Practical Boat Owner - June 2018

PAINT AND

ANTIFOULING

Richard Jerram is

former UK technical

manager of

International Paint

GAS FITTING
Peter Spreadborough,
of Southampton
Calor Gas Centre,
has 20 years in the
industry

TRAILER-

SAILING

Colin Haines is a

design engineer

who has trailer-

sailed for 25 years

ELECTRONICS

Andy Haines of

Greenham-Regis

Electronics is an

expert in marine

instrumentation

TOILETS AND

PLUMBING

Karl Sutcliffe of Lee

Sanitation knows

about holding tanks,

toilets and plumbing

YACHT DESIGN

Andrew Blyth is a

naval architect with

interest in stability

and buoyancy

WOOD

Richard Hare is a

wood technologist

and long-time

wooden-boat owner

50 of the most frequently asked boating questions are answered by our experts on the PBO website. Visit http://www.pbo.co.uk

BOATBUILDING

Tony Davies has

been building and

repairing wooden,

GRP and steel boats

for 40 years

CRUISING

Cruising inland France

Q

I intend to purchase a

small second-hand

yacht in the UK next year.

The idea is for my sons and

myself (both South Africans)

to cruise the French canal/

river system and then

proceed to the Med to sail

there for a year or two. Any

suggestions on yacht size,

registration, restrictions, etc

will be appreciated.

Ernest Collett on Facebook

RICHARD HARE REPLIES:

I advise that you buy the

smallest boat that you will be

comfortable in. Don’t buy it for

the hoards of friends and

family who you imagine will

join you en masse because

they won’t.

For the three of you I’d

suggest a 4-5 berth

confi guration, but ensure that

all berths are a good size and

comfortable. You need at least

one private cabin. Folk need

somewhere to change, if

nothing else. Don’t be taken

in by a minimalist V-berth

forecabin layout because the

two occupants will spend all

night playing footsie – no use

on hot nights.

Small size also means that

you’ll dine at the top table

everywhere. While huge boats

roll around on pontoons

outside harbour entrances,

you can be tucked up snug as

a bug within.

And if you have a bilge or

twin-keeler or a centreboarder

your hull will not only have

reduced draught but it’ll take

the ground too. This is

assuming you take a sea

route around Brittany.

With the UK leaving the EU

we have to expect that we’ll

be affected by the same

legislation and bureaucracy

as boat owners from outside

the EU. Although this will not

affect you this coming

summer you need to consider

it if you plan to stay after

March 2019. So, consider

buying a mainland European

registered boat. It will

probably be easier to buy, sell

and use in mainland Europe.

Draught has a bearing on

which waterways you’ll be

able to use. My own boat is

1.2m and I can use her almost

anywhere in France except

the Nivernais and the Vilaine.

Always include a drought

factor. For example, when we

made a passage through the

Canal du Midi during a drought

summer Keppel’s keels

bumped a long the bottom as

we crossed the watershed,

despite the canal depth being

registered as 1.6m.

That said, even with a draught

of 1.7m a passage from the

UK to the south of France can

be made north/south by

entering the Seine at Le Havre,

through Paris and thereon to

the Saone via either the Canal

Lateral a la Loire or the Canal

de la Marne a la Saone. If this

is to be your only trip to the

Med I would advise the sea

route down the Channel,

around Brittany, entering the

Garonne and Midi canals via

Bordeaux, draught permitting.

You will need a vignette (a

permit) for the French

waterways. Considering that

you can often moor for free

bankside it’s excellent value.

Check the VNF website for

costs. If there’s one starter

publication I would suggest it’s

the Guide Vagnon Mini Atlas. It

provides an excellent map for

French waterways and basic

details on each of them

separately, suffi cient for

preliminary passage planning.

If there are four things I’d

consider essential for the

canals, they are: bimini, a

fenderstep, a solar shower

bag, and opening windows.

temperatures, which means

water vapour condenses out of

the air and forms condensation

on windows, deck heads, hull

sides, upholstery and so on.

Leaving heating on will help

keep temperatures up, but

boats are invariably badly

insulated, so a huge amount of

heat would be needed to

maintain a level that will

eliminate condensation. A

dehumidifi er works on a totally

different principle, removing

moisture from the air, so

there’s less of it available to

form condensation.

Dehumidifi ers cost far less to

run than heaters, hence their

popularity, although

performance is poor at low

temperatures. Some people

therefore also have a little

background heat, although this

shouldn’t be necessary if the air

inside the boat is already dry.

It’s important to check the

shorepower system is in good

condition – fi res have been

caused by faulty wiring or

appliances. Using a

dehumidifi er also means vents

should be sealed – otherwise

you’re attempting to extract

water from the atmosphere.

That’s diametrically opposite to

the traditional way of keeping a

boat interior dry, which is to

maximise ventilation.

Mooring bows in/stern out is a

good tip for shallow canal sides

• a fenderstep is useful too
  Richard Hare