Storage Over the Winter

[Reynir]

Hi cruisers,

Me and my dear girlfriend have been cruising the med for the past 5 months. Now we have been working our way up the French canals and soon we will head back home to continue our "normal" lives.

The plan is to leave the boat in France in a marina until we come back next year and continue our trip up the canals.

Now, the million dollar question we find hard to get an answer to is...

Is it cheaper to keep the boat in a marina (in the water) or on land for 6 months? What is the general rule in this matter?

Thank you all in advance for your replies!

Reynir and Anna

[AndytheSailor]

Hi,
It really depends where you are. The canals often freeze over as there are a number of them close down for winter. If you are still near the south coast there are a number of boatyards, like Port St Louis or Sete or Cap d' Agde.

If possible I would lift out as it is a chance to check that bit of the boat we tend to forget as it is under water, namely the hull and its fittings.

Andy

[Kenomac]

In Southern Spain, it's cheaper to keep the boat in the water rather than on the hard in a secure storage yard. But we discovered that the added peace of mind and fewer hassles with locals who want to "look after the boat" while it's in the water, make keeping it on the hard the cheaper and better choice in the long run. Eg: The boat won't sink, most maintenance can be extended over more years such as bottom paint, no one needed to clean the bottom or check on the anodes, other boats won't be bashing into your boat when you're not around, etc. After our lessons learned during our first season, our boat will always be hauled out if we leave it for more than a couple of weeks.

[Reynir]

Thanks for the replies,
We are currently located in Lyon after battling our way up the Rhone. We called a port in Saint-Jean called H2O and the price to haul the boat out is 250 euros, and then 130 per month. For our period of 6 months we will therefore be spending 1280 euros (that includes putting the boat back in the water). Now, that sounds like a lot of money. That might because Saint-Jean is a central of boating in central France.

Does anyone know of a place, in central France, that offers hauling and storage for a reasonable price?

Reynir and Anna