My wife, son, daughter and
in-laws did a week on the
Llangollen Canal in June of
2001 in a 70' narrowboat
based out of Chirk. It was a
wonderful, relaxing vacation,
and I can't get it out of my
mind. Your narrative brings
back all of the great
experiences that we had in
that one short week. Thanks,
and best wishes!

Hi Rob and Marlane. Just
stumbled on your site and
thought I'd ask for your
help. My wife and I did some
wonderful trips on the
English waterways in the late
1990's in a VERY narrow boat
- a Klepper folding kayak.
We did Oxford to Bath on the
Thames and then the Kennet &
Avon (168 locks as I recall),
the Caledonian from coast to
coast, Brecon/Monmouthshire,
the Cheshire Ring (by rented
narrowboat from Chirk) as
well as a 200km paddle in
Sweden's canalised Dalsland
lake system and a stunningly
beautiful four day trip in
Naeroy and Arlands Fjord in
Norway .... Great fun. Ten
years, three kids and a hip
replacement later we are
ready to do some more! This
time we have the continent in
our sights and a very limited
timeframe to try and find a
suitable boat for the whole
of the coming summer. Our
home in Sydney is about to be
demoloshed and redeveloped
(and there hangs a long and
harrowing tale) and we are
without an abode for at least
two years. We have a holiday
property in New Zealand (400
acres in Wanaka - the heart
of Lord of the Rings country)
and will spend most of the
time living in our very funky
converted shipping container
house there. We reckon we
have a 4 - 6 month window of
opportunity before the real
construction starts at home
and I need to be involved ...
enter the canal boat idea.
We have probably left it too
late to try and get a boat
for the whole summer from a
rental fleet and we are not
keen on chopping and
changing. I have wondered
about renting a privately
owned boat but finding one
will be difficult. There
will likely be four adults
and three children so a
larger boat with multiple
cabins would be best (have
seen some nice ones on a few
rental web sites). We are
very used to the systems on
board having travelled for
years at a time throughout my
life in motorhomes and in
boats for significant
periods, and we are very
respectful of the property of
others. A buy and sell (or
even possibly buy and keep)
is another possibility but
funds are limited until the
redevelopment of home is
complete and partly sold.
Anyway, there you have it.
Any suggestions would be very
gratefully received:
magazines to advertise in,
web sites private owners
might use, brokerages etc
etc.
One more question: do English
narrow boats work on the
continental waterways and are
they often used there? I
picture the French and other
canals as often being much
larger than the English ones;
then there is the obstacle of
the channel.
Any advice you may have will
be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards ... Rik Deaton

hi, really enjoy reading of
your life on the
rivers/canals. i am american
and have friends in holland
and france. one of my dutch
friends is interested in
partnering with me to restore
a peniche. i dont know if we
will start small or large. i
have a question. can you tell
me the average mooring costs
per month or year, and is it
possible to purchase long
term leases along the seine
if we want to make our barge
a holiday rental in our
absence? its difficult to
find cost information with my
worse than halting french.
once it becomes technical, i
stop pretending i even know
how to say hello in french.
any advice about locations
around paris, including port
arsenal. i see many barges
moored along the seine and i
wonder if they have purchased
decade-long leases. HELP!
thanks so much, michael byrd

Just looking at doing the Midi
Canal in a few months, so
enjoyed reading your pearls
of wisdom!
cheers Ruth

It has been a long time since
I checked into your site.
Looks like everything is
going great for you two.
Still pretty much the same
here, just a little (a lot)
older and fatter. When you
get an opportunity drop me a
note and let me know whats
been going on since I last
wrote to you in 2003.

Thank you for a lovely tour. I
really enjoyed it. Richard L.
Nacamuli

you have a very good website
we traveld from the norfolk
broads to port ariane in
2005/2006 and are hoping to
go down the middi next i have
a broom 39 at 3.3mtrs i hope
it will be able to navigate
the middi ok best of luck
have you seen any brooms on
the middi best of luck from
pieces of 8 paul

I live in Worsley and love
going on my friends boat, its
just a shame that either side
of Worsley is rather dodgy!
Love your site, great stuff.

I once went on a narrow boat
when I was a kid and loved
it. I might take my family on
one!

I just love cruising, many
happy memories on the Norfolk
broads

geest8989@yahoo.co.uk

I like your site very much
indeed.

Enjoyed reading your
adventures well done.

Great website!

