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So many of us have succumbed to the dream of being a
skipper on his or her own barge. To take the helm of one's pride and joy,
navigating along the calm inland waters, rivers, canals and lakes of France.
What more can one desire ?
Depending on your objectives, there are certain things
to do and others to avoid like the pest... You believe in what you're
doing, you've spent years putting your savings a side. So use this check
list of a 101 things to do, but also, to never do. This
all based on what we have experienced, seen and know from other people.
It's all been written with the tongue in cheek to lighten the subject.
Don't sink before you learn to swim
Before you choose the barge you want to convert, have
you finalise your goal ? Is the project for just yourself and your good
lady ? Or are your considering the full blown thing, with luxury fittings,
gourmet French cuisine, 12 passengers, a captain, deckhand, chef, hostess
and guide ?
Perhaps your a keen mechanic, welder or carpenter or
a businessman wanting to make a sound investment and to sell your vessel
in a couple of years.
Remember that the boat you choose will be the deciding
factor in whether you can accomplish your plans.
Numbers and licences
My barge carries 6 passengers and 2 crew, I don't need
a navigation permit.
I only carry a few people for a day trip, do I need a licence?
My "skipper" already has a licence!
Define your purpose and obtain the necessary navigation
licence "Titre de navigation". The first thing to do
is to check with the "Commission de surveillance" in your area
and explain what you will be doing with your.
To clarify, if you make people pay whilst on board, then
you are COMMERCIAL, this includes restaurants, day trips, charter
barges, hotel barges etc.
If the vessel is for yourself, family and friends then
it is PRIVATE, but nobody pays.
What's the difference
There is a huge difference between a boat, yacht and
a canal barge. The volume of a barge is totally limited by the size of
the locks, and this you cannot change. Which means that the length, width,
height above the water line and keel depth all have to fit into the locks
and bridges which will stand in your way. The dimensions of the barge
will determine the waters on which you will be navigating.
Your going to have to make comprises in the final plans.
If not, to get from the north to the south of France, you can always pass
by the Rock of Gibraltar (don't forget to take that photo).
Customs and bad habits
You're British company and own a Dutch registered boat,
you plan on cruising all year around on the French waterways offering
the best charters in the world. Well it's very simply, you're not allowed.
If the vessel is not owned by a French company or person you must be out
of the French territorial waters for 6 months and one day. And don't think
that jumping across the border for a couple of days, will allow you to
come back to La France !
If your planning on keeping your barge in France, although
it was purchased in another country, you'll have to pay the VAT.
If your taking passengers on board, then make sure you're
running a clean act and keep it very legal. It's your responsibility.
Solid ballast
There are many intelligent ways to ballast a boat, but
using concrete is not one of them! If your trying to get a licence for
transporting passengers, it will be refused if you've used concrete. The
ballast used, must be moveable at a later date.
This is also a serious consideration when you are buying
a barge with plans of conversion. If you have to replace steel plates
on the bottom of the hull and there is concrete behind, problems...
Are water pipes or electrical cables in the concrete
? Yum... we have set the waste tank in the concrete ballast... is this
a problem ?
Another important point in getting the ballast right
is to allow you boat to float correctly, don't let the stern sit to deeply
and the bow to lift.
Water water every where and not a drop to drink
Great, everything is going to plan, the boat has been
finished, 8 passengers, 2 showers, 2 bath tubs etc... There is also a
fresh water tank of 5 tonnes.
Here your problem is going become apparent very quickly!
Apart from repeating to your clients to be very careful when using the
bath tubs and apologising that the tanks are now empty. You'll spend most
of your time seeking moorings which have a tap, at least once a day. When
you arrive at some of these moorings, there will already be a few other
barges moored there, so you'll end having to drag a 100 metres of hose,
as they will not move. So make sure you install a water tank(s) with a
capacity that corresponds to the number of people and also the equipment
on board. By the way use stainless steel.
Your water capacity is also going to affect the way the
barge is ballasted. Fitting a 20 ton tank in the bow will change the way
the barge's floating line. When your full the bow drops and the stern
comes up, when you empty the bow rises, can you still pass beneath that
bridge ?
