I wonder how many of the vessels currently cruising the Med will go into the canals or up the coast to the Baltic? We spent a summer in the Baltic--and it was a wonderful experience. The trip up the coast, is very similar to going up the West Coast. You head into wind and seas daily. The gale forecast is important for crossing the Bay of Biscay; the trip should be timed to cross in-between gales. The other option is cruising the canals. We did some of the Dutch and Belgium canals, but were restricted because of an air draft of 63 feet and water draft of nearly 7 feet. 63 foot LOA was not a problem. Some boats, which have an air draft of less than 3.1 meters, take the Canal du Midi across France. Beam can also be a problem in some canals. Beebe addressed these issues in Voyaging Under Power as he discusses design perimeters. The canals have been poorly maintained and draft over 5 feet can be a problem--some places only allow 4 feet because of shoaling. Canal boats are long and narrow, but we have seen some make ocean passages. The possibility of doing canals might be a consideration of the design of a passagemaking boat. The shoal draft also would allow exploration in less commonly frequented island chains and harbors. Bob Austin