Starboard Boats Amsterdam

Updated 08/07/2026

Starboard Boats Amsterdam — From One Boat to Twelve
The Modern Sloep Fleet: Monty, Starboard, Marlies, Danny, Jip & TLV
Willem de Zwijger
Batavia VOC
De Manke Monnik
Amsterdam Flower Boat
De Geest van Helena
What Guests Actually Say
Frequently Asked Questions

Starboard Boats is one of Amsterdam's best-known canal cruise operators, running twelve fully electric boats out of two piers in the historic centre. The company started in 2018 with a single boat and a decision to skip diesel entirely, and has grown into a fleet holding a 5.0 rating across more than 2,300 Tripadvisor reviews.

This guide covers every boat in the Starboard fleet, split the way the operator itself splits them: six modern electric sloeps that are essentially sister ships, and five older boats that each carry a real backstory. Alle Travel lists Starboard's cruises rather than individual boats — which boat you actually sail on for a given cruise depends on the day's schedule.

Starboard Boats Amsterdam — From One Boat to Twelve

Starboard Boats was founded in 2018 by four friends — Timo, Guy, Stefan, and Wilfred — who bought a single boat, De Manke Monnik, and built the company around a rule that the whole fleet would run electric from day one, according to the operator's own About Us page. A year later they rented an office at Herengracht 564, a 17th-century canal house on Amsterdam's main canal belt — a location independently confirmed by I amsterdam's own listing for the Flower Boat cruise. In July 2020 the company bought its second boat, De Johnny Kraaijkamp, and started hiring beyond the founding four. Four more boats joined in late 2021, and in 2024 Starboard built six new electric sloeps in one go, taking the fleet to twelve. The crew today runs to more than 80 skippers and hosts.

On Tripadvisor, Starboard holds a 5.0 rating across more than 2,300 reviews. Yelp lists a separate address for the operator at Leidsekruisstraat 35 — likely a secondary office or historic listing, since the company's own materials and I amsterdam both point to Herengracht 564 as the current base.

Piers: Amstel 178 (also called Starboard Dock) and Oudezijds Voorburgwal 230, a five-minute walk from Dam Square. Which pier applies depends on the specific cruise booked.

You can browse Alle Travel's full catalogue of Amsterdam canal cruises, covering all operators, to see live availability, prices, and reviews alongside every Starboard cruise covered below.

The Modern Sloep Fleet: Monty, Starboard, Marlies, Danny, Jip & TLV

Dutch names: Monty, Starboard, Marlies, Danny, Jip, TLV — all proper names, unchanged in Dutch

These six boats are effectively sister ships built between 2021 and 2025: same hull design, same 100% electric drive, same open deck with a partial covering for rain. Per Starboard's own fleet page, Monty is named after the company's own office dog, and Starboard carries the company's own name as a nod to how far the business has come since 2018. Book a standard shared cruise and you'll end up on one of these six — which one has little practical effect on the experience.

A note on dimensions: unlike large European river-cruise operators (for example, Prague's Bolle-shipyard fleet, which publishes exact hull length and width for every boat), Starboard doesn't publish per-boat hull dimensions for its sloeps. As general context, Amsterdam's own boating regulations single out 20 metres as a meaningful length threshold for canal passenger boats — vessels under that length must give way to longer ones, per the city's official canal rules page — and electric sloeps of this size class (licensed for up to 50 passengers) in Amsterdam typically run somewhere in the 18–20 m long, 4–4.5 m wide range. That's a class estimate, not a confirmed measurement for any specific Starboard boat.

Pier: Amstel 178 or Oudezijds Voorburgwal 230, depending on the cruise booked.

Cruise types: Shared sightseeing cruises with drinks, cheese-tasting cruises, German-guided cruises.

Capacity: Licensed for up to 50 passengers each; comfortable operating group size around 32.