Fill it up please
In France there are two tariffs for diesel fuel. The
"white" coloured fuel is the same rice as the one you put into
you own car. The "red" coloured diesel is the same that is used
for central heating, it also has a lower tax, making it much more attractive
when you fill up you barge at the next petrol station. However which should
I choose ?
If your barge is running a commercial operation ( a registered
French company), you can use the lower priced red fuel. However if your
barge is for private use, be very careful. For the main engine you must
use the white fuel, the red fuel can only be used for heating and generating
electricity. This means that you must have two independent fuel tanks
if you want to use red fuel. One for the main engine using the red, one
to the the heating and or generator.
Remember that the commercial barge which you may be renovating
was often built to be used to transport cargo and not people. You'll often
find that there is a fuel tank for 1 or 2 tonnes of fuel. The old bargee
did not have a generator to heat the pool, air-conditioning, electric
ovens... So when you decide to add a super generator pushing 380 and 220
volts through out the barge, do not forget that your daily fuel consumption
is going to increase dramatically. So how many miles to go before the
next diesel pump ?
Low waters, low tide
This barge has everything you can imagine, double this,
thicker that, double steel plated parts, hydraulic to assists doing this
and that. The barge now draws 1.85 metres. So stable... even with a gale
blowing, she holds course, no drifting. The only problem is that she cruises
at a snails pace on the canals, I need gang planks that are twice the
width of the barge to be able to get ashore, it's hell trying to pass
a barge coming from the opposite direction and most of the canals are
only allowing barges with a draft of 1.40 meters. Plus I have to go into
dry dock every season to have the bottom of the hull repaired !
No head room
You have designed the vessel with 5 cabins on the lower
deck, a fabulous dinning area and saloon with and an elegant bar on the
main deck To make a sun deck you've used the roof of the main deck and
added a cool whirlpool. The sun deck is very well protected with solid
hand rails, fixed and fast. To make sure you have a good view over the
sun beds, pool, tables and chairs from the rear wheel house, you've raised
the helm 30 cm. Now the boat can longer pass under half the bridges or
tunnels.
I forgot to build a wheel house which could be taken
down...
Where's my bed ?
You've built 3 huge cabins on your 30 metre luxury hotel
barge, the bathrooms are spacious and the clients will have everything
they need whilst on board. So where will the crew sleep ? Remember you
have a skipper, chef and hostess. Did you forgot to include their sleeping
quarters in your design? In haste you decide to give the crew a mobile
home or to employ only people who live nearby.
This means you have no crew on board at night, is this
not risky ? Consider some the possible scenarios... Passenger falling
over board, your moorings being ripped out...
When you have passengers on board you have crew on board,
full stop!
Let there be light
You're a real professional when it comes to interior design and the most
important ingredient is natural light. To allow the rays to fill the lower
deck you've had custom made windows and fitted them along the hull, to
be on the safe side they're 20 cms above the water line. They must be
safe as they cannot be opened and mess up the air-conditioning system.
Do you think this will help you get a navigation licence ?
What a waste
At some point you'll have to consider what to do with
the waste water. First point, make sure you have a good waste water capacity
(it also helps ballast). Second point, the maws are changing rapidly,
with the environment in mind, so be prepared to change your installation
and adapt to the future laws. In the coming months, years, you'll have
to be equipped with some kind of treatment system or to pump out to a
collecting device somewhere along your route. Make sure your capacity
is adequate and that you have access to the piping in case it has to be
modified at a later date.
Boat for sale (special price please contact me urgently)
Now that you've spent 500 thousand Euro on what
you consider being a beautiful barge, it's time to sell and make some
money, well at least to try and recuperate your initial investment. You
may have spent that amount, but is your boat really worth it ?
Why did you buy a 30 metre barge, cut it in half and
then add 5 metres ? Or on the contrary, a 38 metre and remove 9 metres
so that you can cruise on the Midi ? If you had taken a bit more time
search the that perfect hull shape...
You say that you were so busy and couldn't oversee the
conversion work whilst it was in the dry dock. Was all the work that you
paid for accomplished ? Did you get what you paid for ? What was the name
of that company again ?
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