
Hello Derek,
Re your comments about the mooring of the Medway Queen. I think you will find three mooring ropes to the bows. Albeit seems quite an unusual way to moor, it suite the conditions present on the site.
But first things first, the site is in a creek, just off the river Medway, the mooring are a bit antiquated to say the least. Being the only place that we were able to move the old girl from Chatham Dockyard ii 1987, and free of charge to do so, from the owner being David Dunwell. Great guy put up with us for nearly twenty years.
However the quay is rather old and it was necessary to moor with two ropes at the bow, the third is moored back to the old concrete barge, to prevent the paddler from moving to far forward.
The aft is moored in the same way, which you cannot see; we also have an anchor out on to the mud flats on the Starboardside, to stop her moving in to far on shore.
The concrete barge is needed to keep her right away from the quay, if not there at high tides, always a danger of the sponson ending over quay, and being caught up with the receding tide, tipping the old girl over, god forbid. This in fact did happen to the ‘Waveley’ some years ago, with quite a lot of costly damage.
As ever necessity is the ‘Mother of Invention’, one thing for sure we have leant on this on going project, albeit seeming odd to some at times.
Len Knight MQPS