Focus on Purchasing Our New Canal Boat - Home Base Delft

Our new home base was to be in the city of Delft. Ken had booked us into this huge, high rise building, Which was part student residence using Booking.com. He made these arrangements before leaving Big Ann. The price was right because the building was being renovated and there was construction in part of the building. Here is a picture taken after renovations were finished.

Photo from HOLLAND2STAY website

The place was truly a luxury apartment in a great setting - Delft. We moved ourselves in and it felt like our home away from home. It had a good sized kitchen so we were able to make meals and eat there.

Delft was a rather big city. We had a rental car so we could explore. After moving ourselves into her apartment we were able to explore the area. Our main objective for the whole trip was to purchase a Canal cruise or so we didn’t go to the tourist sites.

We stopped in downtown Delft to shop. Our rental car was parked in a parkade. Below is a picture in the stairway. The highlight being the Delft, blue pottery. This particular pottery was special as it was rather old. The sheep we saw while driving around that day to look at ship or boat yards. The shepherds had set up temporary fencing for the herd. It appeared that the sheep had a job to do which was to eat back the grass in the area they were assigned to. 

Visits were made to many boat yards. Each night Ken would look on-line to find boats that we should look at, either in our price range on ones that had the criteria we were looking for. At first it was really about price. We were looking at boats that were rather low in price for a canal cruiser but we were looking for a bargain, maybe a miracle. We soon learned that if we did not want to spend a great deal of time and/or money fixing up a boat we had to adjust our price range, maybe our criteria. We or should I say “I” was getting frustrated with looking at junky boats that had no appeal.

I will give a general, description of some of those less than desirable boats. We did not take pictures of boats that did not appeal to us. The junkier boats usually had not been used in a few years so were mossy or dirty or both - on the inside and/or outside. Some had tarps overtop of them because they likely leaked or their windows leaked. Often the layout was odd, for example, the “head” or bathroom was attached to the main bedroom. That would make it uncomfortable for company to use your bathroom, especially at night. Another example of odd layout would be in the main bedroom that has twin beds instead of a double bed or a bed that took up the entire room with no room to put clothes. Keep in mind we plan to live on the boat about four months of the year, we are not the weekend boaters that many of these boats were built for. The less than desirable boats also needed work on the interior such as woodwork that needed to be redone as the sun and dampness had cracked or peeled the varnish. Sometimes someone had painted over the woodwork and had done a poor job at that. Their were lacy curtains, poor kitchen layouts, along with stinky, faded and water stained upholstery. Probably more relevant was the outsides which often needed serious attention - painting or redoing decks, window replacement. I haven’t even touched on the engines and props, etc. Often they were not in as bad shape because they needed to be kept up in order to run the boat. Some motors were on their last legs, however. You get the picture and you can imagine why we did not take any pictures. Our price range adjustment was a hard decision but one that had to be made if we were to actually purchase a boat. 

We did take some time off looking at boats. After all we were in Europe and needed to check out The Netherlands. Even though Delft was in southern Netherlands we sometimes found ourselves up north in the province of Friesland. That is where Alix and Andrew wintered Big Ann, near Sneek. We though we might do the same once we actually had a boat. Netherlands has a small footprint compared to Canada so driving from one end to the other was not a big deal. We did drive to Sneek in our rental car picked below. Gold car does have reasonable car rental rates. 

Our First rental along with the Gold Car Rental office at Schiphol 

Our Second rental. 

Sneek is unique from other cities in northern Holland. It’s biggest distinctive feature is the bridge pictured below.  It has a long and interesting history. This information was gleaned from Wikipedia. The Bridge is called the Waterpoort  and is really a water gate. Sneek used to be a walled city and this Waterpoort is a gate that used to connect to the cities walls. Sneek was on an important trade route between Leeuwarden and Stavoren where North and South Holland could be reached. The city fathers had a harbour built to the southwest of the city of Sneek. This Water gate connected the city and the harbour. The other city walls were demolished in the early 18t century but Waterpoort was left standing. It is so spectacular, so glad they left it standing. 

