Med to UK via canals with 1.85m draught?

[whiteshythe]

Is it feasible get my yacht which has a draught of 1.85m back to the UK from the Med via the French River/Canal system?

Do the French Authorities put a blanket ban on a vessel drawing in excess of the advertised 1.80m, or is it up to the individual skipper?

I have met a number of owners of yachts drawing 1.80m who have successfully navigated the route via The Rhone-Canal du Centre/Lateral- Seine, but have yet to hear of anybody who has done it with a 1.85m draught or greater. Have any of you attempted it? Providing the bottom is mud, I would not be too worried about touching the bottom on occasions!

I look forward to your comments.

Steve
(Rassy Lady)

 

[jonic]

It would depend on the amount of water due to drought or how much the farmers are taking, but I would think it could be tricky. Some areas are solid and rocky on the bottom. I did it with a 1.5 draught and certainly hit bottom a few times!

 

[Jobs a good un]

french canals

I did it one year with a yacht drawing 1.8 m,they put a sign up in the bow saying 1.8 m and stuck to the middle of the canal.
They got stuck a couple of times in soft mud,no major dramas thou.

One thing to be aware of is the strength of the current on the rhone I was heading sth so didnt have a problem with it ,but all the yachts heading north were down to 1 kt at times

So calculate lots of time to get on to the canal system,once there thou its easy.

Oh dont trust the Navicartes full of inaccuracies especially on fuel and water.

Ive done it twice now and enjoyed it both times,loads of brilliant places on the way and lots and lots of French countryside

 

[Grehan]

1.85m?

Good Luck!
No depth problems with the major rivers: Rhone, Seine and Saone. It's the canals running up to Paris where the notional depth of 1.8m (centre of the channel, mind you) can be suspect.
The Canal du Centre has recently closed for lack of water* - that this particular route runs short late in the season is not that unusual, although complete closure is. The easterly 'Champagne' route (Saone-Marne) has a more reliable feed and also has more commercial traffic to keep the 1.8m depth 'cleared' (to a degree).
[* I think it still is, but there has been a fair amount of rain there in the last few days]
A draft beyond say 1.6m can give difficulties in some particular situations - i) coming alongside because the canal edge is considerably shallower ii) on the 'down' exit from a lock where silt can get built up into a bar and iii) having to move over into the shallower regions to pass oncoming boats. A sign on the bows saying "1.8m" is all very well, but lots of people don't know what it means, or ignore it anyway, or themselves are 'restricted by draft' and actually can't move over much. Sometimes you can't read the blinking sign until you're very close!
Whilst much of the canal bed is soft leaves, mud and other stuff quite able to be 'ploughed' through, as Jonic has said this is not invariably the case and there are some hard gravelly rocky bits too that might mean that 1.8m really means that.
This '1.8m' question is posed regularly and it is really difficult to be categoric. Depends on the route, on the time of year, on the boat and its engine power, on circumstances and on how prepared crews are to experience and overcome problems.
As you say, people do get through drawing 1.8m and that's what the route is supposed to provide. It is down to skippers, there's no regulation against that I know of. You wouldn't, however, get much sympathy from the authorities if you get stuck because you draw 1.85m (possibly more in fresh water).
Canal and river routes through France to/from the Mediterranean
Waterway Depths, Heights and Widths
Rhone Conditions

 

[whiteshythe]

1.85m draught.

Gentlemen,

Many thanks for your replies. The more easterly route via the 'Canal de la Marne a la Saone' and maybe by-passing Paris completely to exit the canal system at Calais, does sound preferable.

I will research the options further, I intend to stay a few more years in the Med. before starting the journey home.

Regards,

Steve.

 

[anniebray]

Apologies for slightly off topic !

We are planning to return to UK from Med via Paris & River Seine to Le Havre next year, could someone kindly advise what Pilot Guides and/or maps I should get ?

 

[Grehan]

French Waterways - charts, books and guides

Complete list of charts, guides and books for the rivers and canals of France here.
Breil and Fluviacarte pilot books are good and each covers a river or collection of canals with detailed maps/charts and navigation notes. Neither can be 100% accurate but I certainly wouldn't 'leave home without one'.
Of the books, Hugh McKnight's "Cruising French Waterways" is not intended for navigation but is a superb description and guide to the inland waterways of France and the places along the way. I personally can't get on with Jefferson's "Through the French Canals" but it is popular as is David Edwards-May's "Inland Waterways of France" which also has a variable reputation.

 

[Grehan]

. . maybe by-passing Paris completely . . .

Going through Paris is a unique and memorable experience. No need to miss out unless you want to. Once you get to Condé-sur-Marne you can either branch north through Reims and then north-west to Calais, with half that route (approx.) at 1.8m depth. Or you can continue west for a similar 1.8m depth distance to Paris and the deeper Seine. Exit to the Channel at Le Havre, or branch north at Conflans west of Paris and head for the northern ports.

 

[Andy and Lyn]

did the journey over the past few months - now in Le Havre.

Agree with all Grehan s comments (the recognised expert in this field).

If you drw 1.8 in sea water, then thats at least 1.9 ish in fresh water.

So, on the western route the limitation will be the Canal de Centre; basically the last third (heading north). We draw 1.5 - and only just made it - your draught - no chance ( in my humble opinion)

 

[Kimmo]

Hello

We went from Dunkerque to Med with a 1,75 meter draft boat this summer (eastern route). I think that is the max draft that I would do it again. Now that I've been diving here at Med and looking at the keel, there's about 10 centimeter antifouling off from the keel, which probably has been rubbed into mud constantly.

The center of the canals are probably ok even with a deeper draft, but the problem is when you have to give way to barges. The depth rises quickly and you start hitting tree roots, mud etc. Also mooring was a problem for us and we were stuck in mud more than few times (first time when we've had to push the boat to get moving).

Also take in account the fact, that if your boat officially had a 1,85m draft, it's now more likely 2,0m due to stuff onboard. Our boat officially has a 1,60m draft...

 

[Carolwildbird]

It is possible... my brothers ex. boat, draft 2.0m.. was sold in the med and brought back through the canals. I will chat to them and find out what route they took.. I suspect Rhone/Saonne and then up via the Moselle as they were aiming for the Baltic. . A much shorter stretch at 1.8m nominal (petit saonne), then deeper either side. They took quite a time over it, and I suspect waited for suitable rains etc (they wintered the boat in St jean de Losne, and went north in the spring).

 

[Wino]

You could always look at road transport.
I was speaking with an owner a few week ago who said he was having his boat transported back to UK for not a lot more than he had calculated for fuel, VNF, and marina charges en route, plus it would be back in a matter of days rather than weeks.
Also its getting a bit late in the season for The Channel.
Roj M

 

[binch]

Canal depth

It is wrong to assume that canal bottoms are V-section.
Generally, they are dredged to a flat bottom about 10 metres wide and then slope up gradually to about a metre at the bank.
I once published a pic of a drained canal, and the French magazine has also published pix of the canal near Roanne.

 

[anniebray]

Thanks for all replies to my query ! Have just left Cueta (in my boat!) where I was offline for a few days whilst I enjoyed a 5 day coach package tour into Morocco. Making for Cartahenna where we winter then set off for Sete & the canals.

Apologies for slightly off topic !.

We are planning to return to UK from Med via Paris & River Seine to Le Havre next year, could someone kindly advise what Pilot Guides and/or maps I should get ?