My wife and I have been
cruising the uk for 7
years,we are thinking of
taking our narrow boat to
France,and poss holland in
winter could you let me know
if there are other narrow
boats and what problems we
are likely to encounter.many
thanks.D&S Harvestmoon

We really enjoyed reading your
story.Many thanks we have
We have just baught a dutch
motor sailer ,lying in
I will be bringing her into
the Midi in May.Can you
please advise where I can
safely leave the boat east of
Carcassonne? As I have to fly
home for a few weeks
Regards John

~Just stopping by to see whats
new~

The Site is excellent..!! Wish
you all the best.. Great job.
A lot of success in the
future to your resource!!

Hi Rob,
Thank You for allowing me to
observe and listen to your
presentation in Birmingham.
I did learn some things from
you. Thank YOU!
I'm sorry that I irritated
you. Please accept my
sincere apologies.
Blessings to you both in your
travels.

Diana Holmes
Event Marketing Executive
Marriott's Legends Edge at
Bay Point
Panama City Beach, FL

This is probably the most
interesting webpage about
traveling. Greetings from
Germany

NICE SITE I LOVE IT KEEP IT UP
OK

Thanks for a great site, I
really enjoyed the
travelogue, especially about
the canals of France. A bunch
of us are preparing to rent a
barge for next Oct 2007 and
the info you have provided
has helped shape our
expectations and ideas.
Voyage ahead well! regards
Dennis

Enjoyed reading your trip
details, I visit Carcassonne
often as I have a caravan
there and sell cycling and
walking trips in the area. I
am planning on buying a barge
in a couple of years and
cruising the waterways of
europe, so sites like yours
are very interesting. Keep up
the good work and thanks.
Have a great time Best
wishes David

You have a very nice web-site!
Good work!

Really interesting.

Have quickly read your
Travelogue with interest as
it is our intention to buy a
Dutch steel cruiser silimar
to yours and cruise the
canals of Europe - would be
interest in information
regarding an indication of
price of such a boat - our
plans are to fly to France or
Holland in April of this year
to purchase such a boat -
look forward to hearing from
you J and R.

Hello, a really interesting
experience to visit your
website

Very nice!

Enjoyed your travel log. We
have just completed two weeks
on the English Canals in a
narrowboat with the
possibility of purchasing our
own narrowboat within the
next 18 months. We were very
interested in your
experiences in purchasing a
second hand boat and can
relate to them so far. We
noticed with interest we were
moored on the same mooring in
Gas Street Basin as you were
in the photo.

Good!!!

Nice site!!

Thanks for the informative and
entertaining doco. Have put
our home on market and will
be off to France as soon as
it sells. All stems from a
Do you know of a site where
new canal-ers like us can
exchange q&a's or boat
purchases? Save you 2 having
to be the encyclopedia!

Enjoyed surfing through your
site - if thats an apposite
expression. Great photos -
very evocative. As a english
francofile it made me very
envious as i would love to
travel the same journeys.
I'll have to wait until my 4
children grow up! Thank you.

I loved reading about your
adventures. My husband & I
were in England last May and
we tried to book a short
break on a canal boat. It
didn't work out but I hope to
be able to do it next April
when we will be in England
Will be looking forward to
reading about your next
adventures...

What a wonderful idea! Enjoy.
S&M a3b20f86f68db@yahoo.com

Great journal! We did canal
boating for a week one
September, and want to take
our kids back boating again.
Your site answered many
questions for us, especially
Thanks for sharing your
experiences!

What a good site!
Hi all! I'll be back

Very nice and interesting.
Thanks for all your efforts.

We are leaving May 30th for
Amsterdam. Another couple and
us will travel by motorhome
to Port Cassafieres. We have
booked one of Crown Blues
cruise to St.Gilles. Wished I
had seen your site before
now
Herman Kurth

coooooool

Wow, what a lifestyle! Thanks
for the tour while I sit
behind a desk all day.

Looks lovely.

Thanks for creating such an
informative site!

Great site! Seriously, how
could you not love it?

VERY GOOD SITE,PLEASE START
FROM WHERE I STOPPED.

What a super professional site
that gives a real feel of
what French canal cruising is
Can I put a link on my very
meagre site to yours?

Hi. We have cruised from
Falmouth to Port St Louis and
have fallen in love with
France. This summer we
intend to cruise the 'Midi,
returning to Pt. St. Louis to
winter. Look out for "Tamsin
Norah" if you are thirsty!

I LOVE THIS
SITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Your site is very nice,
compliment! from
http://www.visasupport.org

Hello, you have a great Page!
I like it really much. If you
like the sun and the sea and
want to have really great
holidays in spain - please
visit us
www.javeaholidays.com

Really enjoying your journal.
i have just been to France
and purchased a 18 metre
steel wide beam barge built
in England, owned ny Roger &
Debbie, called Jeanie Mac. My
husband and I intend being in
St Jean late July for 6
weeks, we intend living
aboard the folowing year.
Would love to catch up. Also
need to know how we acquire a
barge licence in France ?.
Hope to talk with you later.

