This boat is intended to allow two middle-aged people to live and work almost anywhere one can go by water, getting there with reasonable dispatch and with a reasonable degree of comfort and safety, and living there in a relatively uncompromised lifestyle
Welcome to our home, our pride and joy, our nightmare, our everything!
‘Bluegum’ is a Dutch style barge built by Piper Boats of Stoke on Trent in 2012. She was launched in 2012 by owners Trish and Mark who moored her on the River Thames before sailing her across the Channel to France where they have also cruised through Belgium and Holland.
After living on a 42 foot trawler for almost 5 years and completing the American Great Loop, we bought a 1928 21 meter Dutch Luxemotor to cruise the canals of Europe during the summer months. Winters in Florida are much nicer, so we will be there for the winters. Pat updates the blog with pictures and history of places we visit for our friends and family back home to enjoy and stay in touch with our adventures.
Aussies Ian and Lisette travelling the waterways of Europe in our 100+ year-old barge 'Catharina Elisabeth'. Still carrying cheese, as she was built to do, but now - us, wine, food and fun as well.
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After living on our narrowboat and cruising the UK waterways for several years we thought it's about time we followed several friends who are now cruising in mainland Europe. We are having our boat shipped over to France in spring next year (2019) and intend to start our European adventures with a couple of years in France. |
We will indulge in French food and culture, learn a new language, explore the countryside and absorb the history; sampling wine & champagne along the way.
This is the logbook of the motor yacht Cimarron, published to keep in touch with friends and to encourage everyone to explore Europe by water. The beautiful countries criss-crossed by canals and rivers all look dramatically different when seen from a boat. It is possible to cross Europe, all in fresh water, from Biscay to the Black Sea and from the Mediterranean to the Baltic.
A blog of the build of our Piper 49M, due to launch at Reading 23/03/2017
Delfini is a 15m x4.2 m Tjalk currently based near Haarlem, Holland. It is being refurbished in readiness for travel in Europe.
Welcome to Castelsarrasin. This site’s been up and running for just a couple of years now, and I’m still tweaking and adding to it as I go along.
This is a site that embraces my major interests, writing, cruising the French waterways, and animals. It’s less of a blog (though there is a page for that) than it is a record of things I’ve seen, experienced, written about and photographed.
A. S. B. Ebenhaëzer (Ebenezer in English) was registered in 1904 having been built in the Croles shipyard in IJlst, (just outside Sneek, Friesland) in the Netherlands. Now an auxiliary sailing barge she is a 63ft (inc. fixed bow sprit) gaff sloop rigged, sailing barge (tjalk).
Eclaircie is a Katwijker, built in 1902 at the Vrijenban shipyard in Delft. A Katwijker is a type of barge that belongs to the catagory of Beurtschips, which had regularly scheduled service between towns, and they carried freight or passengers.
We are back living in our California home, but we will leave our website as it was while we were cruising, and we would be happy to answer any barge related questions.
Shaun & Lynn's experiences of buying a Dutch canal cruiser and cruising the waterways of Europe
Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things, we hope you enjoy sharing this journey with us
Stewart and Lesley MacLennan, from their home in Australia, decided to plan an adventure that would take them out of their comfort zone. Not that they had spent much of their lives in that particular zone!
The adventure involved designing and building a boat for the waterways of Europe - and it had to be wheelchair accessible.
Hmm, So how did all this begin? Hard to say at this point so best left for another tale, “Why we decided to do this now”. It’s fair to say though that Rick Stein’s “French Odyssey” series on the Canal du Midi had a hand in the decision making, tempting us with its syren call to warm climes, slower pace and promise of fine food and wine.
Chris and Diana Grant lived on board their classic Dutch Barge Esme for 13 years until deciding to sell her in 2019 and return to the UK. Esme was built in 1927 at Amels yard in Makkum, Netherlands. The website is a record of their travels throughout UK, Belgium, France and the Netherlands over those years and will hopefully inspire new bargees to follow their trail.
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A personal diary of our travels in a 60’ Piper Barge, from the River Thames and around Europe. |
Wir er-leben unseren Lebenstraum!
We are experiencing our life's dream! Our "Fenna" was completed to our expectations in early 2012. Then we discovered Holland.
