Current on the River Rhine

[capcook]

Has anyone motored up the River Rhine from the North Sea to the River Main ? I have seen this river in a couple of places in Europe, it always seems to have a VERY strong current... I was just wondering about the feasibility of taking a large CAT up this river, would I have enough power to make any headway ? Has anyone had experience here ?

Thanks

[Rick R]

Go to:

Le reve report

This is a trawler now on the Rhine

[multihullsailor6]

Having learnt sailing on the river Rhine in Cologne and sailed and motored to and from Rotterdam I can tell you that the normal flow is around the 5km/h mark, i.e. 3kts. It is thus perfectly feasible to motor your cat upstream with it's mast taken down. The typical thing to do when motoring upstream is to use the inside of curves in the river as there is less current there. Please be aware that after the town of Koblenz the river narrows for an approx. 50 km stretch and the current increases dramatically to around 8 - 10 km/h, plus as there are many rocks to be found it is imperative to stick to the channels - you might even need a pilot.
In contrast the river Main has been dammed and is slow flowing all the way to the Main - Danube canal.
You should also note that on European Inland Waterways you need to have a licence (CEVNI) and a VHF set equipped with ATIS, the inland communication system.

[capcook]

Thanks Rick R that is a great link !

Thanks multihull sounds like you know this river well. Is the Rhine wide enough to take an almost 8m beam CAT all the way to Basel?

I assume the Rhine to Main and Danube will accommodate the width. Yes?

[Blue Stocking]

Some interesting reading on the Rhine shipping sites about the exceptionally low water levels.

[multihullsailor6]

capcook,
No probelem at all with your width, the river is used heavily by commercial craft.
Where are you heading for?

[capcook]

Originally Posted by multihullsailor6

capcook,
No probelem at all with your width, the river is used heavily by commercial craft.
Where are you heading for?

We are thinking of making our way from the north sea to the black sea but have friends in Basel we would like to see. First though two things have to fall into place. The co needs to give me a package in the next annual reorganization and 2 I have to buy a boat :-)

But I do think the stars are about to align.

Thanks for your great information.

Cheers

[multihullsailor6]

Originally Posted by capcook

We are thinking of making our way from the north sea to the black sea but have friends in Basel we would like to see. First though two things have to fall into place. The co needs to give me a package in the next annual reorganization and 2 I have to buy a boat :-)

But I do think the stars are about to align.

Thanks for your great information.

Cheers

A nice journey - but after Wiesbaden, where the river Main branches off to the east, the land all the way to Basel is flat and boring. I would recommend you leave your boat in Frankfurt and go overland to Basel to save on a long and boring trip. Hope you do make the trip, have friends who did it in a catamaran some years ago and they enjoyed it.

[DJBLUELADY]

Originally Posted by capcook

Has anyone motored up the River Rhine from the North Sea to the River Main ? I have seen this river in a couple of places in Europe, it always seems to have a VERY strong current... I was just wondering about the feasibility of taking a large CAT up this river, would I have enough power to make any headway ? Has anyone had experience here ?

Thanks

Hello
Last year I passed this trip for 30 days from Guernsey (English Channel), near France, Belgium, via Holland, river Rhine, river Main, channel Main-Danube and down to Belgrade-Serbia. I think I can give you full answers on all of your questions but let me know first do you have in mind sailing or power cat?
Dusko

[capcook]

Originally Posted by DJBLUELADY

Hello
Last year I passed this trip for 30 days from Guernsey (English Channel), near France, Belgium, via Holland, river Rhine, river Main, channel Main-Danube and down to Belgrade-Serbia. I think I can give you full answers on all of your questions but let me know first do you have in mind sailing or power cat?
Dusko

Thank you DJBLUELADY...

What time of the year did you enter the Rhine ? What was the current most of the trip up to the Main... We would be on a 45' CAT with the mast removed... Do you know about what it costs to have a mast shipped down to the Black Sea from Holland ? How long did you take from the time you entered the Rhine til you reached Belgrade ?

Many Thanks

[ByandLu]

Originally Posted by DJBLUELADY

Hello
Last year I passed this trip for 30 days from Guernsey (English Channel), near France, Belgium, via Holland, river Rhine, river Main, channel Main-Danube and down to Belgrade-Serbia. I think I can give you full answers on all of your questions but let me know first do you have in mind sailing or power cat?
Dusko

Hello DJBLUELADY,

would love to hear more about your journey, how long it took, what distance you traveled each day, security in serbia, current along the Rhine.

We'll be picking up in Holland and heading from there to the black sea.

any tips, ideas or pointers would be appreciated

thanks

[Tringa21]

Interested in this thread. I am planing to return to live in Stuttgart for some time and knowing that the current on the Rhine can be fairly swift had thought that It may be better to travel through the french canals to join the rhine near Strasbourg and then take the Rhine down to the Neckar. As I have a displacement monohull I expect this would be economical in comparison to fighting the Rhine all the way from the north sea.Any thoughts?

Richard