Planning for next year!

[johnalison]

Re then box mooring. I did a page in our web site www.stonemoorings.com for our members prior to our Dutch cruise on box moorings
Unfortunately covid scotched the plans
However, the article may be of interest & the link of how I did it single handed is in the page
Box mooring

I did an article for PBO on a simple gadget for hooking a line to the inset bollards made from 15mm plastic pipe & an extendable paint roller handle. The grooves in the Osma pipe were made with a fine saw & dremel & tidied up with the sanding attachment.
here are the photos from the article to give one the idea. So far I have used it in the lock at Flushing when SH & it worked well. it is cheap & easy to make & would do for a months holiday in the canals and is nice & light. Can also be used to reach down onto pontoon cleats if one is not so good at lassooing
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I have seen a gadget for that purpose for sale, in Enkhuisen some years ago. It took the form of an unstrung tennis racket with a groove on the outside to accommodate a line. I didn’t feel the need for it at the time but I can see that something like it could be useful occasionally. With two of us my wife can usually reach the bollard readily from our widest point. Our routine is for her to put the loop of the stern line on first while I hold the tail, and then as we move forward I steer the bow hard in for her to deal with the bow, having moved forward. If I were singlehanded I would aim to tie to another boat or rely on my singlehanded pennant for tolerance from the other boats.

 

[Daydream believer]

I have seen a gadget for that purpose for sale, in Enkhuisen some years ago. It took the form of an unstrung tennis racket with a groove on the outside to accommodate a line. I didn’t feel the need for it at the time but I can see that something like it could be useful occasionally. With two of us my wife can usually reach the bollard readily from our widest point. Our routine is for her to put the loop of the stern line on first while I hold the tail, and then as we move forward I steer the bow hard in for her to deal with the bow, having moved forward. If I were singlehanded I would aim to tie to another boat or rely on my singlehanded pennant for tolerance from the other boats.

That would be this:-

I am told that they are no longer obtainable , hence my construction.
The chap who had it had a wife with bad knees. He kept his boat in Brunisse & had to get out of the lock to go anywhere. He sat her in the bows & she could reach either port or stbd to hook on then just hold the line until he had the stern line sorted.
he did all the Dutch locks like that & found it invaluable because without it he could not go anywhere due to his wife's limitations.

 

[Tradewinds]

That would be this:-
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I am told that they are no longer obtainable , hence my construction.
The chap who had it had a wife with bad knees. He kept his boat in Brunisse & had to get out of the lock to go anywhere. He sat her in the bows & she could reach either port or stbd to hook on then just hold the line until he had the stern line sorted.
he did all the Dutch locks like that & found it invaluable because without it he could not go anywhere due to his wife's limitations.

That's a shame - it looked like a good idea.

It's called the BoGrip and wasn't expensive (for a boaty thing)..

 

[johnalison]

That's the one. Maybe if it had been available twenty years ago I might have got one, mainly for locks. Although we always managed without too much embarrassment, there were odd occasions when it was necessary to loop a bollard just out of reach. The Dutch locks are much more fun than the pansy ones at Ipswich and Shotley.

 

[sailorman]

I have seen a gadget for that purpose for sale, in Enkhuisen some years ago. It took the form of an unstrung tennis racket with a groove on the outside to accommodate a line. I didn’t feel the need for it at the time but I can see that something like it could be useful occasionally. With two of us my wife can usually reach the bollard readily from our widest point. Our routine is for her to put the loop of the stern line on first while I hold the tail, and then as we move forward I steer the bow hard in for her to deal with the bow, having moved forward. If I were singlehanded I would aim to tie to another boat or rely on my singlehanded pennant for tolerance from the other boats.

I copied an ldea from pbo many yrs ago. Strop out the core of plaiton plait and insert a lenght of stiffgalv fencing wire thhis cab be shaped into a hoop pop it over a lock cleat ot pile then pulltight.it will of course rust over time but its disposeable.

 

[sailorman]

We're thinking about heading for Holland next year, and would like to pick the forum's brains!

Starting from Titchmarsh, does Titchmarsh to Lowestoft, then Lowestoft to Ijmuiden sound sensible?

How feasible is it to go up river from Ijmuiden to Amsterdam? I have ICC; do I need the inland waterways addition?

And any other information we might find useful!

Crew will be myself and my wife, and my daughter and her partner ( the latter two willing but inexperienced).

yes easy don via the northsea canal.no quals ewqthey are srbjecr tk boat length and spd.

