Dutch sailing barge instruction/mate

[doninreno]

I am considering the purchase of a steel hulled Dutch sailing barge that has been converted into a "yacht"...the primary one I am looking at is a gaff rigged sloop (gaff main and two foresails). I have some sailboat ownership and sailing experience, but NO Dutch barge sailing experience (only a little power experience in an old barge) and would like to find someone to be a good strong able-bodied mate that has experience with leeboards, dutch rigging, and operations on European canals, particularly on an older dutch sailing barge AND experience in European canals to sail with me and to learn from for about a week...maybe more if I need it! Anyone got any recommendations (I would prefer a Nederlander) and would expect a candidate for this to speak English ( am American, but can pretty easily comprehend other countries' English!!), though I CAN struggle by in German if it is simple stuff and am fairly fluent in Japanese. Also, anyone know more or less what I should expect to pay as a weekly rate?

[belizesailor]

Triumphant used to crew on a Thames river barge. Is the Dutch version similar?

[doninreno]

I am only vaguely familiar with the Thames River barges, so do not know.

[belizesailor]

Got pics?

[doninreno]

Actually no pics yet of THE ONE...I am still kind of waffling on the decision of which to purchase and that decision will have to be delayed until I can get proper inspections done on the possible candidates, of which there are 3 at the moment.

[trentz]

If your boat is in Holland, and you intend to sail there locally, My (Boaty) Neighbour is a very experienced Sailing Barge and Cargo Barge Instructor and runs his own charter business in Friesland (Home of the Sailing Barge and Tall Ships).

You can contact me trough email if you are interested.

[doninreno]

Originally Posted by trentz

If your boat is in Holland, and you intend to sail there locally, My (Boaty) Neighbour is a very experienced Sailing Barge and Cargo Barge Instructor and runs his own charter business in Friesland (Home of the Sailing Barge and Tall Ships).

You can contact me trough email if you are interested.

Thanks for the above...I will keep it in mind!! And, yes..the boat IS in Holland. BTW, I was stationed for 6 years (two separate 3 year tours) in Germany, during which time I spent a good deal of time in Friesland! Thanks!

[umi]

You could post on www.zeilersforum.nl. The forum is mostly in Dutch, but most people read and write in English too.

[BenFranklyn]

doninreno,

I have some hard learned experience that may be of help to you as I purchased a Dutch boat "sloop" in 2014 had it refit in Friesland and spent a couple of years sailing the North sea, Inland sea, and the canals in that area. Some of the classic Dutch Lee board boats are magnificent pieces of art. The older commercial conversions can be nice, but the new "Lemsteraak's" are amazing. Most of them are owned by older Dutch guys with a penchant for the classic's. Just like visiting a classic car meet on Sunday in the States. I have friends in Friesland that race the bigger lee boarder's and they are not an easy learn. Lots of things going on and crews tend to be much bigger then you would think necessary. Also these are not cheap boats to keep up.

Be aware of a few important details. 1) non-EU residents cannot own an EU boat. Mine is in a Dutch foundation called a "Stichting". I did not mean to go that route but all parties involved in the sale thought an American could own the boat up until it was shown I could not. Its very nice to have a Dutch flag. No one bothers you but you will need to pay VAT tax on everything and it adds up quickly. Flagging with a non-EU flag means restrictions in how long you can keep the boat in the EU and depending on flag you will be visited by various customs/gov't types who will be looking for violations. If you do not have residence within the EU you can only spend 90 days every 180 days within the EU which really limits the time you have to enjoy your boat. 2) Get a lawyer first. People, especially yacht brokers tend to have allot on amnesia when it comes to remembering things that would spoil a sale. 3) Always have a contract drawn up when having work done or making agreements in the Netherlands. The laws are not similar to the US legal system and without proper coverage you will have a very difficult time. Having a refit done without a time penalty for late delivery will mean your work will fall behind every other customer who has a penalty clause in there contract. 4) You will not have an easy time finding crew, no matter what anyone says. Its the reason I am now selling my boat. You will just not believe the insane behavior of people who are supposed to be professionals. Also, the standard RYA certifications are not worth the paper they are printed on. Look for more commercial types of certifications and be prepared to wait several seasons for things to come together (refits, crew, etc.) if you really must go down this road. For me I found it an interesting endeavor but could never justify the expense and effort against the amount of aggravation I needed to endure. Oh and one last thing. If your not an EU resident you will have none of the consumer protection afforded to a resident so trying to get an insurance company to pay off a claim will be much harder. Did you think about maybe just doing a charter for a couple of weeks a year? Did I mention the part about getting the Lawyer First?