French Canal Boats Length

[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

[AjW]

This might help 

 

Max beam, draft, length won't affect your ability to cross the channel.  It will however place some restrictions on where you can take a boat this side of the channel.  With 400k to throw at it you might as well get one built for the job.  Plenty of builders both sides of the channel will help you design the right boat.

[Boaty Jo]

https://www.french-waterways.com/practicalities/canal-depths/
 

This may help. Plenty of other useful info too. Our friends did many of the Burgundy waterways in in a MFV (Motor fishing vessel) that was 1.65m draft but I'm not sure if they did the Nivernais whose depth can vary somewhat and be shallow at times. Be aware that some of the canals are not as well maintained as they used to be when geared up for steady commercial traffic so getting close to the bank away from designated moorings can be hit and miss. Also they are weedy at times to keel cooling is preferred.

You probably realize but the Brittany canals are isolated from the main navigations.

 

 

[Athy]

Welcome, Dylan. Thanks for letting us know that California has now gained independence!

It is worth noting that until recently one had to pass a more stringent test before being allowed to steer private boats of 15 metres or more in length. This, if I understand Voies Navigables de France's regulations, has now been raised to 20 metres.

Lock lengths should not be an issue, as most are at least the Freycinet length of 38 metres. There are exceptions - the Canal du Berry is one, also the Canal de Montech (recommended for a visit) and the River Baise (even more so) have locks of 30.5 metres in length, making the longest permitted boat length 28.5 metres.

There is indeed much marvellously enjoyable boating to be had in France. Mrs. Athy and I have just returned, two weeks ago, from our fifth hire-boat holiday over there (Canal de Garonne on this occasion) and we're looking forward to more.

As for the Channel...you may be experienced sea boaters; if not, do seek expert advice before venturing into those lumpy and busy waters.

Good luck with your search. Do keep us informed about its progress.

 

 

[Tam & Di]

Given the sort of craft you seem to be considering, length is not the main thing for your choice. Other than major commercial routes and rivers the majority of French waterways are for Freycinet craft with a nominal 38m length, and this includes the Nivernais. For the Midi you'd be limited to 30m and for Brittany canals to 26.5m. I don't know where you found 5.45m beam, but the limit for Freycinet waterways is 5.05m

A lot of inland marinas now limit visiting craft to 15m but it is easy enough to find spots for craft to 25 - 40m. Regulations are just coming into force re technical requirements for craft over 20m, but they are mostly sensible safety items and not particularly onerous.

Boaty Jo's link is very good, but you'd get a lot more practical info from the DBA http://www.barges.org.

I've just had a quick look and here was a recent forum thread about Brittany: http://www.barges.org/forum/waterways-continental-europe/7343-brittany-waterways#67204

There is also some practical stuff about skipper certification, inland "highway code" (CEVNI), use of VHF (different to sea use) and so on here on my site    http://www.bargehandling.com/Bargehandling.com/BARGE_HANDLING_BLOG/BARGE_HANDLING_BLOG.html

 

Tam

[bargemast]

4 hours ago, Tam & Di said:

Given the sort of craft you seem to be considering, length is not the main thing for your choice. Other than major commercial routes and rivers the majority of French waterways are for Freycinet craft with a nominal 38m length, and this includes the Nivernais. For the Midi you'd be limited to 30m and for Brittany canals to 26.5m. I don't know where you found 5.45m beam, but the limit for Freycinet waterways is 5.05m

A lot of inland marinas now limit visiting craft to 15m but it is easy enough to find spots for craft to 25 - 40m. Regulations are just coming into force re technical requirements for craft over 20m, but they are mostly sensible safety items and not particularly onerous.

Boaty Jo's link is very good, but you'd get a lot more practical info from the DBA http://www.barges.org.

I've just had a quick look and here was a recent forum thread about Brittany: http://www.barges.org/forum/waterways-continental-europe/7343-brittany-waterways#67204

There is also some practical stuff about skipper certification, inland "highway code" (CEVNI), use of VHF (different to sea use) and so on here on my site    http://www.bargehandling.com/Bargehandling.com/BARGE_HANDLING_BLOG/BARGE_HANDLING_BLOG.html

 

Tam

Hi Tam, I agree (as usual) with almost everything you're writing, but here's a slight error, the Nivernais has a section in the middle between the Sardy flight and all the way to Cercy la Tour on the other side of the 3 short tunnels the locks are only 30m long.

 

If the boat is bought in France it should be a boat that licenced for the sea, as on a french registered canalboat, you're not allowed to go to sea, in the UK, The Netherland, Belgium and a few other countries, it's up to you to decide if you take your boat out to sea, cross the Channel etc, but not with a French registered boat.

 

As has been said already the Brittany canals are not connected to the rest of the French waterways, but that's not a real problem for a sea going boat, as you can get to either of them with the sea as link between them.

 

For the money you seem to be prepared to invest in a boat, it would surely be possible to get a boat built for you, just the way you want it to be.

 

Bonne chance,

 

Peter.

 

Btw Tam, nice to meet you saturday at Auxerre.

Edited June 21, 2017 by bargemast
Forgotten to add something

[Tam & Di]

Thanks for the correction Peter. Our boat was far too deep for the Nivernais anyway and I'd forgotten the short section. If the OP is considering a Linssen then a 30m one would be an "interesting" beastie.

(Great to finally make your acquaintance at Auxerre over the weekend, by the way)

Damn - your typing fingers are faster than mine  -  see you again no doubt

[bargemast]

42 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

Thanks for the correction Peter. Our boat was far too deep for the Nivernais anyway and I'd forgotten the short section. If the OP is considering a Linssen then a 30m one would be an "interesting" beastie.

(Great to finally make your acquaintance at Auxerre over the weekend, by the way)

Damn - your typing fingers are faster than mine  -  see you again no doubt

Yes Tam, as you say, draft is a problem there, in '79 and '80 I still could do the whole canal, with the hotel-barge (draft 1m30) I owned at the time, but not without getting stuck in some of the pounds that weren't kept up enough.

 

If I ran aground, I just waited until someone came to check why I didn't arrive at their lock, and then they would raise the "bief" a bit more.

 

Nowadays I think that 1m20 is the very limit, but if you want more chance for a trouble free passage 1m or less is preferable.

 

Linssen don't build 30m boats, and with many of their (too) expensive boats, you may be fine with lenght and beam but the bigger ones may be having already a bit too much draft.

 

In a few years (if the canal stays open) you may still be able to do all of the canal on an airbed, as the bottom is rapidly coming closer to the top, which is a terrible shame.

 

I was reading the OP's posting again, and he has the wrong idea about the lock dimensions of the other canals with his 5.45 beam as that's far from a standard lock width, only the wide chambers of the St.Quentin can handle that size (and even a bit wider), and of course all the rivers and grand gabarit sized waterways.

 

Holland and Belgium won't be a problem unless he would like to do some of the ditches to vist picturesque places like Giethoorn etc.

 

We'll surely meet again somewhere Tam.

 

Peter.

Edited June 21, 2017 by bargemast

[Dav and Pen]

My barge is 22 x 4.05 x 1.1.  2.9 air draft. We can go anywhere on the connected system without taking the wheelhouse down and have crossed the Nivernais 3 times. However it is getting shallower not helped by the stupid habit of emptying locks after uphill boats.

im afraid it is getting like the. BWB days with no dredging of the so called liesure canals and none likely. The new build so called replica barges are drawing less than 1 m with many at 85 cms. 

BW build their work flats with a draft of 10" in the 70's so we knew the game was up.