Ruth

Hello friends! from
http://www.russiamoscow.info

Best wishes from finland! You
have an interesting site!
Work at home on
your computer and get the
have only to send as e-mail
the E-Books ordered by the
http://www.finnbo.fi/gold on
our home page more

Yours faithfully,
Kalevi

Nice navigation and warm
layout. Your website is very
appealing and I like it very
much.

Thanks for the page. We have
just bought a boat which is
moored in St Jeane de Losne
and will be travelling on the
Alsace Lorraine canals in May
and June. It has been great
to read about your travels.
It has been a little daunting
and sometimes difficult to
find out the cost of items in
France and if there is a
difficulty in bringing some
things with us as to what
customs will be paid and on
what. Maybe you can help us
with some of our questions.

Hello friends! from
http://groups.msn.com/St-Pete
rsburg-Russia

I'm so glad I found this site!
We have a 31ft ketch which we
are hoping to sail through
the French canals from this
summer onwards. We have done
no cruising so far and are
having a great time getting
all the info! I will check in
again when I have questions!!

great site, well done

We have cruised in Brittany
once, several times in
England. Shortly we are
retiring and moving to France
to live. One of our plans is
to explore more of the French
waterways. We shall use your
story as our guide.
Thank you.
Jack

great site

nous n'avons plus de nouvelles
??? que devenez vous

Cool Web Site. I come back
soon.

Hi , I have just come across
your web site. I spent 7
years on the Canal lateral
and canal du Midi. I knew
Domi in Toulouse very well !!
It was lovely to read about
it all. Thanks. Judy

Looking forward to the wine
tasting tomorrow! It's been
too long.....
You got here just in time for
me to move to Houston!

Google found you! We have
been doing a similar thing
and enjoy it very much. Have
made many friends during the
last 4 years. Currently on
Oxford Canal. Planning to go
south on the GU for winter.
Impressive site.

I am in the throes of
acquiring a 34ft.trawler cat
with a beam of 4.5m,draft of
0.95m and air draft of 3.28m
at the flybridge[over a 1m
width].I am looking for the
shortest route from La
Rochelle to the Med.and
wondered if you had any
actual clearance dimensions
for the Capestang bridge on
the Du Midi.Regards,
Tony

Le site est assez intéressant.
ca fait un bon bout de temp
que je ne suis pas venue et
je trouve qu'il a bien
changé. j'ai l'impression
qu'il n'était pas comme ca
avant. Bonne continuation
www.ifrance.com/evacance

Thank you so much for such a
great tale. We intend being
on the French canals next
year. Your article only makes
me more determined to make
So perhaps one day we may
meet?
Regards
Roger

Hello, very nice page, keep
on. Greetings from L.A..

Picked up your site whilst
researching the possible
purchase of a Barge/Boat. If
I needed any further
convincing you have provided
Loved the site, read it from
beginning to end.
with any luck we could be
joining the happy band of
water gypsies to whom you
looking forward to reading
about your next water borne
home and travels.

Regards

Peter

I'm originally from a village
called Kiveton and am
familiar with the
Chesterfield canal. I was
disappointed to hear that
British Waterways are to
withdraw funding for
restoration. There's in
nothing more pleasurable than
coming out and enjoying the
sounds and smells of the
Chesterfield anal.

Do you know of a place that I
might find a set of plans or
drawings for a canal or
riverboat, I would like to
try and build a model they're
so beautiful, Wayne

Mille mercis pour le dîner,
très agréable soirée,
merveilleuses crevettes.
Vivement Oo la la n° 4

hi, still a nice site, its a
lovly boat to.

We learnt of your site from
Lymm Cruising Club's site
(www.lymmcc.co.uk), read a
few pages at a time during
lunchtime whilst at work and
have savoured every episode.
Keep up the good work and
we'll maybe see you on the
Bridgewater Canal in
Cheshire.
Angie & Cyril Wood
NB "Total Eclipse"

nice website Rob,,hope that we
will have a great time at
Marriott as much as u seem to
have on ur boats,,,ciao

Ah, to live a dream. I will
get your post card and
Web-email addresses to my
sister Cathi. I have always
loved reading about the Euro-
Canal systems. I believe you
can travel East, all the way
to the Black Sea by barge.
And in England go many
places, even past famous
universities. Good luck on
your Web site and with the
barge home/business. You make
me thinkn of going back to
Greece and teaching ESL
again. Of course, now you
have me thinking of how much
I'd like to use my Photoshop
and FrontPage knowedge for my
own Weg Site. Good luck with
all this, and I hope one day
to be one of your clients.

