French Canals

"Through the French Canals" by David Jefferson is only one of several texts that answer your questions - or Google French Canals and you may dig up some personal blogs with useful info; lotsa peeps have done what you propose.
 
My local canal du Midi would be a problem with 1.5 metre draught.
In theory it is OK but you could be aground a lot in practice. The main system would present no draught problems.

There are usually cranes available at the ends, but I have used a high bridge (Leucate) and also a friendly British ship (Bordeaux). Otherwise head for the nearest marina with the mast lashed on deck and hope for good weather on the way.
 
We did Le Havre to port Napolean with a draught of 1.72 they are suposed to guarantee 1.8 meters on the usual route but at 1.5 you would have no problems. mast down at chantier naval le havre and either strap it onto the deck or put it onto a truck to Napolean you will need a cevni endorsement on your icc but I doubt anyone will check it and you will have to pay the canal license all in all very easy and great fun we took about 4 months north to south and enjoyed it all www.michaelbriant.co.uk is well worth a look if you want any other info let me know.
 
We draw 1.6m and had few problems. It's a fantastic experience - you won't regret it. Calais operates a crane if you enter there (we did) but you'll need to do most of the work - they just lower the hook to the deck and you do the rest. Cheap enough though - cost about £6 four years ago.
 
www.vnf.fr gives lots of info, maybe you've already been to their site!
the work "chaumage" has as many meanings as "oui" , but basically you need to download or request by post , the VNF list of these stoppages for work and repairs.I took the Marne route and had little problems with 1.8m draft in a bulb keel. The bank is difficult to reach at times, above locks seems deepest.No damage at all, filter cleaned once and nothing there, (saildrive leg).Did it in June.Ploughed a lot of loose soft mud, which hardly slowed the boat at all. Gearbox oil got hot and has now been changed to fully synthetic Volvo at megabucks per litre, but worth it as the oil now stays put when the outside water in sea or canal is 20/25C.Planning return trip soon, and have to find out about levels, adverse current etc. and should the trip be split over an autumn with completion in Spring.Have lots of fun, we did! p.s .Epernay, home of Champagne, not to be missed if going the Marne.
 
We're doing the canal du midi at the moment. My depth gauge has consistently been registering 1.2m and even down to 1.0m at certain spots. I'm going to check whether it's under-reading, or maybe it's just registering the depth to the leaf mould, and the bottom's a bit lower.
However, there are places - biefs - that, looking at the height of waterside tree root exposed (when the water's still and settled) the water's down maybe 400mm on 'normal'.
Don't understand that latter point, there's been plenty of rainfall recently.
Currently Narbonne, down the canal de la robine. Very pretty. Also pretty shallow.
 
Hi Grehan,

I have a friend who tried to enter the Robine from La Nouvelle last year. The Narbonne lock-keeper told him he would be OK with 1.5m, but he didn't manage it and had to turn back.

I have finally got my Beneteau back afloat after 4 years on the hard at Gruissan. Fortunately it survived the neglect well and looks new. The Volvo started after 10 seconds of heater immediately, whilst still ashore, so I set off straight after launching and had some dodgy weather down to Sant Carles de la Ràpita, arriving about 10 days ago. Not amused to be charged 79€ for 2 nights by the Club Nautico at San Felieu de Guixols waiting for decent weather (the day of the Monaco Grand Prix).
 
You should have no problems if you are keeping to the main rivers and major canals. We also draw 1.5, and spent last year travelling down from Le Havre, Seinne, Yonne rivers, then canals De Liong, Briare, Centre to Chalon Sur Saone, then the Rhone to the Med, where we are now. Didn't have any problems with the depth on these canals, though couldn't venture through the Bourgogne, as it was far too shallow during the summer and know we cannot do the Canal de Midi this year. Some of the canals are closed during the winter months if you are intending being on board and taking your time. Hope this is of help.
Do know of one guy who managed during April- June last year getting through the above with 1.8 depth.
 
canal du midi

Anyway, here's a picture of some bumper boats, having fun. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
bumpers.jpg
 
Hi James, enjoy your new berth at the Ebro! I hope you manage to sail up the river sometime, it looks lovely,views are great whilst driving.
How do you rate the yard (s) at Gruissan? I seem to remember a small hilly village poking up from an otherwise flat landscape?PaulClan
 
Hello Paul,

Entering the Ebro without very recent local knowledge of the position of the channel looks too risky to me. Even rounding Tortosa at around 7 metres depth you don't see much at all as the land is so low, so it would have to be done by following a local boat I guess.

