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.