locking pin at least once. Of course in fantasy land the weather is perfect and we come back up to where we started via the west coast!

[Charles Scott]

I keep my Bayraider in Co.Mayo where we have a house. If the Covid regulations let us get back there any time this year, I might be interested in a Shannon cruise . As you say, there are loughs to allow sailing as well as the less exciting river sections. Also we could troll for salmon and trout as we go along !!

[Julian and Karen]

I think it was our trip down the Thames that Djillings was referring to - we launched the boat at Shepperton and took it in stages round to the Orwell (this link has some photos - https://footstepsbluedragon.tumblr.com). We really enjoyed the trip through the centre of London - a shame it would not be possible now with Hammersmith Bridge closed. We are now thinking about a trip to visit a cousin in Willemstad in the southern Dutch delta (if Covid allows) - crossing the Channel from Folkstone to the Calais or Dunkirk - and then either working our way along the coast or if the winds are against us, using the French, Belgian and Dutch canal systems via Brugge and Gent to the reach the Westerschelde. We have a 9.8hp outboard - so not too noisy at 4 knots - though an electric one would be really good for this. If anyone has any experience of these canals - that would be very interesting ...

[MarkDarley]

Some years ago the Irish Raid followed the river system and lochs of Ireland and it was one of the events that inspired me to buy my Wooden Bayraider 20. 
I have done the Caledonia and would love to join a couple of other boats reproducing the Irish Raid.  I have just searched for it online but cannot find and reference to it.....does anyone remember the exact route?

[MarkDarley]

I found this reference to the Irish Raid from years ago.  How about a replay?

https://www.classicboat.co.uk/uncategorized/raid-ireland-starts-this-friday-all-about-raids-with-selection-of-photos/

[Graham W]

Irish Raid organisers Albacore/Dacmar only undertook raids if they could obtain state funding, which explains why many of their events were one-offs.  The important exception is Sail Caledonia, which Caledonian Discovery took over from them when subsidies ceased.  Covid permitting, the raid is still going strong many years later, helped by valiant volunteers.

Here’s another account of the Irish Raid https://intheboatshed.net/tag/albacore-dacmar/.