Can anyone give advice to an Austrailian acquaintance about crusing the canals of France and buying a suitable boat for this?

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George.Curtis - 1/17/2020

Can anyone give advice to an Austrailian acquaintance about crusing the canals of France and buying a suitable boat for this?

Hi George,
I suggest he rent/charter a boat for a few weeks, move around a lot, ask a ton of questions, and get a feel for whether he likes the life and the kind of boat that works for him and his crew.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Hello George,
a good starting point is the Voies Navigables de France web site, it's the official body in charge of inland waters navigation in France, a lot of informations, and charts of the whole river/canal network
www.vnf.fr
Using a motorboat there requires an operator certificate (aka CEVNI certificate, or "permis eaux intérieures" in France),  just basic manouvering skills are required, though a good knowledge of inland signals, procedures, etc etc, it can be had with a few evenings study.
Should you friend wish to sail with a boat bigger than 20m -people living onboard often have big riverboats- then he'll have first to get the "permis eaux intérieures", then the "extension grande plaisance".

regards
roberto