Cruising the French canals

[Portage_Bay]

We are becoming interested in cruising the French Canals on a self drive boat. We're looking for anyone's experiences and ideas. Any input greatly appreciated. Ideally it would be a week on a boat then more time traveling and exploring on land. So far our home work has turned up

The Canal du Midi and Traditions and Travel threads started by Irish Rambler

A two part blog on cruising the Canal du Rhône-Sète and Canal du Midi
Canal Boating In France I -> Practical Details
Canal Boating In France II -> Lattes To Argens

Cruising Association has guides

And two outfits that can provide boats and some level of support
French Waterways
French River Cruises

 

[ScottC]

If you haven't run onto this yet, check it out. We found it quite useful.
https://www.eurocanals.com/

 

[Portage_Bay]

Thank you, that looks like a very good resource. Have you cruised the canals?

If you haven't run onto this yet, check it out. We found it quite useful.
https://www.eurocanals.com/

 

[ScottC]

Yes. Germany, Netherlands, Belgium & France.
France was the most recent - and that was 2019 when we took our boat from Sweden to the Med. via Paris. Lovely. I can't recommend it highly enough.


We will soon have to plan our return from the Med, which we'll do most likely in summer of 2025. The following routes are under consideration:
- Roughly the reverse of what we did in 2019 - but we don't look forward to upstream travel on the Rhone and 250+ locks.
- Canal-du-Midi to Atlantic and then around Brittany...but we don't look forward to potential orca encounters.

- Put the boat on a Truck from Slovenia to Lubeck, Germany.


In 2019, we had to rush the end of our journey south in France so as to not get stuck inland for the winter. This was due to impending canal closures due to lack of water. I've read (mostly from Tom Somers) that the water and canal closure situation has become far worse since 2019. The general suggestion is travel before the end of June for optimal water level conditions.


I can also say that after reading many years on Canal-du-Midi, one would do well to avoid peak traffic months (read: hours-long waits for locks). So, April and May would be an excellent off-peak / good weather / sufficient water time to go.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Agree with avoiding peak season. We're considering fall for our timing.

 

[ScottC]

We so much want to do Canal-du-Midi - but we'll have a bias toward pre-June transit when the canals in France are still enjoying some spring run-off.
This article can give you an idea of the water problem...
https://www.thelocal.fr/20230313/famous-canal-du-midi-stays-closed-amid-water-level-fears-in-france

 

[Portage_Bay]

That's a depressing picture.

 

[dannc]

I subscribed to one of the links, I think Euro Canal, but could never find out if one can just tie up along a canal? When we visited the NL, not by boat unfortunately, I could see places where it would seem one could tie up along the canal but I wondered if that was correct, and if so, how long could one tie up?

Later,
Dan

 

[Portage_Bay]

One of the many things I want to learn. Sort of like anchoring vs marina hopping.

I subscribed to one of the links, I think Euro Canal, but could never find out if one can just tie up along a canal? When we visited the NL, not by boat unfortunately, I could see places where it would seem one could tie up along the canal but I wondered if that was correct, and if so, how long could one tie up?

Later,
Dan

 

[Marco Flamingo]

We have used Locaboat for the Canal du Nivernais and the River Lot. We specifically avoided the Canal Midi because of reports of busy times with larger and faster vessels. It is used as a short-cut for yachts from the Med. Canal du Nivernais is a slow cruise with many, many locks (112 total), most of them boater operated (like 7-10 in a day). Being constantly overtaken by people bicycling or jogging on the shore took some getting used to, but keep in mind it is a vacation. Lock tenders supplement their income by selling fresh fruit, vegetables, and cut flowers.

Locaboat provided stakes and lines. Any remote place where you can drive a stake can be home for the night. We spent the night in pastures, apple orchards, etc. In several places, the local boulangerie had an early morning delivery truck (like they used to deliver milk in the US) that would pause at the upcoming lock and ask if we wanted to purchase fresh pastries. Oui, but of course.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Good to know Marco. That's the kind of information I'm hoping to find!

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Photos of our trip on the River Lot are in this album on another boating website.

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_albumName=The-River-Lot&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

 

[Portage_Bay]

Thank you!

Photos of our trip on the River Lot are in this album on another boating website.

The C-Brats :: C-Brat Albums

 

[ScottC]

I should also mention the following VNF sites. VNF manages much of the waterway system in France and this is where the most up-to-date information can be found on the water situation. I don't find that it has much, if anything, in English however. Worth the effort to copy-paste into Google Translate, if you can't read the French.

The last link below is an example of one of the regular reports on the water level situation. Navigate to it from the link above it and clicking on the button "Télécharger la situation..."

This was our most important "go-to" resource for canal status during our travels through France.

