From a river in the south east of the UK to Amsterdam. On a narrow boat.

[Adventurous]

I’m thinking of three options for myself and my boat in the new year.

No actually only two. 
1)Taking her to London, and trying to have fun in the capital, without theft or vandalism. Or someone dancing on my roof. 
2) Getting her  to Amsterdam somehow. Either cruising as far to the coast as I can, craned out and put on a vessel, then traversing the Dutch river system to Amsterdam. Or just getting her craned out close to where I am moored, put on a lorry and driving there, ferry, or Eurostar, then getting craned out.

 

What sayeth you? 

[Mike Hurley]

3 minutes ago, Adventurous said:

I’m thinking of three options for myself and my boat in the new year.

No actually only two. 
1)Taking her to London, and trying to have fun in the capital, without theft or vandalism. Or someone dancing on my roof. 

 

What sayeth you? 

You have seen the crime rate in London? It does not stop at the water line.

[GUMPY]

32 minutes ago, Adventurous said:

I’m thinking of three options for myself and my boat in the new year.

No actually only two. 
1)Taking her to London, and trying to have fun in the capital, without theft or vandalism. Or someone dancing on my roof. 
2) Getting her  to Amsterdam somehow. Either cruising as far to the coast as I can, craned out and put on a vessel, then traversing the Dutch river system to Amsterdam. Or just getting her craned out close to where I am moored, put on a lorry and driving there, ferry, or Eurostar, then getting craned out.

 

What sayeth you? 

There will be very little difference in transport cost between craning out locally and craning out on the Medway being the closest you will get.

Edited December 8, 2025 by GUMPY

[blackrose]

32 minutes ago, Adventurous said:

I’m thinking of three options for myself and my boat in the new year.

No actually only two. 
1)Taking her to London, and trying to have fun in the capital, without theft or vandalism. Or someone dancing on my roof. 

2) Getting her  to Amsterdam somehow. Either cruising as far to the coast as I can, craned out and put on a vessel, then traversing the Dutch river system to Amsterdam. Or just getting her craned out close to where I am moored, put on a lorry and driving there, ferry, or Eurostar, then getting craned out.

 

What sayeth you? 

 

There are plenty of people with boats moored in London who haven't suffered from theft or vandalism. I once had a drunk idiot jumping around on my roof but that was near Hemel Hempstead, not in London. The problem in Central London these days is finding moorings, unless you're prepared to pay...

 

Narrow boat? I wasn't aware you could put one on the Eurostar

Edited December 8, 2025 by blackrose

[Russ T]

I suppose the problem with 2 is that you can only stay for three months max at a time without a visa, and the problem with 1, is limited moorings unless you take a place in Limehouse or other marina.

[Momac]

That's 90 days max  in the EU out of any rolling 180 days which is not quite the same thing as 3 months max and assumes the OP does not have an EU passport.

It's 18 months max in the EU for the UK boat. If longer then 20% VAT become due on the boat unless the boat is taken out of the EU and it may then return to reset the clock.

It would be wise to have documented proof of VAT paid by the original owner in the UK. Also the boat should be registered on the SSR to establish its nationality. You will need a VHF operators license . You will need an ICC with CEVNI endorsement. A working VHF is required which could be a handheld. Insurance required of course.

 

So it's all possible but needs some preparation and planning.

 

I would quite like to cross over to the Netherlands by sea but not sure my crew has the nerve for it nor am I sure that my crew will break family commitments to allow it.  I would emphasise that my boat is not a narrowboat.

 

[NB Thistle]

If you decide to cross the North Sea I'd happily join your crew - I don't have the skills to skipper that in my boat but I'm a decent deckhand/helm.

[Bee]

Amsterdam has it's own rules, emissions etc. for boats and it adds more difficulty to the problems. 'Bee' lives permanently  in the EU and since Brexit cannot easily or cheaply ever return home but when we visited Amsterdam we got to a railway station somewhere nearby and caught a train in. Personally i would stick to Airbnb 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Are you aware that only electric and hydrogen powered boats are now allowed in the centre of Amsterdam?

https://nltimes.nl/2025/02/08/amsterdam-banning-diesel-boats-canals-new-emission-free-zone

[Tony Brooks]

I am not sure that the OP understands the legal obstacles, like VAT, and the qualifications demanded (CENVI?). I hope she has been talking to the Barge Association, who will be well up on such things.

