Sailboat Transfer in Netherlands - NO EXPERIENCE -

[Reddai]

Originally Posted by bustermaw

Hi Marco & Elizabeth
[...]
The first time I did the French canals to the mediterranean all I had was the AA road book of Europe to guide me and the kind help of other travellers.

Wow this is very interesting, we have the crazy idea to bring her to the mediterranean sea in three years when we will move back to Italy...

Originally Posted by bustermaw

If you pay someone else you will miss out on a great adventure. Also you will be a thousand euros poorer. ( not everyone has the wherewithal to part with that amount of money without a seconds thought ).
May I say also that if you have bought the boat that you love why would you want to send it by road , unless of course , you are short of time.
With best wishes

you got the two points I was thinking about

Marco

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by Reddai

That said, someone told me also that entering the sluices with the mast lowered might be challenging...

Entering isn't the problem, but once you're moored (docked? Not sure what it's called in a lock ), you have to watch out for the mast, it may hit the walls.

My boat is nearly 9 meter, with a 12 meter mast. So as soon as she starts moving a bit (and she will, with her "chubby cheeks"), the mast will grind against the wall when it's in 'traveling mode'. Which is why I didn't sail her solo with the mast down, but brought a friend. Makes it a lot easier to keep an eye on both the lines and the mast

[Sea Angel1]

Hi there,
Since you have a new boat, you must gain experience. So do that. You can get good information at the ANWB, google and you may call them.
The time in the year is not optimal, and cold, but this identical w or w/o a skipper.
Save the money and do learning by doing. Wach the weather forecast though.
Every yacht harbour will give you who to contact, if the ANWB ids difficult to contact.
b y truck, oh never. . But depending how long you sail every day. gOod luck and happy sailing.

[Horus]

Marco and Elisabeth,


You can do the voyage to Roermond yourself. So far you can steer the the boat. With the mast down you will need a hand held VHF.
For navigation you need a pc with GPS an "Opencpn" installed with the free waterway charts also installed. Before every voyage you check if lock's and bridges will open during the time you like to pass. On nearly all rivers you will have the current against (you are sailing up-hil)
Practical:
Download Opencpn for free on:
OpenCPN | Official OpenCPN Homepage
Download the free Dutch Waterway charts (ENC'S / Nederland) on:
ENC - Fairway Information Services
Waterway information on:
Operating times and waterway features - Fairway Information Services


General there is the site Nautin.nl with a lot of information included all links you need.


When ever you need more information / explanation you can sent me a PM. I'm living just near the river IJssel (you are going to pass here) and experienced sailor. Also for technical help while passing here, stop in our small harbour, I'm available for help.
Have a good voyage.

[bustermaw]

What a nice and helpful man is "Horus "
See , I told you Marco , there are lot's of friendly fellow travellers.
Take no notice of the " safety freeks "If you do you will never get anything done.
I don't know about the Dutch canals but in the French ones we used to use car tyres for fenders as the locks were too rough for normal fenders.
I don't know about the post that says the mast keeps scraping against the lock,perhaps they should try mounting it fore and aft instead.
Yes, it's much better to have two of you for those " panicky " moments when you didn't do it quite right.Always remember , keep calm and don't shout at the crew.
Try to keep as far away as possible from the big barges and their prop wash.
It can be quite unnerving to be in a small boat a few feet away from a rather large propeller that is out of the water to a large extent.
If you need any help post me

Kind regards

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by bustermaw

I don't know about the Dutch canals but in the French ones we used to use car tyres for fenders as the locks were too rough for normal fenders.
I don't know about the post that says the mast keeps scraping against the lock,perhaps they should try mounting it fore and aft instead.

Normal fenders will work just fine in the Dutch locks

No, the mast doesn't keep scraping against the wall, but as mine is a lot longer than the boat, so you have to keep an eye on it. We did, so it never even touched the walls. But it would have if we hadn't been careful, so I wanted to make sure the OP was aware.

[bustermaw]

Sorry Lizzy Belle
Please excuse my schoolboy humour.Sometimes it gets the better of me.