Kiel canal singlehanded?

[NkdSailor]

Cheers,

Anyone where who has transited the Kiel canal singlehanded? Is it allowed? Is it doable? Watching some videos I see low pontoons and mooring rings in the locks, and that's not ideal...

 

[johnalison]

Cheers,

Anyone where who has transited the Kiel canal singlehanded? Is it allowed? Is it doable? Watching some videos I see low pontoons and mooring rings in the locks, and that's not ideal...

I’ve never done it single-handed but see no reason why you shouldn’t. You are right about the low pontoons in the locks but they are spacious and you should have plenty of time to sort yourself out. I have generally found German sailors to be sociable and helpful and you may well get assistance, especially if your German is better than mine. You could try flying the single-handed pennant, numeral something or other I think, that the Dutch use, and there is always the chance of tying onto another boat. The locks are pretty sheltered usually, though I once had 30 knots up our backside when going into Holtenau once. There are various places to break the long canal trip and our favourite was the club marina in Rendsberg.

 

[capnsensible]

I've only done the Kiel Canal once on a fully crewed yacht, the crew all having epic hangovers. And it rained. A lot.

 

[ANDY_W]

I've done it four times singlehanded, two heading north and two the other way. I had no problems. Just make sure that you are rigged to moor either side so that you go where it best suits. No turbulence in the locks except from propellor wash. Try not to moor immediately astern of a freighter!
The last time I arrived at the lock and radioed to ask when next open. The reply was " I open the gates now ". In a lock sized to accommodate dreadnoughts, I was the only vessel, all 31 feet!
If you haven't used the canal before, be aware that when you are overtaken by a freighter the water level can drop by a metre or more due displacement effects. Just keep well out from the bank at those times so that you don't go aground.
The pennant used there for solo sailors is the ' no 1' pennant. There is no legal significance but it might lead to more assistance when mooring. I didn't bother myself.

 

[johnalison]

I've done it four times singlehanded, two heading north and two the other way. I had no problems. Just make sure that you are rigged to moor either side so that you go where it best suits. No turbulence in the locks except from propellor wash. Try not to moor immediately astern of a freighter!
The last time I arrived at the lock and radioed to ask when next open. The reply was " I open the gates now ". In a lock sized to accommodate dreadnoughts, I was the only vessel, all 31 feet!
If you haven't used the canal before, be aware that when you are overtaken by a freighter the water level can drop by a metre or more due displacement effects. Just keep well out from the bank at those times so that you don't go aground.
The pennant used there for solo sailors is the ' no 1' pennant. There is no legal significance but it might lead to more assistance when mooring. I didn't bother myself.

It is usually OK to keep what seems a natural distance from the bank but there are some areas marked by signs when a greater distance is needed, something like 25m, which I judged by imagining boats lying across ahead of me. I don't remember much trouble from passing ships, though one's SOG can change by a knot or more.

There is a cafe by the transporter bridge where a chap in a cabin reads out details of every vessel passing, what its load is and its destination. If you are lucky you might even get your national anthem played as you pass, which only happened once for us. Worth a visit if you have a bike. There is a similar read-out at Cuxhaven.

 

[NkdSailor]

I've done it four times singlehanded, two heading north and two the other way. I had no problems. Just make sure that you are rigged to moor either side so that you go where it best suits. No turbulence in the locks except from propellor wash. Try not to moor immediately astern of a freighter!
The last time I arrived at the lock and radioed to ask when next open. The reply was " I open the gates now ". In a lock sized to accommodate dreadnoughts, I was the only vessel, all 31 feet!
If you haven't used the canal before, be aware that when you are overtaken by a freighter the water level can drop by a metre or more due displacement effects. Just keep well out from the bank at those times so that you don't go aground.
The pennant used there for solo sailors is the ' no 1' pennant. There is no legal significance but it might lead to more assistance when mooring. I didn't bother myself.

Thank you so much for sharing! And ok, if one is (at least somewhat) free to choose the mooring side, it gets easier. Jumping off of the boat (and especially getting back on it ) when it's being blown away is not ideal.

 

[johnalison]

Thank you so much for sharing! And ok, if one is (at least somewhat) free to choose the mooring side, it gets easier. Jumping off of the boat (and especially getting back on it ) when it's being blown away is not ideal.

I think that you may not have appreciated quite how big the locks are! There will be a massive great wall alongside, not to mention buildings and trees around, and you won't get blown off whatever the weather. It is occasionally not possible to choose a side if you have to share the lock with small coasters or excursion boats. Basically, you are on holiday, so enjoy it.

 

[Jules W]

My advice is to be prepared for how long and boring it is. Think about stopping half way at rendsberg... quite a nice town. Then there are some great moorings not far from the canal entrance at the kiel end.

 

[johnalison]

My advice is to be prepared for how long and boring it is. Think about stopping half way at rendsberg... quite a nice town. Then there are some great moorings not far from the canal entrance at the kiel end.

