Experience Report Experience report 20 -Yachtline- Bodensee

Our first own boat

How did we get the 20 Yachtline? For years we have often been on Lake Constance in a small holiday apartment, in the first few years we experienced beautiful things as kayakers, but then we had to limit such movements too much with shoulder problems. So we looked for another way to explore Lake Constance, first sailing, then we tried a motor boat.

Since we always had a smaller mobile home, we have been increasingly looking for an alternative over the past few years. We thought about replacing the mobile home with a small boat to see. We also often went on vacation to France with the motorhome and mostly on smaller country roads and almost inevitably along beautiful canals. Going on such an adventure by boat… It’s nice to imagine.

After checking out the many dealers on Lake Constance and realizing that this kind of boat is not that easy to find, we went to search on the internet and visited the “boat” in Düsseldorf to see the models we found. We came across the stand of the Öchsner company and after seeing the 20 -Yachtline, we were surprised that this boat could still be towed with a trailer in the weight budget of a Golf class car (from 1400kg).

The next question arose: how can we dock on Lake Constance and what driver’s license do I need? This was not as easy as expected and it took some time and energy to time all the components until the boat was in the water.

We now have a buoy site at Gaienhofen-Horn, although it was never clear in advance, even with the usual waiting lists, when we would get it? In the spring the news came, hurray, we have a berth. We then ordered our 20 yachts from Öchsner-Boote GmbH & Co. KG.

Boat delivery

The big moment of taking over the boat was slowly approaching, after a few phone calls we found a car rental company in our area and the harbour master of Gaienhofen who helped us with the launch, because there is only one crane there and we as novices were happy to see someone experienced there with them. Then to Würzburg where we had a very exciting day, boat briefing, handover, 1000 questions answered by Mr. Öchsner Junior and Mr. Küffner, it was Mr. Küffner who was there with us with advice on the further course and action.

The first short trip on the Main was an experience, it was great to drive along such a river, see the bank go by and not worry about traffic jams etc. It was great not to worry about traffic jams etc. Then the trip home to Lake Constance went smoothly. When we got there, we shifted the boat ourselves.

Well – theoretically I had the process in my head and had seen it from Mr. Öchsner the day before, so I dared. The feeling of going back to Lake Constance for the first time with such a crew was special, but we managed it, probably not yet ready for TV, but without any wounds on the new boat.

Our Trips

Then we learned the first ascents, all the steps like lowering the buoy in this first year, even the slow ascents to the lake after the harbor area were great experiences for us! What we always liked was that it was not always quiet “out there”, but the feeling of crowds, overcrowded places or traffic jams never arose.

Our float site is on the edge of a nature reserve and on the first evening we were made aware of the romantic paradise. It was quiet both in the evenings and in the mornings, at night you only hear the buzzing of frogs or the chattering of ducks, not to mention the lunar weather… it’s wonderful!

We had a great summer for our first year of boating, hardly any rain, the best weather, which meant we could get in the water around the clock, we never had a bath this year and it was thanks to the swim ladder. No problem for my 81 year old mother to come back on board. We also took two grandchildren from America (aged 4 and 7) on board for a visit, the older one exploded with “I love this little boat” enthusiasm and the younger one fell asleep after wandering around the cabin for some hours in the float area.

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In our first year of boating we did many small tours, usually sailing several kilometers on the lake, due to the weather we were able to swim a lot and also practiced anchoring. On our 3-day tour we went from the Konstanz funnel to the main lake, which was a bit adventurous for us. We stayed in Meersburger and Dingelsdorfer Hafen and thanks to the free space on our 20 yacht line we even cooked with our alcohol stove and had breakfast on the boat. It was beautiful days and nights. Despite the many boats around us, the calmness in these two harbors was astonishing for us. Next year we want to intensify these wonderful experiences. In the following years larger tours are planned, such as a circumnavigation of Lake Constance.

Best regards Mrs. and Mr. S.