Port St Louis du Rhone

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CalmSkipper

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Just supposing I was mad enough to buy a 32 footer, 4'1' draft in Port St Louis du Rhone, how the hell would I get it back to the uk?

Whats the rough cost of having it transported?

Is there a canal route through France for a boat with that draft and if so how long would it take? (I'm assuming I can step the mast down easy enough....but that is an assumptions
 
depends how much time you have on your hands.

I can't talk from experience but know of several boats of deeper draft who have used the canals. Apparently it is a great way to enjoy France - scenery, vineyards, food etc, but you need to have plenty of time to enjoy it.
 
Yes it will easily come back up the canals. You could do the trip to Calais in 2 weeks maybe 3 at the most. Will cost you time and fuel and less than £100 canal fees. There are mast lowering facilities at Port St Louis. I would guess road transport would cost between £2,500 and £3,500. There is no comparison between the cost of road transport and doing it by water. PM me if you want any more info.
 
Hey, thats impressive!. I only nipped out to make a cup of tea and when I got back the answers were already in!, Thank you - I will PM for details
 
2 - 3 weeks is pushing it to say the least and a lot depends on what time of year you're thinking of doing it. When we came south down the Rhone we had currents of up to 8 knots in our favour. We watched some poor sod who was trying to go against it and an hour and a half after we said goodbye we could have walked to where he was in 10 mins.

Having said that I would absolutely recommend the trip. Just fabulous if you have the time to enjoy it. We spent the winter in PSL after going south.

I would imagine July/August to be the best time to consider trying it but remember that it's high season on the canals and everything takes a bit longer than when we did it.

Still, if you want any more detailed info pm me and I'll offer whatever help I can.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Chas
 
execimp - the system ouldn't allow me to PM you??Could you possibly PM the details to me?

Chas - I'll try to pm you too. Thank you
 
exec - I've cracked the technology and managed to PM you!

By the way the final destination is the solent, just in case this has any bearing on the best route to take through France!
 
Head for Paris, then take the Seine to Le Havre, or Honfleur and cross over to the Solent directly from there.
D
 
Or if you had the time or wanted to do it in stages you could go throgh the Canal du Midi. We did it the opposite way around and spent a week in Port St Louis while the mistral blew. We draw 4 ft 6 ins and got through the Midi with little trouble.
 
Captain

I would allow 3-4 weeks (or more if you can). The story and pictures of our trip with 4'11" draft from the Solent to St Louis on the Marne route can be found here (Go to the previous newsletter section). You will need the Navicarte guides, these are like pilot books for each section of the canal. I found some this morning on ebay here . It's a good trip if you take it easy and enjoy the scenery. Good luck.
 
Thank you all so much for your help and advice.
I'm new and trying to learn rapidly. It clearly is feasible to get a boat back from Port St Louis if I make a holiday of it at the same time (Not quite at the stage of either career or affluence where I can take a more extended break (or a permanent one for that matter) from work yet and very envious of those who can!) . The knowledge and expertise 'on-line' via this web site never ceases to amaze me.
 
Unfortunately you have not mastered sending PMs as I have not received one. Other folk have given you more info since I last was here. It would be feasible to buy the boat and bring it back in stages through the Canal du Midi. Have sent you a PM so you can get used to them.
 
Port St Louis to Le Havre is doable in two weeks - I've done it a couple of times, in about that time and the £3,000 cost for a lorry is correct. In both cases the mast has to come down. There are cranes at Port st Louis and Le Havre that are doing it all the time.
The canal du Midi is only 10 days to Bordeaux but that leaves quite a long sea passage to say Falmouth of around 3-4 days or coasting a lot longer.

Have a quick look at my web site - canals section for details of routes and paper work.

Michael
 
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