Netherlands inland waterway cruise

To go to beginning – click here

Shangri La heading to the crane

So we were now back in Zwartsluis.

I had kept my RYA cruising log going, and now filled in the season’s summary:

Days on board:                      53
Nautical miles traveled:         216
Actual engine running hours:    70
Generator running hours:         35
Fuel used: approx              200 L
Locks negotiated:                   18
Bridges negotiated:                133

RYA Logbook page – Season summary

Interesting to note we ran the generator for half as many hours as we ran the main engine.

The fuel usage is an approximation, based on the fuel gauge which only shows MT, half or full, but it ties in fairly well with the rated consumption of the engine as 3 to 4 litres per hour, and the fact that the generator uses fuel from the same tank.

Also interesting is how slowly one actually progresses along the waterways.

However, speed is not important here – enjoying the journey is.
The speed limit on most of the waterways is 8 or 12 km/hour, and one only motors about 4 hours every third day or so.

Me watching Martijn doing the wintering process.

Then we started the wintering process.

We left our berth for the last time and tied up at the fuel jetty where we took on 200 litres of diesel and put in a couple of litres of fuel additive, to prevent diesel bug.

One is stuck between a rock and a hard place as to how much fuel to leave in the tanks over winter.
On the one hand, it is better to keep the tanks
full to reduce the moisture content in the tank, and on the other, the fact that diesel deteriorates over time and diesel bug can develop.

Shangri La out the water

We went the middle road route – tank about 3/4 full and put in the fuel additive.

Then round to the crane where Shangri La was lifted a few inches out the water. Here we carried out the wintering processes – anti freeze in the main engine and generator cooling systems, as well as in the toilet and shower pumps.

Fresh water tanks and pipes emptied to prevent freezing and damage to pipes.

High pressure wash off

Boats are not renowned for having easy access to all these systems, so having had lots of back problems, I was happy to let Martijn from De Kranerweerd do all the crawling about.

Once all this was done, Shangri La was lifted out the water.

The upper areas of the hull were washed of with a cleaner and the underwater areas washed with the high pressure machine to remove any marine growth from the last 7 or so weeks.

On cradle ready to be moved

She was lowered onto a cradle and moved to a place on the quay, where we could still live on board for the last 2 nights.

Although here we could be plugged into shore power, for light and heating etc, we could not use any of the water or toilet functions.

Visiting the loo during the night meant clambering down a step ladder and to the marina’s ablution block.

Anyway – it was only for 2 nights.

Tricky access

During this time we gave the interior a good clean, took down all the awnings and packed up ready to leave.

Karen gave our new wooden deck chairs and table a good oiling.

We had also decided to renew the upholstery, curtains, carpeting and mattress.

So we had quotes, made our decisions as to what we wanted, and left this in the hands of de Kranerweerd and another contractor.
Hopefull they will do all this work in January/February this year and we will come back to a fresh and bright Shangri La.

Karen with out new chairs and table

There are also a whole lot of mechanical items we want fixed, and we have left a long job list with Martijn.

Again hopefully all these will be done before we go back in April.
The 2 most important being the new ignition switch and new windscreen wipers.

Originally I wanted to do all these things myself, but thinking of my back and how hard it is to get to all these things, I would rather pay the experts to do it, than compromise my health and spend all my cruising time at the physio!

We finally left De Kranerweerd and Zwartsluis on the Friday morning, with Martijn about to move Shangri La into the shed where she is now spending the winter.

Next up – planning for 2014 trip.

Bon voyage.