Cruising rivers in Europe

[madsb]

The Göta canal which stretches across Sweden is navigatable by sail yachts. I have been tol it is a very scenic journey. See info on https://www.gotakanal.se/en/

[mholtzberg]

Reach out to Distant Shores they have a handle on this Forum. They did the standup route and mast down with their Southerly 49. I think it draws 20" with the board up.

[Seymore]

When you lay your mast down, what is the maximum air draft permissible?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Seymore

When you lay your mast down, what is the maximum air draft permissible?

The size varies by route.

I think the minimum air-draft for the French system is 2.7m but that's only in a few locations.

As a few people have mentioned, there are some routes you can even go with your mast up but those are usually fairly limited and close to the coast.

[Ivory Moon]

In 2006 my wife and I crewed with an American skipper on his 43 foot sailboat with mast down, from Travemunde on the Baltic Sea to Constanta on the Black Sea, via the Trave River, Mitteland canal, Rhine River, Main River, Main to Danube canal, and the Danube itself to the sea. What a fabulous trip. So much of interest to see in the middle of Europe.

Jeff

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Seymore

When you lay your mast down, what is the maximum air draft permissible?

As noted by Valhalla, the air draft varies with the canal. For reference, here's a link to the height, width and depth of the main canals in France.


https://www.french-waterways.com/pra.../canal-depths/

[Quadrille in JB]

2.7 m sounds about right for the air draft.
The controlling width for the canal lock system is 17'. We have a 14.5' beam and with our 1' fenders on each side we had 6" total to spare. Very close but big fenders are a necessity as big bolts sometimes protrude from the lock gates.
Awesome trip.

[Jammer]

I recently read through a cruising guide for the area and came to the conclusion that 1.8m draft and 3.5m headroom will provide access to most of the canal system, though there are some spurs and alternate routes that are shallower or lower.

[jacaranda]

WE pulled our mast in Porto (Oporto) and cruised the Douro all the way from the Atlantic across Portugal to Spain - a magical trip. The transit of the Ecluasas (river dams) were arranged by those wonderful people in Porto Marina.

We draw 1.5m and our original plan was to transit the Canal du Midi to the Med. Published draft is 1.8 but on this forum and others the advice was anything deeper than 1.3m meant trouble

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by jacaranda

WE pulled our mast in Porto (Oporto) and cruised the Douro all the way from the Atlantic across Portugal to Spain - a magical trip. The transit of the Ecluasas (river dams) were arranged by those wonderful people in Porto Marina.

We draw 1.5m and our original plan was to transit the Canal du Midi to the Med. Published draft is 1.8 but on this forum and others the advice was anything deeper than 1.3m meant trouble

Shame about the Midi, we might be able to get through. However, I would be interested in hearing about your trip through the Douro. Is it a loop or did you reverse your track back to Porto?

[Seymore]

Many thanks for the replies about air draft. The air draft on my boat is 2.8 m so it sounds like it's doable with planning.

[bustermaw]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I recently read through a cruising guide for the area and came to the conclusion that 1.8m draft and 3.5m headroom will provide access to most of the canal system, though there are some spurs and alternate routes that are shallower or lower.

Just putting my oar in to this conversation .
In France the canal de Bourgogne and the canal du midi would not be navigable with a draught of 1.5 mtrs .
Also the canal de la Somme is just about do-able but not in the middle of summer . It's also choked with weed , continuously blocking the engine intake .
Apart from that you're okay .
Cheers

[Barbaria]

Minimum air draft we have heard of is 3.2 meters and was in France. And that is an exception rather that a rule. To be comfortable you should not exceed 1,8 m draft. You will mainly travel on the canals and you should plan the trip so travel on the rivers is with the current.

Overview:

http://www.sn-nord-est.developpement..._cle67dccc.pdf


If it doesn't work for you, try this:

http://retd.se/password/Foto;carte._e...0604041921.pdf

[heathernsteve]

this is the trip we are dreaming / planning to do very soon holland to the black ea

[Grehan]

I'm coming very late to this discussion, apologies, but feel free to contact us for any questions or for more data about the French waterways. We cover renting for boating holidays and we have 100+ pages of free-to-view detailed, km by km, information about every navigable river and canal. Plus practical techniques, regulations, through routes, depths, etc etc All based on our own 10,000km of cruising throughout the network since 2003 - including passages in our yacht, carrying our 15m mast. We advised Paul and Sheryl Shard when they made the trip a few years back.

www.french-waterways.com