[Adventurous]

18 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

CENVI

It’s a 20 minute course you take online. 
VAT isn’t an obstacle, it’s an obligation. Just like here. 
As to an electric engine, or gods forbid a hydrogen one, which sounds explosive. As my boat was first registered as motor boat. Putting a couple of outboards on the back would be easy enough. And I have dual nationality with an EU member state. 
Amsterdam is one of the cities I’ve always wanted to visit and never  did. Always getting dragged to Disneyland Paris every year with the kids. 
Also Greece. Another dream, the Acropolis, Parthenon etc. No canals there though. But, quite close to the River STYX by all accounts, so I’d need a ferry coin if things went awry!!!!!

[Russ T]

7 minutes ago, Adventurous said:

Also Greece. Another dream, the Acropolis, Parthenon etc. No canals there though.

Corinth Canal. I always remember Dr Bob saying he took his yacht through there.I was a bit jealous.

[cheesegas]

2 hours ago, Adventurous said:

It’s a 20 minute course you take online. 
VAT isn’t an obstacle, it’s an obligation. Just like here. 
As to an electric engine, or gods forbid a hydrogen one, which sounds explosive. As my boat was first registered as motor boat. Putting a couple of outboards on the back would be easy enough. And I have dual nationality with an EU member state. 
Amsterdam is one of the cities I’ve always wanted to visit and never  did. Always getting dragged to Disneyland Paris every year with the kids. 
Also Greece. Another dream, the Acropolis, Parthenon etc. No canals there though. But, quite close to the River STYX by all accounts, so I’d need a ferry coin if things went awry!!!!!

The CEVNI isn't a standalone qualification - it's an endorsement which is added to an ICC qualification which you must already have. You can't just go ahead and do the CEVNI without having an ICC.

 

To apply for an ICC, you need to either have completed the RYA Powerboat Level 2 course, or have done the ICC direct assessment. From speaking to people who have done it though, it seems that most people who have been around boats for a while (including myself) opt to do the RYA course rather than going straight to the ICC as it's quite heavy on theory.

 

On 08/12/2025 at 17:33, Russ T said:

I suppose the problem with 2 is that you can only stay for three months max at a time without a visa, and the problem with 1, is limited moorings unless you take a place in Limehouse or other marina.

There's certainly limited mooring in central London, but finding a mooring between Little Venice and Hackney Wick (what I'd term as the most central part of Central London at least) really isn't difficult...unless you want to stop in an exact area or don't want to double moor. I come through central once every couple of years and it's never been an issue. Plenty of people on here see photos of lines of double moored boats and assume that's what it's like all the time, which couldn't be further from reality. Incidentally, just up from Limehouse Marina is the Limehouse Cut, where there is always plenty of space to single moor.

 

Edited December 19, 2025 by cheesegas

[Russ T]

42 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

There's certainly limited mooring in central London, but finding a mooring between Little Venice and Hackney Wick (what I'd term as the most central part of Central London at least) really isn't difficult...unless you want to stop in an exact area or don't want to double moor. I come through central once every couple of years and it's never been an issue. Plenty of people on here see photos of lines of double moored boats and assume that's what it's like all the time, which couldn't be further from reality. Incidentally, just up from Limehouse Marina is the Limehouse Cut, where there is always plenty of space to single moor.

 

Good to know. Last time I was down that way in the narrowboat, Little Venice was impossible to finding a mooring, but it was mid summer. We also did the Thames ring on a separate occasion, so there are definitely possibilities there. One year we entered  London from the other end on our sailboat, entering via the Thames estuary, and mooring at Galleons reach marina (no longer there), and proceeded to do daily vists into town on the DLR, before heading back to the Medway and beyond.