Boat Built Notable detail Monty 2025 Named after the company's office dog Starboard 2025 Named after the company itself Marlies 2024 — Danny 2024 — Jip 2024 — TLV 2023 Oldest of the six current-generation sloeps Propulsion: 100% electric
Built: 2023–2025 (staggered across the group)
Length/width: Not publicly specified per boat; typical for the class is roughly 18–20 m x 4–4.5 m (see note above)
Capacity: 50 max (licensed); ~32 comfortable operating size
Deck: Open, with partial covering for rain
Toilet: None (standard across this group's shared cruises)

Water tours on the modern sloep fleet

This group of boats runs Starboard's most popular shared cruises listed on Alle Travel:

Note: The specific boat used for a cruise may vary depending on the date and operational scheduling.

Willem de Zwijger

Dutch name: Willem de Zwijger | English translation: William the Silent

Built in 2021 and licensed for up to 55 passengers (comfortable group size around 30), this is one of the larger boats in the fleet, per Starboard's own fleet listing. She's named after William the Silent, the 16th-century Dutch nobleman who led the revolt against Spanish rule and is generally regarded as the father of the Netherlands — a genuine piece of Dutch national history rather than a marketing invention.

Starboard Boats Amsterdam

Pier: Amstel 178 or Oudezijds Voorburgwal 230, depending on the cruise booked.

Cruise types: Shared and private sightseeing cruises.

Capacity: Up to 55 passengers; comfortable group size around 30.

Year built: 2021
Propulsion: 100% electric
Capacity: 55 max; ~30 comfortable
Length/width: Not publicly specified
Named for: William the Silent (Willem de Zwijger), 16th-century founder of Dutch independence

Water tours on the Willem de Zwijger

This boat runs as part of Starboard's shared and private cruise programme; specific boat assignment depends on the day's schedule. See Alle Travel's full catalogue of Amsterdam canal cruises, covering all operators, for current availability.

Batavia VOC

Dutch name: Batavia VOC

Built in 2018 and licensed for up to 60 passengers (comfortable group size 28), this boat's name references the VOC — the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or Dutch East India Company, the trading firm that built much of Amsterdam's fortune (and its more troubled colonial history) from the 1600s onward. It's a fitting pick for groups who want a bit of that maritime backstory alongside the canal views.

Starboard Boats Amsterdam

Pier: Amstel 178 or Oudezijds Voorburgwal 230, depending on the cruise booked.

Cruise types: Shared and private sightseeing cruises.

Capacity: Up to 60 passengers; comfortable group size 28.

Year built: 2018
Propulsion: 100% electric
Capacity: 60 max; ~28 comfortable — the highest licensed capacity in the fleet
Length/width: Not publicly specified
Named for: The VOC (Dutch East India Company)

Water tours on the Batavia VOC

This boat runs as part of Starboard's shared and private cruise programme; specific boat assignment depends on the day's schedule. See Alle Travel for current availability across Amsterdam canal cruises.

De Manke Monnik

Dutch name: De Manke Monnik | English translation: "The Limping Monk"

This is boat number one — the very vessel Timo, Guy, Stefan, and Wilfred bought in 2018 to start the whole company, according to Starboard's own company history. Built in 2018 and licensed for up to 44 passengers (comfortable group size 26), she's also one of only two boats in the fleet with an onboard toilet, available on request for private cruises but not fitted on shared sailings. Longest track record of any boat in the fleet, and still working the canals daily.

Starboard Boats Amsterdam

Pier: Amstel 178 or Oudezijds Voorburgwal 230, depending on the cruise booked.

Cruise types: Shared and private sightseeing cruises; preferred for private charters needing an onboard toilet.

Capacity: Up to 44 passengers; comfortable group size 26.

Year built: 2018 — first boat in the Starboard fleet
Propulsion: 100% electric
Capacity: 44 max; ~26 comfortable
Toilet: Yes (on request for private cruises)
Length/width: Not publicly specified

Water tours on the De Manke Monnik

Amsterdam Flower Boat

English name: Amsterdam Flower Boat | Marketed as: "The Original Flower Boat"

Built in 2014, the oldest boat in the fleet, licensed for up to 45 passengers (comfortable group size 28). She's covered in an actual flower arch and decorated deck, and marketed by Starboard as the first flower-themed canal cruise in Amsterdam. Ticket sales for the Flower Boat cruise contribute to a charity foundation focused on epilepsy research — a detail Starboard doesn't advertise heavily but worth passing on to guests who care. The onboard guide also tells the story of the "Flower Bike Man," a local romantic legend tied to Amsterdam's flower culture. The boat's home address, per I amsterdam's listing, is Herengracht 564 — the same 17th-century building that houses Starboard's office.