If you look closely at the document in the last link, you can see that Canal-du-Midi has been closed since June/July 2023 due to insufficient water resources :-(

https://www.vnf.fr/vnf/accueil/tourisme-fluvial/naviguer-comme-plaisancier-2/
https://www.vnf.fr/vnf/services/situation-du-reseau/
https://www.vnf.fr/vnf/app/uploads/2019/06/Situation-reseau-au-29.12.2023.pdf

As others have mentioned, one can, in many places, simply tie up to the a canal bank by putting stakes in the ground. You will need a good board/gangplank to facilitate this. In some cases, you can tie to trees, but that is rarely done in practice because the trees are generally on "the other side" of the tow-path (now cycle/walking/running/jogging/service vehicle path) and you don't want your tie-up lines crossing this! We tied up to the canal bank only on the smallest canals which have no commercial traffic because the commercial boats on the larger canals can produce quite a surge when they pass and play havoc with any make-shift canal bank tie-up arrangements.

 

[Iggy]

That's a depressing picture.

Yep!

I would live to do the canals! My wife is from France and has family there. So when we visit its aways a good time. BUT, I don't see how I would get my boat there without cost BIG bucks. Anyways, it would be nice.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Excellent information! Thank you. I will be using Google Translate.

I should also mention the following VNF sites. VNF manages much of the waterway system in France and this is where the most up-to-date information can be found on the water situation. I don't find that it has much, if anything, in English however. Worth the effort to copy-paste into Google Translate, if you can't read the French.

The last link below is an example of one of the regular reports on the water level situation. Navigate to it from the link above it and clicking on the button "Télécharger la situation..."

This was our most important "go-to" resource for canal status during our travels through France.

If you look closely at the document in the last link, you can see that Canal-du-Midi has been closed since June/July 2023 due to insufficient water resources :-(

https://www.vnf.fr/vnf/accueil/tourisme-fluvial/naviguer-comme-plaisancier-2/
https://www.vnf.fr/vnf/services/situation-du-reseau/
https://www.vnf.fr/vnf/app/uploads/2019/06/Situation-reseau-au-29.12.2023.pdf

As others have mentioned, one can, in many places, simply tie up to the a canal bank by putting stakes in the ground. You will need a good board/gangplank to facilitate this. In some cases, you can tie to trees, but that is rarely done in practice because the trees are generally on "the other side" of the tow-path (now cycle/walking/running/jogging/service vehicle path) and you don't want your tie-up lines crossing this! We tied up to the canal bank only on the smallest canals which have no commercial traffic because the commercial boats on the larger canals can produce quite a surge when they pass and play havoc with any make-shift canal bank tie-up arrangements.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Shipping the boat to France it out of the question. And the air draft it far too high for the canals. We will be chartering for the canal cruise.

Yep!

I would live to do the canals! My wife is from France and has family there. So when we visit its aways a good time. BUT, I don't see how I would get my boat there without cost BIG bucks. Anyways, it would be nice.

 

[Pascall]

A major problem at the moment is an overgrowth of aquatic plants that cause problems for the water cooling and the propeller of the boat.
Many locks in France are self-service.
Cargo ships, type Spits, are rarely encountered on the small canals, we also encountered few yachts, waiting times were rare and there was always room to moor.
In 2009 we sailed from the Netherlands over the river Maas via Belgium to France.
We passed Luxenburg and over the rivers Mosel and the Rhine via Germany back to the Netherlands.
The popular tour described here is called Meuse, Moselle, Rhine and leads through 5 countries.
My impression, peace, space, culture.

 

[Acdfpic]

5 of us did the Canal du Midi last May. We started in Castelnaudry and ended up in Port Cassafieres on the Med coast. We rented from Le Boat. The boat was ok, but tired.

I would recommend that if you are going to do the Canal Du Midi, early season is a great time to do it. We didn't have any trouble finding moorage in the towns and cities where we stopped. Another thing to consider in planning is that going down in the locks is much easier than going up. They crack the lock doors to let water into the next chamber, and I watched boats coming up get tossed around in the turbulence.

For weeks afterwards, all of us were still craving our morning croissants and daily baguette.

 

[Pascall]

I subscribed to one of the links, I think Euro Canal, but could never find out if one can just tie up along a canal? When we visited the NL, not by boat unfortunately, I could see places where it would seem one could tie up along the canal but I wondered if that was correct, and if so, how long could one tie up?

