1200 kilometers on the Rhine Liechtenstein native paddles to the sea with his own boat
Otto Tschugmell from Liechtenstein wants to paddle down the Rhine in his self-built rowboat.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
This is paddling: Where Tschugmell will be sitting is what he calls his "workplace".
Image: Vanessa Büchel
The boat is called "Tschotto", which is made up of the owner's surname and first name.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
The 68-year-old will be taking long oars and paddles with him. Depending on the section, one or the other will be used.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
Tschugmell is a true craftsman. The machines that helped him build the boat were also built by himself.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
A grinding machine in Tschugmell's workshop that he made himself.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
The boat enthusiast proudly presents the home-made machine in his garage.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
The Liechtenstein ensign is a must.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
Balzner has been ready to go for weeks, but the weather keeps postponing his start. He has taken his bag of clothes back into the house and the rest of his equipment is ready and waiting in the garage.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
Otto Tschugmell from Liechtenstein wants to paddle down the Rhine in his self-built rowboat.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
This is paddling: Where Tschugmell will be sitting is what he calls his "workplace".
Image: Vanessa Büchel
The boat is called "Tschotto", which is made up of the owner's surname and first name.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
The 68-year-old will be taking long oars and paddles with him. Depending on the section, one or the other will be used.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
Tschugmell is a true craftsman. The machines that helped him build the boat were also built by himself.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
A grinding machine in Tschugmell's workshop that he made himself.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
The boat enthusiast proudly presents the home-made machine in his garage.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
The Liechtenstein ensign is a must.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
Balzner has been ready to go for weeks, but the weather keeps postponing his start. He has taken his bag of clothes back into the house and the rest of his equipment is ready and waiting in the garage.
Image: Vanessa Büchel
Even as a boy, Otto Tschugmell was fascinated by the Rhine. His big dream was to paddle down the river from Liechtenstein to its mouth at sea. He built his own boat for his adventure.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Otto Tschugmell has always dreamed of rowing his self-built boat along the Rhine from Liechtenstein to the sea.
- He spent seven months building his boat in the garage.
- The 68-year-old had to postpone the start of his adventure several times due to bad weather conditions, but now he is ready to set off.
- His 95-year-old mother thinks he is a "weirdo". Tschugmell himself is not afraid, because he knows what he is doing.
Otto Tschugmell smiles contentedly as he strokes his hand over the shiny red paintwork of his boat. With shining eyes, the 68-year-old proudly talks about his big dream: "I'm finally due to set off on Monday. I plan to sail the entire Rhine in my self-built wooden boat."
By this, the Liechtenstein native means that he wants to paddle from his home in Balzers and cover around 1200 kilometers until the Rhine finally flows into the sea in Rotterdam.
The small garage, which Tschugmell built himself together with his son Marc, is teeming with tools, building utensils and wooden boards. The workbench indicates that people are busy tinkering and working here. Since he retired, he has enough time for such things.
For Tschugmell, building boats was a lifelong dream. "Even if it only turned out to be a small boat, I simply had to build a boat myself for once in my life," he tells blue News with pride.
Seven months of work on it
He started in October 2023 and finished in May of this year. Because he had an allergic reaction to the glue, he had to take repeated interruptions - and undergo light therapy and cortisone treatments.
He actually wanted to inaugurate his rowboat or skull shortly after completion in May and set off on the big trip, but the weather and high water levels in many places put paid to his plans.
Everything has been ready for a while now. Tschugmell says: "I have to start now, otherwise I'll slowly go crazy. The weather isn't getting any better." According to Tschugmell, the current danger level is three for Lake Constance and two for the Constance outflow. This means he can start on Monday, July 15.
After a long wait, Otto Tschugmell's adventure finally starts on July 15.
Image: zVg
In his home town of Balzers, the Liechtenstein native climbed into his self-built rowboat.
Image: zVg
The Liechtenstein native wants to paddle the entire length of the Rhine - 1200 kilometers to the sea.
Image: zVg
Tschugmell reached his first stage destination on Lake Constance after five hours on the water. It was a "super day".
Image: zVg
After a long wait, Otto Tschugmell's adventure finally starts on July 15.
