Cap D'Agde info requested

SgtColon

SgtColon

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Joined
18 Jun 2010
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114
Location
Nr Manchester / boat at Cap D'Agde, France
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Last year my elderly Broom Crown 37 with its trusty Perkins engines successfully reached the South of France from Norfolk and when I return to it in March it will be well deserved of some TLC including a full service. It is currently moored at Cap D’Agde where there are some flamboyantly expensive agents and companies for selling / repairing boats. Does anyone have some reliable person or company they could recommend preferably English speaking that I could approach.
Thanks
Graham
 
hi ,sorry for drift but putting back up the line might help so what height is your crown ie air clearance ,which route did you take
 
seastoke said:
hi ,sorry for drift but putting back up the line might help so what height is your crown ie air clearance ,which route did you take
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Hi Seastoke
After selling my boat it was with great sadness I left the fabulous people at Port Dinorwic and bought an elderly but stately Broom Crown 37 ‘Tudor Crown’ at Lowestoft. With that I crossed the channel from Dover to Boulogne. I dropped down the coast to the lovely St Valery-Sur-Somme and from there entered the French river / canal system via the Canal du Somme. After this the Canal Du Nord , L’Oise and La Seine led me into L’Arsenal, a fabulous marina in the very centre of Paris where I stayed for more than a week. From there I had intended to continue south on the Canal Lateral a la Loire via Briare and Decize. This would have been the most picturesque section of the journey but the route was closed due to flood damage. My diversion took me on the Marne then the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne and the Canal du Centre. There were highs and extreme lows along these sections because of the difficulty with the weed. My draught is only 1m but the weed physically held the boat back and constantly blocked the freshwater inlet pipes. The crew of a sailing boat struggled to keep their speed up as they were literally ploughing through it all. It was a huge relief to reach La Saone to put the radar arch back up and drop down to the spectacular and brand new halt in the centre of Lyon (Maximum stay about 4 days) The journey south along the Rhone via Avignon I loved and finally reached the Med at Port Saint-Louis. Crossing part of the gulf to Sete I thought my journey had ended but the pontoon refurbishments prevented me from wintering there and so I had to move on and winter in Cap D’Agde.
The height of Tudor Crown above water to the top light is 4.8m so the entire radar arch and engine hoist had to come down which made it an absolute pain to be constantly crawling underneath this structure at all the locks and mooring points. This left 3.05m above the water line to the top of my windscreen and this passed comfortably beneath all the bridges, etc.
Graham
 
Orange said:
Graham

You mentioned your clearance was 3.05m, do you think a 3.45m clearance would make it through France?
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3.45m clearance? There are some extremely large commercial barges that navigate through France without difficulty so the answer is yes you can navigate from the Channel to the Med through France but you would have to stick to the main motorway style canals. The Fluviacarte guides describe each canal and height obstacle in good detail (Not 100% reliable on what facilities are available – France has quite probably gone through a worse recession than we in the UK have and as a result some marinas are very run down). Some guides will indicate that most of the canal system has a minimum air clearance of 3.5m but these figures often refer to the highest point of say an arched tunnel. With 3.05m air clearance I would not have been able to navigate the Canal du Nivernais in Burgandy because of a long tunnel there and I suspect I may have had to drop the windscreen for sections of the Canal Du Midi.
Graham
 
seastoke said:
thanks graham how long did you take
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I set off from Lowestoft on 12th June last year and arrived Sete on the 10th September. I am retired and so was able to undertake the journey without a specific deadline. I spent more than a week on the Thames, About ten days in Paris and four days in Lyon. The journey could be completed in about four weeks but an early start to the day and an early finish makes finding a mooring much less stressful especially when you add to the day maintenance to the boat (especially the freshwater coolant inlets) , trolleying fuel to the boat from the local petrol stations (There are some considerable distances between reliable waterside refuelling points) and of course hunting for provisions (a pedal cycle is a huge bonus). I could be more specific but my log of the journey is with the boat.

