Recent content by Andrewells

Where do old boats go to die? I do not remember seeing a breakers yard at the head of the river. How many have you seen being burnt and you cant just go out and sink a boat anywhere!

Ijsselmeer summer If you are stopping at Amsterdam then Sixhaven is best. They will usually manage to squeeze you in! Then there are free ferries directly to the main city centre railway station. On the Meers you will not go far wrong with Volendam,Hoorn and Enkhuisen. On the south side...

Rough weather and Dutch cruiser While it may not be acceptable, it may often be unavoidable in heavy weather. While I only have a 35' Dutch steel cruiser , mine was designed for inland waterways and estuaries. It has a fairly shallow draft(1 metre) and is displacement(and therefore goes at...

Auto Bilge Pump I have also been interested in this thred as i have been planing an auto bilge pump. One of the obvious dangers is the drain on the batteries and this going unnoticed. My solution to this was to buy a GSM Auto dialer so that if the pump auto switched on I would get a telephone...

Euro Account While on the subject of Euro accounts if one has a Euro account in one EU country can one use the cheques from it in another eu country if one moves on? I have heard in the past that there could be problems (due to the equivalent of cheque processing) but I may be out of date. Many...

There are always the houseboats on the south side of the River Adur at Shoreham but you may consider this to be a different kettle of fish!! Well worth a walk along the tow path. I have to say it is a little time since I visited.

Thank you for your thoughts In fact the handheld I bought was a Standard Horizon and i contacted them for help and they sent me the following links http://www.wfyc.co.uk/Cruising/CruisingAbroad/RAINWATATIS/tabid/104/Default.aspx http://www.rainwat.bipt.be/rainboat.html I have to admit...

I am rather hoping that someone can give me a little insight into what has become something of a challenge to me! I am English but have been using my boat in Holland for several years. I have only had a handheld VHF on the boat, which has been quite sufficient to contact bridgemasters and...

I have a 2 switch Tecma toilet on my boat that has up till now worked well. Just as i was leaving the boat to return to the UK I went to flush it through a couple of times with fresh water and it appeared to develop a fault. When the after use button is pressed there is a dual action. Firstly...

I am present coming south through Holland along the River Maas hoping to cross Belgium and enter France along the river Meuse. I would like to winter in north east France but have heard that the river Meuse sometimes floods and boatyards to over-winter are difficult to find. I have also heard...

It all depends on how much time you have.My boat is at Akkrum and I hope to head south via Zwolle,Arnhem and Maastricht later this year. If you have more time then go via Amsterdam ,Haarlem and the Delta areas. There are canals across Belgium from there but I have not done them yet.

I have had my boat in Holland for a year and a half now and bought a handheld GPS to help get me there. I have not used it since as the local charts are sufficient. I have no other navigational equipment. Your skills will be pilotage.A vhf (hand held or fixed )can be useful to call bridgemasters.

Just a quick note to thank you for your thoughts and contribution. They are appreciated.

I am considering a solar panel to maintain/trickle charge my engine battery.(110 Amp) I am away from the boat for 2/3 weeks at a time. Is it possible to know how much charge a battery loses on average over a week of inactivity? Is it posible to estimate an average percentage of a given rating...

I am fitting out a steel hull where the anodes are connected to the hull on welded studs. Should the engine which is earthed directly to the battery be isolated from the hull? I am worried that stray electrical currents will eat away my anodes faster than they should! Is this a dream or a...