dylanmitchell

Please let me know what max lengths we should be looking at for the French canal system. First, what length would work on Brittany/ Loire, Midi, and Nivernais?. And second, would giving up Brittany/ Loire and Nivernais (some of the bet boating in France) give us a longer length. And last, all boats appear too wide for UK but will French canal boats handle Netherlands? I've found good information for boat specs but few mention length. We'd prefer to be a meter or so under the max for most locks to give some wiggle room. Currently were' looking at 1.2 meter draft, 2.5 meter height, and 4.5 meter beam if we want to keep Brittany/ Loire, Midi, and Nivernais on our options list but can't find the max length. Giving up Brittany/ Loire and Nivernais (some of the bet boating in France) would let us go up to 1.5 meter x 3.25 meter x 5.45 meter and open us up to the 13.98 long x 4.35 wide x 1.26 draft boat that has caught our eye or the wheelhouse 14.45 x 4.40 x 1.22. Both have a mast lowering system and should go under 3.25 meters. We plan to live aboard and occasionally brave the Channel so max beam, draft, and length are important. We do want to leave a half meter to meter wiggle room. Currently our search is limited to restore steel hull or used steel hull and the 400-450k Euro range which puts a few Linssens and other boats within reach. They appear overpowered and overbuilt for the canals but would allow coastal cruising and an occasional crossing to the UK. We're looking for restored or used put more boat withing reach with our budget and to retain better resale. We know all boats come with a hole for pouring money into the water but would like to recoup some of our cost. We do have a good eight our ten years before health will curtail our adventures. Thanks, Dylan