There are several yards at Gruissan and I was ashore with Tout Pour le Bateau. The problem is that your boat can not be reached by travel lift with them and has to be moved on their trolley, so doubling the launching cost. For short haul outs it would be better to deal directly with the Capitainerie and pay their daily rate. Whether they would bother to answer an enquiry is another thing. After 5 years on their waiting list for a mooring, they never even replied to my emails and those were in French.
 
Document wise you need passports,insurance doc,cevni cert,ICC,prove of vat and any ownership docs,vhf cert,and any RYA certs you may have(not all of them vital but the more the merrier!).If boarded by Douane etc have it all there for them and they love it .If you decide to go via the Seine then I would recomend Honfleur as your jumping off point.The Circle Nautique De Honfleur meet you and assist with moorings demasting and general advice.The shops are right next to the quay whereas Le Havre is a bit remote.If you have room you can carry timber for mast supports with you from uk.Aternatively there is a timber yard 15 minutes walk south along the river past Lidl.If I were doing it again I would seriously consider having mast ferried by lorry.If you decide to carry the mast then take the time to make a good job of the props - you can get bounced around by large vessel wash en route to Rouen.Time your departure and you should make Rouen in one tide.In rouen tie up at Wiltards.They have all the Navicartes for the canals.Walk out of Wiltards and there are shops 100 metres or so.Turn north from shops and walk down to the bridge and near bridge you will find VNF office for your canal cruising permit.(When I was there 4 years ago they only took cash but it may have changed).In Paris we stayed at Paris L'Arsenal which is behind a lock and wash free whereas the moorings near the Eiffel Tower are prone to lots of wash.We did same route as Stargazerlily with 1.65 draught and touched a couple of times but got off again.The depth drops as the summer wears on so I would suggest entering the canals early spring.We found we could not park alongside because of the shallows along the canal banks so we would poke our bow towards the bank and tie up with the stern out towards mid channel.This meant we had difficulty stopping during day so we kept moving as often as not until the locks shut at 7pm (times vary) and never had a problem with that as long as we got away as soon as the locks opened.We did it in 28 days.We made fender boards out of pices of garden decking.We carried two pieces of steel reinforcing rod about 2 feet long to bang in for warp stakes between the armco steel shoring and the earth banks with no probs.Two big balloon fenders at either bow - the idea being to keep the boat square to the lock side.Tarpaulins to protect topsides (the blue plastic ones that cost a few quid and secured with cable ties to toe rail) your normal fenders plus some tyres to let down below the waterline.(Some of the locks further south have about six inches of freeboard from the water to the top of the masonry and it is easy to catch the stern quarter as you pull away) A couple of long warps to rig slips round lock bollards as you rise and fall.A system to lock your tiller (if applicable) in the midships position is handy as the water flows in the locks can cause the boat to shift about if the tiller is left unaligned/unattended.We had small fuel tank so jerry cans and trolley were a must for as fuel is almost solely from garages.Hope that helps.Don't think about it do it it's magic!
 
In depth

[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to check whether it's under-reading. . .

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, it was a bit - 0.15m - and the little rond anchor I used my measuring line's 'lead' weight pulled up a bunch of rotting twigs and stuff into the bargain. So not quite as bad as I had thought, but I'd still be especially careful along the Midi if I didn't have a retractable keel like what I do have.
 
Thanks for this, interesting stuff and looks like us 5 footers can do it with little difficulty, if we go the right way of course!
 
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