french canals

[Guest]

we are travelling down the french canals this summer and were wondering if it would cost alot to transtport a mast via overland transport rather than on top of your yacht. if anyone has any information i would be grateful to know thanks

 

[Guest]

I went part way down french canals last year on a T 24 (Guy Thompson one) with the mast carried on the boat. It was to one side of the main hatch so it did not get in the way too much. I understood it might have cost up to £2000 to have the mast transported by road and had heard of damage to mast in transit not being uncommon. I will have a look & see if I can find the information I had on transport. We went to Calais where it cost only £10 to stay overnight and have the mast taken down on a Sunday morning. If you decide in that option let me know & I will get more details.Have a good trip, I certainly enjoyed it.

 

[Guest]

thanks for your information. i would be interested in rceiving further details of transport costs. how long was your mast to cost so much? did you protect your boat with tyres? thanks pauline

 

[Guest]

I have just noticed that I put the amount in Francs which was 2000 and the correct amount in £sterling would have been £200. Very sorry about that. This was the amount one of my collegues was quoted when he enquired but I do not know where he got the information from. It was his boat and he is now down at Marbella but I will be speaking to him tomorrow (friday) and I will confirm details of the costs of his trip and post the info tomorrow night. The mast was about 30ft long so there was an overhang of 18inches at each end. The best way to protect the mast is to cut an old fender in half amd put half over each end of the mast with some old fabric or padding inside the fender. We did not use tyres as we had heard that they were not allowed unless they had iner-tubes in them and thus would float.We had loads of fenders and an old scafolding plank which was about 20 feet long which we rigged up to sit outside the fenders when the side of the lock was uneven. You need two very very long mooring ropes to us in the locks, I would suggest about60 feet each minimum and 100 feet if you can get so they can go up to the top of the lock and back and be let out as you go up or down. However the very deep locks on the Rhone do have floating mooring points. More info tommorow. Regards Paul

 

[Guest]

did you manage to speak to your friend about where he got the information on the price of transporting the mast to the med? thanks pauline

 

[Guest]

He did not answer his phone when I rang and I have been very busy since but I will ring him wednesday and will report back. Regards Paul