Norway - Yachting Essentials
Electricity
Voltage: 230 V
Frequency: 50 Hz
Fuel
Fuel berth is available in most harbours. Petrol is also available in big marinas.
The green diesel dispensed here does not contain any biodiesel.
Diesel sold at road-side filling stations contains 5 to 8% biodiesel.
LPG
Bottled gas in the most common systems available.
Press-on propane is readily available from most petrol stations (tank exchange or new tanks).
Threaded industry standard (American standard) is available in some shops (e.g. Tess).
Vending machines for press-on and threaded propane tanks are common.
LPG Norge outlets will be able to fill most gas bottles.
Gas for camping may be found in major sports/outdoors stores rather than marine stores.
Exchange Camping Gaz refills are not available in Norway.
This site is useful: https://www.mylpg.eu/stations/norway/
Navigation Hazards
All warnings and Notices to Mariners are published on webpage of the Norwegian Mapping Authority.
Military exercise areas does not interfere with normal boating.
Bridges are marked in every official nautical chart. Note: in remote places in early spring it is advisable to allow for sagging of cables due to icing.
The following sites are useful: https://www.kartverket.no/en/at-sea/efs and https://www.bridgeinfo.net/list/norway/clearance
Docking/Marinas
Individual marinas or clubs should be contacted in advance, however, major marinas will accept guests as they turn up.
There are some mooring buoys in the Oslofjord area marked “OF” (Oslofjordens Friluftsråd) where members have preference. Also the KNBF have some buoys along the coast. Most buoys are private and for the exclusive use of their owners or clubs.
Yachts can anchor anywhere as long as they do not interfere with any vessels. Access to shore is allowed anywhere, although privately owned beaches and quays can prohibit staying. Passage on the beach, even if private, is allowed as long as reasonable distance from private housing is observed. Camping is prohibited on private ground in the proximity of the owners’ houses. Away from housing and fields you may, but good sense should be observed.
Beware that weather conditions may be hard and changing rapidly. Keep an eye out of tidal water. Tides are very moderate in southern Norway, but can be significant up north
There are plenty of natural harbors and far too many to count. There are only a few places along the coast where they are far between. Natural harbors are often marked on maritime charts. Multiple coastal guides are available for the Norwegian coastline.
Life rings are normally provided. Beware of tidal water.
Pump-out stations are common in major marinas. Suction fittings on deck are used. See Restrictions for more details on Holding Tanks.
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at [email protected]. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
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No one needs to take a test before or after entering Norway. The info on here is dated.
Thanks for letting us know Steve – really helpful. Yes I see rules changed last week and we’ve updated the biosecurity section accordingly.
The best pilot guide we used was, in fact, an app downloaded to our iPad and phone: https://www.harbourguide.com.
Norway is very capable when it comes to gas refilling. We found that our existing UK Calor bottles could be refilled with Propane by a professional for the same or less than in the UK. We did not have to buy a Norwegian bottle.
Rorvik and Harstad are where we filled our bottles but it seems like you can do it in most major towns. This site is useful: https://www.mylpg.eu/stations/norway/
To be more precise phasing out is a process as I have explained here: http://59nord.pl/en/radio-2/
It will be finished at the and of the current year, so there is still a good chance that this season visitors to Norway may be able to use their FM receivers.
When it comes to weather forecasts I have elaborated on that here: http://59nord.pl/en/weather-forcast-on-nrk-radio/ and here: http://59nord.pl/en/marine-radio-weather-forecast/
I want to highlight that Norwegian radio has shut down their FM senders from 2017 and the only way to access public radio is by having Dab+ in your boat as this is the only transmission remaining.
To access weather, check VHF Ch 16 where they inform which working channel they will broadcast the weather every day at 9:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 21:00 local time.
Being Norwegian, I would like to expand on your statement about all shoreline being private (Restrictions section).
Few countries, if any, give a sailor better access than Norway. The public intention is to keep all shoreline within 100m open to the public. Deviations from this rule are unfortunately many. Some because of existing buildings when the law was passed, some because of too good lawyers. But the general rule is that you can freely use the shoreline.
You can anchor outside the private property. You can take your dinghy ashore anywhere that is not obviously private. You can spend the day at the shore, collect firewood, and pick berries. All this without asking anybody for permission.
Any “private” signs are most often illegal. With exceptions for the densely populated southeastern part of Norway, the vast majority of the shoreline is free to use.