Mijn hovercraft zit vol palingen (My hovercraft is full of eels)

I was investigating some Dutch language information websites this evening, and I came across this rather interesting one, Omniglot, which among other things provides some 'useful Dutch phrases'. The phrase 'my hovercraft is full of eels' was given in this list. It made me wonder (with tongue firmly in cheek) what kind of a place the Netherlands must be if that is a useful phrase. Certainly hovercrafts must be fairly common, and eels plentiful in the places where hovercrafts are used. And it must be the sort of place where you could say this to someone and they would be filled with sympathy. And perhaps there is also some well-known traditional Dutch method of ridding hovercrafts and other vessels from the slimy creatures which the addressee would immediately set to work to effect, to help you rid your hovercraft of eels. Well, at least I know I'll be well prepared for that contingency next time I visit the Netherlands!