As the name of my website suggests, our travels are largely determined by two abiding interests - food and wine. (Oh, and beer if we are up in Belgium). I hope you will enjoy life in our “ditch crawling” world as we slowly make our way across the Continental landscape. We want to share with you our encounters with wine growers, cheese makers and the lady who feeds the ducks which produce the foie gras.
For those of you new to cruising the canals and rivers of Europe, this blog is about our continuing journey, warts and all. When we started our cruising life we thought that it would be much like travelling the countryside in a motorhome sightseeing all that Europe has to offer. Well, it turned out to be much more than that. It was the people we met, and that boatie camaraderie that made this lifestyle so enjoyable and unique. We now have lifelong friends that we met on the waterways, that we’ll have till we finally sail into that big marina in the sky.
This is the good ship Gratis, an ocean going sailing yacht, based on Joshua Slocum’s famous Spray. At 15m by 4.5m by 1.5m draft and 20T, she has served us well . A safe refuge on our one year long passage from Australia to Europe. Now with mast in Storage, Gratis and her crew are cruising the inland water ways of Europe Travel with us through our blog.
Don’t forget to say G’day anytime. Bob & Karyle
We retired to live aboard our Dutch barge Harmonie II and cruise the European Waterways. The objective of this web site is to keep friends and relations informed of our whereabouts, adventures and now, after seven years afloat
The site might also be of interest to those who are planning to do something similar or who are just interested in the lifestyle.
HEAVY METAL TRAVELS - Home is where you moor it....
This blog is about boating on the European Continent. To be able to do so we acquired a Dutch Barge, named "Hebbes", in December 2010. The preceding years we owned a narrowboat in England and lived on her for 3,5 years.
Hoop Doet Leven was built in Holland in 1926. She is 21.4 meters (about 70 feet) long and 3.4 meters (11 feet) wide. The family quarters behind the pilot house are all original, with wood paneling,tile fireplace and leaded glass skylights. “Hoop Doet Leven,” in Dutch means “Hope Sustains Life,” similar to “Hope Springs Eternal.”
A Dutch Luxemotor built in 1928 by the well-known constructor Bodewes of Foxhol in Holland, converted for pleasure cruising in 1996.
'Jan-Kees' - Jan Pieterse & Deb Richardson
I suppose this is starting out mostly for family and friends to keep up with our travels and adventures as we explore The Netherlands with our barge, but also to make new friends and share the wonderful history of this special barge, Janine.
We? We are Doug and Melissa, two Americans who purchased the Dutch barge Janine in September 2017.
This is a unique story because a replica of a Dutch Klipper has not been successfully recreated and certainly not to this exceptional standard.
Passionate sailors! We own 2 and a bit yachts in Melbourne Australia, an international 8 metre built in 1947, a Farr designed ocean racer and the ‘bit’ is an Etchelles that I own with some girlfriends. We built a Piper boat to cruise the canals for the European summer months, then back to sail in Australia for our summer.
The Joli Roger blog - Taking it easy on the waterways of France.
Michael and Joan Collins sharing their exploration of the French Waterways with friends, family and other boaters aboard the retired charter boat Juniper.
You Bought a What?
This is the question we faced most often when, in late 2010, we decided to buy a Barge to cruise the French canals. Probably a fair question, in hindsight, given that we had never owned a boat before. This is a chronicle of our adventures since then.
Instead of settling down and waiting to get old in just one place, we’ve devised a plan that includes exploring the waterways of France on our new boat, Karanja. And as Verne doesn’t do winter, we’ll spend the rest of the time between Singapore, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand – and whatever other interesting places beckon.
KEI is a 22m luxemotor barge designed and built for residential use and will be used as a permanent home. The size and style are, we feel, a good compromise of all the features that we thought a Dutch barge should include. Top of our priority list was the requirement that if one is going to have a "Dutch barge", then it should look like one and have the recognisable features and details of a traditional 1920's barge.
Built in 1922 in Leimuiden as a Luxemotor cargo ship. In 1931 it was adapted for transporting Fair carousels, with the wheelhose moved forward to elnarge the aft cabin. During World War II, the ship was hidden by the Dutch resistance movement in the Biesbosch, an inaccessible tangle of small rivers and lakes. In 1996, it was converted into a living barge, retaining its classically elegant lines.
