There were 36 boats on our "shortlist".
Hundreds of others that have been rejected.
These are boats we've inspected - online - so far.
Now - time to investigate - in person.
We start off in Burgundy:
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| It's autumn, and the vineyard colors are lovely... |
We have certain criteria that this boat must - or should - meet.
Here we go:
Lazy Jane - is too long.
Ibaia - is beautiful inside but: too tall for low bridges.
Vertrouwen - is just too narrow - hard to even pass each other inside!
Horizon is a Dutch trawler.
But - pretty - um, boxy.
And tiny windows make it dark inside.
Big engines, too - too big for canal cruising.
Sir Berty feels a bit like an inexpensive single-wide inside.
(We had high hopes for this one! Oh well.)
Kikkervis is lovely in a old cottage-y way.
But Stan can't even stand up inside!
Not happening.
Liberte is WAY too much work for us to take on.
Kotare is beautiful - but - there's NO outdoor space.
No aft deck, no place to sit on a sunny day and enjoy a glass of wine.
What good is THAT?
We'd have to climb over each other to get into bed in THIS one -
and you know who would have to do the climbing...
We even considered a beautiful cruiser.
Lovely, polished wood interiors.
But: It's a cruiser!
Not a barge, not a canal boat, not a trawler or even a tug.
In my mind, cruisers are martinis and high-speed chases.
Not leisurely afternoons puttering down a river.
And so it went.
30 boats.
We went through them pretty quickly.
Day 5, we drove from Burgundy....
...down to the Canal du Midi.
Down by the Mediterranean.
...to the exact village where we'd spent time 2 years ago.
Feeding ducks off the back deck of a chartered canal boat.
With the whole gang. Good memories.
We looked at a boat before lunch.
(The same restaurant we visited 2 years ago!)
By the time we'd finished lunch
- we'd made an offer on the boat.
And - the offer was accepted.
It looks like:
We've found a boat!
And more on THAT- next time!
Right now, it's time to open a bottle of Chassagne Montrachet.
Bought specially - and saved - for this moment.
Santé!
Stay tuned - we'll go take some pictures tomorrow!