Canal Cruising In France 2025
Ever wondered what it’s like to go canal cruising in France? We asked liveaboard cruiser Stephen Payne for his first-hand experiences.
Stephen Payne is a professional photographer and filmmaker. He has worked with presidents and rockstars. He has directed over 30 live concert films, from Sepultura in Brazil to Salif Keita in Paris for The BBC. Disillusioned with life in the UK, he bought a boat and motored all the way through France, starting in Calais and travelling 1360km through 216 locks, ending up in the Mediterranean. Two years into his adventure, Stephen has no plans of stopping.
I’ve got to be honest — I don’t even like boats that much. I always liked aeroplanes a lot more.
When I was little, every now and again my dad would drag me out on his boat in Torquay, England. We’d sail across the bay, the wind would drop, and it would take us hours to get back to the harbour. That was the entirety of my boating experience for over fifty years.
All that’s changed a bit since I bought my boat, Jaywalking the World, just over three years ago.
I used to be a photographer in London, working for various music magazines and the Evening Standard, London’s main newspaper. Then I started making music videos and directing live concert films, and ended up in Los Angeles, staying there for twenty-seven fabulous years.
I came back to the UK to take care of my mother when she got sick. But the UK has become a very strange place and I just couldn’t bring myself to live there anymore — after she passed on.
Buying some horrible apartment-type thing in Slough was absolutely out of the question. I needed a home, but I wanted to travel. After poking around the Interwebs a little bit, the genius idea of moving onto a boat — a movable flat! — slapped me upside the head, and that was that.
I watched multiple YouTube channels about buying boats and set out with a wallet full of money. I looked at about twenty different boats, and then came across a Birchwood TS37.
Built in 1987, it wasn’t exactly brand new, but it was as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, with two large Cummings/MerCruiser diesel motors and a good maintenance record.
24 hours later, the deal was done. I had a boat — the very boat I still live on, three years later.
I dreamed of setting sail across the Channel towards warmer climes. I took some online courses. I read some books. I talked to people who know more about boats than I did (as in, anybody with a boat).
Note: If you’re hoping to cruise the French canals then you’ll want to take into account the draft of your boat.
Then one day, between COVID lockdowns, I ventured down the Thames towards salty water. Bye bye, Bray Marina — hello, Chatham Marina! I got stuck there for another lockdown, but the second it lifted, I moved the boat to Ramsgate, did some more required paperwork (ICC and CEVNI), and on June 26th, 20201, I left Ramsgate and headed to France.
Thanks, Brexit, without you I may have stayed. See … a Brexit benefit.
I was supposed to be joined by a friend of mine during the crossing, but he became unavailable on the big day. He assured me that I would be fine on my own. He knows more about boating than I do, so I assumed he was correct, and just went for it solo.
And he was — getting across the Channel was surprisingly easy, and the reception I received in Calais was fantastic.
Another friend joined me there, and we “set sail” into the mainland of France. Our initial joy vanished within the first hour of our voyage, however, when we got to a swing bridge that was closed, and neither of us could figure out how to make it open.
We went to bed, intending to deal with it in the morning.
In the light of day, I explored the bridge and found a note taped to the inside of the window of a little hut nearby.
Within fifteen minutes of dialing the number on the note, a charming person from the Voies Navigables de France showed up and opened the bridge. He informed us that he would stay with us for several hours as we went through other swing bridges and locks.
The VNF proved to be spectacular in the helpfulness department. €126 per month to use all the rivers and waterways in France — what an absolute bargain! Anyone can do it — you just need insurance, a boat with an air-draft of less than 3.2m, and a little bit of confidence.
The next major obstacle was a closed lock near Saint Omer — very big, very closed.
I found a nice little marina only 500 meters back from the lock, and, having established that the lock gates were being repaired and would be working again in three weeks, I was quite happy to stay there.
