Kiel canal?

[VIPJets]

Anyone have any experience sailing in the Kiel canal in Germany? Appreciate any anecdotes including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Thank you in advance.

[psk125]

While you can probably leave your masts in, (42m clearance) it's too narrow and probably too busy to do much sailing.

[Dockhead]

You are allowed to motorsail. There is little point to it. The canal is pretty narrow and twists and turns, so there is a lot of trimming. Besides that, there's normally not any wind.



I've transitted the Kiel Canal 9 times. I stopped bothering with sails after the first couple.

[VIPJets]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

You are allowed to motorsail. There is little point to it. The canal is pretty narrow and twists and turns, so there is a lot of trimming. Besides that, there's normally not any wind.



I've transitted the Kiel Canal 9 times. I stopped bothering with sails after the first couple.

Thank you for the quick reply. Would you recommend hiring a captain to Transit the canal for first-timers?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by VIPJets

Thank you for the quick reply. Would you recommend hiring a captain to Transit the canal for first-timers?

No. It's not really challenging. Do you have experience with locks?


If you have experience with locks, there's not much else to it. Some tips, in no particular order:


1. Read the rules carefully and understand them. Particularly the signals. Note that the term "siding" or "Ausweiche" is very confusing.


2. There are several excellent places to stay overnight, some of them free. The countryside is delightful; it's worth not hurrying through.


3. Stay to the far right side of the canal but be careful not to get TOO close to the bank. It slopes up steeply.


4. You may have to wait for a long time for a lock, at both ends, up to several hours. Allow time for that. Remember you are not allowed to be in the canal "at night", with hours defined in the Rules.


5. Waiting to lock in at Brunsbüttel from the Elbe can be tricky with the tremendous currents in the Elbe.


6. Your timing locking OUT into the Elbe can be messed up by waiting for the lock. Be careful working out the streams in the Elbe.


7. Brunsbüttel, just inside the canal on the Elbe side, is a pleasant town, so if the timing of the tides in the Elbe makes you want to lock into the canal from the Elbe towards the end of the day, just stay in Brunsbüttel, if you can get a place in the marina there (which is cheap and nice and right in town).


8. Another nice place to stay overnight, and free, is the waiting pontoon to the Gieselaukanal lock.


Good luck!

[BjarneK]

Originally Posted by VIPJets

Thank you for the quick reply. Would you recommend hiring a captain to Transit the canal for first-timers?

I have done the canal a couple of times and it is not very difficult, no need for hired help. Read Dockhead's reply an extra time and follow his advice. Especially download the rules, read them and keep them handy during the transit. Some of the light signals are a bit counter intuitive. There is generally enough room to pass the big ships without any trouble. The canal authorities are available on the VHF and speak English. I have spoken to them a couple of times during my transits and they were pleasant and professional.

Dockhead: do you know if you have to pay for the transit? It used to be that you paid in the Kiel lock, but later you didn't have to pay any more and then maybe they introduced a new payment system?

I have stayed overnight in Rendsburg on the lake at the Yachthafen Rendsburg. It was very nice and you can easily spend a couple of nights there exploring the town. I never had to wait long for the lock transits but I am sure it varies.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by BjarneK

. . . Dockhead: do you know if you have to pay for the transit? It used to be that you paid in the Kiel lock, but later you didn't have to pay any more and then maybe they introduced a new payment system? . .

Yes, the last time I transitted they had the new payment system working, so it's no longer free. It's a machine on a special pontoon near the Holtenau lock, Northern side.

For several years it was free after they abandoned the old payment system, where you had to climb up the long ladders and go to the lock keeper station. A yachtsman fell from that ladder to his death, so they discontinued it.

I've never been into Rendsburg, but there's another lake with anchorage not far from the Holtenau side, which is useful if you have entered the canal from the Baltic side near dark and need to stop, as I did once.

[VIPJets]

Many thanks to all for the quick replies. Very useful information. I had read on a internet blog that the payment is somewhere between 15 to 20 euros. Again thanks for the advice. Merry Christmas!

[ilCigno]

The Kieler canal, or NOK (Nord Ostsee Kanal) as it is called officially, will be free to transit during 2021. Also, large scale reconstructions have been announced, so always check in advance for possible restrictions.