 

[sailorman]

Lots of food for thought here. I received the "Inland Waterways of the Netherlands" by Louise Busby and David Broad this morning; again, lots to think about! I'm beginning to wonder about the possibility of going through to Amsterdam, then the IJsselmeer and Markermeer up to Den Helder, then back from there. That looks like there would be plenty of interesting spots on the way, and although Den Helder is an industrial port, it does happen to have some memories for me - I joined a seismic vessel there in the 1970s!

Den helder is the dutch Macvy's pompy

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Given the revival of this thread, I'll give an update!
The unexpected death of my wife in February has put all my plans on hold. I still hope to make it to Holland - my younger daughter and her fiance (husband from Friday!) have offered to crew for me. However, they are totally inexperienced, Nothing will happen until next year. I have spent this year re-equipping Capricious and ensuring she is ready for expeditions further afield!

 

[Dan Tribe]

Just a few random thoughts, so sorry for the drift. Wife and I usually do Burnham, Ramsgate, Nieupoort, Vlissingen, but 3 years ago my 17 year old grand daughter wanted to come with us and bring a friend. With the extra crew I thought it would be good to go direct Burnham to Ijmuiden. I thought we could do watches but the girls keeled over about midnight and left me to it until 5 am.
We arrived about mid day and I thought they would enjoy a day on the beach, but the two girls asked the harbourmaster about things to do and he said the best thing about Ijmuiden was the bus to Haarlem, so off they went.
Ijmuiden has a good beach with several beach pavilions to cater for all tastes. Wife and I had a pleasant day on the beach and dune walks, it's a pleasant low key seaside place.
Returning from Haarlem the two girls discovered that one of the beach bars had an event called "sleezefest" so the got tickets for that and discovered that they could now stay awake past midnight.
Two 17 year old girls in a Dutch nightclub, what could possibly go wrong?
The trip through Amsterdam is pretty straight forward, watch out for crossing ferries and look over your should for overtaking barges. The Orangesluis at the Eastern end gets busy but they had student helpers to give guidance at busy times.
The weed in Markermeer can be a problem, don't know the answer to that, had to keep reversing to clear it.

 

[adamstjohn]

Given the revival of this thread, I'll give an update!
The unexpected death of my wife in February has put all my plans on hold. I still hope to make it to Holland - my younger daughter and her fiance (husband from Friday!) have offered to crew for me. However, they are totally inexperienced, Nothing will happen until next year. I have spent this year re-equipping Capricious and ensuring she is ready for expeditions further afield!

Hi Antartic pilot, hope well.

Did you get to Amsterdam? keen for an update, thinking of going end of may for a week. ta adam

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Hi Antartic pilot, hope well.

Did you get to Amsterdam? keen for an update, thinking of going end of may for a week. ta adam

Haven't made it so far - last year (2022!) was a bit of a wash-out sailing wise, and I've been having upgrades to the boat done.

 

[sailorman]

I've either gone from Southwold (when berthed there) or Levington (SYH Orwell).

I wouldn't bother going from Lowestoft unless already there (for some God foresaken reason).

Passage is straightforward - Southwold is shorter obviously.

Don't need ICC. I always entered at IJmuiden around breakfast time, ignored the marina (expensive), and headed straight for Amsterdam up the canal to get there around mid-day when slots in the marinas become available. Never bothered with Schengen forms - Dutch weren't really interested & have never been asked.

Of course, post-Brexit you might need to stop at IJmuiden to clear in. Marina is OK.

the aeolious club is a n alternative to the six haven, but its back gate opens up to the car park of inexpensive s mrketber their trollies re booby trapped snd 1 wheel locks up beyond crpark boundry?

 

[sailorman]

We're thinking about heading for Holland next year, and would like to pick the forum's brains!

Starting from Titchmarsh, does Titchmarsh to Lowestoft, then Lowestoft to Ijmuiden sound sensible?

How feasible is it to go up river from Ijmuiden to Amsterdam? I have ICC; do I need the inland waterways addition?

And any other information we might find useful!

Crew will be myself and my wife, and my daughter and her partner ( the latter two willing but inexperienced).

its the North se canal, and not a river, but no quals req, and a u should carry almanack vol 1, not that u will be ble to read it in Dutch, but it is available as a free download if you search for it, you can that is acceptable if yourever asked?. It is a ship cnal so large ships cruise ships can be eccountered?