Later,
Dan

In Nederland zijn honderden afmeervoorzieningen waar je gratis mag afmeren, meestal voorzien van een toilet en vuilnisbakken.
De ligtijden variëren maar vaak is het 3x24 uur en dan dient met zich een te verplaatsen, dit is vaak niet meer dan een paar 100 meter,
In de Provincie Zeeland op het meer, Veerse meer, zijn alle voorzieningen buiten de jachthaven Gratis, afmeervoorzieningen , toiletten, vuilnisbakken.
Provincie Friesland zijn alle aanlegvoorzieningen buiten de Jachthaven gratis en ook voorzien van vuilnisbakken, daar word alles onderhouden door een stichting de Marrekrite genaamd. https://www.marrekrite.frl/varen/
Dit vind je door heel Nederland op kleine en op grote schaal.
Sluizen zijn voor 99% gratis, soms moet je voor een bug betalen, een of twee euro, maar meestal is het ook gratis.
Op de binnenwateren is er met circa 1 uur varen altijd wel een afmeervoorziening of jachthaven of goede ankerplaats.

Mvg,

Pascal.

 

[Pascall]

A small impression.

Mvg,

Pascal

 

[AlaskaProf]

We are becoming interested in cruising the French Canals on a self drive boat. We're looking for anyone's experiences and ideas. Any input greatly appreciated. Ideally it would be a week on a boat then more time traveling and exploring on land. So far our home work has turned up

We did something similar; a week in Paris,
a week of barging on the Canal du Centre in Burgundy
and another week in Paris. Our party of five chartered a barge with chef and master. Not quite the same, but for the additional cost we got the following advantages:


1. The crew know where the best bakeries are and each morning the cook would have warm croissants on the table when we rose. Provisioning was all handled by crew (see village markets, below).

2. You can tie to the canal bank at any location where the canal is broad enough. There are frequently bollards for this, and the captain knows where those are.

3. In our case, the captain would arise early and drive his car to that day's destination and bicycle back by the time we had finished the lovely breakfast.

4. Each day's passage ended in mid-afternoon and we used the crew car to visit wineries, chateaux, village markets, etc. The crew knew where the best were.

5. No time spent on pre-departure, post-voyage routines as one does with "the bumper-boats" as our captain called them. I have chartered in the PNW, and I know that the first-day, last-day stuff eats into your vacation.


6. We carried several bicycles, and could cruise the towpath ahead, or to catch up if we wished to explore en passant.

Yes, it does cost more, though the difference is less than you might think, and how often are you going to do this?

 

[dannc]

In Nederland zijn honderden afmeervoorzieningen waar je gratis mag afmeren, meestal voorzien van een toilet en vuilnisbakken.
De ligtijden variëren maar vaak is het 3x24 uur en dan dient met zich een te verplaatsen, dit is vaak niet meer dan een paar 100 meter,
In de Provincie Zeeland op het meer, Veerse meer, zijn alle voorzieningen buiten de jachthaven Gratis, afmeervoorzieningen , toiletten, vuilnisbakken.
Provincie Friesland zijn alle aanlegvoorzieningen buiten de Jachthaven gratis en ook voorzien van vuilnisbakken, daar word alles onderhouden door een stichting de Marrekrite genaamd. https://www.marrekrite.frl/varen/
Dit vind je door heel Nederland op kleine en op grote schaal.
Sluizen zijn voor 99% gratis, soms moet je voor een bug betalen, een of twee euro, maar meestal is het ook gratis.
Op de binnenwateren is er met circa 1 uur varen altijd wel een afmeervoorziening of jachthaven of goede ankerplaats.

Mvg,

Pascal.

Thank you very much for the information. My impression is as you stated but it is really good to know one's impression is correct. I also see quite a few lakes connected by waterways where it looks like one could anchor.

When we were in Leiden last spring we went to the Saturday market several times which was outstanding. One day was sunny and warm so the small boats were out on the rivers and canals. Many of the boats had food and drink on board which looked very relaxing and fun. Some of the boats would tie up to shop at the market. We were jealous. :lol:

Google translate:

In the Netherlands there are hundreds of mooring facilities where you can moor for free, usually equipped with a toilet and rubbish bins.
The mooring times vary, but it is often 3x24 hours and then one has to move, this is often no more than a few 100 meters.
In the Province of Zeeland on the lake, Veerse meer, all facilities outside the marina are free, mooring facilities, toilets, garbage bins.
In the province of Friesland, all mooring facilities outside the marina are free and also equipped with garbage bins, where everything is maintained by a foundation called the Marrekrite. https://www.marrekrite.frl/varen/
You can find this throughout the Netherlands on a small and large scale.
Locks are 99% free, sometimes you have to pay for a bug, one or two euros, but most of the time it is also free.
On inland waterways there is always a mooring facility or marina or good anchorage within approximately 1 hour of sailing.

Kind regards,

Pascal.

