Onderwerp: Help the foreigner...UFO 6mt - Keel Removal

I've sent them an e-mail as well...

Rental service Waterpark Terherne let me know they had contacted TS directly.

Hi everyone!

Thank you a million times for the positive feedback and for all your help on this.

ilCigno... they did reply to me directly and gave simple instructions on how to do it (I´ll put it in practice on Tuesday afternoon!... let´s just hope it´s "that simple" )

Anyway... I could not manage to get a keelboat trailer and even trying to buy extended supports for my own trailer here in CZ... it was worse than having a child (my wife´s words here ), so unfortunately I will really have to proceed with the "kiel surgery".

I´ll keep you all updated with some decent pictures, as I do intend to document every moment of this "Netherlands Odyssey"

Thanks again!

Keep us posted indeed. If you run into trouble, let us know as well, maybe someone can give a hand.

Hi everyone,

First of all, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for all help and suggestions provided!
The job is done!

As promised, I would like to share the whole "Netherlands Operation" with you:

After the complete inability to find a proper keelboat trailer, I made the decision to pick up the boat by any means necessary... and with the available trailer, that meant some "keel surgery" was necessary with the boat still hanging from the crane!

Driving the 967 Km's between Prague and Aalmsmeer took me almost 11 hours and taking the "wrong highway", meant that I was happy (and naively) heading straight for Amsterdam's morning traffic jam... so another 45min just to go around it.
Once there, I thought about having a few hours of sleep, but after checking the trailer for "most possible compatibility" I realized that one of the hull supporting inflatable wheels was punctured... and that meant that my deserved sleep would have to be postponed in order to find and buy a proper replacement. So after not being able to find an equivalent one, I ended up in Hornbach shop, buying two similar inflatable wheels and installed them on the trailer. By now it was almost noon and the boat owner called me earlier than expected, so no sleep for me!

But nevermind... I was with enough enthusiasm to see the boat straight away, so a short drive to Aalmsmeer marina and there it was. A beauty! Well... an older lady for sure, but basically pretty sound and with lots of extra gear that he was kind enough to offer me, included in the original selling price. So after an inspection and a short "cruise", we made the deal, arranged things with the harbour master to lift the boat up... and the keel surgery started.

Thanks to the hints from Frans and Mirjam Willemsen from Waterpark Terherne, the operation was swift and an absolute success!
The boat was lifted and set down barely touching a couple of wooden logs and two keel screws were loosened... the 160 kg keel was immediately free from the hull and could be picked up with a small forklift. Apart from a small hand injury, everything went smoothly... but I guess that was the boat's way to tell me I was not going to "deport him" so easily

The boat was laid down on the trailer and the gear fixed in the best way we could, trying to balance the boat properly and not to have too much weight on the trailer nose. Once again... all went smoothly.

By now happiness is the overall feeling, but there's just one "minor" problem to be solved... that big, heavy, bulbed, 160 kg "thing" is still on the forklift... and it has to come with me back to Prague.
It does not fit in the trailer and as sure as hell is not going to travel inside the boat, so... the only option is for her to be my "second driver"... so be it! The forklift picked her up and gently "inserts" her into the back of my fragile "Renault Megane" (oh! yes... I forgot to mention what kind of car I have ). after 15min of tenderness and a lot of imagination, I had one extra "passenger". Taking it out of the trunk in Prague? Well... let's not worry about that now!
Let's just head on to the highway and see what happens!

And so we did! Now I was finally able to stop and have a few hours of sleep before facing the trip back.

Surprisingly, it all went great and even more surprisingly, my modest Renault handled this task with high scores! the whole trip, starting in my garage in Prague, was 2032 Km's, 147lt of fuel, with an "astonishing" overall average speed..of 67,8 Km/Hr!
Yes, it was a long trip but totally worth it!

So my Dutch friends... the next time you sell a boat, please do consider selling it "abroad"! I can only say that when I was looking for a boat in your country, I had lots and lots of owners questioning the seriousness of my intentions and even if it was feasable to undertake such a trip... It is! And I will do it again next time!

The boat market in the Czech Republic is extremely limited not only regarding number of boats offered, but also regarding prices. So this "Netherlands operation" has only added 200 euros to my final math. Well worth it if your looking for a sailboat around these parts.

Pictures of both the boat, trailer and my "second passenger" will be added to this thread tonight... so you can have a laugh at it!
Feel free to call me crazy... everybody else already does

Once again a big "thank you" to all of you.
Filipe

Nice story.
Hope you have a lot of fun with the boat

Great result! I hope the 're-keeling' will go as smooth as well. We're awaiting your pictures of course. Where (what lake or river) will you be sailing your new boat?

Hi ilCigno,

Yes, so far it´s going pretty well! Thanks.
The boat is currently in my back yard, still "keelless", as I will take advantage of that and make a full repaint... along with the usual "new old boat" improvements we always do, but yes... I hope the "re-keeling" with also be straightforward. I´ll let you guys know later

I´m planning on sailing in our biggest lake (called "Lipno")
www.visitlipno.cz/en/lipno-reservoir/19/

In any other lake here, the biggest issue we have (apart from a "chronical" lack of wind) is it´s inconsistency because it funnels across the mountains, frequently changing direction and strength.

But will be fun anyway and at least I have my own boat again!
Even when out of the water is good to have one

FilipeMessias schreef :
Of course you'r crazy, just like the rest of us.
Happy sailing!

Albert

Hi everyone,

As promised, here are some pics of this trip.


The keel bolts inside the boat (easily located just under the floor boards)

The boat, already without its keel and on the trailer, almost ready for the trip back:

My "special passenger":

The final set-up, already half way through Germany:

Unlike loading into the trunk, where I had the precious help of the forklift, unloading it was a purely "manual" work:

Safe and sound... finally in a Czech backyard!

Well... that´s it!

Thanks again everyone!

Good job, thanks for the pics. Now get the (totally unnecesserry IMHO) paperwork done, re-keel the boat and off you go!

Thanks!

Yep... I agree with you that the paperwork is totally unnecessary...but unfortunately it´s mandatory over here

Oh well...

Thanks again everyone!

great story! thanks for sharing.
Congrats with your boat and fair winds!
Cheers

Hi everyone,

After last year´s trip from your beautiful country to Czech Republic and quite a few months of hard and extensive refit, here she is... ready to hit the water again!

Hope you enjoy the pics!

cheers mate

Wow, looks as new. Nice!
How did you do with the paperwork?

Hi ilCigno,

I ended up making the ICP document, through an agency called "zeeenwater". It turned out that I DID had the need to register the boat, but Czech Republic accepted a Dutch registration document, so in the end it was an easy and relatively cheap process. Zeeenwater charged me a perfectly reasonable amount for this service and I had the document in my hands in 2 weeks.

So all went smooth with the documentation.

Now... getting the keel back in the boat was the funny part, and unfortunately the stress level was so high that I did not took one sigle picture... all I can say is that it was done in the backyard of a mountain cottage, on an inclined terrain and... with the help of a farmer´s forklift! In the end, even that ended up well!

Thanks again for all your help guys!

On Saturday she will finally be in the water!