We saw cats sunning themselves and had to take their pictures. One of the things we noticed in the Netherlands is that there are lots of well cared for cats. These two looked particularity happy and loved. 

Ken had his picture taken by another bridge over the harbour. Nice the bridges in Holland can take pictures. : )

Somedays we stopped and took pictures of a pretty little town on our way to look at a nearby boat. On this day we were off to Kampen. Such beautiful buildings! 

Another interesting, quaint town was Hattem. We definitely went there to look at a particular boat yard. Inside the office was a big, orange cat called Mouse. He was sitting on the counter obviously used to strange people making a fuss over him. Mouse’s “two legged“ said that people come to his boat yard every year to enjoy the company of Mouse. I know I was totally enchanted by this pudgy, orange and white cat. Hattem also had scenery. Windmills are always special to those who rarely get to see them. 

Mouse the cat!

Beautiful, Fall booming  Echinacea

Canal Cruisers in the Running

Netherlands has such an active water culture, different than anything in most of North America. Nearly every town in Holland had a shipyard or marina to either build, repair or store boats. Ken and I looked at dozens of canal cruisers together before purchasing. Ken looked at many boats for the month before I arrived in the Netherlands. Here is just a glimpse into some of the boats we saw that were even close to being a boat we might purchase. We are foggy on the details but these were in the running.

One of the boats we affectionately named Ma and Pa Cruiser. Keep in mind the true name was likely very Dutch so we had trouble pronouncing it let alone remembering it. We sat up an appointment with the sellers. We met at their home. That was impressive to me, being a guest in a Dutch home was a unique experience with tea and sweet treats. Their adult daughter met us at their home as she was more comfortable with English. We drove to a neighbouring town to see the boat which was housed in a locked up marina (some are not very secure). This boat was well cared for mechanically and as was the interior. It had nice upholstery, woodwork and flooring. I do remember that the bathroom was especially nice with a shower and more space than most. The bedroom, however, was disappointing. We looked at this boat twice. Next time the Yacht Broker met us at the boat.

Another boat was nick-named Tobacco Cruiser. The owner smoked on the boat - hence the name. Another negative was there were many ornaments glued down on flat, wooden surface areas. Definitely not to our taste. This boat had a new engine and the interior had been updated. That interior would need to be thoroughly cleaned because of the smoke and maybe the upholstery would have needed to be replaced. I loved the galley, more spacious than most. This boat’s entranceway was off the back deck which was unique. Most canal cruisers have an entranceway on each side with sliding doors. This Boat had lots of pluses and a fully tarped in area for the rear steering  station was one of them. We did not take the following pictures. They were off the Yacht Broker’s website.

The next boat in the running was the Van Der Werff Cruiser. It had been build in the Van Der Werff Shipyard which is still a working boatyard. This boat was built in 1966. The layout of this boat was unique and really grabbed my attention. It had two distinct sleeping areas that were enclosed, creating privacy for sleeping like a bedroom. One of the sleeping areas had a sink in it. The galley and salon were in-between the sleeping quarters. I liked how there was a safe railing around the outside of the outside deck - a plus for the crew (which would be me). The biggest drawback of this boat was the windows needed replacing. That would be approximately a ten thousand Europe job, ugh!

That special layout with the two bedrooms intrigued us until we found our boat.

Our New Home Base - Heeg, Netherlands

Back to our apartment in Delft we realized we had a lot to think about and a big decision to make.


In the mean time we wanted to enjoy our apartment for the short time we remained there. The complex was huge. We had to go to another floor and actually to another building (but didn’t go outside) to do our laundry. Here is another picture of our apartment. We had a good view out that window. Ken was happy to watch a prefabricated building get assembled.

We had to move from this modern, very convenient apartment in the city of Delft, South Holland to the small town of Heeg, Friesland which is in northern Netherlands. We moved up north because this was where the majority of boats that we had found were.They also seemed to have  the best prices.


