Canals

[Jacket]

There's a lot of talk about the French canals to the med. What about the rest of Europe? The reason is I'll be bringing a small (25 foot) boat back from Kiel this coming September, and don't really fancy the long windward slogs down the North sea. Is there a canal network extending from Germany to Holland or France? If so, is it expensive, and can anyone recomend a good pilot book about them?

 

[chrisc]

our plan this year is to go through Keil canal -cuxhaven and then a 60mile stretch down to
Nordeney,then to Delfzijl ,30mile?, and enter canal system .
I would have thought that with a 25 ft boat (what depth?) and if one was brave ,you could go
on the inside of the fresians and visit those harbours which the bigger boats can't get in.
once you are in the canal system at Delfzijl it is an easy trip to amsterdam and from there
to rotterdam or other places on channel coast.I believe it is possible to enter at delfzijl and
come out on channel coast without even taking the mast down.

 

[heerenleed]

Germany and Netherlands
Yes, you can go all the way from Kiel to the Med through the canal systems. From Kiel you use the Kieler Canal to the Elbe, then from Otterndorf on the Elbe to Bremerhaven (don't know the name of the canal), then up the Weser to Oldenburg and then the Küstenkanal which gets you to the river Ems, from there pick up the so-called Staande Mast Route which can bring you as far as Vlissingen in the extreme south-west of the Netherlands. Mind you, to use the canal system through Northern Germany you must unstep the mast and the water depth is limited.

Belgium and France
If you do not draw over 1,5 metres you can leave the Dutch "Staande Mast Route" shortly after Dordrecht, go up the Maas river (Meuse in French), into Belgium and through the French canals to join the river Saone which joins the Rhone in Lyon. All this, of course, with your mast lowered.

Costs
There is a fee for the Kieler Canal. As far as I know, the other German canals are free, as is the complete Dutch canal system. If you decide to pass through Amsterdam you must pay a transit fee. I think it now is some 10 euros. Passing through Amsterdam only at night and in convoy. Quite an experience if you haven't done this yet, but also quite straight forward. Just follow the others.

For the French inland waterways you need a vignette. I do not know the actual price, but any proper tourist association can provide you with the essential information. It won't cost you a fortune. And there are many free mooring places along the shores. It is probably cheaper than spending one week in any British marina.

If you cannot find the information about the German canals, please let me know. Many Dutch use them to go to the Baltic and back, there must be loads of written info over here.

Let me know your draught and max. height with lowered mast.
I can probably find out easily if you can make it all the way to the med through the canals






Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Netherlands