Tilikum, a 1924 pilot cutter, delivered from Gjøl in Denmark to her owner in Belgium
A gaff rigged lodsskøjte built in Eckernförde in 1924. We sailed her from the Limfjord through the Danish straits to the Kiel Canal. When a seal gave way, we hauled her out in Rendsburg and finished the job by road.
1924
Year built, Eckernförde
~3,000 EUR
Similar delivery today, net
Gjøl → Rendsburg
By sea, in autumn
By road
Rendsburg to Belgium
Net price for a similar delivery today. The owner covers fuel, berthing fees, repairs to the boat and crew travel to the start and home from the finish.
The passage
An old lady, handled with care
Tilikum is a gaff rigged pilot cutter, a lodsskøjte, built in Eckernförde in 1924. The previous owner kept her in very good condition and that is the main reason she can still be sailed at all. For us it was an honour to take a boat like this from Denmark to her new owner, and the plan was to sail her all the way to Holland. We started in Gjøl on the Limfjord and the trip began with a wait: the bridge in Aalborg was closed for a while because another yacht had hit it. Then east out of the Limfjord, south through the Danish straits to Kiel and into the Kiel Canal.
A leak in the Kiel Canal, and how we finished the job
In the canal a seal gave way and we had a fountain of water inside the boat. With a hundred-year-old wooden hull you do not gamble. In Rendsburg, halfway along the canal, there happened to be a free slipway, so we hauled her out there. The owner and Marek decided together to finish by road for the safety of the boat. We arranged the truck, loaded her and brought her to the owner in Belgium. We never leave a client with a problem halfway. We finish the job. The owner is a friend now and always invites us over for a glass of something local.
The first passage plan, west through Thyborøn and the North Sea. We sailed east through the Danish straits and the Kiel Canal instead.
The yacht
A traditional wooden pilot cutter with a gaff rig, the kind of boat Danish pilots used a hundred years ago. Heavy, seakindly and slow to manoeuvre in a lock, so the crew and the passage plan have to match the boat, not the other way round. Here that meant a skipper and a good mechanic.
Tilikum alongside before the delivery
Tilikum, 1924, Eckernförde
Wood, rope and sky
Engine check before departure
Gaff rig and boom
Looking up the mast
Ready to go
How we ran it
What the owner got, step by step.
Crew and plan
A professional delivery skipper and crew matched to the yacht and the route, a passage plan and the weather window agreed with the owner before departure.
The passage
Position updates along the way and decisions made for the safety of the boat first: port stops for fuel, provisions and weather as needed.
Handover
The yacht handed over at the destination with a written report on the condition of the boat and anything worth the owner's attention.
What the owner said
I bought a vintage pilot cutter built in 1924 in Gjöl, Denmark, last year in summer. See enclosure, the white hull is just before leaving DK, the black as she was some years back in time). Marek got the difficult challenging mission to sail her to Wemeldinge in the south of Holland. Needless to say that this was a true challenge. The journey went on see with just minor problems now and then until Kiel, Germany, where she was loaded on truck for the second half of the journey. We took the decision together, Marek and I, to finish by road for security reason since the hull was started to leak somewhat too much. Marek and his team did a perfect job, caring for the old lady with a perfect dedication. They sent me regularly textos all along the trip, fixed everything perfectly including in Kiel for the loading on truck, and we now happen to be friends after this. We are still friendly exchanging information on the progress of the full renovation that I have started after the journey. The funny thing is that I have never met Marek in person, but I am looking forward to meeting him and exchanging good Belgian beer against Slivovitch at the earliest possible occasion
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