On the Go with M.S. Kinette

By Chris and Charlotte Huber, M.S. Kinette

In October 2002, my wife Charlotte and I rented a houseboat on vacation for the first time at Locaboat in Joigny (Burgundy), a 9.30 meter long Pénichette. Later on we also chartered with Nicol’s and Burgundy Cruisers. The Euroclassics were actually a good experience: whoever can maneuver these clumsy, ugly shoeboxes, can maneuver anything.

While traveling, we once met a Swiss couple who live on a Luxemotor. We prowled around their ship for so long that they had no choice but to invite us aboard for a tour. We were completely fascinated by this type of lifestyle and so decided to make this dream come true after Chris’ retirement in 2007. Due to various reasons it already became possible in 2005: we learned the Barge Buyer’s Handbook nearly by heart, sold our house and began the search, after Adrian Stott advised us, for the right ship with the help of the Dutch broker, more a go between, Ruud Thomas.

We were incredibly lucky since the third ship we viewed near Amsterdam was already the right one. The ship, originally a freight ship, had been rebuilt in 1931 to transport a carousel from one fair to another. The then owner could therefore reduce the cargo area, enlarge the back cabin and relocate the wheelhouse more to the midship area. In 1996, a new owner had the ship rebuilt into a residential boat – in the same shipyard in which it was originally built in 1922. The unique, elegant contours remained through the reconstruction – no wonder that it was love at first sight for us. It is also no wonder that we hear, “What a beautiful ship!” from lock keepers, bridge masters and professional boatsmen via VHF.

 

Technical Data:

Year of construction	1922
Shipyard	de Bock & Meijer in Leimuiden/NL
Type	Luxemotor
Dimensions	22.57 meters long, 4.05 meters wide
Draught	0.9 meters
Motor	DAF 825
Drinking Water	1000 liters
Diesel	1000 liters
Fuel/heating oil	700 liters
Waste water tank	400 liters
Generator	Koala 40. Mastervolt Inverter 3000 Watt
Bowthruster	Kalkman 12 HP

Suddenly everything happened much faster than we had expected. Thanks to the DBA Newsgroup, we beginners received many valuable suggestions and tips: Is a survey always necessary? How do we have our mail forwarded? How do we remain reachable? How do we retain our health insurance? Where does one pass the winter? Which permits and licenses do we need? Which flag do we fly as Swiss aboard a ship registered in the Netherlands, which cruises the Netherlands, Belgium and France? Do we need a Euro account for the area of our journeys?

As to the procedure of buying a ship: during the survey, the thickness of the hull is measured by ultrasound in numerous places. That is all well and good, but a ship rusts from the inside not the outside. When buying a ship today, we would insist that the floor under the galley, under the shower and under the toilet be opened so that we could inspect the hull from the inside.

In May 2005, everything was ready: we moved into our floating home. The previous owner had bought a smaller yacht and was in our near vicinity. That turned out to be a very lucky chance. He patiently taught us how to maneuver a ship of this size and educated us on all the technical details. In hindsight, we are very happy that we didn’t just start on our way.

While the cargo area of our ship was perfectly equipped with a saloon, galley, shower with toilet and owner’s cabin, the motor was in excellent condition and the complete electrical system left nothing to be desired, the back cabin was basically unchanged since 1930: two small berths, central heating from an oil oven in the middle of the room as well as an ancient galley. We knew that some rebuilding was definitely necessary. We decided however, to cruise for a season and collect some experience before we would begin renovations with the shipyard.

In June we embarked from Aalsmeer (Netherlands) and cruised on gorgeous rivers and canals to the Maas. Our goal was the DBA-Meeting in Namur (Belgium) mid June. We made many new friends and viewed as many barges as possible. How do other bargees do it? How do they have their guest cabins furnished? Where do they have storage space? From Namur, we continued up the Maas through Belgium and then in a large curve through Ardennes and the Champagne region back to the Canal de l’Est. We had a splendid time in the Champagne with Bill and Nancy Koenig from the M.S. Eclaircie. In the fall, we drove leisurely up the Maas through Belgium and then via Zuid-Willemsvaart, the Merwede Canal and the Vecht right through the center of Amsterdam back to Aalsmeer. It was a wonderful experience and we knew that we wanted to live on the water for as long as possible. Speaking Dutch, French and English is certainly not a disadvantage.

During the whole summer we kept a list of possible changes we wished to make. Then we began to categorize our wishes into “must have’s” and “nice to have’s”. We discussed the revised edition with Piet de Bock, the director of the shipyard de Bock & Meijer in Leimuiden. His written offer was very fair and we arranged to drive the ship to the shipyard the beginning of February.

Our principal changes were: complete rebuilding of the back cabin, installation of a Maritime Booster to replace the Kabola central heating, a combination washer/drier to replace the present two machines, installation of an Isolation Transformer, building in a shower with toilet in the back cabin and finally installing an electro hydraulic steering.

It was clear to us from the beginning that we would take part in the reconstruction and wanted to help with the work as much as possible. Since we couldn’t live on the ship during construction, we needed to look for accommodations. Nell and Frits van Geijtenbeek from the M.S. Shell V spontaneously offered us an apartment in their remodeled farmhouse in Meerkerk. We indeed have found true friends on the water!

It has proven rewarding in every respect that we have accompanied and participated entirely in the reconstruction. We worked together with the cabinet-maker without any plans. We would never have known in the planning stages that we could win space for two additional diesel tanks by dismantling the chain steering. And had we not torn out the berths ourselves, we would never have noticed the moist beams underneath due to a lack of ventilation.

Furthermore the yard owner, Piet de Bock, gave us every two weeks a written digest of the work done, the money spent, the work to be done and the average costs. So we financially could control our project and knew whether we were on schedule or not. At a certain age you don’t love that kind of surprises.

At the moment we are confident that we will finish by mid April. Our next appointment is namely the DBA Meeting in Gorinchem. See you all!

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