Hi from Moonshadow

Just joined this forum, so hi there !
Moonshadow is a Linssen 410 Sedan 43 ft Dutch displacement steel cruiser (so not strictly a trawler), built in 2016.
We are presently overwintering in Decize on the Canal Lateral a la Loire in Burgundy in France and should be heading south along the Saone and Rhone towards the Mediterranean and Canal du Midi in April.
This is our third Linssen and mostly the inland waterways of Europe are our turf.
We are pretty well versed on the waterways of France, Netherlands and Germany if anybody needs any advice in this area.

Welcome to the forum. I envy you.

A few years ago I started a thread here about cruising the canals of Europe, well France mostly. I had a strong desire to buy a 10-12 meter canal boat and cruise throughout France and maybe Belgium and The Netherlands for the summer. Unfortunately I couldn't convince my wife.

It does seem to be a wonderful lifestyle: securely cruising along canals through gorgeous countrysides, tying up in cute villages, eating at local restaurants along the way, improving my rotten French, etc.

Is it really that nice or am I over romanticizing the lifestyle?

How is wintering? Do you use electric or diesel for heat? How do you get water down to your boat in the winter, or maybe it doesn't freeze where you are located?

Enjoy the life!! David

Thanks David.
Well, Moonshadow is overwintering in France, the crew i.e. the dog and I are overwintering at home this winter.
It can get quite cold in France in winter and the water tanks are drained, anti-freeze in the raw water system and air-con but it looks a lot colder at the moment in the US !
The French canals can be recommended but I don't know about Belgium, perhaps not my thing. Not much commercial traffic on the French canals and usually very, very quiet (sometimes too much so) as long as you avoid the Canal du Midi in mid-season. Lots of locks though, we did 236 this year, but mostly quick and easy and any breakdowns usually get fixed very quickly.
There was a lack of water this year in northern France so the need to be flexible when they close a canal is important.
It is generally very cheap to cruise the French canals after you buy a yearly cruising permit online. Stopping places vary from mooring alongside the bank to village pontoons (with or without electric and water) to the odd Port de Plaisance with more facilities but rarely costing more than $ 12-15 per night and often considerably less or free of charge even with electric and water.
This year we left the Netherlands in June and cruised up the Maas (Meuse in French), then the Canal de Ardennes, then past the Champagne region onto the Marne and into Paris where we stayed at the Arsenal harbour in the centre next to the Place de Bastille. Then up the Seine and over the hills via Canal de Loing and Canal de Briare to the Loire and then followed the Canal lateral a la Loire to where we are now.

Welcome to the forum! Cruising the canals of Europe sounds very relaxing and probably quite scenic. Please post some pictures of your boat. We all enjoy seeing different boats.

Ted

Thanks Ted.
Can't quite understand how to upload photos to the thread but have just added a few photos to Gallery.

Moonshadow said:

Thanks Ted.
Can't quite understand how to upload photos to the thread but have just added a few photos to Gallery.

Click to expand...

Thanks for you comments on cruising the French canals. Sounds delightful!

To upload photos, click on advanced if you are in quick reply then click on the paper clip at the top of the message entry screen. A window will open that will let you browse your computer and click on the photos you want to upload. Click select then upload and afterwards close the window.

To see your photos before finalizing your post, click on preview at the bottom. You will see your post with the pics at the bottom exactly as it will appear when you post it. You can edit some more or click post.

David

Welcome aboard!

Linssen is a quality and a fine boat, perfect for the canals and I feel good to be a "Trawler".

I sail here in northern Europe and the idea of ​​a few years to get into the inland waters of Germany, Holland, France and maybe Med. I will ask you if it is difficult to find a canal route with a boat whose bridge clearance is about 3.3-3.45 meters, height, variation if I detach the radar.

Can you recommend something (very good) to channel books to plan routes there.

Can you estimate about the cost of lifting a boat up to winter to land on a 40 feet boat?

NBs

Welcome aboard, must be very nice to cruise there. I visited canal du midi when I was young and loved it. It is a bit less nice now as they were forced to cut a lot of Platane trees along the canal but still nice.
Any idea of the minimum clearance and draft along the way from north to south?

L

Thanks for that.
You shouldn't have any problem with 3.45 meters air draft in France. Just take it easy under bridges and if needed stick up on wine as extra ballast.
No idea what a lift out would cost, probably depends who is doing it.

Hi Lou,

Officially airdraft is 3.50 meters. Ideally your draft should be around 1.20 meters but it depends a lot on water levels. Last summer was extremely dry and even witn 1.20 meters you would have had trouble in some places.

Hi Ted, here are a few photos of Moonshadow (hopefully)

Beautiful country and boat. Keep us posted on your travels.

Looks like you got the hang of it. Gorgeous pics!!

David

Nice photos, thanks for sharing.

My wife would love that kind of cruising. Is there such a thing as a bareboat canal boat charter in France?

cardude01 said:

My wife would love that kind of cruising. Is there such a thing as a bareboat canal boat charter in France?

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You can rent a boat to navigate on the Canal du Midi in south of France, it is a well known place.

L

cardude01 said:

My wife would love that kind of cruising. Is there such a thing as a bareboat canal boat charter in France?

Click to expand...

Look up LeBoat as a vendor who does a lot of those charters. I’ve been eye balling them for a couple of years. They are all over Europe, and the U.K. looks like a blast

I too had a dream of spending some time in France along the canals, from buying an already converted old barge to a new build at sailaway stage, and then fitting out myself while cruising I inspected a few boats in St Jean de Losne, but in the end walked away. I still hope to charter there at some stage!

Tom Sommers books are very comprehensive, with info on draft etc for the canals and intro to many other aspects of canal boating.
Tom Sommers' EuroCanals Guides

Thanks for the pictures! Everything I've seen on cruising the canals makes it seem so relaxing and leisurely.

Ted

Nice intro and beautiful pics...
Nicely done.

djmarchand said:

Thanks for you comments on cruising the French canals. Sounds delightful!

To upload photos, click on advanced if you are in quick reply then click on the paper clip at the top of the message entry screen. A window will open that will let you browse your computer and click on the photos you want to upload. Click select then upload and afterwards close the window.

To see your photos before finalizing your post, click on preview at the bottom. You will see your post with the pics at the bottom exactly as it will appear when you post it. You can edit some more or click post.

David

Click to expand...

Thanks for the photo info David.

cardude01 said:

My wife would love that kind of cruising. Is there such a thing as a bareboat canal boat charter in France?

Click to expand...

Yes, France is full of charter companies with various qualities of boats and price catagories.
Or try a barge cruise on a hotel barge.