through France to the Med

dkm

dkm

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Thinking of an extended cruise next summer through France to the Med. I'll need to change my Targa 38 for something more suitable for extended cruising. Have any forumites done this trip? what do forumites think would be the ideal boat for this around 40-45'?
 
What sort of boat are you thinking about - mobo? Height will be your issue, isn't the max clearance something quite tricky like 3.5m?

Incidentally, I spent 10 weeks on my Targa 40 last year, it's not materially bigger than your Targa 38 - and it was fine.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
dkm said:
Thinking of an extended cruise next summer through France to the Med. I'll need to change my Targa 38 for something more suitable for extended cruising. Have any forumites done this trip? what do forumites think would be the ideal boat for this around 40-45'?
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Just a thought - why not put t38 on truck and get it to Med in a week. Then spend extended cruise playing in the lovely Med (SofF and Corsica/Sardinia being the best imho), not ditch crawling down through the middle of france, (which is a bit grim in terms of the view out, tbh). Then there is no need to change your boat at all. Plenty of help on here in terms of where to go, how to do it, berthing, drinking beer and wine with you till you're sick of us, etc. Just ask. See JTB's long move-to-med thread too (sort threads by post count -click on top of that column- and Jimmy's thread is first page)
 
And what do you intend to do once @ Marseille ?
Plastic boat will be battered in those locks crazed like an old tea cup - and a Steele ( Dutch style river cruiser) thingy with a 1 hp ish - engine will dissolve in the salty Med .
 
I'm aware of the height issue and would do my research before I go, thinking of Broom or similar.
JFMs idea has got me thinking - I 'll follow up the thread.
I 'm assuming I would need to get AC fitted?
Thanks for your comments
 
dkm said:
Thinking of an extended cruise next summer through France to the Med. I'll need to change my Targa 38 for something more suitable for extended cruising. Have any forumites done this trip? what do forumites think would be the ideal boat for this around 40-45'?
Click to expand...

I know 2 people who have completed this trip last year, both have a new Broom 425 with hydraulic arch to make it easy. One now heading around Spain and the other heading towards Sardinia.
 
dkm said:
I'm aware of the height issue and would do my research before I go, thinking of Broom or similar.
JFMs idea has got me thinking - I 'll follow up the thread.
I 'm assuming I would need to get AC fitted?
Thanks for your comments
Click to expand...

Generator, aircon, passerelle, underwater lights, marmite.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Thanks-just found your thread on moving to the Med, definitely food for thought to take the T38 though I'm amazed you could spend 10 weeks on a T40, can't see me getting SWMBO to agree to that!
 
dkm said:
Thanks-just found your thread on moving to the Med, definitely food for thought to take the T38 though I'm amazed you could spend 10 weeks on a T40, can't see me getting SWMBO to agree to that!
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10 weeks in total, not all in one go. I had a few 10-day stretches, but nothing more than that. Tbh it wouldn't be hard to spend longer on board in the summer months, you spend most of the time outside anyway.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
there's a lot of info out there on the French canals route which is an experience, mostly (but not all) of the the good kind. Took our atlantic 38 through a few years back.
perfectly doable without wrecking your boat as some have suggested, unles you are totally unable to handle in close quarters.
There is deep satisfaction in reaching the med this way.
 
blueglass said:
there's a lot of info out there on the French canals route which is an experience, mostly (but not all) of the the good kind. Took our atlantic 38 through a few years back.
perfectly doable without wrecking your boat as some have suggested, unles you are totally unable to handle in close quarters.
There is deep satisfaction in reaching the med this way.
Click to expand...

+1 Did it in our 40' Sea Ray a few years ago and totally enjoyed the experience.

Countryside and cities provided wonderful scenery, locks were no problem, plently of fenders, and no damage done to the boat depite suggestions on here to the contrary.

Very inexpensive to leave the boat in various places for our return trips to the UK for work, in total we had six weeks of trips to make the entire journey and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Graham
 
To answer the original question a a Broom would be the ideal boat for a trip through the canals. It's actually what they were originally designed for......capable for sea trips (varies from model to model but usually very capable at sea) and the aft cabin/walk round decks provides the ideal combination of living space and ability to manage fenders and lines when transiting locks etc.

I know I am biased as we have a Broom but our particular boat gives us a cockpit to rival many sports cruisers (we have previously owned a sports cruiser and love the cockpit lifestyle) living accommodation that is akin to a small apartment, easy close quarters manoeuvrability (way better that our Targa) and wide decks that make handling fenders and lines a breeze.

Obviously other boats of a similar design would also be good (Atlantic, Haines, Westwood etc) and it would also be doable in a flybridge boat or a sports cruiser such as your Targa. Neither would match the aft cabin boat in this environment though IMHO.

Also worth bearing in mind that you may not need to go to 45 feet to get live aboard accommodation due to the aft cabin. it makes a huge difference over a flybridge or sports cruiser. Ours is 41 feet and as I have already said is like a small apartment. You can get perfectly acceptable live aboard space in a 37 footer IMHO.

I you do look at Brooms it is worth bearing in mind that they do/did a coastal and an offshore range. Coastal are semi-displacement and usually have a reasonable keel which makes them very manoeuvrable in tight spaces and they track well at river speeds. They have also proved to be excellent sea boats over the years. Options to consider would be the Ocean 38, the 42 CL or one of the current offerrings. Ours is an OS (offshore) and has a full planing hull but still handles very well on the rivers. The 415 OS is a nice boat.....bit more modern than ours if you can find one for sale. Worth looking on the Broom owners web site as they have a discontinued models section that gives details of everything they have ever built. Obviously the Broom site is the place to go to look at current models.

If you are thinking of new then it would be well worth looking at Haines.....the dealer is Norfolk Yacht Agency who are an excellent outfit to deal with. Haines build quality boats which definitely compete with the current Brooms......in fact if I were in that market they would be top of my list. Also worth looking at NYA's current used offerings as they have one or two aft cabin boats. Part-ex is also sometimes an option if you are looking for a no hassle quick deal.

On the issue of height my understanding is that a max aircraft of 3 to 3.5m is required depending upon the route taken.

Hope this helps. I know others have suggested taking the current boat down by truck but I think that misses the point that there are two very different experiences here. One is about extended inland cruising with the experience of hugely varied scenery and environments along the way and the other is about getting to the sun and playing in the Med as quickly and efficiently as possible. Both have their merits and it ultimately depends in what you want to do. If you are thinking of keeping the boat in the Med my personal choice would be to enjoy the trip down through the canals and then enjoy being in the Med next year.
 
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Greg2 said:
If you are thinking of new then it would be well worth looking at Haines.....the dealer is Norfolk Yacht Agency who are an excellent outfit to deal with. Haines build quality boats which definitely compete with the current Brooms......in fact if I were in that market they would be top of my list. Also worth looking at NYA's current used offerings as they have one or two aft cabin boats. Part-ex is also sometimes an option if you are looking for a no hassle quick deal.
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Wonder why?
 
If your on a under 100k budget but need space the old style ocean 42 is a good bet or the early broom 37/39 will do the trick around 100k buy price, though you will,need extras like a genny and aircon should they not have it.

I'd quite like the thought of spending weeks meandering through France looking at scenery you would normally not bother with , I've spoke to many owners who have done it both ways and loved it. Most of the time you don't get charged anything to moor up, just water food and fuel, along with the correct license fee. Go on do it !!!
 
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