Zeeland to IJmuiden

[Poecheng]

I have done Roompotsluis with a 19+m airdraft.
It took me quite a bit of working out whether it would all work ok (also because I think it is Amsterdam tides) but it is simple and the lockkeepers are excellent and can judge it to a mm.
If you come in from the low water end, you drive through and under the bridge and wait on the other side of the bridge until the level rises and out you go. If coming in from high water end (as we did coming from land towards sea), you drive into the lock but stop before the bridge, levels drop, pass under bridge and out.
I fretted and read everything I could (I think Reeds turned out to have the best description!) but when we got there, lockkeeper said he was preparing for us, to come in and follow intstructions, and it all went well. We didnt have to wait the hours we were expecting.

 

[MK101]

The shallower bits on the standing mast route are mostly in the part beyond the Ijsselmeer, through Friesland and beyond. You go back into the inland system from the Ijsselmeer via Lemmer or Stavoren, and can exit at Lauwersoog or go on through Groningen to Delfzijl. The maximum draft is given as 2.5 metres - but we went through parts last year with a draft of 1.9 (happily lifting to 1.1) and certainly touched the mud at one or two points. The deeper commercial barge route in the north goes under some fixed bridges so won't be available for you. Also note if you exit at the Laurentzsluis or Den Oever then you still have to take note of the very tidal area of the Waddenzee. It's perfectly possible to get to sea with your draft, but needs some careful planning especially getting out beyond the islands.

Going to back to exiting via Rotterdam, we used English on the VHF and it was fine, but we do understand Dutch so could get the overall picture from listening. The route gets increasingly tidal as you head up the Spui, and the streams can be very powerful in the Nieuwe Waterweg ie the bit that takes you down to the sea through Hoek van Holland etc. The HP33 tidal stream atlas is absolutely invaluable in Dutch waters and provides very clear imaging. You can download it for free here NLTides - HP33D but I much prefer it in book form.

 

[westhinder]

The Staande Mast route is ok with our draught of 2.1 m coming from the south as far as the IJsselmeer. Further north ( to either Lauwersoog or Delfzijl) it is too shallow for us . Markermeer and IJsselmeer are both fine. You will get used to sailing with 1 m under the keel. Exiting through the Lorentzsluizen into the Waddenzee is straightforward, you just have to calculate the tides because the Boontjes channel is indeed shallow.
Poecheng is absolutely right about the Roompotsluis, and you will find that lockkeepers in general are very helpful.
As for the Slijkgat channel, exiting via the Goereesesluis, it has a couple of shallower patches, so it is best to have a good rise of tide, and at the outer end you have to resist the temptation to cut the corner, as the sandbank is extensive and has some very shallow patches. Which means you will get the feeling you are making a long detour as you can see the Maasvlakte (port of Rotterdam) behind you.
Crossing Rotterdam harbour entrance you have to report to sector Maasmond and pay attention to entering and departing traffic. The procedure is accurately described in Reeds. Maasmond will assist, but the decision to cross the entrance channel is yours to make.

 

[pawelg]

Hmm based on input you provided I will keep Rotterdam path as plan B - e.g with wind 6B+ on a sea side.

It ends up that I’m back to square one

A. Goereesesluis with narrow Slijkgat channel
B. Roompotsluis with tight lock but helpfull lockmaster

 

[michael_w]

Or Oosterschelde, Veerse Meer, Walcheren Canal, Vlissingen. No problems with air draught this way. Convenient diesel at Middleburg.

Wait for weather, then the North Sea. Sometimes one has to go in the wrong direction to make quick progress!

 

[Alicatt]

We bought our boat at the brokers Kappers which is alongside Volkeraksluis, as you say there is no lifting bridge at the pleasure boat sluis and quite a few yachts used the commecial sluis to get the opening bridge.

Volkerak commercial sluis

 

[sailorman]

I will be planning to go from Zeeland to IJmuiden and have a question to guys who knows the region. The boat is 19.4m high, draft 2.05m
What I see there are two possible routes:
A. via Goereesesluis
B. via Roompotsluis

Route A has a few locks and bridges: Grevelingensluis, Krammersluizen, Volkeraksluizen, Haringvlietbrug and finally Goereesesluis. Due to size of the boat both Krammersluizen and Volkeraksluizen would require commercial route not yachts passage (is it a problem?).
Route B sounds easier, but Roompotsluis has a fix bridge with 18.2 (HW) up to 21m (LW), which would require precise timing to pass (approx 2hour window during high water). On top what I read there is strong tidal streams.

Which route would you go? ... or should I consider a round via Rotterdam -> Amsterdam with countless number of locks and bridges

its eitherthe normal "staande mast route" in my lst tour we locked out @stellendam &had a wonderful sail t0ijmuiden with a nice offshore breeze resulting in a flat sea, a merorable trip, for all the right reasons, nice sunny day, with wind from the right direction
idyllic sailing

 

[sailorman]

We bought our boat at the brokers Kappers which is alongside Volkeraksluis, as you say there is no lifting bridge at the pleasure boat sluis and quite a few yachts used the commecial sluis to get the opening bridge.
View attachment 189669
Volkerak commercial sluis

my 16.1 air draft is no issue @the volkerak slius, plenty of clearence under the fixed bridge

 

[sailorman]

It depends how much time you have. In theory, you will be going the ‘wrong’ way in both directions if the prevailing easterlies-before-westerlies pattern occurs, which it might, or might not. Therefore, you just have to be flexible. For the north of Holland my preference, from Walton, was to go via Lowestoft to Ijmuiden which is a fairly easy route which we could do in day-trips. This will get you to Ijmuiden in two days if the weather allows, and then you have the rest of your time to go Dutch, and could even visit the Frisians in a three-week cruise. Westerlies on the return were almost always a problem for us, meaning going via inland Holland and usually Blankenberg, which we preferred to Ostend.

Suggest you get the Water Map Live app for the Netherlands in which you enter your boat dimensions and airdraft then use the route planner. It's very good. Water Map Live - Routes, AIS - Apps on Google Play

the volkerak sluis has a commercial sluis vhf control for permissionto use it