 

[johnalison]

The ships are no problem but it is as well to keep a good lookout for barges. If fully laden they go into stealth mode with only a bow wave to be seen. Some people favour the new Amsterdam marina, which is probably OK if you like modern facilities but my only experience is of being turned away because they were full. I like both the Sixhaven and Aeolus but in both cases it is as well to time your arrival for early in the day. I think the Sixhaven only admits boats from midday. Aeolus is quieter and closer to the better supermarket, and possibly the brewhouse if it is still going. There was talk of the Aeolus being compulsorily purchased to make way for a footbridge but I like to think that this has been abandoned. Sorry if I’m repeating myself.

 

[PeterWright]

Last time we were in Amsterdam, Sixhaven did not admit visitors before noon ans was generally full by 1400 in summer and often full earlier, so timing your arrival is important. It's still my favourite berth in the city.

Peter.

 

[westhinder]

There was talk of the Aeolus being compulsorily purchased to make way for a footbridge but I like to think that this has been abandoned. Sorry if I’m repeating myself.

Last summer the plans were still on the cards, in fact two bridges, both for pedestrians and cyclists. One at the east side of Amsterdam, near Aeolus, the other at the west side, close to Amsterdam Marina. Barges will pass unhindered, but they will only open for yachts and cruise ships a couple of times a day. A date for construction has not yet been set. There will be an extensive consultation.
Sprong over het IJ: Snel, makkelijk, veilig naar de overkant

 

[LittleSister]

I copied an ldea from pbo many yrs ago. Strop out the core of plaiton plait and insert a lenght of stiffgalv fencing wire thhis cab be shaped into a hoop pop it over a lock cleat ot pile then pulltight.it will of course rust over time but its disposeable.

Or simply slip a length of plastic tubing of about the length of the circumference you want (about 2 feet?) over the end of the line, then tie a loop capturing the pipe, which then forms a semi-solid teardrop-shaped loop on the end of the line which you can place/drop/throw over the cleat/bollard or whatever. By use you might find a more optimal thickness/stiffness of tubing, or length of loop for your particular needs, but it costs next to nothing, takes only moments to make, and doesn't rust.

This 'gadget' is left on the end of one my mooring lines, and I use it almost every time I come to moor up against a pontoon, especially single-handed. It's so useful I marvel how rarely I see others I see using one.

A more de-luxe version would incorporate some method of holding it horizontal - but releasable - on the end of your boathook or some other pole.

 

[LittleSister]

However a Dutch acquaintance told me they use a product call Flex Toilet. It is like a large nappy with gel in it that goes over and into your existing toilet.
You do your stuff and fold it up and dispose of it in the rubbish. Chandlers sell them in packs. He did admit that a lot of them actually carry these things so that if they are stopped or inspected they say this is what they use, whilst doing something else. A cunning lot like Baldrick.

Link re said 'Flex Toilet' - Flex-Toilet 10 stuks - Bijdam Watersport

 

[Gargleblaster]

Or simply slip length of plastic tubing of about the length of the circumference you want (about 2 feet?) over the end of the line, then tie a loop capturing the pipe, which then forms a semi-solid teardrop-shaped loop on the end of the line which you can place/drop/throw over the cleat/bollard or whatever. By use you might find a more optimal thickness/stiffness of tubing, or length of loop for your particular needs, but it costs next to nothing, takes only moments to make, and doesn't rust.

This 'gadget' is left on the end of one my mooring lines, and I use it almost every time I come to moor up against a pontoon, especially single-handed. It's so useful I marvel how rarely I see others I see using one.

A more de-luxe version would incorporate some method of holding it horizontal - but releasable - on the end of your boathook or some other pole.

What a brilliant idea. As a single handed sailor I have a major problem trying to elegantly moor into a Baltic Box. Usually get one line fast and by the time I try to cross to the other side the wind has caught me and I am going sideways. Your idea will certainly make it easier it get the first line on before I race over to the other side to try and get the second line on.

 

[johnalison]

Last summer the plans were still on the cards, in fact two bridges, both for pedestrians and cyclists. One at the east side of Amsterdam, near Aeolus, the other at the west side, close to Amsterdam Marina. Barges will pass unhindered, but they will only open for yachts and cruise ships a couple of times a day. A date for construction has not yet been set. There will be an extensive consultation.
Sprong over het IJ: Snel, makkelijk, veilig naar de overkant

Although I will unfortunately not be sailing that way again, I think that is a dreadful plan, which will ruin that passage for yachtsmen. Quite apart from the loss of the excellent Aeolus club, it will cause massive pile-ups of yachts who will be unable to fine-tune their timing to meet bridges and tides. The only sensible answer would be a tunnel such as the one in Antwerp.