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| Motorbarge Nancy Jeanne |
| Due to popular demand, I've added some more photos of our 14-meter Dutch motorbarge Nancy Jeanne... |
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| While living aboard our motosailer Emily Belle, we met a number of boaters who had cruised the canals of Europe; without exception they all absolutely raved about their experiences. We got the message that this was something we should certainly check out for ourselves. We were amazed to learn the vastness of the European waterway network. You can cruise from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean without ever going into open water. There are thousands of miles of navigable waterways crisscrossing Germany, Holland, Belgium and France. Many are spectacularly beautiful, most have towpaths along them lined with 200-year-old trees (to provide shade for the tow mules). |
| A peaceful overnight stop along the banks of the Haut Escaut in Belgium south of Ghent |
| Chartering a canal boat is a possibility (and we have done that several times since selling our motorbarge), but for an extended cruise, there's no substitute for having one's own boat, and what better than a real Dutch canal barge! The boat we found in Loosdrecht (south of Amsterdam) was built in 1905 as a motorless reed barge (used to collect reeds for thatched roofs). In the mid 60's it was rescued from oblivion and converted into a cruising boat, the inside looked like a small Dutch apartment -- and was probably bigger than some! The boat came complete with gas stove and furnace and an on-demand gas hot water heater. It was very civilized! |
| Nancy in the main salon. Flowers were always available in Holland and incredibly cheap! |
| A well-fed 1-year-old Michael eyes his mom as he gets a bath in the galley sink. |
| During the three years we owned motobarge Nancy Jeanne, we cruised from Holland south through Belgium and into France - each summer finding a different route and making a round trip without retracing our route. Only in a few large cities (Amsterdam, Brussels & Paris) did we have to stay at marinas and pay for overnight dockage. Mostly, we found free dockage along a wall, often in the heart of the city or town, and seldom more than a five-minute walk to the boulangerie -- we became accustomed to fresh-baked bread every morning. Did I mention this was really civilized cruising? Weather, tides, seas and winds were never a problem; and no GPS was required for navigation. |
| One of the advntages of a "real" dutch barge was that everything could be folded down to attain a remarkably low clearance, we had an "air draft" of less than 6 feet! We very seldom had to wait for a bridge to open, but we often had to "duck" and warn the crew to watch out as we passed under a low bridge with only inches to spare. A disadvantage of this barge was its 20-ton weight, it was a bit like driving a 10-car ferryboat. Entering a lock, it was standard practice to shift into reverse for the last 300 feet of the approach. |
| Above: Out on the lift for bottom painting. If you look closely, you can see the bow thruster and at the back, the huge (wooden) rudder. With no keel, the boat would slide out on turns something fierce, you definitely needed to plan ahead. -------------------------------------------- |
| Above right: The helm with the windshield folded down. There actually were a few days in Holland in July warm enough for this! Photo was taken at the boat's home slip in Wetterville (WaterVillage) on Loosdrecht Lake. The boat came with a 60's-style fathometer with a neon "flasher" surrounded by a radar-like sun shield.. The good old days! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since we sold our Dutch canal barge, we have returned to cruise the canals of Europe several times, usually in chartered boats. Our favorite drive-it-yourself boat company is Locaboat based in Joigny, France. They have bases throughout France and also now in Holland, Germany, Ireland and Italy. Their speciality is the P�nichette which is designed to look like the old French p�niche (canal barge). Their boats come in a range of sizes suitable for two to eight people, most feature inside and outside steering positions and are perfectly suited for puttering along in calm waters at five knots. Along with all those people we met, we now go around espousing the virtues of inland cruising in Europe whenever we get the chance -- and it looks as though this may be one of those chances, so I say, go for it! HMC 2/06/05 |
| Motorbarge Nancy Jeanne in low bridge mode along the wall in Rotterdam |