Our new apartment was in a newly renovated, small and upstairs. The owners lived downstairs and were renovating that part of the house, too. Both owners were friendly and helpful. The house had been built on a canal. During the summer months the owners ran a fish and chips restaurant from their home. From our window we could see a sailboat docked for the winter. There was a huge cage with an inside area for the birds. At first the birds were outside for part of the day. As the weeks went on they were inside the building only because of the cold.

Picture taken from our outside deck. You can see the roof
of the building that housed the birds, rather huge bird house. 

The inside of the Heeg apartment was modern and new. It had been decorated in a nautical theme as you can see below.

Heeg was a town built on a canal. It had several small town grocery stores (including a Co-op), several eating establishments and stores. This town had early roots and had buildings hundreds of  years old and boosted old  style, brick, Dutch homes. 

Restaurant

Not sure about the ages of these homes. I am sure the duplex below is the oldest of the two.

The picture below is of Heeg’s main business street. Some shops had closed for the season. Keep in mind we were there end of October, beginning of November. Even though it was a warmish Fall for the area it was still chilly - sweaters, jackets, gloves and hats needed to be worn much of the day. 

The main type street of Heeg. As you can see it is completely brick-in. The buildings
very close together. 

This house was several centuries old. The year it was built was
written on the front. 

Ken and I would walk from our apartment, over the bridge and into town almost daily. We liked the small town, friendly atmosphere, the beautifully quaint buildings and gardens. The Co-op was a reliable source of fresh veggies, etc. If we waited until after our days adventures to purchase our food for dinner we could have exactly what we were craving at the time. 

Several times while we were there we did major walks out to the lake (Heegermeer). There was a new marina that was closed for the season. We decided we must come back once we are out and about with our new yacht. 

Many days we were in Heeg we would drive the scenic, back country lanes and highways to Drachten. According to Google Maps the drive took 39 minutes, was a 52 kilometre (32 miles) long trip. I say that we drove to Drachten often because we drove many times during our decision making process to check out the last boat we saw with Alix and Andrew. We had really fallen in love with that boat. Even when we looked at it strategically it seemed like the boat for us. 

Searching and Finding With Friends

My October birthday had past. It would have been ideal to have spent it with our good  friends from Canada. Alas, that was not to be! I had fallen and given my back a good jarring. I spent my birthday on ice trying to bring back some semblance of normality (without pain) to my life. My friends were in northern Netherlands, Sneek area, and we were in the south, Delft area. We had to get together to celebrate somehow. On October 23, my precious Sister’s birthday who lives in Saskatchewan, we drove up to Sneek and Big Ann to enlist the guidance of our good friends Alix and Andrew. We mostly were in the province of Friesland for this day’s boat search. We started looking in shipyards in the morning and continued through until close to dinner time. We knew some of the shipyards well enough to remember where the facilities were located. It was a cold, windy day so I was happy our friends continued in earnest to assist us.

Andrew knew so much about the boats when he would look at them and could tell us pluses and minuses. Alix also had such sage knowledge which was so helpful, too.Their point of view and knowledge assisted a great deal. We learned so much that day. Only thing, was we weren’t finding anything suitable. I was getting discouraged and worried about ever finding a boat. The weather had turned much colder, too. Nothing stood out at all until near the end of the day...

We found the Van Der Werff Cruiser, second last boat of the day. We really liked the layout and were excited that something finally clicked when we found this boat. It had some flaws but there was something about it. It was getting late and all of us were cold and tired. After seeing a glimmer of hope we moved on to our last boat of the day in Drachten at Smelne Yacht Centre.

