Up to five tons load per trip
In any case, “Schorsch” still manages to do a lot. “The capacity of the ferry is 32 people or three vehicles and then twelve men. Or then just five tons of weight from a single vehicle,” says the ferryman.
And already there is a mobile home on the bank between all the cars, cyclists and pedestrians and wants to go from Kaltenhausen to Fahr. With the 3.5 tons, the vehicle can definitely go with you. “We could have made it over to Volkach in the car. But it was really adventurous on the ferry,” says Helmuth Güter. It’s also not the first time that he’s been driving his mobile home with “Schorsch”. Clear advantage: It saves a detour of about ten kilometers.
“Schorsch” shortens distances
“Schorsch” is not just a tourist attraction. The ferry also shortens and simplifies routes. This will primarily benefit the local residents. A car driver, for example, tells us that she uses the ferry every day to go to work. Of course, the ten-kilometer detour plays a bigger role.
However, it is unclear how long “Schorsch” can sail between Fahr and Kaltenhausen. Because the safety requirements are to be tightened. Schorsch currently has a crunching wooden deck. From 2030, among other things, a closed steel hull is required – this is what the nationwide inland waterway vessel inspection regulations provide for.
Future of ferries still uncertain – but hopeful
The locals have a clear opinion on this: “So far, the ferry has met the requirements well and that will certainly be the case in the future. We are optimistic. We won’t let tourism and this romance be taken away from us,” emphasizes Henning boy. Rüdiger Dorobek would also like the Main ferries to be retained. “The ferry simply belongs to our region, to our homeland,” he says.
How the ferries will ultimately continue is still open. In any case, Schorsch continues to sail for the time being – it is now also an intangible cultural heritage of Unesco. This gives everyone hope for the future.
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