OV59 checks in

Hello everyone!

I've always dreamt of having a boat to live on, and the direction my career has taken recently allows me to actually plan for it instead of dreaming about it.
I'm located in northern France, and I'm at this moment torn between the "safer" choice, a motorised barge for inland waterways and lakes, and a seafaring boat; I'm not going to cross the Pacific Ocean on it, either, but something that could bring me to Britain, Ireland, or go across Spain all the way to Greece could be nice, too.

Hello, I hope your adventures are exactly what you plan for. We bought our DeFever 41 this Spring and sail the Great Lakes. or rather cruise.

Thank you, I'll make sure to keep the community informed!

Welcome aboard and good luck with your search.

Yes, welcome to TF OV 59. Please tell us a bit more about yourself. Eg, the derivation of OV..? Also where abouts in Northern France are you, and what would your main cruising ground would be. Knowing that might help in terms of the advice as to the most suitable fit regarding the type of vessel.

Also, are you a French native, so to speak. In other words, what your mother language is so we can pitch what we say appropriately.

Welcome Aboard! I`ve actually been to Lille, I think we overnighted there during an interesting road trip through western France and the battle areas, heading towards Reims. Australians are specially welcomed in Villers Bretonneux since WW1.

Welcome!

Nice location and both good choices.

One note (which may or may not apply to you) is that there are many times that a person buys a boat specific to a future dream. That dream may not happen for a long time, or even ever, but meanwhile the boat is not ideal for the thing the person is actually doing now.

I'll give an example from the US: A person buys a 36' bluewater-capable sailboat, with a deep stairway to the interior, tiny windows you can barely see out of, a small cockpit, and a 6' draft. Capable boat for crossing oceans or cruising the world.

BUT, this person is doing the Great Loop (loop route in the eastern US and Canada). The Great Loop is relatively sheltered, has shallow spots, and would be a wonderful place to have big windows to see out of, and a big, comfortable cockpit to sit around in of an evening (in real chairs). But you get none of that on the boat I described above.

And maybe (often) that person doesn't go on to do the bluewater cruising, or even if they do they buy another boat anyway due to changing desires.

That sort of scenario happens fairly often. And I totally get it as you always want to think ahead, and changing boats is a hassle and expense.

So it's just food for thought.

And sometimes it does make sense. Back in the day, I did the Inside Passage (sheltered, little wind) standing in the cockpit of a bluewater sailboat, motoring, being chilly, and going 5 knots. But in that case our next step (6 months later) was to sail to Panama and onward, so it made sense. (We were sailors then, so didn't consider an ocean going powerboat.)

Anyway, welcome! I have always dreamed of doing the French Canals. Sounds fabulous