Hi there just a note to say we
have enjoyed your web site we
are bringing our canal boat
over in August to france to
cruise the waterways. but we
are having problems hunting
out moorings for the winter
as we will not be able to get
to far to the south before
the winter.have you any
suggestions in your
expierence of travelling of
any where to moor .we would
be grateful of any advice
given ,happy boating, Beth
and Steve Daniels. Nb
Penduicks

you are living a dream...i
couldnt stop reading about
the places you have been and
things you saw maybe one day
i can do the same...

Glad to see your web site and
will look for you on the
canals.

Just saw October edition, very
nice.

Congratulations on a fantastic
site. Warm, informative and
inspiring. I wish you luck in
your discoveries, I'm very
envious!

Eleanor O'Kane
Web Editor
Living France Magazine

Thank you for your comments. I
guess that there must be a
government office somewhere
with a clerk in a dusty
office signing authorisations
for closures but perhaps he
is not web wise and visiting
vnf offices may well be
Enjoyed reading the log. One
of my sons is
circumnavigating the world
and you might enjoy his
similarly presented log at
www.batrachian.com

Really enjoyed reading about
your English adventure. we
are going to England in March
and hiring a narrowboat for
about 10 days. Never heard
of them until about 3 days
ago when were looking for
things to do in England. We
are sailors and are really
looking forward to it. Your
adventure really encourages
us in ours.

Some people dream, while
others live their dreams!
Thank you for welcoming us
into yours, thus allowing us
to share part of it last
Sunday : we did feel very
privileged!

Dont freeze to death but how
can you with all that
antifreeze(wine)todrink.

You are living my dream.

Dear Rob & Marlane:
A long time friend of mine
mentioned your website and
after spending hours taking
the tour - I found it so
exciting I can hardly wait to
see what experiences you
publish for September! Your
lifestyle is fascinating and
I wish you continued
Bonnie (PS-Friends...Arlene &
Tim O'Neill)

I'm looking into a British
narrowboat holiday as a trip
for our 25th annvy. next
summer. (Although, that
French canal that runs just
inland from the Med. looks
well worth another trip.)
I like the idea of lots of
nice rural scenery, some
locks, good pubs, cycling,
and we don't want to be
moving the boat ALL day.
If you had one week for a
single trip, which canal
system would you choose?

Cheers,
John

hi' just spent a couple of
hours reading about your
canal boat journeys and
looking at your wonderful
photo's. i must say it has
wetted my apetite, as this is
a way of life i know i would
enjoy (i just have to
convince my wife). can you
possibly let me know the size
of your canal boat and how
much it cost you, well thanks
for your travelogue and may
you have many more pleasant
journeys.......josh cummings

Sure wish I could fly over and
join you. Particually this
week end. We have 20,000
Bikers coming to town as well
as the US Roosevelt with
6,000 sailers plus the normal
cruise ships and other
tourest. Oh for the piece and
quite of a beautful canal in
"Gay Pairee". Bon Jour you
lucky people.

Excellent site. I've been
googling "France-Canals" etc
for about 4 hours now and I
am enthralled with your site.

enjoying your writings about
the french canals. no news
since june hope you both are
well and have survived the
heat

Fabulous, I found the site on
Saturday evening by chance
while searching for a steel
cruiser for similar trips in
Europe. I sat up overnight
reading , couldn't stop. Your
writings are a reminder of
memories of a trip on the du
Midi in '97 in a hire boat.
Our log, when we looked back
consisted mainly of enjoyable
food and wine and vineyards
visited, funny that. We've
sailed in many places but the
rivers and canals of Europe I
think are unbeatable. Keep
writing, I've passed on
details of your site to like
minded friends so there are
now more of us looking
forward to the next episode.
Kind regards
Dennis & Pam Jarvis.

great site, well done

sweet kisses and lovely
greetings

Great site!
Keep it running!

Marc

We have a 51' liveaboard
sloop and have been in the
states and Caribbean cruising
for the last 8 years. Now we
are going to sell her and buy
a canal boat. Your travelog
has been very enlightening
and we will be keeping it in
our favorites. Please save
some wine for us.

We enjoyed reading about all
your travels especial since
we are in the process of
buying the OO LA LA . We hope
we have as much fun as you
did while you had her

I wish you were hear and I was
there. Oh how I envey you. JJ

Rob, glad you are having fun.
What a wonderful experience.
Things are still the same
here. The terminal is up and
starting. We will initially
run it. One day we can sit
down and remember the Bight.
Raymond