Sailing Britaly · video

What this video covers

Britaly, a roughly 5-tonne sailboat on an inland waterway passage from Belgium to the Mediterranean, transits the Ronquières Inclined Plane — a 68-metre inclined boat lift that replaced 14 locks on a hilly section of Belgian canal.4:04 Chris explains the engineering in detail: two water-filled caissons each weighing approximately 5,000 tonnes ride on 236 spring-mounted wheels along reinforced-concrete railway tracks, balanced by a separate 5,000-tonne counterweight connected via eight 55 mm steel cables totalling 24 kilometres.5:09 Because displacement keeps caisson weight constant regardless of vessel size, the lift handles boats from 5 tonnes up to 1,350-tonne barges without consuming water — a major advantage over the 14 locks it replaced.6:44 A 2.2-metre pipeline running alongside feeds two 1-metre inlet turbines driving 1.5 MVA alternators, generating electricity around the clock to power the lift and sell surplus to the grid.8:10 The Belgian waterway pass covering the transit cost 57 euros for six days, including thousands of kilometres of canal, free moorings, locks, and the inclined plane.9:40 After the lift, Britaly moors overnight beside a lock in quiet Belgian countryside.18:25 The evening covers a canal-side mooring where signage initially appeared to prohibit pleasure vessels but in fact reserved the small bollards for them.18:41

More from Sailing Britaly

Goodbye Belgium: Hello FRANCE! ⛵Sailing Britaly⛵Feb 2026Belgium's Waterways Are UNDERRATED! ⛵ Sailing Britaly ⛵Jan 2026Boat Life on The Inland Waterways | ⛵ Sailing Britaly ⛵Oct 2025How To Replace a Marine Alternator | ⛵ Sailing Britaly ⛵Jul 2025

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