river rhine

[anderson]

how far can you sail up the rhine,we need 15 mtr air draft,we would enter at ijmuiden.

 

[Thamesbank]

You are quite crazy.
The Rhine is a fast-flowing commercial river.
You will be squashed and then arrested.
Ijmuiden is also on the North Sea canal leading to Amsterdam...

 

[Alfie168]

Or..you will see a lot of the same place as you tack back and forth against the current..if you are lucky.

In all the photos you have ever seen of the Rhine, have you ever seen a sailing boat. I havn't, but I stand to be corrected.

Tim

 

[heerenleed]

First: lesson in geography. The Rhine enters the Netherlands E of Nijmegen. Soon it splits up, the biggest flow following the R. Waal, the real Rhine following towards Arnhem, where it splits again, the IJssel river going N and the real Rhine flowing W. If you follow the Rhine, it changes names near Amerongen. The main flow continues as R. Lek towards Rotterdam. the original Rhine, now called Oude Rijn (old Rhine) continues NW towards Utrecht and finally ends near Katwijk on the North Sea (no entrance, blocked by pumping station).

Back to the main river, the R. Waal. This continues W until it intertwines with the other Great River, the R. Maas which comes from France and Belgium where it is called Meuse. After the "junction" the river is called Merwede and gradually it enters the great Delta area W and SW of Rotterdam. The third Great River, Schelde, comes from Belgium and, together with the Maas and Merwede combination, it forms which is one of our greatest cruising grounds: Zeeland.

So if you insist on sailing and keeping your mast up, you can get as far as

1. R. Merwede and Waal: Zaltbommel (fixed bridge, 9.20 m airdraft)
2. R. Lek and Rijn (Rhine) Vianen (fixed bridge, 9.20 m airdraft)
3. R. Maas: great traffic bridges near Moerdijk on the Hollands Diep, or, if you make the detour via Dordrecht and up the Beneden Merwede, down the Nieuwe Merwede and up the Amer, you can make it as far as Raamsdonksveer traffic bridge (airdraft 9.20 m again)

as you see, the standard height of the bridges is 9.2 m.

Question is, where do you want to go.
On the rivers, generally you are allowed to sail, but only if you can keep to the stbd side of the river. You must have your engine stand-by (which means it must be ready to start) and you are not allowed to tack. The widest river, the R. Waal is also the fastest flowing and the busiest, here enormous tows are constantly flying all over the place. You will feel like driving a horse and carriage on a busy motorway full of lorries in rush hour. I have done it with smaller yachts which had the possibility of lowering the mast, and I assure you, it is not the most relaxing waterway. The Lek-Rhine is very pleasant, not too busy, the IJssel going N at Arnhem is a gem, but fast flowing, but the combination of the Lek-Rhine IJssel give you a circuit-possibility, but only if you can lower your mast...

So... Think carefully. If you really want to do it and need more info, PM

cheers
Peter

 

[Alfie168]

Well there I am corrected...My excuse..I didn't see a lot of it when I cycled round Holland many moons ago...

Thanks for educating me Peter

Tim

 

[heerenleed]

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gifHi Tim. My father was a teacher, and I never seem to be able to retain myself /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. But seriously, Anderson's question was probably ment seriously and sailing our Great Rivers can be done if you have the right boat and you know what you are doing. There even is an association of river sailors over here. Actually, it can be fun and quite exciting cheating the current using the eddies between the 'breakwaters' along the shores.....
And our rivers are all very scenic..
Anyway, maybe something to put on your wishlist next.

cheers