Apres Ski
Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2014
- Messages
- 24
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Après Ski
- Vessel Make
- 1991 French Canal Boat
Hi Everyone-
I just joined the forum last night, after lurking for a few weeks. From what I can gather y'all (all y'all?) like photos and stories, so I thought I'd post some info about something completely the same (boating) yet totally different (on a canal in France). And for those who didn't read our "hello world" post on the Welcome Mat, we are looking to buy a 38-42' (44'?) trawler, preferably a single-engine DeFever or GB, first for cruising the east coast/ICW/Bahamas and then for full-time live-aboard.
My favorite wife and I own a 29' fiberglass boat in France, currently on the hard in south-east Burgundy, awaiting our return next month. She (the boat, not the wife) was built in 1991 in England for use by a charter company in France. The layout is actually pretty similar to that of a GB42; forward V berth, forward head, galley up, L-shaped settee with engine "room" underneath, then two steps down to a double bunk master cabin and head. We have both an inside and outside driving station. And believe it or not this all fits in a package 29' long and 11' wide.
The canals impose very different constraints on boats than the open water does; we have to worry about not only draft (1.2 meters on the smaller canals) and beam (the locks are 5 meters wide), but also air draft, to fit under the low bridges; 2.75 meters will get you under every bridge in France, and if you forgo the southern section of the Nivernais Canal and the central portion of the Midi Canal, you can get by with about 3.1 meters of air draft.
There are two very good things about canal boating; first, there is no anchor to drag - you just tie up for the night pretty much wherever you want. Boats even come with big stakes and a sledgehammer for you to make your own mooring. Second, the speed limit is 8km/hr, or just under 5 knots. So we generate plenty of power with our 43 hp Nanni diesel (Nanni is a French company that converts Kubota tractor engines for marine use). They get a workout; ours accumulated 12,000 hrs in 20 years of the charter trade, and we've put on another 700+ hrs in 3 seasons of cruising. My mechanic told me it won't need a rebuild until 15k hrs. Nice!
And best of all, we burn 2 LITERS per hour. So I always get a chuckle when I read a trawler listing on Yachtworld that says something like "economical fuel consumption at only 5 gallons per hour!" I'll just need to get used to talking in gph instead of lph.
Ok, some pics:
1. The marina at Aigues Mortes, on the southern coast near the Rhone River - we are the second boat in. It was our first night of ownership, and we hadn't yet applied the bow graphic.
2. The "raison d'être"; fresh bread, pastries, cheese and jam
3. Big barges moored along the Midi Canal
4. Our boat tied up for the night on a make-shift mooring a couple weeks later, now showing off her bow graphic
And for those who are interested, there are many (many...) more stories and photos at unexcusedabsences dot "the usual". Click "Read from the Beginning" and scroll down to find boating stories starting mid April 2011 with the post titled "You Bought a What?!?"
I just joined the forum last night, after lurking for a few weeks. From what I can gather y'all (all y'all?) like photos and stories, so I thought I'd post some info about something completely the same (boating) yet totally different (on a canal in France). And for those who didn't read our "hello world" post on the Welcome Mat, we are looking to buy a 38-42' (44'?) trawler, preferably a single-engine DeFever or GB, first for cruising the east coast/ICW/Bahamas and then for full-time live-aboard.
My favorite wife and I own a 29' fiberglass boat in France, currently on the hard in south-east Burgundy, awaiting our return next month. She (the boat, not the wife) was built in 1991 in England for use by a charter company in France. The layout is actually pretty similar to that of a GB42; forward V berth, forward head, galley up, L-shaped settee with engine "room" underneath, then two steps down to a double bunk master cabin and head. We have both an inside and outside driving station. And believe it or not this all fits in a package 29' long and 11' wide.
The canals impose very different constraints on boats than the open water does; we have to worry about not only draft (1.2 meters on the smaller canals) and beam (the locks are 5 meters wide), but also air draft, to fit under the low bridges; 2.75 meters will get you under every bridge in France, and if you forgo the southern section of the Nivernais Canal and the central portion of the Midi Canal, you can get by with about 3.1 meters of air draft.
There are two very good things about canal boating; first, there is no anchor to drag - you just tie up for the night pretty much wherever you want. Boats even come with big stakes and a sledgehammer for you to make your own mooring. Second, the speed limit is 8km/hr, or just under 5 knots. So we generate plenty of power with our 43 hp Nanni diesel (Nanni is a French company that converts Kubota tractor engines for marine use). They get a workout; ours accumulated 12,000 hrs in 20 years of the charter trade, and we've put on another 700+ hrs in 3 seasons of cruising. My mechanic told me it won't need a rebuild until 15k hrs. Nice!
And best of all, we burn 2 LITERS per hour. So I always get a chuckle when I read a trawler listing on Yachtworld that says something like "economical fuel consumption at only 5 gallons per hour!" I'll just need to get used to talking in gph instead of lph.
Ok, some pics:
1. The marina at Aigues Mortes, on the southern coast near the Rhone River - we are the second boat in. It was our first night of ownership, and we hadn't yet applied the bow graphic.
2. The "raison d'être"; fresh bread, pastries, cheese and jam
3. Big barges moored along the Midi Canal
4. Our boat tied up for the night on a make-shift mooring a couple weeks later, now showing off her bow graphic
And for those who are interested, there are many (many...) more stories and photos at unexcusedabsences dot "the usual". Click "Read from the Beginning" and scroll down to find boating stories starting mid April 2011 with the post titled "You Bought a What?!?"
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