Smelne Marina was huge. The sales person, Henk, was friendly and encouraged us to go out and look at the boat Ken had picked for us to view. Once inside Alix and I swooned over the interior. Fist of all it was laid out in a similar manner to the last boat we saw, having two self-contained sleeping cabins. The guys were looking outside, us girls had it with the cold. The mahogany walls and doors were immaculate as was the nicely appointed upholstery and curtains. I remember Alix sitting on the bed and being amazed by the aft cabin’s spaciousness, storage areas and sink. I was also. I had that sort of butterfly type feeling in my stomach - excitement, maybe we’ve found a winner. The guys liked it, too. This was the last boat of the day but we lingered. Ken even hauled Henk in out in the cold to answer our questions. The guys looked at the engine, too. Then I realized I didn’t know the price, that all important figure making it a “go” or a “no”. Henk said the owner had lowered the price since putting it on the market in April. The price, however, was much higher then we wanted to pay for a boat. The boat was almost ideal for us. I know I was so excited about finding this wonderful boat at Smelne. Oh, what to do? ....so we took Alix and Andrew back to Big Anne and we went for beer and burgers at a pub near to their boat.

Alix and Andrew on Big Ann. When they offered to assist us in finding that boat of our dreams
they were readying their boat for winter storage. Off to Germany for them. 

The pub near Big Ann was called Eetcafé de Buorren and was in Uitwellingerga, Netherlands. You might wonder what a pub in the Netherlands was like? Well, here are a couple pictures taken of the pub off of their Google Maps page.

The food was exquisite, must return! The waiter was friendly and obviously knew our friends that had been regular customers. During our delicious meal we talked about the boats we had seen but mostly about the boat at Smelne. Ken and I loved it but were way hesitant because of the price. We certainly needed to sleep on the thought of that boat before making any decisions. Once finished supper we said thanked our buddies And said so long. Now back to Delft, about an hour and fifty minute drive.

Sailing on the Ocean Blue and on the Canals with Amigos

Ken and I were meeting our good friends, Alix and Andrew from a small island off the coast of  British Columbia, Canada, in the Netherlands. We had not seen them for over half a year.  They had gotten married since we had seen them last. We drove in our rented car from where we were camping (southern Netherlands somewhere) to Harlingen to catch a ferry. We were going to the island of Terschelling, off the Netherland’s coast.  The ferry ride reminded us of all the ferry rides we had taken from our home on an island into the city and back. We were headed to their boat, a British motorsailer. Neither of us had been in such a boat and were really looking forward to our experience.

Once we arrived in West-Terschelling, where Alix and Andrew were harboured, all of us headed to Big Ann, their sail boat. We are in the Netherlands to buy a boat for ourselves. Our present experience is not only to get together with friends but to gain knowledge about boating, navigating and what is needed in a boat when we make our purchase. Those first few days were definitely all about being with friends and just enjoying our visit. We had not been to coastal, small towns in the Netherlands. This trip changed that fact and gave us a view into further boating experiences.

We talked, walked, ate out and explored their boat and the immediate harbour. Our nightly accommodation was just off the galley of Big Ann. Each night we made the bed and each morning took down our bed. Meals could easily be put together in the redesigned galley of this Colvic-Watson motorsailer. We liked their boat. Now I wish I had taken more pictures of it but there will be some later on in this post. Andrew had done plenty of renovations in the seven or so years since they purchased her. We had never used a boat “head” or toilet before so that was a new experience. 

After the first night in harbour we took our first sail of the trip over to the neighbouring island of Vlieland. Alix and Andrew had been in their boat for quite some time during the last weeks and were glad to be able to get out and about. They wanted to take a walk both for the exercise and to show us around a park they had discovered previously. They wanted to go wild mushroom picking in the pine forest. On our walk to the forest we came across a small farmyard with many brownish, red, friendly ponies. We walked through a few different landscapes - sand dunes, a hilly pine forest and the beach. Andrew found huge, wild mushrooms. Our beach walk was a little windy. We’d worked up an appetite and walked into the small town of Oost-Vlieland. We were amazed by the quaintness of this old, Dutch village. The bonus for me was the stoic looking, gray pooch in the basket of a bike. His owner was able to leave him outside in the bike basket while he shopped, not being afraid he would run away. What a darling!

This is the edible, wild mushroom that Andrew was hoping for. 

Later on that evening, after a wonderful meal in town, we sipped wine and relaxed on Big Ann.

Nice day out!