Thank you again for the information.
Dan

 

[DavidM]

Living aboard in France

I hope I am not hijacking this interesting thread too blatantly, but one of my dreams has been living aboard a canal boat, moving up and down the French and Belgium canal system in the warmer months and staying at a dock for the winter. Here are some of the specifics:

The boat would be a 12-15 meter canal boat, maybe a Linssen with an air draft of about 3 meters and a water draft of 1.5. It would have a diesel generator, several hundred amp hours of house batteries and 2-300 watts of solar panels. With that I would be fairly self-sufficient for an extended period.

I would plan to cruise north as far as Belgium from the Canal du Midi from May to October, moving every few days, but maybe staying at a charming spot for a week or so. Before it gets too cold, I would head south to the Canal du Midi and dock there more or less permanently for the winter.

I have done this very same thing in the US so doing it in France doesn't seem to be that much of a stretch.

Any thoughts, concerns, advice for this plan? Anyone know what dockage for the winter would be in the south of France?

BTW H2ofrance.com is a good source of brokerage boats in France.

David

 

[Pascall]

Dan,

The Netherlands is a small country but has many rivers and canals.
There are also many lakes, many of which were created by damming rivers near the sea or by excavating peat that used to be used as fuel for the stove.
All these waters are connected to each other, resulting in a network of waterways approximately 7000 km long.
There is always a possibility to get to your destination with a lot of wind because many waterways are sheltered.

Greeting,

Pascal.

 

[ScottC]

Sounds like a wonderful dream! Do you have the ability to stay in Europe longer than 90 days? That would be the first hurdle to consider, if you haven’t already.

 

[DavidM]

Sounds like a wonderful dream! Do you have the ability to stay in Europe longer than 90 days? That would be the first hurdle to consider, if you haven’t already.

I think that you can easily get your visa extended for another 90 days, then come back to the states once or twice a year to reset the time. Other longer term options exist particularly if the boat can be considered your dwelling.

David

 

[dannc]

I hope I am not hijacking this interesting thread too blatantly, but one of my dreams has been living aboard a canal boat, moving up and down the French and Belgium canal system in the warmer months and staying at a dock for the winter. Here are some of the specifics:
...

David

Why not go to the Netherlands, Germany and possibly Denmark?

The big problem for a non EU resident/citizen is having to leave every 90 days. I am pretty sure I have read that a US citizen can stay up to 180 days in the NL BUT, at the end of the 180 days, one has to leave to a non Schengen country. I also think a US citizen can get a visa to stay longer in France, but I assume at the end of the visa, one would have to leave to a non Schengen country.

Spending time on the continental waterways is what we would like to do as well. The plan would be to stay on the waterways for as long as allowed via visa or Schengen, then reset the clock by taking the boat to the UK and Ireland. Then return with the clock runs out in Ireland and the UK.

Later,
Dan

 

[dannc]

Dan,

The Netherlands is a small country but has many rivers and canals.
There are also many lakes, many of which were created by damming rivers near the sea or by excavating peat that used to be used as fuel for the stove.
All these waters are connected to each other, resulting in a network of waterways approximately 7000 km long.
There is always a possibility to get to your destination with a lot of wind because many waterways are sheltered.

Greeting,

Pascal.

I spend quite a bit of time on Google Earth and the canal guides find places to visit, and while the Netherlands is a small country, there is soooooooo much to see, especially by boat. Just so many places to go because of the rivers, lakes, and canals. We visited for almost three weeks last year, and did not even come close to seeing everything we wanted to see in just one city. I think it would take us a year to two to see what I know I want to see.

Who knows how long it would take to see what we don't yet know what we want to see.

We really liked the NL.

Later,
Dan

 

[Portage_Bay]

I think you're convincing us to go with professional crew. With a lifetime on the water both recreational and professional it's hard for me to think about hiring a captain. But i think you're right.

We did something similar; a week in Paris,
a week of barging on the Canal du Centre in Burgundy
and another week in Paris. Our party of five chartered a barge with chef and master. Not quite the same, but for the additional cost we got the following advantages:


1. The crew know where the best bakeries are and each morning the cook would have warm croissants on the table when we rose. Provisioning was all handled by crew (see village markets, below).

2. You can tie to the canal bank at any location where the canal is broad enough. There are frequently bollards for this, and the captain knows where those are.

3. In our case, the captain would arise early and drive his car to that day's destination and bicycle back by the time we had finished the lovely breakfast.

4. Each day's passage ended in mid-afternoon and we used the crew car to visit wineries, chateaux, village markets, etc. The crew knew where the best were.

5. No time spent on pre-departure, post-voyage routines as one does with "the bumper-boats" as our captain called them. I have chartered in the PNW, and I know that the first-day, last-day stuff eats into your vacation.


6. We carried several bicycles, and could cruise the towpath ahead, or to catch up if we wished to explore en passant.

Yes, it does cost more, though the difference is less than you might think, and how often are you going to do this?