Field report SX20 -Yachtline-: Main, Middle Rhine, North Rhine

Let the adventure begin 😊 HAPPINESS

On the morning of 21.04. it finally started. Full of excitement, we (Nina, Marco and Olli) drove from Düsseldorf to Kürnach to pick up our Happiness. Once we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by Mr. Küffner and Mr. Öchsner and were finally able to admire our HAPPINESS, which was already ready to go on the trailer.

We were thrilled, and of course we were also nervous. Mr. Öchsner took us to the Main and explained to us in 2.5 hours the basics of slipping in, driving under engine, slipping out and other important things. Explained in a way that we as beginners could understand, but also challenging. The briefing was a lot of fun, but it also made us realize what to look out for on a boat like this. After the introductory drive, important details were discussed with Mr. Küffner in a very friendly and trusting conversation.

Happiness is the perfect size for us as we are also complete beginners (had a jet ski for 6 years). The equipment is exactly as we imagined, as we also plan to take her to Lake Constance often (our boat equipment is suitable for the lake).
Many thanks to the entire Öchsner team.

Now the time had come. The second part of our journey was about to begin. The plan was – by car, trailer and boat on the road to Hanau – from there via the waterway (Main and Rhine) to Düsseldorf, to the home port.

Kürnach – Hanau

The journey with the trailer on the car went well, even if we weren’t used to it. Please always pay attention to the 100 and always take a look at the trailer. After arriving in Hanau, the boat had to be refueled. Unfortunately, the gas station we were aiming for was already closed at the time. We then had to turn around in a 30 km/h zone with the car and trailer and later maneuver backwards out of a one-way street. We didn’t make any friends on the streets of Hanau. An open gas station was then found. Pulling into a filling station with a car and boat is a special experience, and not just for the spectators 😊. After the refueling stop, we were warmly welcomed by the boat club in Hanau in the evening. It really is a wonderful boat club with lots of nice, helpful people who gave us some good tips over an after-work drink. Late in the evening, our skipper trainer Frank arrived by train from Düsseldorf to Hanau. The night was spent in a hotel in Hanau.

Hanau – Bingen (Neuwied was planned); approx. 75km and 10h boat

After breakfast, we went back to the boat club. Things that could be dispensed with were transferred from the boat to the car. From fate but not the replacement propeller! We got some nice help from the boat club again. As the slipway in Hanau was really very narrow, we were offered help. A man from the boating club fetched a tractor including. Trailer coupling and we were already on the Main, Frank, Olli and me. Marco drove back to Düsseldorf by car and trailer (yes, he had the not so nice job).

It finally started, we had been waiting for this moment full of anticipation. A first comment from our skipper trainer: “But the boat lies well in the water!” After a few kilometers we came to the first lock, but we had everything we needed on board. We recommend that you look up the telephone numbers of the locks in advance and save them in your cell phone. That makes everything much easier. That was quite exciting as we had never done anything like that before, but by the 5th and last lock we were already very practiced. It all went hand in hand.

We had to operate some of the locks ourselves, at one of them the commercial shipping was ahead of us and another was really very narrow, but everything went really well. Frank drove, Olli either had the boat hook in his hand or operated the lock and I was the rope officer.
We even had good weather!!!! Brilliant.

We passed Frankfurt, which was beautiful, and ended up on the Rhine near Mainz. We had a total of around 60 km on the Main. You have to allow some time for the lock. We imagined it would be quicker. It was a great experience and you can really say that the Main is easier to navigate than the Rhine, which is very challenging in many places.

Entering the Rhine at Mainz after 6 hours was overwhelming. Everything is much wider and faster. The Rhine was very wide at Mainz. We have oriented ourselves to the driving barrels. These were relatively far apart and it was difficult to see the garbage cans (always drive with concentration and watch out for the red and green garbage cans). We got a little out of the fairway (but were still a long way from the shore). Everyone was relatively relaxed because of what they had already experienced and suddenly there were two loud noises. We had grounding. Everyone was startled. The motor had a severe imbalance. We pulled up the engine and discovered the deformed propeller. We had probably touched a rock with the propeller. Full speed was no longer possible. An emergency solution had to be found. Fortunately, we had a spare propeller on board. But no tools and no port.
Now we had to find a port where we could carry out the repairs. We were lucky and found a harbor near Budenheim, where we stopped for a bite to eat. They immediately asked us if we needed help, brought us tools and even beer, incredibly friendly and helpful. The repair took place on the water with a canoe on the engine of our boat and was very exciting. Just don’t drop anything in the water.
The breakdown cost us 2 hours, so we didn’t make it to Neuwied as planned, but that wasn’t too bad in the end, because we ended up in Bingen on Friday evening, which was really beautiful. (We organized the berth there by phone after the breakdown). Here, too, we received a very friendly and curious welcome.

Boat people stick together!!! That’s what we’ve learned.
We spent the night in a retro hotel in Bingen (by the way – great breakfast 😊). We covered about 75 km that day and were on the water for 10 hours.

Bingen – Düsseldorf; approx. 220km and 9h boat

After breakfast, we went to the berth in Bingen harbor. As a precaution, we filled up our boat with 4 canisters of fuel (10 liters each) that we had brought on board. Around 11:00 a.m. we set off in the direction of Düsseldorf. Refueling is the most important thing and you should always have this organized. Shortly after the harbor in Bingen it was really exciting, here you had to pay attention to the fairway, because rocks were sticking out of the water everywhere. Fortunately, our skipper had a book with him that explained every kilometer of the Rhine (with dangers, fairway descriptions, etc.). That was worth its weight in gold! Guys, what came next was just great and beautiful!!! The Middle Rhine along the Loreley, St. Goarshausen and other villages with its beautiful castles and steep slopes was just incredibly beautiful. All Frank had ever heard was: “INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY beautiful”. We passed Koblenz, Drachenfels, Bonn/Cologne and headed towards Düsseldorf.
Wonderful landscapes!

Sometimes driving was really complicated, e.g. in one place there were two channels and you weren’t allowed to drive in the middle. Oh, that was exciting. Even if you’re approached by bargemen and there’s also a bridge with three passages and a ferry that crosses the river from left to right, it’s not exactly safe and extremely adrenaline-pumping.
When people say: Oh, you’re just sitting on the boat and driving…..NEIN!!!! We had maximum concentration and sore muscles every day 🙂 Just water sports.

The next stop was Cologne, because Marco, who had brought the trailer home to Düsseldorf, got on the train to Cologne at around midday on Saturday to join Happiness at the port in Cologne. We refueled at the port in Cologne and then the four of us headed home. A small surprise party was even organized at kilometer 746 in Düsseldorf. Our beautiful Happiness is now standing here for everyone to admire😊.

The good consumption values and the good guidance in the water (thanks to the Wide Beam hull) and the beautiful design of the boat were mentioned again and again. We have received positive feedback and great interest in our boat in every port.
In total, we were on the water for about 19 hours (including locks, mooring, breakdown and sailing). We have about 300km on the water behind us and have used about 200 liters of fuel (with enough reserve in the tank) and are now overjoyed.

We can only recommend this (the boat and this trip) to all of you and wish you always a hand’s breadth of water under the keel 😊

Your Nina, Frank, Marco and Olli

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