With the experience of sailors straight from the Swiss mountains Peti (Peter) Polin and Lucy Schuler went out to buy a 30 years old project in Holland. 4 years of work and a quick learning process turned the project into a nice an handy little cruiser. Then 10 years of cruising, mostly on inland waterways between Bordeaux in France and Dziwnòw in Poland, northern Holland and southern France turned the rookies into passionate boaters.
This is a blog about our retirement dream to buy, restore and cruise an old dutch barge in Europe. This 18-month project has been more fun and fulfilling than we could ever have imagined.
Join Marianne and Tim as they purchase and begin to travel in their Luxemotor Lionel d'Anton. Tim does most of the commentary while Marianne has a Facebook page of pictures.
't Majeur is a Dutch luxemotor, build in 1932 by Boot in Alphen.
She started transporting potatoes and is now our home.
We travel the inland waterways of Europe.
25 metres in length and fitted for comfortable extensive cruising for six people, we are very comfortable on her at all times of the year.
Misterton is a barge built in 1923 to carry grain to Lincoln. She was built to the maximum dimensions of this waterway and is one of six 'Lincoln Keels' built. We bought her in 2008 and intend to restore her to a comfortable floating home, whilst retaining the external appearance of a British working barge.
The Mizar is a Dutch barge, a Luxemotor which once travelled as a cargo ship on the European canals. The name "Luxemotor" was given because the owner & family had a cabin behind the wheelhouse. This was considered a great luxury, because until now on cargo ships the adults as well as children slept on deck.
The "Moet" found us... and brought new friends and a different way of life to enjoy and discover...
This website gives some background and history about our 21.7m 1925 Steilsteven Moondance, as well as a blog with lots of photos about her refit and our cruises on the rivers, lakes and canals of Europe.
Welcome to my website, which is a reflection of my activities. Anyone, like me, who has been linked with heart and soul to his vessel gains a lot of experience. That experience and the knowledge I have gained on our ship, in the course of many years, I'd like to share.
Mary-Jane and Michael Houlton arrived back aboard their boat Olivia Rose in March 2020, four days before France went into lock-down due to the Coronavirus. This blog is about life in France under lock-down - or at least that is where it begins. Hopefully we will get back out on the water this year and then it will be a blog about life on the move once more!
Op Hoop van Zegen was originally built in 1907 and converted in the 1950s.
Steve and Maddy are taking her into the next stage of her life on Bristol Harbour with a full refurb.
This is the story behind the 1907 Humber sloop that was to help fight two wars and join the search for the Loch Ness monster.
Picaro is a 1964 38m spits, restored in 1984 and carrying cargo through Europe. Tis her story. (Dutch/French).
"We embarked on our journey with Quaintrelle on 24 June 2014 and after a year of daily tweets, switched to writing a blog. It's an informal, picturesque record of the next two years cruising the UK canal network, the move to France and two years cruising the French system. It was designed to let friends and family keep up with our adventures, so, I hope, contains an element of entertainment as well. Although we became landlubbers in the winter of 2018, Quaintrelle is still part of the family and used for holidays. For us the blog is a valuable record of our very happy years spent living on the water."
A photo-diary of Quercy's travels.
French adventures onboard Rangali, a 60ft Piper Barge.
Reliance is a well maintained 78’ Humber Barge moored on one of the most beautiful residential moorings on the Thames tideway. Her previous owners lived aboard for nearly 30 years, raised two children afloat and converted Reliance into a comfortable home, suitable for cruising on UK rivers and most European waterways. Now they've retired ashore and Reliance has found new crew to take care of her.
The steam tugboat "Risico" was built in the year 1915 in Papendrecht, close to Rotterdam. She belonged to a shipping company (also named RISICO) which owned 4 steam tugboats, called "Risico", "Risico-2", "Risico-3" and "Risico-4". They towed oil-barges on the rivers and canals in de Southwest part of the Netherlands until about 1949. Our "Risico" is probably the only one still afloat.
We are Jackie and Noel Parry, we are cruising through Europe on our Dutch Barge, Rouge Corsair. She is an ex-bunker barge. For details on our escapades, our books, and cruising advice, see our website. Please stop by and say hi, we like to enjoy the lighter side of life!
