Hi from Berlin, Germany

[Rivalman]

Hi to All,

I have had good advice from cruisersforum as a guest several times and have finally managed to register.

We own a 1971 British built Peter Brett design, a Rival 32 which we keep in Greece where my wife and I have cruised extensively during our holidays for the past 5 years. As there are plenty of waterways in and around Berlin we also have a small steel motorcruiser from Holland (early seventies too) which we use on week-ends. Both boats have been (and still are) restoration projects which gave me a steep learning curve over the years. Fortunately, with the help of the web and places like this forum the really bad experiences get fewer.

I am 7 months before early retirement from my job and my head is full of cruising projects all over the world. Have been into sailing for over 40 years but the enthusiasm for travel by boat never seems to fade. Looking forward to interesting discussions here and thanks for having me on board,

Hans-Christian

[Zanshin]

Hello Hans-Christian,

greetings to CF.

[reiner]

Welcome to the Forum Hans Christian. I have spend some time in Buckow ( Berlin) . How often do you get to sail in Greece?
Cheers
Reiner

[Waterway Guide]

Welcome aboard, Hans-Christian!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Hans-Christian.

[Delay]

If that is your actual name, Hans-Christian, I dare say it may be the best in the world.

[cburger]

Welcome to the forum.

[Rivalman]

Thanks for all your welcomes, sincerely appreciated !

@Reiner: We fly out to Greece twice a year for 3 weeks each time, about May/June, and end of August/September in order to avoid the stronger Meltemis.

@Delay: it is my real name, thanks - although I must admit that I´m not so sure if you mean that series of well-built Asian cruising boats marketed under that name...

Cheers, hc

[hgd137]

Rivalman - Have you heard anything about this boat?

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...nda-89440.html

[The Blue Heron]

Greetings!

[nelagnelag]

Hi Berlin!

I am wondering about costs/feasibilty of living on canal sailboat in Berlin. For example, near TU-Berlin I've seen boats just sitting there. It doesn't look like they could afford much of a 'mooring fee'.

In winter, ice and cold would be an issue, but can one install bubblers sufficient to keep ice away?

thanks for thoughts and info.

G

[Rivalman]

Hi, I don´t know how much they pay there but I think one would be surprised how much they do in the city center. To give you an idea:

We keep our little 6.50 m steel Dutch motor cruiser (22 feet) in a club on Teltowkanal for 80 Euro per month. It is still quite central but less noisy and there is public transport everywhere night and day. Would reckon to pay about the double for a liveaboard of 12 m or so (plus a yearly contribution to the club).

We use sprinklers on the boats bows - simple garden pumps immersed in the water that move the water alongsides to keep the ice away. In December, January and February it can sometimes get to minus 25 degrees C (minus 13 F). You´d need a good stove like a Reflex or multi-fuel heater. Our harbour master used to get away with a small radiator on his little 4 m (13 ft) boat in winter when he was younger - the man is tough though...

Recently I have been looking at the sizing of self made bubble tubing systems connected to air-pumps using less electricity. Unfortunately Kasco de-icers or Ice-eaters from the States are prohibitively expensive over here with custom duties and import taxes added.

One last thing: If you consider a sailboat as liveaboard (which is a good idea) please keep in mind that all European waterways are best used with less than 1.60 m (5 feet) of draught. Much less than that would be even better as you can visit Eastern Europe and also go on the big rivers like Elbe or Odra at all times.

H-Chr.

[barnakiel]

Hi Hans-Christian!

Rivals great boats and Greece a great place to take off from (only after having had enough of feta and ouzo!).

You WILL have fun exploring and dreaming. A rival 32 can go anywhere you ask it to go. Dream big and sail!

The time is NOW and the latitude/longitude can be read from the GPS.

Regards, welcome,
barnakiel

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here on the forum.
kind regards