I have a question

[Little Buddha TV]

I am considering buying a widebeam boat and wonder if they are any good on the dutch canals such as Amsterdam?

 

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, Little Buddha TV said:

I am considering buying a widebeam boat and wonder if they are any good on the dutch canals such as Amsterdam?

 

I am sure Dutch designed and built wide beams would be fine, but mooring may be an issue. I think a UK wide beam "narrowboat" might present all sorts of regulatory & customs challenges. If you can be more specific, we have one member who is well into continental wide beams, and we may be able to point you to other resources like the Barge Association. (Was The DBA)  https://barges.org/

[PD1964]

1 minute ago, Little Buddha TV said:

I am considering buying a widebeam boat and wonder if they are any good on the dutch canals such as Amsterdam?

You might be better off asking on a Dutch Barge forum? As people on here will have little experience with a standard canal widebeam if that’s what your talking about on the Dutch canals. Your best bet would be advise from @Tam & Di I imagine. Good luck.

[Mad Harold]

3 minutes ago, Little Buddha TV said:

I am considering buying a widebeam boat and wonder if they are any good on the dutch canals such as Amsterdam?

 

I too am considering a widebeam boat, but for British canals.My problem is there are several narrow canals in my area and I am being seduced by a lovely little cox 22.

As for Amsterdam, been once and had a trip on the canals on a trip boat, and if memory serves, they were wide canals, not like the narrow ones around my area that the tight fisted gits built.

[howardang]

2 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

You might be better off asking on a Dutch Barge forum? As people on here will have little experience with a standard canal widebeam if that’s what your talking about on the Dutch canals. Your best bet would be advise from @Tam & Di I imagine. Good luck.

This was aimed more at the first wide beam query but they overlapped. Welcome to the forum. At least give us a clue about what you do know about canal boats in general or are you a complete novice

Howard

Edited January 22, 2023 by howardang

[PD1964]

1 minute ago, howardang said:

Welcome to the forum. At least give us a clue about what you do know about canal boats in general or are you a complete novice

Howard

Lots, I think you should be asking the OP, as I’ve got absolutely no interest in widebeams or Amsterdam.

[howardang]

Sorry, my fat fingers are playing silly b…s!

 

Howard

[Boaty Jo]

Tam I'm sure will give you comprehensive advice.

This may include a couple of thoughts I had.

1. If it's a widebean narrowboat you're considering the gunwhales and on-board bollard / bit set up are not ideal for tackling big locks. 

2. There is some great cruising in The Netherlands away from the canals. The bigger rivers for example (the Ijssel and Maas) and the meers, including the IJsselmeer which again may suit a more traditional Dutch style barge.

[Tony Brooks]

6 minutes ago, Boaty Jo said:

Tam I'm sure will give you comprehensive advice.

This may include a couple of thoughts I had.

1. If it's a widebean narrowboat you're considering the gunwhales and on-board bollard / bit set up are not ideal for tackling big locks. 

2. There is some great cruising in The Netherlands away from the canals. The bigger rivers for example (the Ijssel and Maas) and the meers, including the IJsselmeer which again may suit a more traditional Dutch style barge.

 

That is why the OP should really clarify what they mean by a "wide beam boat". One of the continental barges, even a smaller one, would be far better than fat "narrowboat" for continental waterways. I doubt many fat narrowboats have sufficient power ad cooling for some continental rivers except in times of low flow.

[PD1964]

52 minutes ago, howardang said:

Sorry, my fat fingers are playing silly b…s!

 

Howard

It’s ok, I was only messing. Have a relaxed evening.

[Bee]

To be honest I would look for a more suitable boat shaped boat, there are canals over there that I would stay well away from, the Amsterdam - Rhine with its metre high waves and multi directional chop is one and many rivers need power and speed, you also have to use some of these to get to the more suitable places.  France is generally more suitable for these boats but even there you will find some uncomfortable waters. There are more river routes than you might think and you need to be able to push against the current and so on. The typical wide beam boat based on a narrowboat is really more of a floating platform for maximum living space than a boat 

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, Bee said:

To be honest I would look for a more suitable boat shaped boat, there are canals over there that I would stay well away from, the Amsterdam - Rhine with its metre high waves and multi directional chop is one and many rivers need power and speed, you also have to use some of these to get to the more suitable places.  France is generally more suitable for these boats but even there you will find some uncomfortable waters. There are more river routes than you might think and you need to be able to push against the current and so on. The typical wide beam boat based on a narrowboat is really more of a floating platform for maximum living space than a boat 

 

I agree. The chap who took a pair of narrowboats to the Black Sea via the rives and canals managed to sink one on the Rhine I believe, and I don't see a wide beam narrowboat as likely to any more large river worthy and possible less so with the reported flexing uxter plates because of their size.