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Post by paulhd on Feb 25, 2020 22:06:33 GMT
Do you mean non tidal Thames or the tideway? For non tidal it's a bit restricted but the reach above Cookham is pretty windy and there is a decent public slipway by the bridge, beside the Ferry pub. Another I can think of is the one below Whitchurch lock. The reach down from there to Mapledurham lock is a lovely bit of river and again quite open and windy. The slipway at Cookham has more room. There are quite a few public slipways on the Thames. Marlow might be interesting but the reach there is shorter between Marlow and Temple locks and less useful for sailing and it is packed with rowers. Cheers MM, I will look those locations up. Unless there is favourable wind and space I think my Thames cruising will mostly be on the outboard.
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Feb 25, 2020 22:07:28 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 22:07:28 GMT
If it's outboard motor dinghy adventures then Lechlade is excellent but it does get weedy past the normal limit of navigation at Inglesham. It depends what you want to do is it it just idling around or longer distances. Another really nice reach for cruising is the reach between Abingdon and Sandford. Slipway below Abingdon bridge. bodger will be able to comment on the situation with regards to slipways on the Thames. All this chat about the Thames. The summer seems so far away with all this wet and cold. I do look forward to a spot of idling in the sun in the floating electric beer drinking platform.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 22:09:51 GMT
A little 2.3 HP Air cooled Honda would be ideal for that lovely little Mirror.
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Feb 25, 2020 22:12:09 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 22:12:09 GMT
The air cooled Honda's are a bit noisy but practical I suppose.
Its also worth considering an electric if you are not in a hurry and can carry extra battery capacity. With the original props the Minn Kota units mince up the weeds not trouble. But they are very slow.
All depends what you want to do.
I have a minn Kota on the floating electric beer drinking platform but I fitted a 9x6 RC plane prop to it to improve efficiency. This does attract weeds but as I mounted the motor shaft on a stainless steel door hinge I can give it a blip of reverse to throw the weed off as the whole thing is free to lift clear of the water. The pieces of weed on the hat is a nuisance but not insurmountable.
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Post by paulhd on Feb 25, 2020 22:14:44 GMT
If it's outboard motor dinghy adventures then Lechlade is excellent but it does get weedy past the normal limit of navigation at Inglesham. It depends what you want to do is it it just idling around or longer distances. Another really nice reach for cruising is the reach between Abingdon and Sandford. Slipway below Abingdon bridge. bodger will be able to comment on the situation with regards to slipways on the Thames. All this chat about the Thames. The summer seems so far away with all this wet and cold. I do look forward to a spot of idling in the sun in the floating electric beer drinking platform. MM, I'm up for Idling or longer distance as long as I'm back to where I started at the end of the day all is good. Are you on the Thames?
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Feb 25, 2020 22:16:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 22:16:52 GMT
I have a couple of boats on the Thames yes.
Last year I was able to do the Limehouse to Lechlade and back run which was nice plus a lot of idling in pleasant reaches.
That River is my idea of heaven when the weather is nice.
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Post by paulhd on Feb 25, 2020 22:20:48 GMT
A little 2.3 HP Air cooled Honda would be ideal for that lovely little Mirror. gazza, I was looking at them. But as mm mentioned in his post they are a little noisy. I have been thinking off getting a 2.5 yamaha, from the videos I have seen they sound a bit quieter. MM, I was offered a electric with one of the Mirror dinghy that I looked at but I think I prefer fuel as I may get out to sea one day and I need something with a bit of ooooomph to get me back.
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Feb 25, 2020 22:25:17 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 22:25:17 GMT
The Yamaha's do seem to get the best comments about being quiet but I wonder if you would be better off with a 4 than a 2.5.
Not sure if you are into secondhand or new but at one point Yamaha did a 4 stroke 4hp outboard which was a bit lighter than the current one. These days the 4 5 and 6 are the same basic unit as with other manufacturers but there was a 4 produced which was lighter. it had an integral tank with a clip for an external tank line as well.
Very handy outboard I suspect.
Of course one of the best outboards is the old Yamaha Malta 3A. If you can find a good one of those it will be perfect. 2 stroke though which some people dislike.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 22:25:58 GMT
A little 2.3 HP Air cooled Honda would be ideal for that lovely little Mirror. gazza, I was looking at them. But as mm mentioned in his post they are a little noisy. I have been thinking off getting a 2.5 yamaha, from the videos I have seen they sound a bit quieter. MM, I was offered a electric with one of the Mirror dinghy that I looked at but I think I prefer fuel as I may get out to sea one day and I need something with a bit of ooooomph to get me back. You won’t want to run either at full tilt, a mirror won’t be the most comfortable thing with an outboard having its neck rung! 2/3 or less throttle won’t give you a headache. The Honda scores massively over the yam at 4 kg lighter and no impeller to look after.
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Post by paulhd on Feb 25, 2020 22:38:54 GMT
You won’t want to run either at full tilt, a mirror won’t be the most comfortable thing with an outboard having its neck rung! 2/3 or less throttle won’t give you a headache. The Honda scores massively over the yam at 4 kg lighter and no impeller to look after. Weight is a good point and 4 kg is a good amount when thinking about the Mirror. My thoughts are it won't be such a problem if I move up a size boat wise. I will have to put more thought into it.
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Feb 25, 2020 22:45:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2020 22:45:54 GMT
My favourite small outboard is the older type Honda BF2. It's an air cooled power head but has a water cooled exhaust. There is an impeller it pumps water up to the base of the power head and out of a hole immediately below. It's an interesting solution as it does make the motor a little bit quieter. Some of the noise of the new Honda 2.3 comes from the above water exhaust holes in the leg.
It also means that you can get away with a fouled impeller as the motor itself is air cooled so it will run at reduced power without problems. It's only at wider throttle openings that the water cooled exhaust becomes necessary as the removal of heat becomes more critical.
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Post by paulhd on Feb 26, 2020 8:59:44 GMT
Lechlade looks great. I will do a recce and treat the Mrs to a pub lunch. During my searching I came across a site called boat launch. Not sure if it has been updated recently. www.boatlaunch.co.uk/#/map
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Post by JohnV on Feb 26, 2020 12:46:46 GMT
In nice weather you can have an awful lot of fun just buggering about in a small boat
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Post by paulhd on Feb 26, 2020 16:01:48 GMT
In nice weather you can have an awful lot of fun just buggering about in a small boat I also like the idea that it is possible to go to different parts of the country in no time.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2020 16:20:37 GMT
That's excellent !!
If someone asks you how fast it is say "well, upside down it does sixty or more".
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