As a rule I find all canals boring, compared to being at see, but the Kiel canal is often attractive and there are points of interest as well as the odd ferry jumping out at you to keep you awake. There is often plenty of wildlife around such as Egyptian geese and the odd merganser perhaps. There is usually a buzzard or two around and I have seen eider duck within a mile of the river Eider, which amused me at the time.

I agree that a break at Rendsberg is worthwhile. As I said, we usually stopped at the SC near the town, which is a handy place to refuel and the club serves good meals. It is not far into the pleasant town and there is a good supermarket also nearby. An alternative is to anchor in the lagoon whose name escapes me, but that is only a few miles from Holtenau. Once through into the fjord we usually stopped at Laboe or Moltenort, both fine.

 

[NkdSailor]

I think that you may not have appreciated quite how big the locks are! There will be a massive great wall alongside, not to mention buildings and trees around, and you won't get blown off whatever the weather. It is occasionally not possible to choose a side if you have to share the lock with small coasters or excursion boats. Basically, you are on holiday, so enjoy it.

You are right! And I like the holiday idea, I'll go with that

 

[KevinT1]

We came through the Kiel Canal earlier this year and found it completely different to any other canal.

The canal is fine and quite pleasant, the locks can be more challenging :

1. Commercial Vessels enter the lock first, then any “Sportsboats”. On our trip the lock keepers at both ends waited until there were 10 or 12 “sportsboats” before were allowed to enter the lock
2. The “pontoons” are 2 metres wide ( so you have to get off your boat ) and designed to keep freighters away from the lock walls and are almost awash and very slippery. You can moor to them or the rising chains.
3. Even though we had our fenders as low as possible, We found they were were squeezed out as the pontoon was so low and the yachts profile meant there was no vertical profile.
4. We did have wind affecting the yachts, in particular it blew up our stern and eddied around the commercial vessels. It didn’t help that a squall went through !
5. As a single hander, it may be better to raft alongside another yacht in the locks

A German ahead of us trying to do everything single handed ended up at 45 degrees and wedged between the pontoon and the adjacent Freighter. He then wrapped a mooring rope around his prop.

The speed limit is the same for both Freighters and Sportsboats, so whilst they may look like they are going to overtake you, they never do.

We overnighted at the Eider Canal branch, free mooring, peaceful and you can pay your transit fee to the lock keeper

You can download a booklet of the Kiel Canals website giving mooring places etc,

 

[NkdSailor]

We came through the Kiel Canal earlier this year and found it completely different to any other canal.

The canal is fine and quite pleasant, the locks can be more challenging :

1. Commercial Vessels enter the lock first, then any “Sportsboats”. On our trip the lock keepers at both ends waited until there were 10 or 12 “sportsboats” before were allowed to enter the lock
2. The “pontoons” are 2 metres wide ( so you have to get off your boat ) and designed to keep freighters away from the lock walls and are almost awash and very slippery. You can moor to them or the rising chains.
3. Even though we had our fenders as low as possible, We found they were were squeezed out as the pontoon was so low and the yachts profile meant there was no vertical profile.
4. We did have wind affecting the yachts, in particular it blew up our stern and eddied around the commercial vessels. It didn’t help that a squall went through !
5. As a single hander, it may be better to raft alongside another yacht in the locks

A German ahead of us trying to do everything single handed ended up at 45 degrees and wedged between the pontoon and the adjacent Freighter. He then wrapped a mooring rope around his prop.

The speed limit is the same for both Freighters and Sportsboats, so whilst they may look like they are going to overtake you, they never do.

We overnighted at the Eider Canal branch, free mooring, peaceful and you can pay your transit fee to the lock keeper

You can download a booklet of the Kiel Canals website giving mooring places etc,

Thank you! And thank you also for the inspirational story about the German sailor

 

[johnalison]

He is right about the pontoons being too low for fenders. At the base there are baulks of timber which you will probably lie against. These are sodden and fairly soft and unlikely to do any damage.

To your port, not too far from Brunsbuttel, there is an attractive inlet with a bathing beach and some mooring piles. I have never had the courage to stop there but it looks quaint. The water is reputedly pretty clean, though a peaty colour.

 

[Beelzebub]

My only attempt at the Kiel Canal was abandoned a few hundred yards from leaving Brunsbuttel.. The engine cooling water sucked up slush from the frozen canal and blocked the inlet filter.

We ended up going back out to sea and around the north of Denmark. The Skagerrak was frozen solid all the way from Skagen to Sweden but at least the ice was solid and didn't block our cooling water inlet. It was slow going though!

 

[Bodach]

Yes, doable single-handed, and a stop half-way is good advice.

I found the locks quite manageable. However, single-handing the pile berths in Rendsberg with a cross-wind proved quite a challenge....

Good luck!