Cruising the Mittlelandkaanal from Berlin to the Netherlands means you share the waterways with many barges, some of them with monstrous dimensions. We locked through with one double (two barges tied together and propelled by one pusher) measuring over 200 meters.
When you arrive at a German lock you moor at a location specified for ‘sportboots.’ There’s an intercom to check in with the lock keeper, some of whom speak English. You are letting them know you are there, and waiting for them to tell you to enter. Small boats almost always enter behind larger vessels. If so some reason the larger ship can not stop in time they damage the lock, not you.
The locks on the canals connecting Berlin with the Rhine, and from that river to the Netherlands if you so choose, are huge, are over two hundred meters long and 7+ meters in depth. Most have floating bollards that you can easily loop your line and then sit back, although we keep a eye on things as the water rises or falls.
In locks of this size there is little turbulence, but if a large ship hits the throttle too hard small boats are knocked about. To avoid problems we not only stay tied to the bollards but wait for the large ships to exit the lock before we proceed carefully, attentive to strong currents from the huge props.
I was on the Mississippi River in New Orleans when we came upon an oil tanker. Large waves were coming from it. I assumed it was from the huge ship’s props, but then the smaller boat carrying the port captain, who takes over when the ship is close to docking, sped away. The waves stopped as he disappeared.
On German canals and rivers there are designated moorings for overnight stays. Large ships usually have their own spaces and ‘sportboots’ their own as well. Outside Hanover we stayed in a mooring near grocery stores which allowed both large ships and small boats, so there are exceptions but they are marked.
We have been fortunate weather wise thus far. The early mornings are below 5c/40f but it’s been warming to 15-18c/60-65f in the sunny afternoons.
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