Below, in the dark, is Aleau – or Gillian B as she was legally called at the time – when we arrived in St. Jean-de-Losne on March 15, 2019 to begin the purchase.
Much negotiating had already taken place over FaceTime during the previous months. But there was still much to do.
20-metres (65-feet) long with a beam (width) of almost 5-metres (15-feet) and weighing 44-tonnes, Aleau is more ship than boat. The most critical dimensions are Draft (How much of the barge sits below the waterline) and Air Draft (How much of the barge sits above the water). They both dictate where we can go – and more importantly, where we can’t go. If our draft is greater than the depth of the water in the canal, we can’t go. If our air draft is greater than the clearance under bridges or tunnels, we can’t go. As the summer progresses, the amount of water in the canals decreases – limiting our cruising options. Almost as soon as we took possession, dropping water levels not only shortened the list of canals available to us – in some cases, the canals were closed to all traffic. For the rest of the summer. We know of people who were stranded or had to make long detours to get back to their home port. Let’s hope for very wet winters – with lots of rain and lots of snow.