Image: zVg
In his home town of Balzers, the Liechtenstein native climbed into his self-built rowboat.
Image: zVg
The Liechtenstein native wants to paddle the entire length of the Rhine - 1200 kilometers to the sea.
Image: zVg
Tschugmell reached his first stage destination on Lake Constance after five hours on the water. It was a "super day".
Image: zVg
With his 5.40 meter long, kayak-like boat, which measures 95 centimetres at its widest point, he wants to visit his friends in Hoek van Holland: "They will receive me there. I will then store the boat with them, fly home and pack our belongings with my wife. Then we'll drive back to Holland by car and pick up the boat."
He adds with a smile: "I know the route well. When I was 60 and retired, I cycled along the Rhine to our friends in Holland on my mountain bike."
"I never feel lost on the water"
This time, however, it will not be a land route but a water route that will take him to his destination. This is also his place of strength, as Tschugmell admits: "I simply feel most at home on the water, where I never feel alone or lost."
He will be taking pictures of his loved ones with him to accompany him on the tour. However, his wife Renita still doesn't really enjoy Tschugmell's plans. "She asked me if I really had to go." And his mother, who is 95 years old, has called him a "weirdo". "They're all afraid that something might happen to me."
But Tschugmell himself is certain: "I've built the right boat for this tour, I'm well prepared and I know what I'm doing." He owned a small yacht on Lake Constance for 15 years and then on Lake Walen. He also trains regularly on the rowing machine. His many years of experience give him confidence in his project.
Tschugmell actually wanted to become a shipbuilder
Tschugmell has always had a passion for boats. Even as a young boy, he was fascinated by the Rhine. "Back then, I used to carve little boats out of wood with friends and wonder where they would go. Carrying them out into the distance, into the world - I was always hypnotized by it," says the 68-year-old.
Unfortunately, however, his infatuation with boats has only ever remained an infatuation - until now. As a schoolboy, Tschugmell once worked on a ship on the Rhine for eight weeks during the summer vacations because he actually wanted to become a sailor and then somehow end up as a shipbuilder. But this didn't seem to be the right path for him, and he ended up working in the construction industry.
On the road with "Tschotto" for 24 working days
Now he has turned his dream into reality. The black letters on his lovingly built masterpiece read "Tschotto", which is made up of the 68-year-old's surname and first name.
This is important so that he can actually take it out on the water: "Because it's a rowing boat, it doesn't have to be redeemed, but it is important that it is labeled with legible letters ten centimetres high, without numbers. Then you can go anywhere."
Tschugmell will sleep at campsites and will also stop off at restaurants once a day if time and the stages allow. The former construction foreman calculates: "I think I'll need 24 days for the whole route. That's 24 working days, because I also want to take rest days in between."
5350 francs spent on building the boat
Tschugmell built the plywood boat based on plans drawn up by a Canadian couple who rowed 10,000 kilometers in their own boat and also covered routes in the sea.
The realization of his dream probably cost him around 5350 francs. "Maybe some people will think: 'Not that expensive!' It's just not a yacht," adds Tschugmell and laughs.
He has included all the equipment in the cost, such as the pharmacy, rope, long oars and the roller seat. "It also includes a paddle." He will need the long oars on the Lake Constance section and from Basel on the Rhine.
Espresso machine on board
As soon as the adventure is over, Tschugmell wants to sell his self-built boat. And at a modest price: "You usually pay around 12,000 to 16,000 francs for a wooden boat like mine. I don't include my working time, just the materials I've invested, and then I sell it for 5500 or 6500 francs. If someone else enjoys it, that makes me happy too."
To make sure he doesn't get bored after his return, Tschugmell has already planned his next project. Together with his son, he wants to build a shepherd's cart for his tractor. "As soon as the boat is sold, we'll have space in the garage again."
But first there is his big trip, for which Tschugmell hopes one thing above all: "That everything goes well and that I arrive home happy and content."
And there's one thing he can't miss on his long journey: "I'm an inveterate espresso drinker," says the 68-year-old, grinning ear to ear. "I was totally surprised that my daughter and son gave me a machine that allows me to pump coffee by hand." This makes his boat even more extraordinary, because: "Hardly any other boat has something like this on board."