French Canals -Bilge Keel or Fin?

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CJ13

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I'd appreciate advice from the forum.
We're in the early stages of planning to buy a 36'-39' yacht which we will eventually keep in the eastern Med. Lot's of options one of which is to buy a boat on the south coast and take it thro the French Canals - SHMBO likes this option. I want a boat which i can 'sail' and goes upwind. I don't really want the hassle of long keel.
The resticted depth on the canal's points towards a Bilge Keel or Shallow Fin.

Questions for the forum:

1. What is the max depth keel for transiting the French Canal's probably via Paris?

2. Am i going to notice a significant difference in sailing performance between a Deep Fin and a Bilge Keel / Shallow Fin?

Any other advice around the subject would be appreciated.
 
Buy a baveria and put the keel on deck!!Its said they sail just as well with or without!

There are great web sites that will give you all the advice you need (Ill look up his site and edit in a moment)

Dosent matter what keel you have youll run aground and have to kedge off from time to time!! The maximum depth is 1.80m but less is better,the canals can be lower than they should but in gereral 1.80m in the center

Many have managed with a bit deeper keels!!! Theyve posted hear a search will find the posts

Welcome to the forum!There will be others along very soon to tell you how to search (to complicated for me)

Web site hear:

http://www.michaelbriant.com

I would always choose a long keel!!!Then the boat looks after you in any conditions well almost any!

And allow at least 2 years from Le Havre to Port saint louis
 
I have no personal experience with sailboats in the Canals, but I do recall reading (perhaps Colin Jones in PBO?) that twin keels give you the problem of not being able to go as close to the banks on the canals. You have to go in bow-first then swing the stern in as far as you can, and have a very long board to get ashore.
 
Thats very true bows in to the side of the canal stern sticking out for the night so 1.6 fin would be best
You will get stuck at times and need a pull out and have to stick to the middle of the canal with asign up saying 1.8 m draft
Good luck
Ps dont try and come back up the rhone the currents very strong you will be down to 1 kt sog in places
 
Yes! This has cropped up before, Bilge keels not a good idea on the canals.

JFowler, I would suggest shallow fin or a lifting keel - the Southerly, Ovni and Feeling ranges give a fair spectrum of boat types to chose from and all sail reaonably well.

You might also consider the lastest catamaran from Multimarine/Dazcats, the Voyager 10.5. This has been designed with a beam suitable for the French canals. It is being launched in April and will be at Gunwarf Quay from 4 April for a few days.

If you are only planning a single, one-way trip to the Med, I would question whether it is right to buy a boat to suit this very small part of the whole plan. I would suggest either buying a second-hand boat based in the Med - there are plenty - or buying new and having it delivered to a location to suit your chosen cruising ground
 
Having taken a 6ft draught fin keel thru a couple of years ago, I suggest that you want somthing less than 6' ! Some nights we had to lie sidways across the canal, the bow wouldnt even touch the shore on some occasions even when sidways.

Personally if I had anything near that draught and wanted to get it across France I would put it on a truck, which actually would have been cheaper anyway by time I had paid for fuel, craning mast each end, then getting stuck in Le Harve for a cpl of months due to repeated bad weather.

Anthony
 
As soon as you are in the Med there will be very few occasions when you will find a shallow keel to be desirable. Shallow water is fairly rare and the extra foot or so will give you a number of benefits. As others have said, depth of keel in the canals is a real nuisance, we draw only 1.4 metres but were unable to berth alongside on many occasions in the Canal du Midi.
 
If you want the pleasure of going through the very extensive canal systems your probably going to be better off with a lifting keel .
Several makes and models out there the ,most popular of the better sailing boats (as much I hate to admit it is the) ,Ovni.
 
I,ve been thro, the Paris and Midi routes with both types, fin and bilge, fin is handier re getting alongside, and getting off the putty, and the less draft the better.
Less draft can be handy in the Med, (and elswhere), i.e. getting into parts of crowded anchorages others can,t reach, often envied cats!
 
The canal trip through France is wonderful. I've done it five times now, and would love to do it again.

One trip was in a bilge keel Westerly Discus, which we brought from Pt St Louis to Le Havre using the Marne. We had no real trouble. The talk of getting stuck and being towed off was not our experience at all. Yes, bows in to the bank, stern sticking out, looks a bit untidy, but is not a problem.

We have never had problems getting up the Rhone, and two of our trips have been in November (once, in 2002, when France suffered severe flooding).

I'm not saying the trip is a 'doddle', but it is a very enjoyable experience in my view.

I would endorse JJ's advice about a catamaran - guess what boat I've got now!!
 
Well going ups stressful

Going downs a pleasure an adventure and and experience for ever.Go down retern via the atlantic thats a great experience as well.

I met a wonderful woman in Rochfort !!!She works for the administration,helps for the place as well no time limit.Did i do the right thing by leavineg honestly????
 
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