Next day we headed back to the coast of Holland. It was a rough, choppy ride (Did you check out the video above?) We, however, felt perfectly safe in Big Ann being manned by two experienced sailors. We sailed across to the bigger town of Harlingen where we had left the vehicle. This had real wow factor for us! Us, who had only been on a small sail boat before.  Andrew and Alix’s plan was to take us up the Prinses Margrietkanaal. This canal is wider and deeper than most so that huge ocean going ships can transport goods up the canal to cities up the canal or to smaller vessels along the canal. Big Ann, being a motorsailer, could easily go on this canal because this canal is one on the “standing mast” route. Keep in mind that we had the sails up on Big Ann.

Our journey on Big Ann took us from Harlingen, up the canal passed Franeker and Leeuwarden and south to Grou. We navigated the Sneekermeer and continued on to Heeg and the Heegermeer (meer Meaning lake). Our journey came to an end in Stavoren. 

Maps taken off the internet from Platbodemverhuur Friesland  

This was a great time for us to ask many questions about canal boats and motoring the canals. Both Andrew and Alix have been boating for many years and for about the last seven or so here in Holland (at least for most of each summer). They gave us sage advice about:

• features we would want on a canal cruiser that we would purchase
• how to store food and dishes, etc on a boat
• Tools that we might need for the boat
• Putting water or diesel into the boat
• how to store items in our boat once it is put in storage for the winter
• best wine to have before, with and after tajine. Wine o'clock around the clock

On top of learning all the new things about boats, we learned about canals, of which we knew nothing previously:

• How to actually steer a boat and how to navigate using buoys and markers 
• The usefulness of a depth sounder and VHF radio
• How to moor or camp with your boat for free - Marrekrite (in the province of Friesland)
• How to go through a lock without losing your shoes.
• Navigation was an issue so they told us about maps, books and Navionics (a computer based map) to assist us. Ken did get Navionics for navigating
• How to navigate in the area of a low bridge that needs to rise up for traffic
• How to dock a boat and moor it securely 
• Learning signage for canals (in the Dutch language)
• Etc. 

We were on overload! I was at least. We did enjoyed ourselves so much, however, that all this information did not deter us from continuing out search for the perfect boat.

Both Ken and I were able to attempt pilot Big Ann on straight aways. That made me feel a lot better about having a boat - I would be able to pilot, too.

We were doing a lot of moving from one place to the other. We were mostly on the water but did go a  shore to buy provisions for meals or to buy engine oil, etc. All of us are avid walkers so time was taken during our week long trip to make time for exercise. 

We saw spectacular scenery from a different point of view, a view from the water. 

Included in that water view was an up close view of huge cargo ships and boats similar to what we thought we’d purchase (not like any of the big boats below).

We stopped for supplies and walks in both Grou and Heeg which are small towns on the canals. In Grou we stayed, docked on the Prinses Margrietkanaal. There is plenty of room to dock with washrooms, showers and laundry close facilities, just on the shore. Plus there are restaurants handy. We took a hike into the town for groceries. This is what we saw of note being animal lovers.

Alix on the dock at Grou contemplating something about the boat.

We did the same thing in the town of Heeg - walked around and bought provisions for the day. You have to shop a bit more frequently when living on a boat, especially if you have company. The refrigerators are smaller and so is food storage space.  

Hoping you can see that I am only giving you a very minute glimpse into the beauty of these two places. Even if we stayed there for weeks all that makes up these amazing places could not be fully appreciated. 

I must say something about motoring and/ sailing through the meres or lakes. They, of course, did not have as calm of water as the canals and it was possible to sail, not just motor. 

Our boating trip came to an end in Stavoren, a coastal town. We stayed there over night. We were then off to our vehicle back in Harlingen via  train. 

Alix and Andrew were such great hosts on their boat. They made delicious, culinary meal served with wine each night. We ate fresh fruit and Croissants. Dutch cheeses were served at many meals. I was welcome to change menus for myself as I am vegetarian without inconveniencing others. It was an excellent trip and visit. Hoping to see them again soon!