Graham
 
SgtColon said:
3.45m clearance? There are some extremely large commercial barges that navigate through France without difficulty so the answer is yes you can navigate from the Channel to the Med through France but you would have to stick to the main motorway style canals. ....
Graham
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Thank you Graham
 
SgtColon said:
I set off from Lowestoft on 12th June last year and arrived Sete on the 10th September. I am retired and so was able to undertake the journey without a specific deadline. I spent more than a week on the Thames, About ten days in Paris and four days in Lyon. The journey could be completed in about four weeks but an early start to the day and an early finish makes finding a mooring much less stressful especially when you add to the day maintenance to the boat (especially the freshwater coolant inlets) , trolleying fuel to the boat from the local petrol stations (There are some considerable distances between reliable waterside refuelling points) and of course hunting for provisions (a pedal cycle is a huge bonus). I could be more specific but my log of the journey is with the boat.

Graham
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Fair play to you Graham but hey you kept that quiet
Good idea thinking about it you may have had some Pirates from PD trying to bum a lift!!
Well done so far I am dead chuffed for you
Great Post by the way
Pictures?
 
Hi Graham,
You've come a long way!! Delighted to hear you are being adventurous... i'm very envious!
 
Hi If you are in Cap D'Agde I would have no reservations in recommending Allemande boatyard at Grau D'Agde. It is a very professional outfit and Mr Allemande is a proper engineer. He doesn't speak great English but his daughter who works in the (Well equippe) Chandlery does and she is also very knowledgeable. I've been lifted out there several times and have always had good service.
 
John_d_Smith said:
Hi If you are in Cap D'Agde I would have no reservations in recommending Allemande boatyard at Grau D'Agde. It is a very professional outfit and Mr Allemande is a proper engineer. He doesn't speak great English but his daughter who works in the (Well equippe) Chandlery does and she is also very knowledgeable. I've been lifted out there several times and have always had good service.
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Fabulous. Sounds perfect. Thankyou
 
Kawasaki said:
Fair play to you Graham but hey you kept that quiet
Good idea thinking about it you may have had some Pirates from PD trying to bum a lift!!
Well done so far I am dead chuffed for you
Great Post by the way
Pictures?
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2016-06-13 14.46.32.jpg2016-07-07 11.43.54.jpgimage2.jpg2016-07-18 17.28.42.jpg2016-09-08 13.38.00.jpg

Pic 1 at Shotley nr Harwich, Brigid mutinee'd something about being not mad enough to mess about with the supertankers in the Channel so a couple of mates joined me for the crossing. All the gear on top of the cabin is planking and floatable sealed tyres to protect the boat in the French canal system (essential). The sea picture was the perfect day we had from Boulogne to St Valery (Can't tell you how much better the conditions were than they were in the channel crossing). The locks are a bit larger than th ne to get into Port Dinorwic,
 
seastoke said:
where will you be heading ,grayham
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Once the refurbishments to the pontoons are completed at Sete I'll head back there. Fabulous huge saltwater lake behind Sete and access to the Canal Du Midi. I'm not likely to be doing more than local trips because the purpose of taking Tudor crown to the Med was for it to provide me with accomodation whilst I search for a house property to buy. Who knows though. Never say never.

Graham
 
alt said:
Hi Graham,
You've come a long way!! Delighted to hear you are being adventurous... i'm very envious!
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Hi Nial, I loved the little Sealine Tryben as much as I think you did before me but it wouldn't have been suitable for this journey so I had to bid farewell to it. I sold it to a chap that was going to use it on the river Ouse at York but the last I heard it had been sold on and was back in its real element on the south coast.
As for being adventurous i dont think I'm the man for pitting himself against nature but not bad I suppose for an old geezer that had never stepped foot on a boat until 4 years ago.

Graham
 
SgtColon said:
Hi Nial, I loved the little Sealine Tryben as much as I think you did before me but it wouldn't have been suitable for this journey so I had to bid farewell to it. I sold it to a chap that was going to use it on the river Ouse at York but the last I heard it had been sold on and was back in its real element on the south coast.
As for being adventurous i dont think I'm the man for pitting himself against nature but not bad I suppose for an old geezer that had never stepped foot on a boat until 4 years ago.

Graham
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If Tryben is a Sealine S23, I have been looking at it as it's up for sale in Cobbs Quay marina Poole, looks a very tidy boat.
 
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