We bought Shangri La 2 in Zwartsluis, Netherlands at the end of 2012. We had two enjoyable summers in 2013 and 2104 cruising the Netherlands waterways.
In 2015 we made the journey from Netherlands, through Belgium and to St Jean-de-Losne in France. The skipper's blog was started in 2010 and chronicles our journey to buying the boat, our holidays on charter boats and now our travels aboard our own boat.
The first mate's blog - from a different perspective! - is
here
Skookum is a 1973 12.5meter Altena Dutch steel cruiser that we purchased in Dordrecht in 2012. Since then we have circled through Holland, Begium, France and Germany.
We have travelled the Rhine from Strassburg to Dusseldorf and the Mittleland canal to Berlin and the Mecklenburg. The Elbe to Hamburg and across north Germany to Friesland.
Then Antwerp, Reims, the Marne to Paris and then down the Rhone to the south of France. Currently Skookum is near Avignon and we will journey to bordeaux this year.
Martin and Barbara Golder plus our faithful companion Kerry, a Wheaten Terrier.
In January 2017 we bought a Dutch barge in the Netherlands on a whim. Now we have to get her back to the UK! Follow our journey from Sneek (Friesland) across the English Channel, and finally up the river Thames to Lechlade in Gloucestershire in the UK, where she will become our permanent home.
Sojourn is a Dutch Motor Tjalk, built by Wolthuis in Veendam Netherlands in 1912 and now in France for the next few years.
We are now very much looking forward to launching our new Piper 57N barge and living on board back on the Thames for the first year, before we head over to the European canals.
TYR was built in 1955 by the shipyard Bröhl in Mohndorf on the Rhine for the operation as a passenger ferry on the Rhine between Wesseling and Lülsdorf near Cologne,
A Couple of Aussies - Barging thru Europe.
Adventures through the European Canals onboard Vivante
'A Barge at Large' is the web site of Jo and Jan May and their Tjalk Vrouwe Johanna. They lived for two years in Holland, five in France and are currently in Belgium. A Barge at Large is largely a photographic record of their struggles and complements their book of the same name currently available through Amazon both as a kindle download and hard copy.
WATERDOG c. 1876 - 89' x 14'7" (27m x 4.45m) Humber Trading Barge
Waterdog is currently based in southern Belgium in the Haut Sambre valley. Lawrence and Lorna Baker cruise Waterdog in Belgium and Northern France and are still refitting her as a home and cruising boat.
The beauty of owning a barge is the wide range of places where you can moor. In Wanderlust we can stay in the heart of cities. We can move our home to the middle of London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Toulouse. She can also be tied to the bank in the midst of the rural vineyards in Burgundy or next to wild forests in the south of France.
In de zomer van 1999 zijn wij eigenaar geworden van een woonschip in een van de mooiste grachten van Amsterdam. ...
In the summer of 1999 we became the owner of a houseboat in one of the most beautiful canals of Amsterdam. On this website we try to share our own experiences and the unique characteristics of the floating world.
Waterway travels and life aboard a river barge.
We bought our beautiful barge Yavanna in France in 2005 and cruised 5,000 Kms in France before entering Holland from Brugge. We spend 3 months barging each year during their summer. It is the most wonderful lifestyle imaginable.
Yavanna is a English wide boat and was built in Yorkshire. Her first owner who had her built, was by profession a cabinet maker which resulted in the wonderful interior.
Edi & Michael sailed their new cutter-rigged sloop, Sequitur from Vancouver down the west coasts of the Americas, around Cape Horn and up the east coasts from 2009 to 2012. They are now continuing their journey in a century-old skûtsje in the Netherlands.
"Zee" is an ex sailing charter, built in 1923 in Marteschoek and used as an inland freighter for some years until being retired in about 1970. After that she was converted to a 2 masted sailing barge and in the late 1990's was converted to a sailing charter in the Netherlands where we finally saw her and decided to make her our own. We intend to make her self sufficient in power, able to make her won water and to treat our sewage without the need for a pump out station. We have only just started out journey and are looking forward to sharing the highs, the lows, skinned knuckles and plumbing disasters with new friends and maybe get some top tips on the way from our blog readers.