Taking a boat through France’s inland waterways provides a privileged view of the beautiful countryside, the historic towns and cities; and the people. You proceed fairly slowly, sliding gently through the deep green waters, with time to take it all in, to appreciate it. The wild-life, the details on the buildings, the passing scene of village life. People on bikes, cycling along the tow-path, overtake you then you catch up with them at some canal-side cafe or when they pause to watch the lock in operation. It is very unlike travelling by car – limited opportunities to stop, pressured by other traffic, and the outside world just a blur the other side of the window glass.
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Whether you’re in your own boat, or on a holiday hire boat, or on a luxury hotel barge, you have the space and time to enjoy it all, at your own pace. You’re not packaged up with a bunch of other folks, who you may or may not get on with, following their agenda. A boat gives you your own travelling home, complete with fridge, kitchen sink, shower and a lot more, but without the hassle of motorways, tiring journeys, traffic jams, exhaust fumes and finding parking places. You can get up, walk around, pause someplace interesting. Boating gives you the gift of independence. The freedom to explore thousands of miles of waterway, threading through five nations – and more (click to read our own diary accounts of travelling through France – and beyond).
Boating on the rivers and canals is easy and comfortable, too. Learning the basics of controlling the boat and following the ‘rules of the road’ is straightforward and soon mastered. The boat is stable and the path smooth. Going through the locks takes a few to perfect technique, but thereafter they serve to punctuate the journey in a delightful way. Nearly all of them operate automatically in some way or have a lock-keeper to do the work – you will not need to become a Mr or Mrs Muscle!
- Controlling the Boat . . .
In general terms, if you can control a car you can control a boat – on the inland waterways. Unlike setting sail at sea, you will not encounter foul weather, big waves, navigation or tidal calculations, heeling over and other somewhat frightening conditions. The boat will not bounce around or rock and you will not get sea-sick.
About an hour’s careful tuition will give you the basics and you can build on this over the next day or so. You will be going relatively slowly and you’ll have time to think. Going through locks provides an interesting challenge but again once you’ve done a couple you’ll get your technique sorted out and your fenders correctly positioned – when you done a few more you’ll be giving the newbies advice!
More specifically, if you’re thinking about a larger vessel – a barge – then it is advisable, and in some cases necessary, to receive tuition and gain the appropriate certification. Many live-aboard barges are successfully and comfortably handled by middle-aged and more elderly couples. - Qualifications . . .
Holiday hire boats need no formal qualifications nor licences – these are taken care of by the hire companies.
Longer-term, the basic qualification is an I.C.C certificate of competence. To get one you need to gain practical competence in handling a boat through tuition and experience and then prepare for and take, a short CEVNI test (ours took us fifteen minutes). You’ll be expected to know the Inland Waterways Regulations which in large part are common sense ‘rules of the road’ and basic ‘road signs’.
If you’re skippering and crewing a large barge – more than 20 metres (60 feet) – you’ll be required to hold a “PP” Certificate de Capacité. To get it you’ll need about a week’s tuition (cost about 1,000€) and to pass a written and practical examination. In the circumstances this is no more than sensible and much less nerve-wracking than taking a driving test.
See here for the full details. - Licences
In France the controlling government authority is the VNF (Voies Navigable de France). Operating a boat on any of their waterways (nearly all) entails paying toward the cost of upkeep etc. by purchasing a Vignette. For the benefit that one receives (for example, the right to explore thousands of kilometres of well maintained waterways), they are very good value. Vignettes are purchased according to the time the boat will spend actively using the system (at rest or on the move) and its size, and the cost ranges from 9€ for a small boat for a day to 470€ for a 20m+ boat for a year.
Hire boat licences are included in the cost of the hire.
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