QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT LIKE TO ASK ?

(1) What size of barge should you consider?

Well we are building a 65ft x 13ft FCN seagoing barge and it is big.
The advantage with this size of boat is that the cabins are so large you can furnish it like a house.
You can buy a lined sailaway with engine, fit a bought in kitchen (galley), put up some internal
bulkheads (or we can) to divide the boat up. You can fit a bathroom and central heating
(or we can) and then have something to live in.
Rather like buying a house: get the essentials right then improve as you go along.

But is does not have to be that big of course.

Mooring a large boat in France is not so much of a problem as it is in the U.K.
Moorings are cheaper over there and there are more of them . Size of boat set against UK
moorings' costs and availability are a consideration however. However even in France you
will find that above 15 metres will not be welcome in marinas. Having said that there are other
places to moor the larger boat but you must be willing to compromise. That compromise may be
an FCN 54 which is featured on the website and has masses of room without being over large.

A completed 45ft Explorer will cost £120,000 plus VAT in July 2006 and we have plenty
of couples living on them successfully full time in the U.K. and France. The FCN 54 is fully
seagoing, has more room for guests and is priced from £185.000 plus VAT in July 2006.

You might also consider a Huffler 56 which is not really a barge but more a steel motor yacht.
This is a larger version of our Huffler 35 & 40 and features a central deck saloon and then
3 or 4 separate cabins. Full details about the Oberon & Explorer can be viewed under
'Barges to Cruise Europe/UK'

(2) Are these boats seagoing and do you need them to be so?

Some are-our Huffler motor yacht (with motor sailing variant) is very seaworthy and built, with
independent verification, to category B (not C) of the E.C. Recreational Craft Directive.
The sailing version is even RCD Category A-she is a real heavy weather boat yet has cruised,
single handed (!) the Grand Union Canal to and from London. For more space, but still to
properly go to sea, then you should look at the FCN range of seagoing barges.

The Explorer and Belle Etoile are inland waterway barges with a D categorisation for the RCD.
If you just want to go inland then choose one of these, especially for the wide beam UK canals
as the Explorer is narrower at 12 ft and more in keeping. However even these D category boats
can make the short sea crossing to Calais from London, given the right skipper, crew,
preparation and conditions. But the Explorer and Belle Etoile are not to be seen as seagoing
barges and nor are most of the "Dutch barges" you will be offered elsewhere.

There are very few seagoing barges to compete with our FCN class and that is explained
in that section - See "Why an FCN"

(3) How much is upkeep?

Less than a house in France or Italy I would say. A new, well built steel boat will need a little
regular maintenance that you can do yourself or get done at many of the commercial or pleasure
yards if you do get a problem. I love gardens but not gardening and a box with a few cooking
herbs on the coach roof is just fine. No council taxes, moorings yes, but not the silly prices
in the UK.

A proper mooring at an established yard in Burgundy will cost annually 1080 Euros for a boat
up to 15 metres and 1270 euros for 15 to 20 metres. License fees are much cheaper than
in the U.K. The International Certificate of Competence is required for navigating in France
and is not difficult to pass.

(4) What is special about living and cruising in Europe?

Well, it still is different from the UK, but not that different. Medical facilities are good,
the inland waterways are well managed, you will see the country from a different angle.
You can stay somewhere as long as you want and then move on when you fancy a change.

If the cost of living is cheap for liveaboard boaters in the U.K., much more so when they are
in Europe. In other words, once you have paid for the boat, you can make a little go a long way
and still live well. Do you get the same from buying a property abroad ?
Only you can answer that based on what you want out of life. All we can say is we made
a lot of friends of different nationalities when we cruised over there.

(5) Do you have to take your wide beam boat abroad?

Of course not - there are many wide beam navigable rivers and canals in the UK, and more
are being developed. British Waterways have just announced the building soon of a new
wide beam link from the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes and the Ouse at Bedford.

This will link (for example) Warwick & London to waterways of the east of England and the
Wash and from there, through Lincoln, to the Trent and then the Ouse to York and the Leeds
Liverpool canal across the Pennines.

However as mentioned in point 2 above, you should consider a C class coastal boat if you
want the flexibility of coast hopping. At present the Thames links to the Kennet & Avon Canal
which takes you to Bristol and the Severn and Avon for Worcester and Stratford upon Avon,
all broad beam with moorings to be found where you need them.

If you are still working and need to move jobs quickly, and cannot afford the time to cruise
to your new mooring then there is a simple answer. Under £1000 and a flat bed truck with
craning can take you south to north.

I hope the above has been of some help. Please feel free to ask any further questions,
by email or phone. You can also make an appointment to Monday to Saturday to visit us !

Many thanks and best wishes
Peter Nicholls - August 2006