Starboard Boats Amsterdam

Pier: Herengracht 564, Amsterdam (also the company's office address).

Cruise types: City highlights sightseeing cruise with local guide, optional cheese tasting.

Capacity: Up to 45 passengers; comfortable group size 28.

Year built: 2014 — oldest boat in the fleet
Propulsion: 100% electric
Capacity: 45 max; ~28 comfortable
Charity link: Ticket sales contribute to an epilepsy research foundation
Length/width: Not publicly specified

Water tours on the Amsterdam Flower Boat

You can sail aboard the Amsterdam Flower Boat on this cruise listed on Alle Travel:

City Highlights Cruise on a Luxury Flower Boat

De Geest van Helena

Dutch name: De Geest van Helena | English translation: "The Ghost of Helena"

Built in 2018 and licensed for up to 55 passengers (comfortable group size 28). The name comes from a local Amsterdam ghost story about a woman named Helena, whose spirit is said to still drift along the canals at night. Like De Manke Monnik, this boat has an onboard toilet available on request for private bookings, making her a solid choice for longer private charters.

Starboard Boats Amsterdam

Pier: Amstel 178 or Oudezijds Voorburgwal 230, depending on the cruise booked.

Cruise types: Shared and private sightseeing cruises; preferred for private charters needing an onboard toilet.

Capacity: Up to 55 passengers; comfortable group size 28.

Year built: 2018
Propulsion: 100% electric
Capacity: 55 max; ~28 comfortable
Toilet: Yes (on request for private cruises)
Length/width: Not publicly specified
Named for: A local Amsterdam ghost legend

Water tours on the De Geest van Helena

Smoke-friendly sailings

Starboard also runs a Cloud Boat Smoke-Friendly Canal Cruise, a relaxed 420-friendly sailing alongside the usual sightseeing route. Boat assignment on this cruise depends on the day's schedule rather than being fixed to one vessel — check the activity page for the current departure point before booking.

What Guests Actually Say

Most of the praise on Tripadvisor lands on the crew rather than the hull, which tracks given how similar the six modern sloeps are. One reviewer described a Starboard outing as delivering "a perfect outing," calling the booking effortless and the crew a mix of professionalism and real warmth. A corporate group that chartered a boat after an office launch said it felt great to be on a genuinely eco-conscious electric boat, and singled out the heated seat cushions as an unexpected touch. The rare critical review tends to focus on drinks-package pricing or a roof left shut on a sunny afternoon — not on the boats or crew themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do Starboard cruises depart from? Shared cruises leave from two piers: Amstel 178 (also called Starboard Dock) and Oudezijds Voorburgwal 230, a five-minute walk from Dam Square. Which pier applies depends on the cruise booked. Private charters usually start from Amstel 178, though other pickup points around the centre can be arranged for a fee.

Are all Starboard boats electric? Yes — all twelve boats in the fleet run on battery power only, with zero local emissions.

Which boats have an onboard toilet? Only two: De Manke Monnik and De Geest van Helena. Neither the six modern sloeps nor the other heritage boats have one; guests should plan accordingly, especially for shared cruises.

Which boat is the oldest in the fleet? De Manke Monnik and Batavia VOC, along with De Geest van Helena, all date to 2018. De Manke Monnik has the distinction of being the very first boat the company owned. The Amsterdam Flower Boat is older still, built in 2014, four years before Starboard existed — she joined the fleet later.

Which boat is best for groups that want a bit of history? Willem de Zwijger (named after the 16th-century founder of Dutch independence) and Batavia VOC (named after the Dutch East India Company) both carry genuine historical references rather than invented branding.

Can I choose which boat I sail on? For the six modern sloeps (Monty, Starboard, Marlies, Danny, Jip, TLV), no — boat assignment depends on the day's operational schedule, and the boats are functionally interchangeable. For private charters, you can request specific boats (for example, one with a toilet) when booking.

Is there a cancellation policy? Starboard offers free cancellation on shared cruises when requested more than 24 hours before departure, per the operator's own FAQ page.

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