I bought a bicycle and got to know the local area (and by “local area”, I mean the big supermarkets, because that’s where I did most of my shopping). The lock gates got fixed ahead of schedule.
Canal Cruising In France: Paris
My next destination was to be wonderful Paris. I’d been there many times when I was much younger, and really liked the idea of being able to explore it a little more.
My original thought was to stay one week, but it was so nice I ended up spending six weeks there, moored at the Paris Arsenal Marina, which I highly recommend. They were helpful and friendly, and ideally located for exploring the city.
I made good use of the city’s rentable electric bikes and scooters and got to know Paris quite well. If you ever go there, you must go up the Eiffel Tower — it’s the most wonderful building I have ever been in. There’s nothing like it anywhere in the world ……. apart from that thing in Las Vegas. 🙂
Soon enough, I moved on and headed south about 60km to a little place called Chartrettes. It was so nice there, I ended up staying a few weeks, because… why not? (If you are in a hurry, don’t buy a boat.)
My crew members changed as another friend joined me in Fontainebleau. We left the Seine and hit the canals. I had navigated about thirty locks in my entire life before getting to France, so in my mind, I was an expert.
My crew member, Beanie, was very helpful. We averaged 30km a day, with maybe ten or fifteen locks each day. You get into a pattern; it becomes much easier than you think. I’m not saying you don’t have to pay attention: the boat is plastic and the locks are concrete, and there has never been a case where plastic won against concrete.
Canal Cruising In France: Montargis
We got as far as the charming French town of Montargis, where a bridge that was being repaired was going to be impassable for several months.
The lovely people of Montargis had a small dock at which visitors could moor, usually limited to three days. But, as the canal was obstructed, a nice VNF representative swung by and told us that we could stay as long as we wanted, and were welcome to use the water and power at no charge.
I really love the fact that many French towns provide a free dock with water and power. I don’t think that happens in the UK.
Beanie, being the adventurer she is, could not hang around for three months waiting for a bridge to be repaired, so she returned to the United States.
I was a bit apprehensive about having to handle the next leg alone, but once I got into the pace of things, it worked out very well. The next hundred or so locks I traversed by myself and never had one problem.
No accidents, no crashes, and the water stayed on the outside. I spent some time in Nevers, Chalon-sur-Saône, and Lyon. I flew out to Glastonbury Festival for work, where I got sick (not the COVID) and didn’t get to see any bands at all. I paused for a month in Viviers to recover.
Reaching The Mediterranean
The next leg was a big push south to the Mediterranean. The closer I got, the wider the river became. The anticipation was immense. I could almost smell the salty water (but then again, that might have just been the laundry I hadn’t done for a month).
I arrived at Port Napoleon on July 4th, 2022. I hung around Cote d’Azur for many months because it’s absolutely amazing there.
The French people are wonderful. I didn’t come around one bad attitude the whole time I was there. The only bad attitude I saw was a British jerk complaining about not getting attended to quickly enough in a cell-phone store.
I suggested he leave …. France.
I have to admit that I was quite proud of myself. I’m a photographer and a filmmaker. I am not a “Boat Person.” But somehow, I taught myself enough to pass as one. Reaching the Mediterranean on my boat, solo, was definitely one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Do not let your lack of knowledge ever stop you from adventuring. Don’t let your uncertainty hold you back. Seriously!
I still like aeroplanes more, but they are tricky to live on and crazy expensive. Boats are growing on me.
I’m now somewhere in Italy, on my way to Malta.
Someone told me it was nice there.
I’ll let you know.
Looking for more?
Stephen’s YouTube channel, Jaywalking the World, is an honest, informative, and entertaining account of life aboard a boat as a quirky 60-something-year-old man in a world full of babes in bikinis. Thankfully, he has his skills as a professional filmmaker to fall back on! Stephen is also the creator of Friendly Flags, a burgee that cruisers can hoist as a way to encourage friendship and socialisation on the water.
